by Ricky Sides
“Note the other machine gun emplacements along the top of the wall on the south side of El Morro.” There are far fewer here, but they too are facing south, braced to defend the fort should the Cubans overrun La Cabana. Therefore, our fighters will come in behind this wall first to attack those El Morro based guns. Once that mission goal has been accomplished, they will fly past the El Morro south wall and then take out the guns atop the wall of La Cabana,” the lieutenant said.
“Once the guns are silenced, the fighters will then concentrate on operating in a support role. They will cover the remaining structures that we have to assault, and when possible they will add their support fire as will this ship. The moment we land, we are to get outside the door so this ship can lift off. Sitting there on the ground, it will be a sitting duck if the enemy has shoulder-fired rockets. So we get out fast and get clear of the ship.”
The lieutenant pointed to a large building and said, “This is apparently their command bunker. Note the presence of armed guards there in front of the building, and atop the structure, you see what appears to be an old-fashioned radio antenna for a CB radio system. One of the pilots will terminate that antenna connection, cutting off all possible communication with their armada; if that is the only means, they have to do so. My strike force team will assault that building.”
“Sergeant Marino, your men will attack these three buildings,” Lieutenant Wilcox stated and pointed at three buildings in the photograph. One will be the munitions room. There was no way to tell which room that may be. The others will be barracks where the men stay when not on duty and one will be food storage. We know from the reconnaissance tapes that all three are in use by the bad guys.”
Next, the lieutenant pointed to several other buildings and said, “These buildings we suspect are not in use. However, we cannot be certain of that. Please note that if an enemy is present inside those buildings then they would be able to fire upon your teams assaulting these two structures,” the lieutenant explained and pointed to a pair of buildings that the Cuban-American unit would be assaulting. “Therefore it is important to remember that fact and have at least one man with the assault groups covering those buildings. He can alert others. Should you find yourselves in a cross fire, withdraw to this location,” the lieutenant said and pointed to a building that would protect them from the men in the suspect buildings. Our fighters will then see what they can do to assist.”
“Next the lieutenant frowned and pulled another picture from behind the first and leaned it against the photograph that they had been studying. He said, “Gentlemen, this photograph was taken by the other pilot who went on the reconnaissance mission as backup. I want all of you carefully to note this building. See the women being led from this door and escorted by armed guards in the direction of what we believe to be the command building?” he asked and pointed to the women.
Turning to face the men, Lieutenant Wilcox said, “As you can see in this photograph, there are women being held prisoner, therefore we need to be cautious during the fighting and avoid firing on that particular building. If hostiles are inside the building and they attack us we need to let our snipers address that problem. Remember that my unit has three very good snipers and your own company has two who are very proficient. If we respond with hundreds of rounds of ammunition, some or all of the women could be killed. Does everyone have a good mental picture of this building and where it is located?” the lieutenant asked.
***
In the first ten seconds of the battle, the eight fighters escorting Captain Cliff Barnes’ ship swept past the lighthouse and stopped to hover over the fortress. They opened fire on the machinegun emplacements sitting atop the southern wall of El Morro with their laser miniguns and flew on pressing the attack. They flew over the wall and targeted men frantically attempting to turn their guns toward the attacking aircraft. Targeting the men, they opened fire with their miniguns and swept them from the battlements in seconds.
Behind the fighters, the patrol class ship landed lightly inside the old El Morro fortress. The fighters spun around and moved out prepared to cover the peacekeepers as they exited the ship, shooting any of the cartel invaders who were stupid enough to show their faces. The cargo bay door opened and the men inside the cargo bay rapidly exited the ship. Lieutenant Wilcox and his team ran for the command structure. Sergeant Marino and his company moved out to cover the three main objectives that they were to take on.
Lieutenant Wilcox had just gotten into position outside the command building when the antenna pole atop that structure fell. A portion of the antenna protruded out beyond the roof. The associated coaxial dangled in the air, its severed end giving mute testimony that no messages would be sent from that unit.
The door of the building was violently flung open and four men rushed outside with guns blazing firing at several of the fighters hovering in the air. The lieutenant’s men cut them down where they stood with several well placed shots. The lieutenant noted with approval that his men were conserving their ammunition and not merely spraying their targets.
One of the men slid to a position near the door and pulled the pin on a grenade. Exposing only his hand and wrist, he flung the grenade inside the room and ducked back behind the thick masonry wall to shield him from the blast. Moments later the windows blew outward and an acrid smoke billowed out of the door to the room. Now the lieutenant’s men sprayed their ammunition as they thrust their bodies around before the windows and hosed the room with wide side-to-side sweeps of their weapons. The men were well trained and functioned well as a team. Some fired low, and some sprayed high and still others fired their weapons on full auto at about waist level. Ducking back behind the cover of the building the men rapidly took turns ejecting spent or even partially spent magazines and replacing them. A groan sounded from inside the room but there were no other sounds.
