Sniper in Action

by Charles Stronge

  A British sniper with an L1A1 self-loading rifle (SLR) and night-sight escorts Argentine prisoners. Note the difficult ground over which the British forces had to advance.

  As the British attack gathered pace, it was the turn of the Argentine snipers to make their presence felt. Private Nick Rose of 6 Platoon tells us what happened when the platoon tried to advance:

  “Pete Gray stood up and went to throw a ‘42’ Grenade and he was shot by a sniper in his right forearm. …. There’s ‘incoming’ everywhere, loads of stuff going down the range and then ‘bang’ my pal ‘Fester’ [Tony Greenwood], gets it just above his left eye, only a yard away from me. That was a terrible thing. … Then it was ‘Baz’ Barratt. ‘Baz’ had gone to try to get field dressings for Pete and as he was coming back ‘bang,’ he got it in the back. This was when we just stalled as a platoon.”

  3 Para Mount Longdon: The Bloodiest Battle by Jon Cooksey

  SNIPERS ON MOUNT HARRIET

  On the nights of June 11 and 12, 1982, 42 Commando Royal Marines made an attack on the vital high point of Mount Harriet. It was essential that this location was taken so that the route to Port Stanley could be cleared. The British were opposed by the Argentine 4th Infantry Regiment who were well dug in. At the same time, an attack would be made on Two Sisters by 45 Commando.

  L Company Royal Marines soon found their progress held up by snipers who had the advantage of excellent positions in rocky outcrops. The advancing Marines, on the other hand, had to contend not only with freezing weather, but also minefields that were intermingled with ground that was boggy or covered in slippery lichen-covered rocks. As they struggled through, the Marines could be spotted by the Argentines who had more advanced night-vision equipment than the British.

  The plan for 42 Commando was to assault the enemy from the rear. K Company would assault the eastern end and L Company would assault the western end. As K Company moved forward, they were engaged by and engaged with machine-gunners, snipers and riflemen. The members of 3 Troop were held up by

  A sniper of the British Royal Marines during a break in the fighting during the Falklands War of 1982. He carries an L1A1 self-loading rifle (SLR) with a night vision scope. He wears a camouflage smock and non-issue walking boots.

  Argentine snipers. Corporal Newland of 1 Troop made a daring single-handed attack on the Argentine positions, climbing up a rocky crag and tossing in grenades before attacking the survivors with his self-loading rifle.

  Adrian Gilbert in his book Stalk and Kill, includes Newland’s personal account of the action:

  All the time we were lying there rounds were ricocheting off the rocks at us and the cold was freezing our bollocks off. On the radio I hear Sharkie [Corporal “Sharkie” Ward] talking to his boss. He said, “We’re pinned down by a sniper and we can’t move.” I thought, “Right, someone’s got to go for this bastard.” So I took off my 66 Shells [for the 66mm light anti-tank weapon], got on the radio to our boss, and said, “Wait there and I’ll see what I can do.”

  I crawled around this mega-sized boulder, rolled into cover and looked around the corner of this rock, thinking that the sniper had to be there somewhere. There was more than a sniper–there was half a troop! About ten of them were lying on a nice flat, table-top rock, overlooking the positions. It was perfect for them. They had a machine-gun on the left and the rest of them were lined out with rifles. Every time one of ours tried to move forward, one of them would shoot at him, so it looked to us as if there was only one sniper who was keeping on the move. They were waiting for us to break cover and try and clear this one sniper–then they would just waste us with their machine-gun.

  I sat back behind this rock and whispered down my throat mike to Sharkie about what I’d found. I picked up my SLR, changed the magazine and put a fresh one on and slipped the safety catch. I then looped the pin off one grenade on to one finger on my left hand and did the same with another.

