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Battle of At-Tiri

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  • Battle of At-Tiri

    Does anyone have any information on The Battle of At Tiri, it seems to be the only significant combat engagement that Irish Forces took part in in the recent past so it would be interesting to hear about it (any info on other engagements would be good as well)

  • #2
    I have somewhere. I'll trya nad find it. What about the Congo by the way. The father of a buddy of mine whacked a train with an 84 in Elizabethville.
    sigpic
    Say NO to violence against Women

    Originally posted by hedgehog
    My favourite moment was when the
    Originally posted by hedgehog
    red headed old dear got a smack on her ginger head

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    • #3
      OK what I've got is an 8 page presentation made by students on a Senior NCOs course. I'll type it up as is.

      10 April 1980

      0300Z Situation at At-Tiri very quiet.

      0412Z IDF vehicles and troops begin withdrawal towards Saff Al Hawa and beyond. This continued throughout the day. IDF seems to be distancing itself from the DFF.

      1008Z Maj Haddad entered At Tiri village and departed at 1039Z.


      More intimidation of UNIFIL and local villagers.

      1330Z Maj Haddad and 20 DFF arrived at 615-A and were refused entry to At Tiri village. A confrontation was developing at Post 615-A and the situation was very tense.. Before leaving he stated his tank would come and destroy all UNIFIL positions.

      1403Z DFF moved two tanks to hill 1000m south of and overlooking At Tiri.

      1607Z DFF used loudspeakers in the village mosque to incite villagers to "rise up against UNIFIL". The villagers did not respond.

      1744Z all roads at Bayt Yahoun closed to UNIFIL traffic.

      1818Z DFF attempt to set fire to Irishbatt APCs at 615-D by pouring petrol over them. DFF opened small arms fire. Four rds returned by Irishbatt personnel and three flares fired at 1827Z.

      1908Z eight M 113s with DFF and IDF personnel observed moving east of Kunin.

      2045Z DO UNIFIL Ops for info Irishbatt from IDF LO "DFF did not fire on Irish soldiers tonight. It may have been PLO in area."

      11 April 1980

      No firing on UNIFIL positions overnight.

      0811Z DFF tanks south of At Tiri opened fire with HMGs on UNIFIL positions in village. Fire returned. All firing ceased at 0815Z.

      0835Z DFF at Outhouse opened up with HMG fire on OC Irishbatt and VIP party moving from Hill 880 to At Tiri. Cherokee (a landrover)abandoned between 615C and 615A. UNIFIL in At Tiri returned fire and fire fight develops.

      0839Z firing ceased and convoy continued , raeching village without casualties.

      0936Z Radio contact lost with three Enclave positions. DFF small arms fire reported at fourth post in Mhaibeb when post was surrounded by DFF.

      0954 Irish troops at Mhaibeb taken prisoner by DFF and later released.

      1331Z Maj Hadda arrived at At Tiri. He was refused entry and departed without confrontation.

      1526Z A DFF Super Sherman moved from the Cuckoo's Nest at Rshaf and joined the two tanks in position south of At-Tiri.

      1600Z to 1800Z general area very quiet. No activity. Radio contact established with 625 Mhaibeb.

      Sporadic small arms fire from DF positions at At Tiri to unknown targets. UNIFIL troops did not return fire.

      More later...............
      sigpic
      Say NO to violence against Women

      Originally posted by hedgehog
      My favourite moment was when the
      Originally posted by hedgehog
      red headed old dear got a smack on her ginger head

      Comment


      • #4
        thanks for that so far Groundhog....look forward to the rest!

        Any info on Congo would be good to read as well. There isnt much info on the net about these type of things. I just ordered "A History of the irish Army" today so hopefully tht will have some good stuff on irish troops in action.

        Comment


        • #5
          12 APRIL 1980
          The night was quiet. No change in dispositions.

          0645Z, At Tiri was quiet. But the Muktar was intimidated by DFF in village.

          0817Z, Ironside- Sitrep re At Tiri. Situation is quiet at present. DFF informed IRISHBATT that they would be relieved by day and asked IRISHBATT NOT to fire. DFF informed UNIFIL troops were well disciplined, and would only fire if fired upon.

          1145Z, four DFF personnel took up firing positions in village. DFF vehicles
          came from South.

          1231Z, DFF were observed forcing a party of civilian men, women and children, approx 80, along the Kunin road towards At Tiri. They had been dismounted from trucks about 1000m East of 6-15A. The party arrived at the OUTHOUSE at 1253Z, and were joined there by men in civilian clothing carrying petrol cans and tyres.

