- Reaction score
- 64
- Points
- 530
This is an account of the attack on unsuspecting German troops as they replaced worn track on their Marder IFV's. CPL Wilhelm's alertness saved lices that tragic day.
Nine Seconds
Sayed Afzal killed three German soldiers while wearing the uniform of an Afghan soldier. He had lived together with them in the "OP North" outpost and they had trusted him.
When the Medevac helicopters left "OP North", the attacker Sayed Afzal was still lying where Corporal Kai Wilhelm had killed him. Within a matter of seconds he managed to achieve what his terrorist accomplices were not able to. Disguised as an Afghan soldier he killed three Germans and destroyed the German military's faith in their local partners. It was a treacherous attack that could have easily killed ten soldiers. It was only luck that helped Wilhelm avert his comrades' and his own death.
The 182 links of an armoured vehicle's tracks are reinforced with two rubber plates each. In Afghanistan, they need to be changed every 200 kilometres due to wearout. "Kettenklopfen" means every plate needs to be unlocked with a crowbar and a sledgehammer. It is hard graft. To get the job done in time ten infanteers have gathered around a Marder infantry fighting vehicle at the "OP North" combat outpost on this February 18's noon. They come from Regen in Southern Germany and have been at the Hindu Kush for more than five months. As a part of a battalion-sized battle group they retook the so called "Highway Triangle" in Baghlan province from the insurgents in heavy fighting. They always used to fight alongside Afghan soldiers. They shared water and food. Their mission is soon to be over and they will travel home in two weeks.
The Marder stands on a sandy parking lot at the flank of "OP North". It is a hill accessible via gravel roads which were built just a few months ago. They wind up the flanks to the German command post equipped with a heliport and the housing of the companies and platoons. Afghan soldiers guard the entrance to the improvised outpost, it is the only access to "OP North". The only shadow is provided by a windowless building: The "White House" which is used as a command post and housing lot by the Afghans.
German and Afghans live together on this base and they trust each other. This is why the infanteers wear neither helmets nor body armour as they begin to work. They are experienced drivers, gunners and tank commanders who have done this many times before. Georg Missulia has little work to do. The 30 years old Master Sergeant is Charly Platoon's assistant leader, a unit of eight infantry fighting vehicles and thirty crewmembers. The soldiers esteem Missulia as a professional and reliable leader with an open ear for his troops. The soldiers make jokes and laugh as they unlock the rubber plates with their hammers. Soon, the war will be over for them. They have almost done it.
Kai Wilhelm has been an infantryman for four years. He grew a full beard during his tour of duty. He loves his job which he grew into, having started soldiering as a draftee. Wilhelm is the only soldier on the other side of the Marder and inspects the rubber plates which they will unlock when they have finished the first track. Sayed Afzal, an Afghan trooper aged nineteen, walks towards him. He carries his weapon shouldered, an American-made M16. Wilhelm notices him in his green uniform coming closer, not thinking of any harm. He could be a guard on his way to one of the overwatch positions. They are manned by Afghans in the daytime and by Germans at night because they have night vision devices. Wilhelm only carries his pistol as do his comrades. It is holstered in a low drag holster on his right thigh. The weapon is partially loaded which means a magazine is loaded but no bullet in the chamber. Wilhelm needs three seconds to draw, rack the slide and pull the trigger. Sayed Afzal reaches the Marder and monitors the Germans. They do not look at him and hardly notice his presence. Wilhelm sees him stepping beyond the vehicle, eyeing the soldiers. He becomes suspicious of him.
It is 11.49 AM as Sayed Afzal draws his M16. Nine seconds of murder and killing will follow. First second: The Afghan works his rifle whilst Wilhelm is drawing his pistol and screaming. He wants to warn his comrades, but it is too late already. Next second: The attacker pulls the trigger. Twelve rounds slam the side of the infantry fighting vehicle and hit the soldiers in the back. Wilhelm works the slide of his pistol. Third second: The Afghan is still pulling the trigger, firing another eight rounds until his magazine is empty. Wilhelm releases the safety switch of his pistol to "F" for fire. Fourth second: The attacker lowers his weapon to reload, triggers the magazine release and the empty magazine falls to the ground. Wilhelm makes a step around the Marder and takes aim. Fifth second: The attacker reaches back for another magazine. Wilhelm pulls the trigger, firing a shot. He does so another time, another shot is fired. Sixth second: He shoots four times, so six rounds have hit the man's torso. Each one is a hit. Seventh second: The Afghan tumbles to the ground. Eighth second: He tries to get on his feet again. Ninth second: Wilhelm fires another three rounds. Sayed Afzal, the Taliban sleeper, is not moving anymore.
The lifeless body lies ten meters away from the Marder. Wilhelm approaches him to check his death. He holsters his weapon again, there are six rounds left in the magazine. His comrades lie to the left. He pulls his radio and screams "Attack at the White House. Nine casualties."
Wilhelm's radio message reaches Master Sergeant Daniel Friedrich at 11.51 AM. He is Charly Platoon's leader. Friedrich is leaving the command and control center when he hears his Corporal's desperate message. He heads back to the command post and screams "They kill my people!". The officers rush towards the surveillance monitors. They show ten bodies around an infantry fighting vehicle. "IRF go down there and secure the White House!" Then: "All medics and first responders head to the White House!" The IRF (Immediate Response Force) is a response unit able to move out in a matter of minutes. First responders are qualified soldiers who haved received a special training. They may apply intravenous access or intubate. Now they are heavily needed together with the two doctors and the medics. The IRF hastes to the White House in full gear. They think Afghan soldiers started to shoot at each other. Then it is said two suicide attackers would have stormed the compound. To add to the confusion rumor arises the driver of a blue gravel truck standing next to the Marder might have been the gunman . It takes a moment until everything is clear. They are upset and unsure if they should not better be turning their weapons on those who they worked with for months.
More than thirty soldiers fight for the lives of the injured infanteers. There is Master Sergeant Missulia lying on the ground, struck by a single bullet. Six soldiers kneel around him trying to reanimate him for 45 minutes. They are still applying blood transfusions even as the American Medevac helicopters take off again, carrying the first casualties away. Fifteen minutes after the initial attack two American helicopters have arrived. They land close to the "White House" and not at the heliport because lives are at stake. Missulia is in a bad way. Medics fight for the lives of four other soldiers next to him. They will be evacuated to the Hungarian hospital over at Pol-e-Khomri. This is where 21 years old Lance Corporal Konstantin-Alexander Menz will succumb to a penetration shot through his neck and 22 years old Private First Class Georg Kurat to a head shot. Master Sergeant Missulia does not even make it to the helicopter. He dies lying in the shadow of the infantry fighting vehicle. The remaining casualties are flown to Kunduz. One of them has been hit by six rounds to the back. He has severe internal bleedings and the hospital almost runs out of blood transfusions. The American helicopters take of once again to bring blood transfusions from Bagram. The surgeons leave the hospital at late night. "The soldier survived", they report back to Germany.
Taken from Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, June 19.
