Defense of Hill 781

by James R. McDonough

  In a flash Always acknowledged the call, signaled the vehicles in Bravo to move forward, and directed Charlie to follow. Just as the smoke lifted they dashed across the tank trail straight at Checkpoint 2, twenty-three vehicles still able to move after the intense artillery pounding in the two companies. Missing were the air defense teams mounted in the jeeps. Without armor protection they had been killed in the initial barrages.

  Suddenly Bravo Company lurched to a sudden stop, forcing Private First Class Spivey to scoot his vehicle to the right to avoid crashing into its tail vehicle. Always smashed his face into the sight to his front. Buttoned up in the vehicle, with his hands grasping the map and the various communications controls, shifting rapidly to the turret controls whenever he sensed the likelihood of enemy engagement, he was careening back and forth in his seat like a top out of control. A trickle of blood worked its way down his nose.

  “What in the hell is going on?”

  His question drifted over the intercom system, bringing a polite response from his gunner, “I don’t know, sir.”

  Dust flew every which way, obscuring vision worse than had the smoke. Always reached up and popped his hatch. He had to risk a look through the open hatch. He was completely blind at the moment through any of the periscopes or vision devices.

  The scene that came into view seared his eyes. Stretched across the narrow pass at CP 2 was an obstacle of concertina wire, mines, and a four-foot-deep tank ditch. On the far side was Bravo Company’s infantry, gone to ground in a firefight with the enemy defenders 100 meters farther up the draw. And beyond that were the enemy T-72s and BMPs, dug in up to their gun tubes so that it was almost impossible to see diem except when they fired, and virtually immune from any direct fire. And at that moment they were picking apart the Bradleys of Bravo Company.

  Captain Carter had already reacted and was desperately attempting to pull his tanks out of direct fire of the T-72s. It was a wild confusion of pivoting tanks and exploding Bradleys. A few of the vehicles intentionally poured out covering smoke from their diesel fuel to make good their escape, adding to the confusion and saving themselves, at least for the moment.

  Always yelled to Spivey to pull back, and fired off one burst of the 25mm gun at a BMP firing at him from 500 meters up the draw. Both guns missed, and Spivey made it back around the bend, hugging the side of the cliff on the southern extremity of Hill 826.

  In an instant Always reached the scout platoon and directed it to move to CP 4 to see if there was a way through to Objective BLUE from that direction. Prompted by his TOC, Always remembered the engineer platoon, hitherto forgotten, and ordered it to fall in behind the scouts to reduce any obstacles they might find. Major Rogers called on the radio with a situation report on CP 1.

  With a little luck A Company had linked up with its dismounts and been able to close on the obstacle blocking the valley at CP 1. Although it had taken a few casualties and had lost one vehicle, Alpha was making progress on reducing the obstacle and would be through it in another few minutes. The bad news was that there were at least two more obstacles several hundred meters behind the first, and each of them was covered by fire. Progress was possible, but it would be slow and probably come at some expense.

  Always had to make a decision. Neither option—an attack through CP 1 or one through CP 4—was a sure thing. One thing was sure, though—an attack through CP 2 was out of the question. It was a kill zone that had already decimated one company. He could ill afford to risk another in the attempt. Yet he still knew nothing of CP 4. His inclination was to mass forces, but by putting all of his eggs in one basket he risked abject failure. His mission was to take Objective BLUE, and he had to take it, even if it meant heavy losses. On that note he hedged his bet. Charlie Company and the approximately one remaining mounted platoon of Bravo would move in behind the scouts and engineers at CP 4. Bravo’s dismounts would continue to work up the draw north of CP 2. Delta Company would reinforce A Company as they worked into the valley beyond CP 1. Artillery priority went to Alpha, where there was known enemy. Mortars would give what support they could to Baker and his infantry. Always would move up with D Company to the northern effort. Carter had command of the effort at CP 4.

