NAVY NEWS, JULY 2007 27
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es
42
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in
● Forward! A corporal in 40 Commando screams orders during the
oo
assault at the Oksbøl ranges near Esbjerg and (right) Ladder 40...
ay
Royals scramble into a building in Brickby during the ‘FISHing’ element
an
of Noble Mariner
al
lb
– with artillery and air support. typically with a crew of just
en
The infantry roll down a sandy three men, the mortars can be
track in the midst of dune country deployed and fi ring within a mere
ng
a dozen or so miles northwest 180 seconds.
of Esbjerg, when crack, a mine “The effect is impressive,” says
s,
explodes. Cpl Matthew Bentley.
ws
The column grinds to a halt. “A high-explosive round has a
The Royals dismount and the killing zone of 40 metres.” (That’s
about 130ft – Ed.) “With all three
s’
tat-tat-tat begins, this time
mortars fi ring, that’s a killing zone
at
aimed at an innocuous-looking
hillock a couple of hundred yards 120 metres long.”
HMS Manchester now weighs
ug
from our vantage point atop the
in. For safety reasons, her 4.5in
ng
Bøffelstillung – Buffalo Position – a
shells land a good three miles
vy
concrete emplacement with walls
up to 30ft thick, a good couple of
away. They do spark a bright
fl ash on Danish soil. And a few
op
miles from the North Sea.
Once it was a command bunker
seconds later the airwaves carry
ch
in Hitler’s vaunted Atlantikwall;
the loud crack of each shell
ng
today German holidaymakers
impacting to the audience atop
ur
on a nearby camp complain that
the concrete watchtower.
this grey decaying structure is
There is, our ‘commentator’
ps
a blot on the landscape. Their
Maj Mike Tanner from 40 Cdo’s
is
protestations subside when they
command company, points out
learn who built it...
“no movement without fi re, no
re
105mm artillery shells and
fi re without movement”.
he
81mm mortars crash down on the
Among those moving forward
he
hill top. The noise is not a loud
is Cpl Andrew Fox, a section
th
bang but a duller thud. There’s
commander, with his men,
ke
a short fl ash of fl ame, no huge
armed inter alia with the Minimi
explosion, but there are dense
small machine-gun, which can
ry
clouds of black smoke which
deliver up to 25 rounds a minute,
envelop the hillock.
delivered from the hip, or from a
o- fi xed position.
ng
“To have all the guns fi ring
“There is a lot more to be
at one time is an incredible
gained from live fi ring than
rs
sight – you can feel the
using blanks. You see just how
boom of the bursts and get
enormous our fi repower is,” the
rs
a feeling for their effect,”
corporal explains.
he
says L/Bdr Iain Chanter of
From the perch of our viewing
by
8 Battery, 29 Commando
platform, this is all looks rather
th
Regiment Royal Artillery.
good fun, our very own private
ry With a fully worked-up crew,
Hollywood blockbuster.
you can be punishing the enemy
On the ground, there is no such
off with ten shells a minute. More
frivolity or fl ippancy.
realistically, a ten-minute barrage
“You have to take it seriously
he with 60 or 70 rounds crashing
– if you don’t take it seriously now
down around an enemy position
then you will be in trouble when
ys should have the desired effect.
it comes for real,” Cpl Fox points
al There is one problem, however,
out.
st, on these ranges. The undulating
dunes and scrub covering
Pictures by
m the terrain make spotting and
ey judging the enemy’s range rather
PO(Phot) Brad
he diffi cult.
Bradbury, NATO
Still, if the 105s don’t do the Northwood, and
rn trick, there’s always the 81mm
LA(Phot) Andy
he mortars – the one guaranteed
a indirect weapon any RM company
Hibberd,
ls can rely upon in battle.
40 Commando
ny Drawn up on the back of BVs,
0025-027_NN_Jul.indd 325-027_NN_Jul.indd 3 116/6/07 11:21:016/6/07 11:21:01
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