bobdina
08-27-2009, 01:39 PM
Capt Simon Cupples, 25, led a handful of men forward five times to recover casualties. Almost a third of his platoon from the Mercian Regiment had been shot when a force of 30 Taliban ambushed them from 20 yards.
On the fifth occasion the heavy fire drove him back but he was later able to retrieve his comrades' bodies.
For outstanding bravery, Capt Cupples, who married two days before deploying, will be among five soldiers who are to be recognised with the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross (CGC) - an award just below the Victoria Cross.
Two soldiers died and seven others were wounded in the fierce eight-hour night action last month in Helmand Province.
Sergeant Craig Brelsford, 25, was killed as he bravely led a platoon through heavy fire to recover the body of Private Johan Botha.
Botha, also 25, had been fatally wounded. And true to the code of soldiers, no one was to be left behind – dead or alive.
Here, men from A Company of the 2nd Battalion the Mercian Regiment describe for the first time in their own words the hell of that brutal firefight.
Under orders to take the fight to the enemy, they had launched Operation Pechtaw to target Taliban positions around the town of Darvisham.
Lieutenant Simon Cupples, 25, led seven soldiers from his platoon to outflank a Taliban compound.
They were 2nd Lieutenant Rupert Bowers, 20, Private Sam Cooper, 18, Private Luke Cole, 22, Corporal Ben Umney, 25, Private Ben Johnson, 23, Private Kyle Drury, 22, and South African-born Private Botha. Behind them came two other sections of six men apiece.
Ambush
But they walked into an ambush and four men were hit immediately.
Lt Cupples told The Sun: “The wounded were just to my right. I told them to follow me to a ditch we’d crossed about 30 or 40 metres before. I crawled faster than I’d ever done before. “Two lads followed me. When we got there we realised we still had serious casualties out in the field.”
Lt Cupples had a miraculous escape when a grenade landed at his feet but failed to go off.
The platoon sergeant, Mick Lockett, was determined to help the injured, who were lying on open ground near the Taliban position.
They included Pte Botha and Pte Cole, who had been hit in the thigh.
Sgt Lockett said: “Before we went to Afghanistan I promised the men I’d bring all them back. If not alive, then their bodies would come home.
“That was my line in the sand. No matter what happened, everyone was coming back.
“If it meant going back into the face of enemy fire, I didn’t care. I wanted my men back.” The rescue team was Sgt Lockett, Lt Cupples, Lt Bowers, and Lance Corporals Jonathan McEwan, 27, and David Chandler, 26. Sgt Lockett, 27, said: “Everyone knew what they were letting themselves in for, that they’d likely get hit.”
As they reached Pte Cole, Taliban crawled forward in a bid to grab Botha’s body as a warped trophy.
But in a staggering act of bravery, Cole blazed away with his rifle to stop them.Cole was hit again, in the stomach, but still managed to go to the aid of a second wounded soldier. Sgt Lockett went on: “I kept telling Pte Cole to keep firing. He was in bloody agony but he was doing it – and doing it brilliantly.
“Cole crawled over to the other soldier. He put some morphine into him and then rolled away so as not to compromise his mate’s position to the enemy. He was simply fantastic that night.”
Lt Bowers said: “There were bullets flying everywhere. We got to one of the injured and I managed to lift him on my shoulder and just ran to the ditch.
“I went back again to help drag Cole into the ditch.”
But the soldiers could not find Botha amid the smoke from grenades, mortars and gunfire.
They were forced to retreat and call in help from another group of Mercians, led by Sgt Brelsford.
Sgt Lockett said: “I grabbed him and said, ‘Brellsie, I need you to go and get the big man (Botha) for me’. His last words to me were, ‘Mick, no dramas, don’t worry about it, don’t worry’.”
But as Brelsford’s men entered the killing zone, he was hit. Company CO Major Jamie Nowell gave the order to regroup before launching an armoured vehicle assault on the insurgents.
Sgt Lockett said: “I sat crying. I couldn’t look into the lads’ eyes. I thought I’d lost their trust because I’d left my man out there.”
But as dawn broke and reinforcements arrived, Our Boys were still determined to reclaim their fallen pal. They went back and found Botha’s body close to the vacated Taliban trenches.
Lt Cupples said: “I knew we had to get him back. Imagine telling his family you don’t know where he is or what happened to him? That was simply not an option.
“The reason the blokes fight so hard is because they know we all do everything to help each other.”
Sgt Brelsford, from Notts, was praised for “exceptional courage”.