  It took Always about ten minutes to pass the requisite orders, complicated by his having to shift back and forth to secure. He stifled his anger at Baker, who had implied the obstacle at CP 2 was down, but resolved to make it clear later that whether or not ground troops had personally passed through an obstacle was irrelevant. It only mattered that they had reduced the obstacle so that the heavy forces could follow them through. That had been a momentous blunder, but Always realized that he himself was not above reproach in confusing the issue.

  The fight now turned into a battle of attrition. By the time the task force commander had made it up to CP 1, the scouts and engineers had found the expected obstacle at CP 4. It took them ten minutes to reduce it, and in the process more than 50 percent of the engineer platoon was killed or wounded. The scouts who picked up the mission of clearing the enemy infantry in and around the obstacle also suffered heavily; thereafter, they lost their capacity to dismount. Once the obstacle was clear, the tanks and Bradleys under Carter could advance only with great care; dug-in infantry armed with antitank weapons guarded the slopes of both sides of the narrow valleys and had to be eliminated methodically before the armor could proceed. Without dismounted infantry this became an excruciatingly slow process. It was two hours before Objective BLUE was reached from that direction.

  In the center, Baker brought up the majority of his infantry, moving cautiously and without adequate fire support. The air force liaison officer, who had missed the orders passed by Always over the radio (throughout the fight he was alternately on and off the net), brought in an air strike about 0830 along what he still believed to be the main axis of advance from CP 2 to CP 3. He had heard the fighting from his position in the vicinity of Hill 826, which he had valiantly climbed under fire, but assumed that U.S. troops were buttoned up inside their armor-protected vehicles. This assumption cost Baker 20 percent of the remainder of his infantrymen, lost to friendly air, although it also inflicted heavy damage on the enemy infantry. By this time, with no armored threat along this approach, the enemy had shifted the majority of his tanks and BMPs back to Objective BLUE. Baker’s progress was slowed by his heavy casualties, but he pressed on to the objective, gradually linking up with Carter southeast of CP 3.

  The main attack of Alpha and Delta companies became a drawn-out battle through the pass south of Hill 785. Blinded by an approach that took them directly into the morning sun, the attackers suffered a major disadvantage. Nonetheless, aggressive tactics and good gunnery brought the exchange ratio about even. A major setback occurred, however, when enemy air struck at about 0900. In the confusion of the morning’s movements, the air defense platoon, which had never been directly attached to any specific company and, therefore, had failed to put its radios on any commander’s net save that of the task force, had not kept up with the forward elements of the attack. With the vehicle-mounted antiaircraft guns too far back, and with the missile teams killed in the dawn artillery barrage, the enemy air force had virtually free rein over the main attack. Only the Bradleys, with their superior tracking ability, were able to threaten the fast movers. But all they did was threaten, and five tanks and three Bradleys were destroyed before the enemy ran out of ammunition and pulled away.

  By 1000 Always’ task force had converged on the edges of Objective BLUE, driving back the enemy before its massed firepower. By this time only C Company was relatively intact. E Company was the next best off, but Always, in his confusion, had neglected to give explicit orders to Evans. He therefore elected to follow the main attack over Axis WHITE and through CP 1. Here the terrain restricted his ability to bring fire on the enemy’s armor. By the time he did deploy on Objective BLUE, the enemy had decided to make their escape to the northeast.

  By 1045 Always could report in to Brigad
e that he had taken Objective BLUE and was reconsolidating for a possible enemy counterattack. More than 50 percent of his combat vehicles and 80 percent of his infantry had been knocked out of action. His engineer platoon had been annihilated, and his scouts were in rough shape. A resolute counterattack would have been hard to defeat, and at the moment Always was hardly in a position to continue attacking. His medical support was severely overstretched, and two medic tracks had been knocked out in the fighting. Only his combat service support was in good shape, husbanded with great care by his XO, who brought it forward as soon as the ground was secure in order to refuel and rearm the combat forces.