          1245Z, Abu Askander arrived at Bayt Yahun and informed the Post
          Comd that he had five IRISHBATT personnel as hostages from Enclave post
          6-25. In the event of the DFF militiamen, any women or civilians in the At Tiri
          area being injured he would take appropriate revenge against these prisoners, 'one for one' He also state that the shelling of Tibnin and Brashit was a warning only and that these villages would be fired on for effect if any DFF were injured in the At Tiri area

          1249Z, the party of men, women and children left the Outhouse and
          attempted to infiltrate At Tiri through 6-15A. This attempt was foiled by UNIFIL
          troops. The party remained in the vicinity of 6-15A attempting to create a
          disturbance.

          1253Z, DFF near 6-15B fired with small arms on 6-15D. UNIFIL troops
          at 6-15D returned fire. Shooting at this location ceases at 1304Z.

          1315Z, another 50 civilians, mostly youths, arrived by civilian trucks at the
          Outhouse. They joined with the parry creating a disturbance at 6-15A and began
          throwing stones, bricks and bottles at UNIFIL position at 6-15A. They then poured
          petrol on tyres and setting them alight pushed them down the slopes towards the
          UNIFIL positions attempting to set these positions and the vehicles alight, this attempt was foiled. The civilian's then attempted to infiltrate through 6-15A en-masse. This attempt was repulsed after major physical confrontation and the use of tear gas. The DFF in positions at 6-15 opened up with small arms fire on 6-15. DFF near positions 6-15A took up firing positions and used the children as a shield
          commenced firing on Post 6-15 UNIFIL troops at 6-15 returned controlled fire. The
          party of civilians still near 6-15A on hearing the outbreak of fire quickly withdrew
          and departed on the advice of DFF after talks with UNIFIL troops at 6-15A.

          At 1320Z, DFF intensified fire on 6-15 and opened fire on 6-15A and 6-15D.
          All UNIFIL personnel took cover in their prepared positions: At this stage a Fijian
          soldier Pte S Sonanavalu received a head wound from a DFF sniper. He was
          immediately MEDEVACED under fire and removed to post 611 where he later died. Fire was retured by UNIFIL troops.

          1324Z, DFF tank's South of village fired three rounds tank fire into At Tiri

          1326Z, one TOW Missile was fired from HILL 880 by Dutch UNIFIL troops as a warning to DFF tanks.

          1332Z, SITREP at At Tiri. Very tense.

          1337Z. 6-15 suffered a direct hit by DFF tank fire. No casualties but
          considerable damage caused to ground floor walls of house- DFF escalated small arms and HMG fire on 6-15, 6-15A and 6-15D. Fire was returned by UNIFIL troops from all positions.

          1340Z. UNIFIL troops in At Tiri launched an attack on DFF positions in
          At Tiri DFF Half Track at avenue of 6-15 was destroyed by an AML 90 and DFF
          personnel were driven out of the village after heavy fire fight during which one DFF
          was killed, a number injured and three taken prisoner. DFF personnel left the
          Outhouse and some injured taken in Red Cross Ambulance. One DFF militiaman
          suspected killed in the Outhouse area.

          1359Z, SUNRAY met Abu Askander at 6-15A. Dead militiaman handed
          over to DFF but the three prisoners retained in UNIFIL custody, these prisoners were kept under guard at 6-15. Less than 45 minutes after the attack had begun UNIFIL had complete control of AT TIRI village UNIFIL troops re-grouped and prepared for expected DFF retaliation.

          1511Z, Outhouse taken and permission granted to occupy HILL 50m East of 6-15A.

          1620Z, message received from UNIFIL Ops from Maj Haddad: "Because
          UNIFIL soldiers opened fire on the children and women at At Tiri and your soldiers
          barbaric behaviour, I want to inform you that from this day on, I am not
          responsible for the safety of any of the UNIFIL soldiers nor for the acts or reprisals
          that will be carried out against you".

          Between 1543Z and 1728Z DFF fired seven rounds tank fire at Post 6-15A,
          and sporadic mortar fire on 6-15, 6-15A, 6-15D and on UNIFIL Positions at At Tiri village. UNIFIL troops deployed on HILL 50m East of 6-15A and got permission to re-deploy immediately. Three rounds phosphorus also fired at 6-15A.

          2112Z, post 6-24 (ENCLAVE POST) was surrounded by DFF and the
          four UNIFIL troops taken by DFF. They were

          Sgt 0' Callaghan CTD (S)
          Pte 0' Neill 12 Bn Clonmel
          Pte Healy 12 Bn Clonmel
          Pte 0' Donnell 12 Bn Limerick

          From UNIFIL Ops : " It has been agreed that the prisoners held by IRISHBATT will be exchanged for the four IRISHBATT pers taken from 6-24, in Blida tonight by DFF.

