Day 1,878 : Operation Warthog

Day 1,878, 00:41 • Published in Belgium Belgium • by RooieLente
“Mayday! Mayday!
This is the First Division, Belgian Training Academy. We are under heavy fire, I repeat, we are taking heavy fire. Request immediate back-up.”

The radio crackled. I wasn’t entirely sure whether they had received our call. The ground shook and a deafening rumbling rolled over the Argentinian plains.

Noone spoke, but we all thought the same. Another one. I grabbed the radio engineer by the shoulder and pushed him towards the radio.

“Keep repeating that message, over and over again, in English and Spanish. If these Argentinians keep raining rockets on our positions, we can only keep our heads down and pray they don’t get a lucky hit. And frankly, my bum is too fine to go home in a bodybag.”



The ground shook again, a cloud of dust and small debris raged over the dug-out. The tarp covering and hiding our position flapped in the sudden gust of wind and we all got more than a mouthful of Argentinian soil.

“Damn, that one was close…too close…”

It was the faintest of sound, a distant, monotonous whistling, only marginally growing in strength.

“Shhhtt…quiet! I hear something…”

We all held our breath, listening. Could it really be ?

“Is that a jet ?”

None of us dared to ask the next question: ‘was it one of ours or one of them ?’

The whistling sound grew stronger and stronger, almost deafening when the jet squadron flew over, full attack formation. The rocket propulsion burnt brightly as they were fired from the planes. A series of explosions, in rapid succession hit the hills. A moment of silence…only a brief second, yet it seemed to last an eternity…and then it came. The large explosion as the jets took out the Argentinian artillery.

“On your feet, gentlemen! Our Chilean allies have just cleared the path for us. Move out!
We have a province to take!”