  I pulled one grenade, whack–straight into the machine gun. Pulled the other, whack–straight at the spics. I dodged back around the rock and heard the two bangs. As soon as they’d gone off I went in and everything that moved got three rounds. I don’t know how many I shot, but they got a whole mag. I went back round the corner of the rock, changed the mag and I was about to go back and sort out anyone who was left when Sharkie called on the net: “Get out! We’re putting two 66s in.” I went up by a different route and as I rounded this rock, I saw one of the guys that I’d hit. I’d only got him in the shoulder but he’d gone down like the rest of them, and in the dark I’d automatically thought he was dead. But he was far from that, because as I came back round the corner he just squeezed off a burst from his automatic. He must have realized he was going to die unless he got me first. I felt the bullets go into both my legs. I thought, “Shit, the f***r’s got me.” I was so angry, I fired fifteen rounds into his head.

  When L Company started moving, they came under both machine-gun fire and even fiercer sniper fire. L Company took three casualties almost immediately and had to fight their way toward to clear six machine-gun positions and at least four sniper teams. Their movement was so held up by the snipers that it took them about five hours to reach their objective. It required the use of Milan anti-tank missiles to remove the snipers before they could advance further.

  The Argentines had positioned their machine guns and snipers well, as Rose’s 6 Platoon had discovered to their cost and as other platoons were also discovering. The Argentines had a position that included about two 7.62mm (0.3in) FN MAG GPMGs, a 105mm (4.1in) recoilless rifle and a 12.7mm (0.5in) heavy machine gun. In addition to these, there were snipers with passive night sights.

  At about this time, Sergeant McKay of 4 Platoon, B Company, realizing something had to be done to break the stalemate, made a heroic attack on the Argentine position, along with other members of his platoon, one of whom was killed and two wounded. This provided some relief for 4 Platoon and no doubt helped to maintain the forward momentum of the attack. B Company tried another attack and, sustaining casualties, A Company passed through to relieve them. Once again, the Paras felt the effects of accurate sniper fire in addition to machine-gun fire as they advanced. At one point A Company had to crawl on their stomachs in their attempt to keep below the enemy sniper fire. Eventually, after supporting fire ceased, the Company cleared the enemy positions with bayonets fixed.

  The attack on Mount Longdon had been one of the bloodiest in the entire Falklands campaign, with eighteen British dead and forty wounded and over fifty Argentine dead. More casualties would follow as the Argentines wreaked vengeance on the British with artillery fire. The battle had shown the effectiveness of snipers equipped with night-vision sights, which had almost managed to stall one of Britain’s elite regiments in its tracks. It was only because of extreme tenacity, determination and heroism that the Paras had managed to fight through the fire.

  Once the high ground had been taken, the Argentine defenses effectively ceased to exist. With a demoralized army retreating before the British into Stanley, the Argentine commander on the islands, General Menendez, had little choice but to surrender. The Falklands War had cost the lives of 255 British servicemen and 700 Argentines.

  OPERATION “URGENT FURY”, GRENADA, 1983

  Grenada was an independent country within the Commonwealth, and the British monarch was head of state, represented by a Governor-General. It was also in the backyard of the United States of America. A coup in 1979 resulted in a left-wing government under Maurice Bishop, who was a Marxist leader of the New Jewel Movement. He set up a People’s Revolutionary Government (PRG), which was backed by Cuba. Not surprisingly, the United States did not welcome these developments. In 1982, a team of Cuban military advisers arrived on the island. Another coup in 1983 led to the establishment of a Revolutionary Military Council and Soviet and Cuban involvement on the island increased. There was now a substantial Cuban force on the island. With the spectre of the Cuban missile crisis in their minds, the U.S. decide
d to invade, with the support of the Organization of East Caribbean States (OECS).

  Part of the invasion force was Task Force 123, including 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (SFOD-D) SEAL Team 6, 160th Operational Detachment-Delta (SFOD-D) SEAL Team 6, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR) and 1st and 2nd Battalions 75th Ranger Regiment. Also deployed was United States Army Reserve (USAR) 1st Special Operations Wing.

  SEAL assault

  One of the key objectives in the assault was the mansion of the Governor-General. U.S. Navy SEAL Team 6 were inserted by two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters at 06:15 on the morning of October 25, 1983 under heavy fire. Security personnel left the compound and the SEALs got themselves into optimum positions for the inevitable counter-attack. One Black Hawk was hit by the sniper fire and a member of the SEAL team was wounded.

