.
0500 HOURS
THE choppers were warmed up and ready to go. Sargento-Mayor Kreiling blew several sharp blasts on his thunder whistle. The men watching the officers' bunker turned and sprinted across the fortress garrison to the helipads. They joined the others cramming aboard the two helicopters. The aircraft were so overloaded they had to fight to get airborne as their rotors bit air in the struggle to climb into the sky.
It took a quarter of an hour, then the noses of the choppers dropped, and the pair headed toward the western horizon.
THE officers and comandos emerged from their bunkers. The sound of the departing aircraft was evidence enough that all the men were now gone. At least the weapons and ammunition taken from their quarters had been left in a neat stack.
'Muller!' Busch barked. 'Check the command bunkers to see if they've been damaged:'
The sargento rushed off to make the inspection. Punzarron and Chaubere kept quiet as the generalisimo conferred with Busch, the comandantes and the capitaines. When Muller returned, he had good news. 'The command bunker system is undamaged, mi generalisimo,' he reported. 'None of the ammunition or rations have been taken away. It is fully stocked.'
'A blessing of the araingel,' Castillo remarked. 'Now listen to me all of you. We are going to be attacked, and I intend to stay here and fight to the death. Anything you do is your own choice. If you seek to escape through the Gran Chaco or the Selva Verde Mountains, I will not censure you. The battle here will be the batalla altima--a last stand for fascism. I am going to the command bunkers.'
The generalisimo walked toward the fortifications. There was no hesitation among the others. They all followed him.
.
PETROLEO COLMO FIELD OFFICE
23 JANUARY
1045 HOURS LOCAL
THE building had been cleaned up as well as possible since the massacre, but faded splotches of blood still showed on the floor slats. All the furniture had been removed, and the SEALs were seated on the floor with their backs resting against the walls.
At the front of the room, far from their regular haunts at the Naval Amphibious Base in Coronado, California, Commander Thomas Carey, N3, and Lieutenant Commander Ernest Berringer, N2, stood ready to deliver an almost impromptu OPORD. The asset for this latest operation was waiting by the door to be called. Some satellite photographs had been mounted on the wall to the briefing team's rear. These images showed a fortified area identified as Fort Franco. These confirmed the sketches made by the convict chief Gordo Pullini.
Carey stepped forward to begin his presentation. 'You may consider what I am about to tell you as a modified operation order. The attack phase of this mission will be planned by Lieutenant Brannigan. Now! You are tasked with attacking the ten fanatical Falangists who are making a last stand in this area they call Fort Franco. They have gotten on the radio and sent out calls that they will fight to the death.'
Bruno Puglisi raised his hand. 'Why don't you just send some aircraft over there and bomb the shit out of 'em, sir?'
'We need prisoners, Petty Officer,' Carey replied. 'These are the guys who know the true extent of the Falangist organization in France, Germany, Portugal and Spain. They'll have to be taken by basic fire and maneuver. Without being able to interrogate them, the sleeper cells in the capital cities of those countries will remain unknown. That means the fascist movement will continue.'
'Sir, I ain't trying to get out of anything,' Senior Chief Buford Dawkins said, 'but why ain't the Argentines and all them making the attack? They know the bad guys in their own armed forces now, right?'
'Wrong, Senior Chief,' Carey said. 'They're still in the process of weeding them out. It is hoped the amnesty will bring more in. But it has been decided that since you guys are already here and primed to go, that the honors will be yours.'
'Let's do it!' Paulo Cinzento blurted out. 'We got some KIAs to get even for.'
'There's something to keep in mind,' Carey turned to the map, indicating an area of Fort Franco with his laser pointer. 'Those three bunkers arranged in a triangular shape is the location you'll attack. They are connected by short tunnels, so the defenders will be able to easily shift from one to the other. Lieutenant Brannigan has already been apprised of the site's defensive capabilities. You will go by chopper from this location to Fort Franco to execute the OPORD. Any questions? In that case, Commander Berringer will carry on the intelligence portion of this briefing.'
Berringer came to the front. 'I won't be saying anything today. I brought an asset who is intimately familiar with the men you'll be fighting as well as the physical aspects of the bunkers they occupy.' He looked at the man standing by the door, gesturing to him to join him.
Diego Tippelskirch walked up, speaking in excellent English. 'I am a former intelligence officer of the Falangists. The three bunkers you will attack consist of the Command Bunker that the leader of the Falangist Army used as his headquarters. There is also an Administration Bunker, and lastly an Intelligence Bunker. All these were in effect offices and storage areas, but they are still bunkers with firing slits. They were designed for defense, thus you must keep in mind you will be under their weapons' sights as you advance toward them.'
Joe Miskoski spoke up. 'What about support weapons? Do them guys have any machine guns or mortars?'
'They have only submachine guns and assault rifles that can be fired in both semi-and automatic modes,' Tippelskirch replied. 'There is one special thing I must tell you. Four of those men are what you would describe as real badasses. They formed a commando team that carried on independently within the combat operations of the Falangists. Those men are responsible for the deaths of your comrades who gave their lives in battle.'
There were no questions for the defector, and Carey took the floor once again. 'There you have it. Because you will have no air or heavy weapons support, your job will be dangerous. It's going to be like the gunfight at the OK Corral in Tombstone, Arizona. You guys have one hell of a bloody row to hoe. Be careful! Be skillful! Be ready!'
The briefing ended on that note.
Chapter 20
FORT FRANCO
24 JANUARY
0600 HOURS LOCAL
THE two Argentine Army SA-330s set down out of rifle range of the three-bunker command complex. Noise discipline wasn't a factor at this time of the assault since the noise of the choppers announced the arrival of the attackers.
Brannigan's Brigands unassed the aircraft, moving away from the LZ to form up within the abandoned bunkers on the outskirts of the fortress. Brannigan, as usual, kept Frank Gomez and James Bradley with him. Both would act as riflemen, but if James had to go into his hospital corpsman role, Frank would cover him and give a hand moving the wounded to a safe location.
Chief Matt Gunnarson's First Assault Section had Bruno Puglisi as its SAW gunner. He stuck close to Matt to add firepower where and when necessary. The riflemen were Mike Assad, Dave Leibowitz, Garth Redhawk and Paul Cinzento. Now they moved to the right, spreading out in a skirmish formation.
Over on the left Senior Chief Dawkins honchoed his Second Assault Section into position. Joe Miskoski stuck close to the section commander, as per detachment SOP. The rest of the section, Andy Malachenko, Guy Devereaux and Chad Murchison, were in their usual roles toting their CAR-15s.
Brannigan knew that potential casualties could cause impromptu changes of personnel assignments, but he figured he could keep that to a minimum by concentrating the attacks on one bunker at a time. The battlefield was so limited in scope and size that to attempt a complete envelopment would result in casualties from friendly fire.
The detachment moved closer to the objective, keeping low and using the other bunkers for cover. When they reached a point where the target bunkers were within range, the SEALs settled down to launch the assault.
