No comments on the Ukrainian 737 crash in Iran yet ?

[facthunter]

Apparently they used to march straight up roads making heaps of noise  and get ambushed' Nev

 

 

[willedoo]

There was general opinion amongst us Aussie Diggers in 'Nam, that we were in more danger of being shot up by Americans, than we were of being shot up by Viet Cong or NVA soldiers.

 

My dad was in the 2nd/9th up in the islands during the war and said the same thing about the Americans back then.

 

 

[onetrack]

Apparently they used to march straight up roads making heaps of noise  and get ambushed

 

 

 

 

That is so true. And they'd be making heaps of noise, and carelessly throwing away rubbish that could used by the enemy for booby traps - such as Coke cans.

 

The VC and NVA would make up a simple booby trap by cutting the top off a Coke can, inserting a hand grenade, pulling the pin out (the grenade doesn't go off until the handle is released, allowing the striker to spring up and strike the detonator under spring pressure), securing the can to a stake or small bush, and attaching fishing line as a trip wire, across a track.

 

The Yanks would ignore a Coke can lying alongside a track, they'd hit the trip wire, pull the grenade out of the can, and kaboom! One more U.S. war casualty.

 

My best mate had an SAS BIL. He was attached to a company of Yanks with a Captain in charge, to try and bring them up to speed as regards tactics against the VC and NVA. They set up an ambush and waited.

 

A couple of NVA walked down the track, and the Yanks were all whispering, "can we we shoot now? - can we we shoot now??" But Dave knew the NVA tactics were to break up into groups when moving.

 

They'd send a couple of blokes down the trail first, then increase to about 8 blokes in the next group - which was always out of sight of the first group - and then maybe 20 blokes in a group, long before the main force group.

 

So Dave managed to convince the Yanks to hold their fire as the first two blokes went past - then it became harder to get them to hold their fire as the second group went past - and as the third group arrived, the Yanks starting shooting without orders. 

 

Next thing, Dave said there was fire coming from everywhere in front, as the main group of probably a couple of hundred NVA hit the deck, started firing and started spreading out. Dave was getting more and more worried by the minute.

 

The Yanks were unloading ammo like there was no tomorrow - but the fire from in front wasn't decreasing much. What was really alarming Dave, was the fact the fire was spreading out, and covering nearly a 180° arc in front of them.

 

He waited for a lull, and told the Captain - "Tell your men, retreat as fast as they can, we are seriously outnumbered and outgunned, and we are going to be outflanked and surrounded, and wiped out, if we don't get the hell out of here!"

 

Dave said he waited for a lull in the firing, then jumped to a crouching position and took off, running down a creekline, as fast as he could. He wasn't even firing his weapon as he went, he was only intent on getting away from being annihilated.

 

He said he ran for at least 800 metres before he stopped to draw breath, and take stock.

 

When he did, he found he had a bullet hole through his giggle hat, bullet holes through the sleeves of his shirt, his watch had been shot off, and his water bottle had been shot off his waist. He didn't incur any bullet injury on his body.

 

He got back to camp and told his CO he was NEVER going to be attached to any American forces, EVER again - and he wasn't.

 

I don't know if he ever found out what the American casualties were that day - they probably called in an airstrike that killed more of their blokes, than the NVA did.

 

 

[Old Koreelah]