The man designated as the entry man darted inside the open door. Almost immediately three shots fired in rapid succession. “Clear!” the lieutenant heard the entry man shout. Within moments, his team was inside the room taking cover wherever possible and preparing to assail the next room.
***
Sergeant Marino was encountering heavy resistance. They had easily taken the first target, which had turned out to be the munitions supply room. That building only had two men inside. However, the next target contained hundreds of men who were attempting to break out of the structure so they could take on the Cuban-Americans with their superior numbers. A dozen men came crashing out and charged his men who fired at the men, but to their amazement, the enemy kept coming. “Fire at their heads!” Sergeant Marino shouted above the sounds of the battle and then he shot one of the men in the face. That man went down and stayed down. He continued to shoot the invaders in the head and his men soon rallied and followed his example. However, they had no sooner cleared that band of attackers than another even larger group emerged and charged them. The Cuban-Americans fought well, holding their ground against the charge and firing into the faces of the enemy a scant twenty yards distant but the enemy was shooting back. Ramon felt something bump into his shoulder and glanced around to see a private who had been shot in the face. The body sagged and fell lifeless to the ground.
Ramon’s weapon ran dry and he automatically ejected the spent magazine and inserted a fresh one. He fired two shots into the face of an attacker about to club him with the stock of his weapon. That man fell and Ramon realized that they had beaten off another charge. Three lasers struck the side of the building they were attacking and red pulses raced down the beams to impact into the side of the thick wall. Four seconds into that attack three very large holes had been blown in the wall. The sergeant’s men poured auto fire into those three holes. Inside the structure, men were screaming. Ramon felt a solid impact in the left side of his chest but ignored it. A moment later his weapon ran dry once more and automatically he ejected that magazine and inserted a fresh one.
Once more, lasers struck the side of the structu
re only this time there were five, and they fired to the right of the last three holes blown into the wall. Ramon understood that they were attempting to open up a wider field of fire into the interior of the structure. He was glad that the peacekeepers were on their side. Seconds later a huge section of that wall collapsed under the combined assault of five lasers. His men poured a huge volume of fire into the house and then Ramon heard one of the men shouting that they had to move to the fallback position because they were taking fire from the hostage building.
“Withdraw!” Ramon shouted and pushed men in the right direction. Soon there was a general movement of the men flowing to the fallback position as more and more men noted the withdrawal. His snipers remained in position where they had adequate cover from both the main structure that they had been attacking and the building from which they were taking fire.
Sergeant Marino studied the situation carefully. Glancing at the spot, they had just vacated he saw four bodies that had been left there by his men. They had taken their wounded out of the crossfire, but the dead had been left where they had fallen. He heard the medics working feverishly to bind the wounds of the wounded. Only one man seemed to be severely wounded. He looked at the medic working on that man and caught his attention. The medic sadly shook his head but continued to work on the man. Sergeant Marino felt a deep sense of guilt. He had recruited these men. He had persuaded them to follow him in attempting this attack. He was responsible for every death, and every wound, and he would have to live with that knowledge for the rest of his life.
One of the snipers fired from his position. The sergeant hoped that he had nailed one of the invaders. A moment later, the other sniper fired. A torrent of rifle fire came from the structure, which they had been attacking, and approximately one hundred men rushed out into the open. Sergeant Marino and his men opened fire from their positions sending bullet after bullet into the men as they rushed into view. Nevertheless, these men kept coming, as had the original group that they had fought. Only those shot in the head fell and stayed down.
Then the patrol ship drifted into view. Her conventional minigun sprayed the attackers. Most of those men were dead before they hit the ground. The patrol ship flew back away from a direct line of sight with the huge opening in the structure. For all they knew, the men inside that building had rockets that would be capable of destroying the ship. Sergeant Marino waved his thanks just as one of the snipers fired again. The sniper then yelled that he thought that this was all of the men inside the hostage building but there was no way to know that for certain.
“Just cover us,” shouted Sergeant Marino. He changed magazines and then he led his men back to the attack knowing that the two snipers would kill anyone who tried to fire on them from that building.
***
Inside the command building, the lieutenant and his men were faced with a problem. They had penetrated the structure until they came to a door that opened into a hall but at the other end of that hallway, a light machinegun opened fire in the entry man’s direction. That man had just barely managed to fling his body back through the open doorway before bullets ripped the air where he had stood just an instant before. The man was unharmed, but the experience had understandably rattled him a bit.
“How far down the hallway would you say the gun is located?” asked the lieutenant.
“It’s a long hallway, Lieutenant. I’d say maybe fifty feet,” the man responded. “Too far to roll a grenade along the floor.”