  After bundling the Governor-General, Sir Paul Scoon, into a closet for his own safety, the SEAL team set about selecting suitable firing positions. There was one sniper in the SEAL team and his position would prove critical to the operation. He went to the top of the mansion and did a quick reconnaissance of the upstairs windows. Having found a suitable position where he could see without being seen, the SEAL sniper adjusted his equipment and settled down with his G3 SG-1 sniper rifle.

  He did not have long to wait. Soon a Soviet-made BTR-60 armored personnel carrier appeared, accompanied by a large body of soldiers. The soldiers attempted to advance towards the building through the eastern gates of the compound and the SEAL sniper took them in his sights. As they advanced, the sniper dropped one of them after another, until twenty of the enemy were dead. The enemy retreated, shocked by the accurate sniper fire in addition to conventional fire received from other members of the SEAL team. The SEALs were under extreme pressure due to the size of the opposition. A U.S. AC-130 Spectre gunship overflew the area in time to meet the second attack. The gunship succeeded in destroying the BTR-60 APC. The enemy retreated to safer positions where they could continue to fire at the mansion. The siege lasted about 24 hours until the SEAL team was relieved by U.S. Marines.

  Sniper success

  In view of the fact that Special Forces are not trained to fight long-running battles against large numbers of enemy troops–they are trained to do a job and extract themselves quickly–the defense of the mansion had been a remarkable feat. The reason for their success, however, was due in large part to the effectiveness of their sniper team who dominated the battlefield, making a considerable physical impact on the enemy by reducing their numbers significantly and also by creating a climate of fear and caution, which prevented the enemy from storming the mansion.

  GEWEHR 98 RIFLE

  The G3 assault rifle has been produced in a sniper version, known as the Scharfschützen Gewehr, or SG-1. This was essentially a standard G3 rifle but featured a telescopic sight (usually a Schmidt … Bender) and also a more sensitive trigger unit and specially selected barrel. It has a lightweight bipod attached to the front of the foregrip. In this form the G3 entered service as a police weapon. It is also used by special forces around the world, specifically the U.S. Navy SEALS.

  Country of Origin Germany

  Caliber 7.62mm (0.3in)

  Overall length 1025mm (40.4in)

  Barrel length 450mm (17.7in)

  Weight 4.4kg (9.7lbs)

  A U.S. Marine Corps scout/sniper attached to 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, carries his sniper rifle and field phone as his unit prepares to move out from a staging area in northern Iraq during Operation “Iraqi Freedom.” The telescopic sight on his M24 rifle is covered to protect it against possible weather damage.

  THE MODERN SPECIALIST

  In the wars of the end of the twentieth and the beginning of the twenty-first century, the sniper had become an essential fighting instrument for the modern battlefield. Training has been enhanced and new weapons have been developed to maximize the sniper’s potential. Snipers operated across the battlefield spectrum, holding the key to both urban and wider battlefield tactics. Sniper teams were essential components of Special Forces and for regular army and Marine units. The importance of sniping was also fully recognized by insurgents.

  “DESERT STORM” SNIPERS

  While the Iraqi Army was swiftly defeated on the battlefield during Operation “Desert Storm,” Coalition snipers were used in counter-sniper operations, maintaining security and the destruction of Iraqi weapons’ caches.

  The sniper with the highest number of confirmed kills in Operation “Desert Storm” was Frank Grieci of the U.S. Marine Corps with fifteen. The 1st Marine Division advanced into southern Kuwait on February 24, 1991 and the snipers moved with them. The U.S. Marines became involved in a series of “artillery raids, deception operations, combined arms raids and screening operations” according to Global Security.

  Company K of the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, known as “Kilo 3/5,” landed by ship and advanced inland only to find that a cease-fire had been declared before they could make contact with the enemy. Despite this, there were still many enemy soldiers in Iraq and Kilo 3/5 would see action of a type they did not expect.