  As the medic put seven stitches in the gash over Always’ eye, the colonel reflected on the mess he had made of things. Just then Lieutenant Colonel Drivon, the evaluator, drove up in his jeep.

  “Well A. Tack, how do you feel?” This was obviously Drivon’s best effort at being friendly, addressing Always by his first name.

  “I feel fine, thank you. How are you?” Always was not about to admit anything.

  Ignoring the question Drivon issued instructions for the time and place of the after-action review of the operation. All of the task force commanders and principal staff would report to a designated grid location at 1230. The battalion could expect to receive their next mission within the hour. Only those forces that could be reconstituted would be available for the next mission.

  “What about my dead and wounded?” Always asked. “After all, they were dead to begin with.”

  “If you report your dead and request replacements, we resurrect them at midnight. If you treat and evacuate your wounded, we heal them and send them back to the replacement system. It’s up to you to get them back to the front. The equipment works more or less the same way. If a tank or Bradley has been blown apart, we’ll see you get replacements if you work the system. If it just needs repairs, then you’ve got to do it. No free lunch here, you know. Little bumps and bruises, like your face there—well, you just have to live with that, so to speak.” Drivon cleverly concealed any sympathy he might have for Always.

  “Okay. Thanks. I’ll get my people up to you at 1230.”

  The next few hours were hectic. Always called a hasty meeting with his S-3 and his XO to arrange for the reconstitution of the battalion. The order to continue the attack to the northeast the following morning arrived around 1200. Always had time only to look at the map, give some very general instructions, and pass on a warning order to the companies. By that time he had to leave for the review session along with his entire staff and all his commanders. The assistant S-3 was left in charge of the planning. At every level assistants would have to do yeoman work to get the battalion back on its feet in time for the morning attack.

  The observers had gone to great lengths to make the review site difficult to find, putting it deep in a ravine. But the task force leaders found it, squeezed their tired and smelly bodies into the briefing van, and listened to what the observers had to say. Although the graphic descriptions of the errors stung, they were in every case accurate. At appropriate moments particularly glaring errors were played back on voice recordings and videotapes. There was a great shot of Always’ face, bleeding and dazed, peering out of his Bradley into the destruction of B Company at CP 2, followed by the tape of Captain Baker reporting that he was through the obstacle. No one chuckled.

  When it was over, some two excruciating hours later, Lieutenant Colonel Drivon and his team left the van at the disposal of Always and his men. The commander took advantage of the opportunity to make a little speech to his men, a speech that avoided apology or accusation but did not deny failure. He praised the commanders and their men for their resoluteness in the face of the enemy, and rededicated their mutual effort to figuring out where they went wrong and putting it right. With that done he dismissed the group and headed back toward his headquarters. It would be dark in four hours, and there was much work to be done.

  On the drive back Always mulled over the lessons he had learned during the preceding twenty-four hours:

  Intelligence is the building block of the order. Don’t expect it from higher headquarters. Build it from the bottom up, and make it specific. Get the scouts out early, and leave them where they can tell the commander what’s going on. At the same time, defeat the enemy reconnaissance effort. Blind him. Don’t let him get a fix on you.

  Get the special staff under control. The artillery officer and the air liaison officer are too critical to let them get out of touch. Put them in your pocket and keep them there. Have the chemical officer talk to the intelligence officer. If the winds are not right, don’t use smoke. If you can blind the enemy and retain your own freedom of movement, use all the smoke you can get.

  Use every available minute to get things focused on the central mission. Alert the subordinate elements as soon as you have an indication of the upcoming mission. Get the staff in motion quickly, but keep them on track. Update as intelligence gives you a better picture. Don’t worry about picture-perfect written orders. What orders you do give, make clear. Above all, get your intention across to every key subordinate, then make sure they get it passed on to their subordinates, and so on down the line. When you give the order, do so at a place and in a manner that facilitates understanding of the mission. Key ground overlooking the battle area is probably the best place to do that. Leave your subordinates plenty of time to do their own reconnaissance and planning.