“Give me your smoke grenades men,” the lieutenant said. “That’s enough,” he told the men when he had three of the smoke grenades. “I’ll roll them down the hall as best I can. We’ll let the smoke fill the hall. The gunner will most likely panic and fire the machinegun. When he pauses, I’ll attack. Don’t rush the door. This one’s on me.”
The lieutenant pulled the pin on one of the smoke grenades and swept his arm around the open door flinging it as hard as he could at chest height. Instantly the enemy gunner opened fire and Lieutenant Wilcox had to wait for the second grenade. When the shooting stopped, the lieutenant knelt on the floor and pulled the pin on the second grenade. Sweeping his arm around just above the floor, he tossed the second smoke grenade as hard as he could. This time the gunner did not fire until he heard the grenade bounce off the floor of the hallway. Another sustained burst of automatic weapons fire followed. This time the lieutenant heard the man in the hallway begin to cough. Pointing to two of his men he said, “I’m going to throw this one and after he stops shooting I’ll dart around the door into the hall and try to hit the enemy gunner. I’ll dart back in and if no answering fire results, you two dart into the hall and spray it high and low.”
The men both nodded and the lieutenant pulled the pin on the third grenade. This one he threw high again and just as before, the answering fire didn’t occur until the grenade hit the floor. The sustained burst, which followed, was brief and the lieutenant heard the man begin to curse in Spanish. Lieutenant Wilcox then realized that the man had run out of ammo and would have to reload. Darting around the corner, he sprayed the hallway in the general area where he thought the gunner would be located. He sprayed the hall until his M16 ran empty and then he darted back into the room with his men. “I think I got him, but be careful,” he warned the men as they darted past him into the hallway. Their rifles fired almost instantly. When their rifles ran dry, they darted back into the room with the rest of their team and two more men darted into the hall. These men raced down the hallway and shouted the all clear.
The remainder of the strike team followed Lieutenant Wilcox down the hall. On the way down the hall, they saw several doors on the left and right of the hallway that opened inward into the rooms, but none of those rooms contained any of the enemy. They left these doors open to help clear the hallway of the smoke from the smoke grenades.
At the back of the hall, they found a heavy steel door that was locked. The lieutenant tried the knob and a single gunshot rang out from inside the room. A hole appeared to the left of the door and the bullet hit one of the men standing in its path. Thankfully, he was hit in his armored chest piece and wasn’t killed. The impact had knocked him backward a couple of feet. The man was hopping mad about the incident though and he emptied his rifle at the wall methodically altering his angle of fire in an attempt to hit his attacker.
When he stepped aside to reload his weapon the lieutenant motioned for his men to get the dead gunner out of the way and inspect his weapon. They found that it was still serviceable, and loaded a belt into the old M1919A4 thirty caliber air-cooled Browning. Pointing at the bullet-riddled wall the lieutenant made a small circular motion and one of the men smiled in understanding and squatted down to do the deed. The rest of the men scrambled out of the way. A moment later the strike force gunner opened fire in a small circular pattern around the section of previously damaged wall. He stopped firing and pulled the now smoking hot weapon out of the way.
Another member of the team ran up and slammed the butt of his rifle into the damaged section, and then he leaped back as a bullet penetrated the wall just inches from his face. The lieutenant gestured for a team member to hand him a high explosive grenade and then using their hand signals, he sent the team back to the other end of the hall. He waited until the last man had entered the room from which they had battled the enemy gunner. Now satisfied that the men were safe, the lieutenant prepared himself mentally. This was not going to be easy. The hole that his team had made was large enough to toss the grenade through, but it was also quite possible to miss that hole and fumble the grenade thus dropping it on this side of the wall. If that happened, he would have to run down the hallway a few feet, dive for the deck, and hope for the best. It was insanely dangerous. That is why the lieutenant was doing this himself. He would never ask one of his men to do something like this.
It didn’t help that he had to do this with his left hand but that was the side where the hole was located and there wasn’t space to get to the left of the hole so
that he could use his right hand without exposing himself to the danger of enemy fire from the room. The lieutenant committed to memory the various obstructions on the floor that he would have to avoid should he fumble the toss and then he pulled the pin on the grenade. His left hand swept toward the hole in the wall and the grenade passed smoothly through the jagged hole. He turned and ran several feet down the hall and then threw himself to the floor and covered his head and neck with his hands.
The grenade exploded behind him. The explosion blew the steel door partially off its hinges, and showered the lieutenant with debris. His ears were ringing terribly, but the lieutenant got up to his knees. Two of his men rushed past him, weapons at the ready pointed down the hall in the direction of the steel door. The next two helped him to his feet, and then they all proceeded back down the hall to the room. Inside the room, they found the bodies of four guards. Behind a desk, they found the man they assumed was in control. He cowered in fear at their approach and three strike team members grabbed him. The man wasn’t wearing any pants.