          2150Z, From UNIFIL Ops: "Exchange of prisoners has been arranged for 0800Z 13 April at 6-15A. It will be supervised by OGL".

          ORDERS FROM FC
          a. For IRISHBATT
          1. Withdraw Force Reserve from AT TIRI at first light on 13 April.
          2. Exchange of prisoners to take place at 6-15A at 0600 hrs LT.
          3. Destroyed Half Track to be handed over to DFF at 6-15A on 13 April.

          And that wrapped up the Battle of At-Tiri. But of course the story did not end there.
          sigpic
          Say NO to violence against Women

          Originally posted by hedgehog
          My favourite moment was when the
          Originally posted by hedgehog
          red headed old dear got a smack on her ginger head

          Comment


          • #6
            Battle of At-Tiri-The Aftermath

            Six days after the end of hostilities in At-Tiri,three Irishbatt soldiers were detailed to drive vehicles in a re-supply convoy to the a UN position called OP Ras. Accompanying them were two unarmed UN observers,an American Major named Harry Kline and a French Captain,Patrick Vincent,an American reporter,Steve Hindy and a Lebanese photographer named Zavam Vartan.The plan was for the convoy to be met at the first SLA checkpoint outside the UN area at the village of Bayt Yahoun.There they were to be met by Abu Askander,the same man who had threatened the lives of Irish prisoners a week before.When they go to the checkpoint however there was no sign of the escort so the convoy proceeded to the next checkpoint at Saff Al Howa.At this checkpoint,normally heavily manned they found just one SLA man who waved the convoy through.However as they approached the village of Ras the convoy was stopped by a large contingent of SLA soldiers,commanded by a man named Mohammed Bazi.Bazi’s brother had been killed in At-Tiri the previous week.
            The UN troops,outnumbered and out gunned were disarmed and driven to a derelict school house in Ras where they were all placed in the school toilets.Bazi demanded to know who were the Irish,a pointless question as all UN troops wear a national badge on
            the sleeve of their uniforms.Bazi would have been familiar with the Irish flash which was a shamrock on a red background.The three Irishmen,Ptes John o’Mahoney,Tom Barrett and Derek Smallhorne were ordered down to the basement.On the stairs Bazi fired one of the captured weapons,a Gustaf Sub-machine gun at o’Mahoney,hitting him in the stomach.As he lay on the ground Bazi fired again and wounded him in the ankle.
            O’Mahoney crawled down into the basement where another man whom he believed was an IDF officer pointed a pistol at his head.However he didn’t fire.Instead he went and fetched the American Major who carried him upstairs and into a car which brought him to the Irish post at Bayt Yahoun.From there he was transferred to UNIFIL HQ where he underwent surgery for his wounds.John o’Mahoney survived his brush with death and was medically discharged from the army three years later.
            His two comrades had attempted to escape from the building when Bazi shot him but were recaptured and forced into a Peugeot car which was driven away to a place near Saff Al Howa.In an isolated spot they were both shot in the head and their bodies left until that evening when OGL officers were brought to the location.
            The man suspected of their murder was never captured and today lives in the United States.
            Today the SLA and the DFF are history.They disappeared when the Israelis withdrew from Lebanon last year after 22 years of conflict.Irishbatt held their position in At-Tiri all through that period.Ptes Griffin and Sonanavalu were not the last to die there.
            June 1986 Lt Aeongus Murphy was killed by a road side bomb,planted by Hizbollah guerillas on the road north of At-Tiri.
            November 1992,Cpl Mick McCarthy was shot dead and Pte Richard McGrath wounded in an ambush in At-Tiri by DFF militia. One militiaman was also killed by machine gun fire from one of his own positions.
            August 1997,on a training flight an Italian helicopter crashed after taking off from the UN post at At-Tiri.Four Italian aircrew and an Irish soldier,Sgt.John Lynch were killed.
            sigpic
            Say NO to violence against Women

            Originally posted by hedgehog
            My favourite moment was when the
            Originally posted by hedgehog
            red headed old dear got a smack on her ginger head

            Comment


            • #7
              Thanks for the info Groundhog....now, you got any stuff about the Congo?

              Comment


              • #8
                When did the Pte Dissappear in the Lebanon I thought that was at the Time of At-tiri??

                Friends Come and Go, but Enemies accumulate!!

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