  Sure enough Kilo 3/5 were ordered to clear their sector of any remaining Iraqi units that may have been bypassed in the general advance. They were also tasked with clearing bunkers of Iraqi soldiers. After this, Kilo 3/5 set about clearing minefields. On the night of March 1, Kilo 3/5 was advised that another unit had been attacked with rocket-propelled grenades and was duly put on alert for combat operations the following day in the area of the Al Wafrah forest. This area of low trees and farms was adjacent to the Al Wafrah oil fields. During the night, the unit snipers kept a close watch on the area of the minefields. Kilo 3/5 duly went about its business of conducting house, building and bunker clearance. Despite the use of Psychological Warfare operations (PSYOPS), the enemy showed no willingness to surrender and instead began sporadic firing at the Marines. Again, the Marine snipers quickly took control of the situation and eliminated the enemy gunmen, with no loss to the Marines.

  Members of the U.S. Marine Corps carry out sniper training with an M40 rifle during Operation “Desert Shield” in Saudi Arabia in 1990.

  “The Al Wafrah forest was an area of low trees, small farms, agriculture and livestock plots, homes, and a small town… The minefields had been under the watchful eyes of Marine snipers throughout the night. Every now and then the snipers would fire a round and take out an enemy soldier in one of the many bunkers….”

  Mark Welch on Company K, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment

  This was by no means the end of the episode for Kilo 3/5 as they then moved into the oil field itself. Again they received small-arms fire and again they returned fire with small arms and sniper rifles. This time they had heavier support from the battalion as well as aerial support so it was not such a surgical sniper engagement as previously.

  In 1990 the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein decided that the best way of overcoming his large financial debt to Kuwait for his war against Iran and at the same time gain oil fields and greater regional influence was to invade Kuwait. Like the Argentine junta at the time of the Falklands War, he estimated that the Western powers would not have the political determination to oppose him in force and his troops rolled into Kuwait on August 2.

  Also like the Argentine junta, Saddam Hussein gravely miscalculated. By invading Kuwait he now posed a grave threat to Saudi Arabia, which had immeasurable strategic importance to the West. Arab nations were also disturbed by the regional implications of his actions as his abuse of an Arab neighbor suggested he might just as well do the same to them. Thus it was possible to put together a mixed coalition of Western and Arab powers to oppose Iraq. On November 29, the UN Security Council warned that if Iraq had not withdrawn its forces from Kuwait by January 15, 1991, coalition forces would be authorized to use “all necessary means” to expel them.

  OPERATION “DESERT STORM,” 1991

  In January, the Coalition forces totaled about 700,
000, including 540,000 U.S. troops. At 2.38 a.m. local time on January 17, 1991 U.S. Apache helicopters attacked Iraqi air defenses, paving the way for a massive aerial attack, including F-117A Stealth bombers. The aircraft attacks were supplemented by sea-launched cruise missiles. Both precision-guided and conventional munitions were dropped. On February 24, the land campaign began. The U.S. Marines, supplemented by Saudi task forces, attacked Kuwait from the south.

  On February 25, the U.S. VII Corps, including the 1st British Armored Division, swung into action, outflanking Iraqi forces to the west, while the XVIII Airborne Corps, including the French 6th Light “Daguet” Division swung even wider to protect the left flank. Meanwhile, British and American Special Forces had been engaged in a secret battle behind the lines to track down and destroy Iraqi “Scud” missile launchers.

  “Scud” hunters

  The neutralization of the “Scud” missiles was an essential component of the war, not just because the missiles, with a range of about 300km (186 miles), could carry either a conventional, chemical and biological or a nuclear warhead and could inflict considerable damage, but also because Iraq was using them against Israel in order to force Israeli retaliation and to break the delicate threads that held the Allied coalition together. The Allies had promised Israel that they would take effective action against the “Scuds” if Israel did not enter the fray.

  On January 18, 1991, seven “Scud” missiles landed on Haifa and Tel Aviv and others followed. The coalition was on a precipice and Special Forces had their work cut out. Although satellites and ground surveillance aircrafts had some success in identifying fixed launching sites for “Scuds,” the thirty-six or so mobile launchers could easily be concealed in the vast deserts of Iraq and would in any case be constantly on the move. U.S. Army Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (SFOD-D) (Delta Force) and the British 22 Special Air Service Regiment (22 SAS) were sent in to track down the mobile launchers and to either call in aerial bombardment or to attack the launchers and missiles with whatever weapons they had at their disposal.