Married dad Pte Botha had been recommended for promotion.
The Mercians had nine men killed in Afghanistan.
On the fifth occasion the heavy fire drove him back but he was later able to retrieve his comrades' bodies.
For outstanding bravery, Capt Cupples, who married two days before deploying, will be among five soldiers who are to be recognised with the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross (CGC) - an award just below the Victoria Cross.
Two soldiers died and seven others were wounded in the fierce eight-hour night action last month in Helmand Province.
Sergeant Craig Brelsford, 25, was killed as he bravely led a platoon through heavy fire to recover the body of Private Johan Botha.
Botha, also 25, had been fatally wounded. And true to the code of soldiers, no one was to be left behind – dead or alive.
Here, men from A Company of the 2nd Battalion the Mercian Regiment describe for the first time in their own words the hell of that brutal firefight.
Under orders to take the fight to the enemy, they had launched Operation Pechtaw to target Taliban positions around the town of Darvisham.
Lieutenant Simon Cupples, 25, led seven soldiers from his platoon to outflank a Taliban compound.
They were 2nd Lieutenant Rupert Bowers, 20, Private Sam Cooper, 18, Private Luke Cole, 22, Corporal Ben Umney, 25, Private Ben Johnson, 23, Private Kyle Drury, 22, and South African-born Private Botha. Behind them came two other sections of six men apiece.
Ambush
But they walked into an ambush and four men were hit immediately.
Lt Cupples told The Sun: “The wounded were just to my right. I told them to follow me to a ditch we’d crossed about 30 or 40 metres before. I crawled faster than I’d ever done before. “Two lads followed me. When we got there we realised we still had serious casualties out in the field.”
Lt Cupples had a miraculous escape when a grenade landed at his feet but failed to go off.
The platoon sergeant, Mick Lockett, was determined to help the injured, who were lying on open ground near the Taliban position.
They included Pte Botha and Pte Cole, who had been hit in the thigh.
Sgt Lockett said: “Before we went to Afghanistan I promised the men I’d bring all them back. If not alive, then their bodies would come home.
“That was my line in the sand. No matter what happened, everyone was coming back.
“If it meant going back into the face of enemy fire, I didn’t care. I wanted my men back.” The rescue team was Sgt Lockett, Lt Cupples, Lt Bowers, and Lance Corporals Jonathan McEwan, 27, and David Chandler, 26. Sgt Lockett, 27, said: “Everyone knew what they were letting themselves in for, that they’d likely get hit.”
As they reached Pte Cole, Taliban crawled forward in a bid to grab Botha’s body as a warped trophy.
But in a staggering act of bravery, Cole blazed away with his rifle to stop them.Cole was hit again, in the stomach, but still managed to go to the aid of a second wounded soldier. Sgt Lockett went on: “I kept telling Pte Cole to keep firing. He was in bloody agony but he was doing it – and doing it brilliantly.
“Cole crawled over to the other soldier. He put some morphine into him and then rolled away so as not to compromise his mate’s position to the enemy. He was simply fantastic that night.”
Lt Bowers said: “There were bullets flying everywhere. We got to one of the injured and I managed to lift him on my shoulder and just ran to the ditch.
“I went back again to help drag Cole into the ditch.”
But the soldiers could not find Botha amid the smoke from grenades, mortars and gunfire.
They were forced to retreat and call in help from another group of Mercians, led by Sgt Brelsford.
Sgt Lockett said: “I grabbed him and said, ‘Brellsie, I need you to go and get the big man (Botha) for me’. His last words to me were, ‘Mick, no dramas, don’t worry about it, don’t worry’.”
But as Brelsford’s men entered the killing zone, he was hit. Company CO Major Jamie Nowell gave the order to regroup before launching an armoured vehicle assault on the insurgents.
Sgt Lockett said: “I sat crying. I couldn’t look into the lads’ eyes. I thought I’d lost their trust because I’d left my man out there.”
But as dawn broke and reinforcements arrived, Our Boys were still determined to reclaim their fallen pal. They went back and found Botha’s body close to the vacated Taliban trenches.
Lt Cupples said: “I knew we had to get him back. Imagine telling his family you don’t know where he is or what happened to him? That was simply not an option.
“The reason the blokes fight so hard is because they know we all do everything to help each other.”
Sgt Brelsford, from Notts, was praised for “exceptional courage”.
Married dad Pte Botha had been recommended for promotion.
The Mercians had nine men killed in Afghanistan.