Brit Marines finish battle in Santa hats

Times:

The rattle of machine guns did not unduly bother the carol singers of 40 Commando in their desert fortress in southern Afghanistan, even as the battle grew in intensity. The firefight, an hour before dusk, was the third of the day.

This one was aimed at an Afghan army outpost a mile away.

But the young men and women in camouflage fatigues — and bright red Santa hats, reindeer horns and jesters’ caps — started to shuffle nervously as a rousing version of O Come All Ye Faithful was interrupted by the not-too-distant crump of mortar fire.

Their composure lasted until they reached the line “Sing choirs of angels” when a terrific explosion sent them running to grab their body armour. An officer then pointed out that the noise was from outgoing mortar fire aimed at the Taleban.

A minute later, composed again after a good-natured laugh, they started on Once in Royal David’s City.

Christmas Day in one of the most ferociously attacked forward operating bases (FOBs), a few miles north of the key town of Sangin, was just another day of battle interspersed with attempts to be festive.

The morning began with a full English breakfast. But with helicopters in short supply there was not enough room for the turkey and pudding enjoyed by their colleagues at the bigger bases.

The first attack began at lunchtime, with bursts of heavy machinegun fire aimed at Marines manning a fortification that looks like something out of the Middle Ages. The Royal Marines called in helicopters for an airstrike, but it was not carried out. The Taleban were most likely hiding among the few civilians who still live among the poppy fields and trees that the FOB overlooks, leading to the Helmand river.

Half an hour later another gun started firing from another position, again spoiling the garrison’s attempts to lounge in the afternoon sunshine.

...

There is more. Eventually the ear can distinguish incoming from outgoing fire. It is an important distinction. I remember my first night in Vietnam when I heard a similar racket and wondered why I was the only person who scrambled to a bunker. A few days later the NVA scored a direct hit on an ammo bunker near the air strip at Dong Ha which created quite a fire works show. Some shards from the ammo which was more than a mile away started landing around my feet. It was time to move on.

It does sound like the Royal Marines have good morale.