  Put yourself at the critical place. A picture is worth a thousand words. If you can’t be at the critical place, make sure you understand what the guy there is telling you. Ask the critical questions. Don’t be pressured into making a hasty decision, but don’t equivocate either. When you do make a major shift, ensure everybody gets the word. Don’t assume that they will. Hold someone accountable for informing them.

  Take care of the engineers and the air defense units. Husband them, protect them, and give them clear and specific orders. When it suits the mission, put them under control of a subordinate commander, then hold him accountable for them. When you have to retain them under task force control, have them under tight hold, but don’t stifle their initiative. Get the air defense missile teams under some armor protection, probably right with the company commander they’re protecting.

  Coordinate your combat power. Bring the mass of the tanks and Bradleys together at the point of main effort. Coordinate that effort with the infantrymen. Cover them with artillery and mortar fire. Don’t give the enemy room to escape. Cut him off, overrun him, and annihilate him.

  Get the radio net under control. Everybody has got to be in instant communication with everybody else. Get the commanders to talk to each other, over the task force net if no other way is possible”

  The list went on, from the grand to the small, but at that point the jeep pulled into the TOC set up on Objective BLUE. It was time for Always to turn his attention to the next mission. His jeep driver gave him a wide smile and a salute as the colonel stepped out. “There’s a good soldier,” the commander thought to himself.

  CHAPTER 3

  Change of Mission

  The morning’s attack had the task force moving more than twenty kilometers to defeat the enemy in zone and secure Hill 781. Reportedly, the enemy they had knocked off of Objective BLUE had fallen back and been reinforced, so that two motorized infantry companies reinforced with one or two platoons of tanks were now digging in around Hill 781. This would comprise a larger force than they had faced that morning, which was now estimated to have been a reinforced company. (It was with some chagrin that Always accepted the fact that one company had done so much damage to his task force.) By attacking at first light there was a chance that they could catch them before they could improve their defenses.

  Despite the fact that the scouts were not yet reconstituted, it was imperative that they get out forward before much more time passed. The distance implied a great deal of risk, and Always was not about to attack blindly a second time. As more scouts repl
aced the casualties from the morning, they could link up forward and flesh out the intelligence picture. The enemy could be anywhere between BLUE and Hill 781, and Always was not about to be caught unaware. The plan he would develop now would be modified as more information came in. If he had enough infantry reconstituted he would send them out as well, but since their ranks were so thin he would hold them back and use them in the morning attack. Always was careful to brief the scout platoon leader, Lieutenant Wise, an immense young man brimming with energy and zeal, picked for his strong leadership abilities and keen intelligence.

  Major Rogers had brought together the entire staff, receiving guidance and giving estimates to the commander. The give and take was much more open this time, Always stating what he felt was essential to the proper accomplishment of the mission, Rogers and the staff formulating alternatives and estimates out of those essentials. It was an efficient way to develop an early plan, but it was not without its risks. The intelligence picture was still completely bare. By pulling in the air defense officer and the engineer platoon leader, their respective units were left without their leadership for the amount of time they spent with the staff. Both those young lieutenants were torn two ways, staff and command. They had had no rest in days, and it was clear they were not going to be getting any soon. When they did complete the planning, which would not be until late, they would have to hasten back to their platoons to get them ready for the execution. They depended on the strength of their platoon sergeants to keep things going until they got back.

  To help the battalion with its difficult mission, Lieutenant Colonel Always would receive the support of an attack helicopter battalion. This was a major addition of combat power. Major Rogers raised the delicate issue of the need to coordinate the aviation activities with the artillery, air force, and air defense plans. There was a major opportunity here for error, with one getting in the way of the other, or worse, inflicting casualties upon the other. Always gave Rogers stern instructions to work this out with all parties. A liaison officer from the aviation unit was due at the TOC shortly before dusk.