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that allowed them to look out to their north and northeast on the opposite
side of the narrow and curving island. The sergeant handed Leon some
binoculars and pointed off to the north. What Leon saw had chilled him to the
bone, and it did so now once again as he relived it in his mind. There, many,
many miles in the distance were many ships masts, just visible above the
horizon. The enemy fleet had arrived off of Diego Garcia.
For several days a period ensued where America s military made a courageous
but vain attempt to prevent the Indian CAS forces and increasing GIR forces
from establishing air superiority and ultimate air dominance over the island.
Tremendous air battles were fought, with the island being bombed and shelled
almost continuously. Leon remembered wishing, after one particularly intense
eighteen-hourperiod, that the enemy would just land their forces and get it
over with. Everyone could see that the Indian carriers and their aircraft were
there, right off the island along with many ships whose guns and missiles
could now target the American airfield and other installations at will.
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In addition, the Indian and GIR air bases were much closer than any comparable
American facility. It amounted to a simple mathematical reality involving
weapons loads, distances, fuel supplies, and time. It was an equation with but
one unfortunate answer at that point& and that answer had come on August
6thwith the first Indian landings on the far northeastern end of the U-shaped
island, right across the harbor from the main American installations.
Being several miles away, it was impossible for Leon s weapons to reach those
enemy ships, soldiers, and vehicles as they came ashore. But American
artillery behind Leon had fired hotly and accurately.
Leon distinctly remembered seeing at least two ships hit multiple times by
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artillery fire, LAWS rockets, and Abrams tank fire. The Indian forces had not
taken such counter-fire lightly. Almost immediately, aircraft buzzed over
those areas where American counter-fire had originated. Some of the aircraft
were shot down by the few remaining Stinger missiles and the few Avenger AAW
systems available& but most targeted and destroyed the American heavy weapons
positions& one by one.
For six days, the American Marines and other personnel had fought a pitched
battle as more and more
Indian forces were poured into the northern end of the island. On August 9th,
the Indians had crossed the harbor directly and stormed the major facilities,
most of which were already nothing but burned out shells of buildings by that
point. More and more personnel straggled back behind the final perimeter on
the hill as the Indians slowly made their way southward. Sometimes the rate
and duration of the firing was almost surreal, almost unbelievable unless you
had actually heard it and understood its language. It was the language of
flesh and blood and death.
American military planners had not rested these tense days. The hopeless
situation was obvious, so a plan was feverishly put together to evacuate the
garrison. It was a risky plan, but one that had to be attempted to avoid
another Qatar. On August 4th, two days before the initial Indian amphibious
landings, the USS Abraham Lincoln and its battle group had departed the
Mediterranean, and sailed at flank speed through the Straits of Gibraltar and
around the Horn of Africa. On August 11th, the ships had arrived undetected
two hundred and fifty miles to the south and east of Diego Garcia. Unbeknownst
to
Leon or the other lower-ranking Marines with him, a massive air support
mission was planned that would clear the way for the evacuation of the
remaining men by helicopter.
This very morning, the morning of August 12th, the evacuation plan was carried
out by American forces.
It occurred precisely during the major Indian assault to annihilate the
Marines or drive them off the island.
Leon remembered those final events most vividly and was reliving them
again.The massive assault by the
Indians, the constant firing of his .50 caliber sniper rifle as he targeted
and took out Indian officers directing the attack. He had always watched in
fascination as he had seen war movies and read novels that indicated how time
seemed to slow down during intense moments such as those he experienced this
morning on Diego Garcia. Now he knew that the perception was true. Those [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]