Operation Currahee, Fight #2

All,

It is now 0330 on 27 July 1990, and the twenty paratroopers of Lt Villagrosa's ODA-212 are descending to earth below silk canopies, having just departed a loaner C-130 as part of Operation Currahee, the Cuban operation to secure space for Cuban reinforcements to enter South Leon following the full-scale invasion launched by Fédération Socialiste Nationale de Leon (FSNL).  Upon landing they will immediately form up and assault any and all enemy positions identified (in the event, it would turn out that intelligence information provided by South Leon government elements, via Task Group Fulgencio, would prove quite accurate).  This is the second fight of the chaotic first minutes on the ground...

Overview of the entire battlespace (town of Gimbala, with Ruhala River running east to west), north is right.  This fight is taking place at an enemy defensive position in the woodline east of Gimbala, just south of the river (bottom center left, just left of the river, with Cuban paras coming out of the fields at bottom left).

The good guys, all twenty of them.  Due to the strain of multiple deployments, the War of Liberation concluding only months ago, and the pace of expansion of the CLEF, this unit is more akin to a platoon of US Army Rangers than US Army Special Forces, despite being labeled an Operational Detachment Alpha (ODA).  The troops are lined up in teams, with each row (top to bottom) being a team: at far right is the HQ element, consisting of Lt Villagrosa, the Det NCOIC, and two medics, then team 1, 2, 3, and 4, each consisting of a team leader, grenadier, SAW gunner, and rifleman.

I have created a roster for ODA-212 here on the blog, it's labeled "Task Force Dusty," but please keep in mind there has just been a parachute drop and the teams are scattered and mixed together in "LGOPs" (Little Groups Of Paratroopers).

These are Modern US Marines from Flytrap Factory.

The bad guys, of which I'll be using between five and ten per fight.  These are Battlefront 15mm East German mechanized infantry, with two leaders, two RPK LMGs, two RPGs, and six riflemen.

Overview of the battle area, north is up.  The enemy sandbagged position is at top center, facing east, and you can see the southeastern edge of Gimbala at top left.  The Cuban paratroopers are spread from left to right to bottom right.

The Cuban assault force, from left: Sgt Bautista, the leader of Team 2 and a tough former farmer that joined the CLA during the War of Liberation and fought with the 8th Popular Front battalion; PFC Salena, a grenadier from Team 3, son of a electrician that joined the CLEF after the War of Liberation; Pvt Romero, a rifleman with Team 1, just graduated High School a few months ago; Staff Sergeant Tomas Team leader of Team 3, a former Sergeant in the US 82nd Airborne Division who fought with Lt Villagrosa in the CLA Airborne during the War of Liberation; and Cpl Eusabio, one of  ODA-212's two medics, a former Miami-Dade police officer that joined the CLA and fought in the War of Liberation as a paratrooper with Lt Villagrosa.

Looking southwest to northeast, the bad guys have a sandbagged position with a light machine gun, rifleman, and Sergeant, then flank security at top right and bottom left.

SSgt Tomas moves up on the right, up to a wooden fence (right)...

He (bottom center) spots the orange glow of a cigarette in the darkness, amongst the trees at top center left (it's 0330, they've just landed), though he doesn't see the sandbagged emplacement at top right...

Romero (bottom right) and Salena (far left) scan for targets as Sgt Bautista  moves up (top left, just below the fence).

SSgt Tomas (far right) slowly raises his rifle and sights in as Sgt Bautista (top left) hops the fence, then Salena (left), Romero (center), and Doc Eusabio (bottom right) move up.

Romero (left) and Doc (bottom right, with SSgt Tomas at right, focusing on the enemy flanker at top left) spot the main enemy position (top center).

The FSNL leader takes a break from staring up at the sky and wondering what all the noise and weirdness is about and strolls over to his right (center bottom, just right of the sandbagged position).  He drops his cigarette when he sees the shapes of Romero and Doc Eusabio (top center right) coming at him.

The Communist leader (just above the tracer) had only just called out a warning to his men when SSgt Tomas (bottom center) squeezed the trigger, aiming for the left flanker (top left).  But apparently he was startled by the enemy Sergeant's shouting as he missed!

Romero (left) and Doc Eusabio (bottom right) both open fire on the sandbagged position, hitting the enemy rifleman there in the left thigh!

On the left, Salena (bottom center) and Sgt Bautista (far left) take advantage of the firing to move up.

The Communist Sergeant (bottom center) opens fire on Romero and Doc Eusabio, but doesn't hit anything.

The bad guy on the enemy's right flinches from SSgt Tomas' rounds zipping by, and ducks right (bottom center, from the explosion at bottom left, where he runs smack into Sgt Bautista (top center, between the trees)!

On the enemy left, the flanker there (far left) moves up into cover and spots SSgt Tomas, Romero, and Doc Eusabio, while the rifleman that got hit in the thigh manages to get it bandaged up.  He can't move hardly, but he's still in the fight.

But then SSgt Tomas sights in on the sandbagged emplacement and fires, hitting the enemy machine gunner in the hand!

