If they bitch while they walk, they're cavalry.

L1A1 was never full auto
The L85A2 works
If it happened to not work The British have a back-up plan...........the Bayonet.
And we love a good old Bayonet charge


Just ask the Argies or the Shias in Basra
[

Well read this US report
Basra bayonet charge

One of my friends was involved in the Bayonet charge on Two Sisters in the Falklands.
Brian was a young Marine in Zulu Troop, 45 Commando Royal Marines. He had already received a gunshot wound to the shoulder in N Ireland at 17 years old, and was flown back to Britain the same night as they realised he was under-age to be on active duty!

Anyway he told me they were in the reserve company but got called up on the flank and went into the attack just after midnight.
The fighting was fierce and he had a few near misses.
About 3hrs into the battle, the OC realised they were running low on ammo and wouldn't be able to complete the assault, so he shouted out the command "Zulu Zulu, Fix bayonets"
He said they all turned to each other and said "did he just say fix bayonets?"
So they did and charged up the hill and won the battle just before dawn

He doesn't drink

He said that when the fix bayonets order was given, they all went "oh bloody hell"
What he also said that he had a 2lb charge in his belt kit, and while prone a 7.62rd went through the pouch next to it.

Thoroughly nice guy and the actions are all valid and documented.
The Argies got pushed off the mountain that night, but casualties were high on both sides

No, they did suffer a few

Not quite


Ian John McKay VC (7 May 1953 – 12 June 1982) was a posthumous recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
Born in Wortley, near Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England, Ian McKay was Platoon Sergeant of 4 Platoon, B Company, 3rd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment, during the Falklands War when the deed described below took place, for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross.

Citation
During the night of 11th/12th June 1982, 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment mounted a silent night attack on an enemy battalion position on Mount Longdon, an important objective in the battle for Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands. Sergeant McKay was platoon sergeant of 4 Platoon, B Company, which, after the initial objective had been secured, was ordered to clear the Northern side of the long East/West ridge feature, held by the enemy in depth, with strong, mutually-supporting positions. By now the enemy were fully alert, and resisting fiercely. As 4 Platoon's advance continued it came under increasingly heavy fire from a number of well-sited enemy machine gun positions on the ridge, and received casualties. Realising that no further advance was possible the Platoon Commander ordered the Platoon to move from its exposed position to seek shelter among the rocks of the ridge itself. Here it met up with part of 5 Platoon.

The enemy fire was still both heavy and accurate, and the position of the platoons was becoming increasingly hazardous. Taking Sergeant McKay, a Corporal and a few others, and covered by supporting machine gun fire, the Platoon Commander moved forward to reconnoitre the enemy positions but was hit by a bullet in the leg, and command devolved upon Sergeant McKay.

It was clear that instant action was needed if the advance was not to falter and increasing casualties to ensue. Sergeant McKay decided to convert this reconnaissance into an attack in order to eliminate the enemy positions. He was in no doubt of the strength and deployment of the enemy as he undertook this attack. He issued orders, and taking three men with him, broke cover and charged the enemy position.

The assault was met by a hail of fire. The Corporal was seriously wounded, a Private killed and another wounded. Despite these losses Sergeant McKay, with complete disregard for his own safety, continued to charge the enemy position alone. On reaching it he despatched the enemy with grenades, thereby relieving the position of beleaguered 4 and 5 Platoons, who were now able to redeploy with relative safety. Sergeant McKay, however, was killed at the moment of victory, his body falling on the bunker.

Without doubt Sergeant McKay's action retrieved a most dangerous situation and was instrumental in ensuring the success of the attack. His was a coolly calculated act, the dangers of which must have been all too apparent to him beforehand. Undeterred he performed with outstanding selflessness, perseverance and courage.

With a complete disregard for his own safety, he displayed courage and leadership of the highest order, and was an inspiration to all those around him.

Col H Jones
Falklands War


During the Falklands War he was in command of 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment (2 PARA). During the Battle of Goose Green, an attack against entrenched Argentinian positions, with his unit pinned down by heavy fire of MAG and FAL, he led a charge against the nearest position.[a] He was killed while doing so but the Argentinian unit surrendered shortly afterwards. For his actions he was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.

VC citation
On 28th May 1982 Lieutenant Colonel Jones was commanding 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment on operations on the Falkland Islands. The Battalion was ordered to attack enemy positions in and around the settlements of Darwin and Goose Green. During the attack against an enemy who was well dug in with mutually supporting positions sited in depth, the Battalion was held up just South of Darwin by a particularly well-prepared and resilient enemy position of at least eleven trenches on an important ridge. A number of casualties were received. In order to read the battle fully and to ensure that the momentum of his attack was not lost, Colonel Jones took forward his reconnaissance party to the foot of a re-entrant which a section of his Battalion had just secured. Despite persistent, heavy and accurate fire the reconnaissance party gained the top of the re-entrant, at approximately the same height as the enemy positions. From here Colonel Jones encouraged the direction of his Battalion mortar fire, in an effort to neutralise the enemy positions. However, these had been well prepared and continued to pour effective fire onto the Battalion advance, which, by now held up for over an hour and under increasingly heavy artillery fire, was in danger of faltering. In his effort to gain a good viewpoint, Colonel Jones was now at the very front of his Battalion. It was clear to him that desperate measures were needed in order to overcome the enemy position and rekindle the attack, and that unless these measures were taken promptly the Battalion would sustain increasing casualties and the attack perhaps even fail. It was time for personal leadership and action. Colonel Jones immediately seized a sub-machine gun, and, calling on those around him and with total disregard for his own safety, charged the nearest enemy position. This action exposed him to fire from a number of trenches. As he charged up a short slope at the enemy position he was seen to fall and roll backward downhill. He immediately picked himself up, and again charged the enemy trench, firing his sub-machine gun and seemingly oblivious to the intense fire directed at him. He was hit by fire from another trench which he outflanked, and fell dying only a few feet from the enemy he had assaulted. A short time later a company of the Battalion attacked the enemy, who quickly surrendered. The display of courage by Colonel Jones had completely undermined their will to fight further.
Thereafter the momentum of the attack was rapidly regained, Darwin and Goose Green were liberated, and the Battalion released the local inhabitants unharmed and forced the surrender of some 1,200 of the enemy.
The achievements of 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment at Darwin and Goose Green set the tone for the subsequent land victory on the Falklands. The British achieved such a moral superiority over the enemy in this first battle that, despite the advantages of numbers and selection of battle-ground, the Argentinian troops never thereafter doubted neither the superior fighting qualities of the British troops, nor their own inevitable defeat.
This was an action of the utmost gallantry by a Commanding Officer whose dashing leadership and courage throughout the battle were an inspiration to all about him.

You mean Bollocks

Video game for history nerds, profs, and War College.

Those were Tennesseans and Texans.

Hardly rabble.

Buy my BIL's book:

The Drillmaster of Valley Forge: The Baron de Steuben and the Making of the American Army

Go to Walgreens, ask for a humor gene.

No  It was said LONG before that asshole was making noise.  It came from Arthur C. Clarke