[War] Australia: Action

[Daniel Sanderson]

"Action"
8 July 2014
Australian Military Forces In Azerbaijan
Australia

The Australian forces had had a hard road to get to Zaqatala. The Iranian Quds force had left many nasty surprises along the way, the occasional landmine or a suspiciously parked vehicle which, when approached by engineers, turned out to be laden down with explosives.

It was a long ride for the troops. Some were on foot; some were inside Bushmasters, ASLAVs or trucks. Others like Staff Sergeant Gary McKinley were riding on the Abrams tanks that led the way. The convoy of vehicles slowed as they approached the Zaqatala city limits. They slowed to a stop, while engineers probed ahead along the road. A few bombed out buildings was all they could see at the moment.

Second Lieutenant William Christianson wandered forward, a pair of binoculars in his hand. McKinley wondered why on Earth Christianson had been given command of an infantry platoon instead of a cushy headquarters assignment. Christianson was square, graduate of Scotch College where he’d served in their Cadet unit. Quite a few of the troops under his command thought he belonged in supply, or intelligence or something else.

“Check out the Field Marshal.” A Corporal seated next to McKinley on the Abrams said with a laugh.

“What the fuck is he doing?” McKinley asked, standing up on the turret of the Abrams. “Lieutenant! I don’t think you should be standing out there!”

CRACK!

Christianson crumpled to the ground.

“Sniper!” McKinley yelled.

“Shit! Iranian armour! Ten o’clock!” Another soldier yelled. McKinley turned and saw a clump of moving foliage, an Iranian tank camouflaged. The Abrams roared into action, the soldiers leaping clear as its turret traversed to the left. The Australian troops took cover as two machine guns in the bombed out buildings opened fire.

McKinley waited for the .50 calibre machine gun on the Abrams to open up on the Iranian positions before he and another soldier raced down the road, grabbing Lieutenant Christianson by the webbing and dragging him back to cover. “Medic up!” He looked at Christianson. The round had hit where his shoulder met his neck. “Hang in there Lieutenant.”

The sky was filled with the roar of gunfire as the infantry troops opened fire with their Minimi light machine guns and F88 assault rifles. A second Abrams rolled up to the front as the lead Abrams put a HEAT round through the Iranian tank. 

Aside from the small skirmish, taking Zaqatala wasn’t too hard. Again, the occasional present of an IED, a few brief gunfights, but that was all. The Australian force, along with some additional troops, swept through Zaqatala quickly, but there was no sign of any additional Iranian troops. It was declared secure not long after lunch.

“Iranians must be fighting a retreating action.” Sergeant McKinley said to Captain Bailey when they cleared out the city centre. There were a few old Georgian churches in the city, and troops were dispatched not only to clear them of possible snipers, but to set up observation posts.


--ACTIONS TAKEN--
1. Australian troops run into a little resistance heading for Zaqatala, but little else.
2. Zaqatala secured, enabling additional allied units to roll into Azerbaijan via Zaqatala.


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