Back on the left, Sgt Bautista moves up (bottom left) and fires, hitting the enemy flanker in the left calf, dropping him!

Sgt Bautista keeps shuffling forward, looking over his sights and firing.  The enemy soldier is hit in the chest twice and is gone.

And as Sgt Bautista is moving up (top left), SSgt Tomas switches targets, aiming at the enemy leader (top center).  The former All American rips off another burst, catching the enemy Sergeant in the stomach and putting him out of the fight!

The enemy flanker on their far left (bottom left) cuts loose on full auto, aiming in the general direction of SSgt Tomas, Romero, and Doc Eusabio (top left), but not hitting anything.

Pvt Romero calmly sights in and returns fire, missing, as Doc Eusabio moves up (far right, just below SSgt Tomas).

Back at the fence on the Cuban left, PFC Salena fires a 40mm grenade at the enemy emplacement...

But it's a bit long, exploding harmlessly.  The enemy machine gunner patches his hand up as the rifleman, who just finished bandaging his left thigh, pops his head up to get back in the fight.

SSgt Tomas (bottom left) has recovered from his initial miss.  After missing, he fired and hit the enemy machine gunner in the hand, then hitting the enemy leader in the stomach.  Now he sights in on their far right flanker (top right) and fires, popping him in the head, another Communist out of the fight.

On the far left, Sgt Bautista moves past the bad guy he just whacked (left), moving up on the sandbagged position.

In the enemy emplacement (bottom center), the LMG gunner pops up to get back in the fight as his partner opens fire with his rifle, hitting SSgt Tomas in the left calf!  Tomas utters a vulgarity, then sits down to have a look at the wound.

Sgt Bautista (center) continues stalking the sandbagged emplacement...

Romero (bottom center) lays down fire as Doc Eusabio moves up to help out SSgt Tomas (right).

PFC Salena (bottom left) pops away with his rifle too, but, like Romero, fails to accomplish anything.  Hey, it's hard hitting guys in sandbagged cover, we've done well to hit a guy in the thigh and another in the hand!

Sgt Bautista, a bit nervous due to the volume of incoming fire, to be honest, pulls out a frag.  He sweeps off the safety clip, straightens the pin, pulls the pin, and lets the spoon fly, cooking the grenade...

Before flinging it into the enemy position (blue bead, Sgt Bautista at left).

The enemy rifleman spots the grenade, but can't get to it because of his wounded leg!  He screams out to the machine gunner, who flops over and picks up the frag!

SSgt Tomas keeps popping rounds at the enemy emplacement as Doc Eusabio patches him up.

Sgt Bautista spots the enemy machine gunner pick up the grenade, and as the Commie is about to fling it out of the emplacement, Sgt Bautista fires, hitting the enemy soldier in the hip!

Salena (top center) hops the wall as Romero lays down fire.

While SSgt Tomas and Doc Eusabio add the weight of their rifles to the volume of fire as well...

Salena (top center) and Doc Eusabio (bottom center) keep moving up, as Romero (bottom left) and SSgt Tomas (bottom center left) keep firing.

The enemy rifleman is hit in the chest and knocked down, as the light machine gunner falls from the impact of Sgt Bautista's round hitting him in the hip.  He looks to the grenade he still clutches in his hand...

As it detonates, killing him and the rifleman!

Sgt Bautista fires a green 'pop-up' to let the rest of the Cubans know to cease fire...

And once it slacks off he enters the enemy emplacement, securing it.

The rest of the Cubans move up to join him at the enemy position, SSgt Tomas hopping and hobbling to keep up.  Good job, fellas, that weren't so bad.  SSgt Tomas will need to receive medical attention at some point, which will end up keeping him out for about a week, but he's not going anywhere today. 

As a matter of fact, he posts Sgt Bautista and Doc Eusabio at the enemy sandbagged position, then heads west with Romero and Salena.  They quickly run into Lt Villagrosa and a few more paratroopers heading north towards the town.  SSgt Tomas quickly brought the CO up to speed on what happened in their assault.  Lt Villagrosa: "You okay there, SSgt Tomas?"  "You bet Sir, no sweat."  "I guess Sgt Bautista is hit pretty bad then, and you left Doc Eusabio there to look after him?
"Negative Sir, Sgt Bautista is fine.  Matter of fact, he did a helluva job, I recommend him for a Bronze Star!"  "Well if he's fine, what the hell are you doing here on a bad leg?  You need to get back there and relieve Sgt Bautista ASAP, and tell him to hustle up, we need to hit the town before all the Commies wake up!"  "The hell you say!  We dropped in here to whoop ass, and that's exactly what I'm gonna do!"  Lt Villagrosa just smiled and shook his head, the two having known each other in the US Army, then dropping into Cuba together for the War of Liberation.

So Sergeant Bautista, despite winning the Estrella de Bronce (Bronze Star with combat 'V', or BS/V) for his actions taking the enemy emplacement, was left at said emplacement.

"Well, get your @#$% squared away, Staff Sergeant, we're headed into town, and it's gonna be a lively one."  But first, dear reader, we have to catch up with SFC Medina leading an assault into the western end of town.

V/R,
Jack