The Battle of Shewan

[Teufel]

On this date five years ago, a Force Reconnaissance Platoon was ambushed by several hundred Taliban fighters in the city of Shewan. Thirty Marines bravely fought back waves of Taliban fighters for over eight hours of vicious close quarters combat, suffering hour after hour of withering enemy fire and countless volleys of RPG, mortar, and rocket fire. One by one, their crew served weapons ran dry as the battle raged on until the last remaining magazines were re-distributed and the thirty men conducted a devastating counter attack against the numerically superior and entrenched Taliban force that collapsed their left flank and sparked a panic amongst the enemy. These Reconnaissance Marines fought past the point of exhaustion to continue their relentless assault until the Taliban were driven from the battlefield, leaving the city littered with spent casings, scarred buildings and the broken bodies of the enemy. No Americans were killed during the fighting. Villagers later complained that it took them several days to remove and bury all of the enemy dead.

In 2006 the future of Force Reconnaissance in the Marine Corps was doubtful after the deactivation of 1st Force Reconnaissance Company and the creation of MARSOC. The men of 2nd Plt, 1st Force Recon Co, later redesignated 4th Plt, D Co, 1st Recon Bn, later redesignated 2nd Plt, Force Recon Co, I MEF, showed the world and the Marine Corps that not only did Force Reconnaissance continue to exist, it was a critical part to the Marine Corps' continued success in the Global War On Terrorism. The dauntless courage, incredible valor and refined professionalism of these Marines ensured the continued survival and relevance of Force Reconnaissance to the Marine Corps.

Feel free to forward this on to Marines in the MARSOC and Recon communities who wear a black and gold t shirt without understanding the blood, sweat and tears others had to pay for them to do so.

Jaeger 5-1 with you

 

[Crusader74]

I hope each and every one received at least a purple heart ... Warriors I salute you!

 

[Poccington]

Fuck.

True warriors.

 

[Teufel]

I hope each and every one received at least a purple heart ... Warriors I salute you!

I wouldn't wish a Purple Heart on anyone! Some Marines were wounded but not all.

 

[8654Maine]

Just OUTSTANDING!

 

[LimaOscarSierraTango]

If I remember correctly (as this sounds vaguely familiar), there were a couple of distinguished leaders among this group of warriors.

A bunch of heroes, all of you.

 

[mac21]

I often used this battle for tie-ins in when I taught MCMAP. I'm amazed at how many people know nothing about this.

 

[x SF med]

Sir, among those of us that have heard the story, it will never be forgotten, and it will be passed on to not just Marines, but every fighting man and woman in the US military as an example of what a small force can do in the face of seemingly overwhelming odds.

Thank you for the reminder.

 

[Teufel]

Sir, among those of us that have heard the story, it will never be forgotten, and it will be passed on to not just Marines, but every fighting man and woman in the US military as an example of what a small force can do in the face of seemingly overwhelming odds.

Thank you for the reminder.

To quote myself from a brief on the battle:

The basic skills and tasks taught at SOI and TBS will carry the day as they are based on hard lessons learned by Marines who have gone before us. Iraq has allowed us to become tactically sloppy as the majority of fighters there are unorganized and poorly trained. This is not the case in Afghanistan. The enemy combatants here will exploit any mistake made by coalition forces with catastrophic results. Complacency and laziness will result in mass causalities.


The enemy should be respected as they are well trained and very proficient but they are not invincible. Units that focus on the basics and apply the fundamentals they have been taught will always be successful. Small unit leaders must be aggressive decision makers with a bias for action. The platoon was able to inflict a tremendous amount of casualties on the enemy while suffering a minimum number of casualties. A Marine infantry squad can cause a lot of damage with their internal direct fire and indirect fire assets. An infantry squad that successfully integrates mortars and Close Air Support into their maneuver is nearly undefeatable.

 

[AWP]

Small unit leaders must be aggressive decision makers with a bias for action.

That is an awesome quote.

 

[Teufel]

If I remember correctly (as this sounds vaguely familiar), there were a couple of distinguished leaders among this group of warriors.

A bunch of heroes, all of you.

Certainly distinguished NCO leadership.

 

[TheSiatonist]

Sounds like the Taliban picked the wrong crowd to fuck with that day.


Article: http://www.shadowspear.com/vb/threads/recon-gunny-receives-navy-cross-for-battle-of-shewan.10049/

....
In all, what started as an ambush by 30 insurgent fighters swelled to a full-fledged assault by an estimated 250 enemy militants. The 30 or so Marines of 2/7's platoon killed more than 50 insurgents in the eight-hour battle, the Corps says.

"It turned out later that there was a big meeting of enemy leaders in the town that we had interrupted and we inadvertently trapped them inside of their compound," the platoon commander wrote. "They must have thought that if they ambushed us we would cut and run. This was not the case."

..Yep. Definitely didn't know they were fucking with the wrong guys. LOL!

 

[LimaOscarSierraTango]

Certainly distinguished NCO leadership.

You keep saying things like that, Sir. I am pretty sure there was at least one Officer right there with those hard charging NCOs picking up everything that was thrown down.

One of these days I look forward to seeing a retired SGM and Colonol (because that's what they should be at a minimum when they get out) on the history channel talking about this piece of Afghanistan history.

 

[x SF med]

Certainly distinguished NCO leadership.

