Ambush

En route through Sangin to the Distrct Centre 7 Platoon's convoy of Vikings and Land Rover WMIKs are ambushed. The third Viking is hit hard by RPGs

While all the initial images I've been using for these posts are from the Royal Anglians' tour in Afghanistan, this one is certainly the most affecting. It shows the disabled Viking after being denied by an air strike

OK, so I don't have two Vikings so the new Mastiff is standing in. Likewise I don't have anything remotely resembling a badly damaged armoured vehicle, so I've just placed the casualties behind the convoy



A fireteam debusses from the second Viking to handle the ambushing Taliban immediately to the column's right



Lead section grabs cover to lay down suppressive fire to the head of the columm



A group of civilians turns up, right beside the firefight



A WMIK crew shows their aggressive spirit by turning around and taking on the ambushers



Medic rushes to treat casualties from destroyed Viking - one KIA (the platoon sniper) and one seriously wounded



Taliban group on the left of the column targets the Land Rover - making sure they can't be seen by the rest of the British



The WMIK gets hits in first - putting down four of the Taliban as the rest scarper



Taliban leaders on that flank are left rueing lost chances - group and the DShK have been wiped out



The Marine fireteam (survivors of the disabled Viking) are feeling the worse for wear, some heat exhaustion probably to add to their bad luck. The second fireteam from the rear Viking moves to establish a perimeter on the left-hand side of the column



Firteam from lead Viking takes to the rooftop in attempt to suppress Taliban group ahead



Both WMIKs move to head of column - another strong group of Taliban has been spotted in the treeline at the end of the road



As the fireteam moves out to secure the initial ambush point, another group emerges from hiding



Led by the platoon's lieutenant two fireteams catch them in a cruel crossfire - the civilian on the rooftop realise they're not so safe and get out of town!



A fireteam holding down the left flank - everything seems to have gone quiet here



Royal Marines join in to root out the Taliban nearby

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The fireteam on the rooftop has taken a casualty in the firefight - another KIA. He's moved alongside the Viking and placed inside



Three Taliban are captured inside the courtyard - onlookers remove any temptation the British might have to finish them



Covering the withdrawal while the three prisoners are bundles on board the Viking



The left-flank security stamps out resistance, taking out the Taliban leader before he can escape



Reinforcements arrive at top of road



Move it! The corporal gets the Viking moving - the vehicle has been stationary for far too long



Almost out - the British are making progress now, and there's very little effective resistance left



IED ahead - it's blocking the easy withdrawal of two of the fireteams



Last chance for the Taliban to stop them nearly pays off, but the two soliders running alongside the Viking return fire and escape injury



Those Taliban trigger a Soviet land mine - this must've been a part of the ambush but the late arrivals weren't aware of it



The British make it off in the turn limit by the skin of their teeth.
Winning 10-7, any additional delay would've seen a Taliban victory