Because the best officers know they need good NCOs to be outstanding leaders for the team.
Proud to know you, you have earned "Sir" with no hesitation nor irony nor sarcasm... well, unless it's called for in a post or a joke...

 

[SpongeBob*24]

Amazing walk thru of the events that day....thank you!!!!!!

 

[JohnnyBoyUSMC]

Semper Fucking Fi.

 

[Blizzard]

Thank you!

 

[Cody]

These are the type of men all warriors should strive to be. I'm going to share this with my fellow Marines. Semper fi.

 

[Teufel]

It’s hard to explain what it was like being a Force Recon Marine. It was a select community, with rigorous professional standards. Poor performance of any kind was ground for immediate dismissal. It was a special place, populated with Marines whose disciplined professionalism matched their vicious lethality. It was the kind of organization you never wanted to leave.

On October 26th, 2006, the Marine Corps deactivated 1st Force Reconnaissance Company, and used its manpower to help stand up Marine Special Operations Command. Not all the Force Reconnaissance Marines there joined the new organization however. 2nd Platoon was deployed on the 15th MEU at the time and returned to company that no longer existed.

15 years ago today we learned that 1st Force was not gone. 1st Force wasn’t a building, or a guidon, or a logo on a t shirt. It lived on in the hearts of the Marines from 2nd Platoon, 1st Force whose exploits on this date furthered the reputation of a company that no longer existed. These thirty men, alongside Marines from Golf 2/7, fought past the point of exhaustion to drive hundred of Taliban fighters from the town of Shewan after a bloody eight hour battle.

Marines braved withering enemy fire to assault an enemy trench and defeat a determined and numerically superior adversary. The ferocity of this attack broke the Taliban’s will to fight and shattered their lines. They abandoned their dead in their haste to escape the vicious attack, their broken and twisted bodies testament to the brutal violence experienced that day.

After eight hours of battle the guns went silent and only the Marines remained. They returned to their base battered and bloodied, with nearly all their ammunition expended. There are no celebrations for victories such as these. The Marines treated their wounded upon their return, quietly cleaned their weapons, and prepared for the next day of combat. They continued to put evil men to the sword for another eight arduous months during their extended combat deployment.

15 years ago, 30 Marines nearly died to seize a town of little importance, in a place no one had ever heard of. It’s easy to wonder why. The tactical advantage of this lopsided victory was soon lost and Shewan shortly returned to Taliban control after the Marines left the Farah Province. There is one remnant of this battle that remains, however. If you visit Camp Pendleton, there is a small company of Reconnaissance Marines in a compound near the water. The red and gold sign hanging outside the office is old, scarred, and worn, much like the men whose heroism in Shewan helped reactivate the 1st Force Reconnaissance Company. The true legacy of the Battle of Shewan is how it is inspiring the next generation of Reconnaissance Marines to push themselves in training, and eventually in combat.

 

[Devildoc]

It’s hard to explain what it was like being a Force Recon Marine. It was a select community, with rigorous professional standards. Poor performance of any kind was ground for immediate dismissal. It was a special place, populated with Marines whose disciplined professionalism matched their vicious lethality. It was the kind of organization you never wanted to leave.

On October 26th, 2006, the Marine Corps deactivated 1st Force Reconnaissance Company, and used its manpower to help stand up Marine Special Operations Command. Not all the Force Reconnaissance Marines there joined the new organization however. 2nd Platoon was deployed on the 15th MEU at the time and returned to company that no longer existed.

15 years ago today we learned that 1st Force was not gone. 1st Force wasn’t a building, or a guidon, or a logo on a t shirt. It lived on in the hearts of the Marines from 2nd Platoon, 1st Force whose exploits on this date furthered the reputation of a company that no longer existed. These thirty men, alongside Marines from Golf 2/7, fought past the point of exhaustion to drive hundred of Taliban fighters from the town of Shewan after a bloody eight hour battle.

Marines braved withering enemy fire to assault an enemy trench and defeat a determined and numerically superior adversary. The ferocity of this attack broke the Taliban’s will to fight and shattered their lines. They abandoned their dead in their haste to escape the vicious attack, their broken and twisted bodies testament to the brutal violence experienced that day.

After eight hours of battle the guns went silent and only the Marines remained. They returned to their base battered and bloodied, with nearly all their ammunition expended. There are no celebrations for victories such as these. The Marines treated their wounded upon their return, quietly cleaned their weapons, and prepared for the next day of combat. They continued to put evil men to the sword for another eight arduous months during their extended combat deployment.

15 years ago, 30 Marines nearly died to seize a town of little importance, in a place no one had ever heard of. It’s easy to wonder why. The tactical advantage of this lopsided victory was soon lost and Shewan shortly returned to Taliban control after the Marines left the Farah Province. There is one remnant of this battle that remains, however. If you visit Camp Pendleton, there is a small company of Reconnaissance Marines in a compound near the water. The red and gold sign hanging outside the office is old, scarred, and worn, much like the men whose heroism in Shewan helped reactivate the 1st Force Reconnaissance Company. The true legacy of the Battle of Shewan is how it is inspiring the next generation of Reconnaissance Marines to push themselves in training, and eventually in combat.

Y'all kicked ass that day. Yet one more battle in a succession of hundreds of battles in which Marines rose above themselves and did what they had to do despite the odds.