Our Boys' unseen war
Target ... snipers on alert against a
rebel attack at British Army outpost
Pictures: DAN CHARITY
From TOM NEWTON DUNN
Defence Editor
at Camp Abu Naji, Iraq
THE first mortar bomb exploded with a loud clump as I tucked into my British Army fry-up for breakfast yesterday.
Everyone dived for cover in the tented canteen â †as the second whistled over our heads and landed a few metres outside the base's northern wall.
â Å“Welcome to Camp Abu Naji,â ? quipped Sergeant Chris Broome, 35.
â Å“Now you know what it's really like up here.â ?
This is the most dangerous posting in the world for Brit forces.
And The Sun has joined the 1,000-strong Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment Battle Group, who are protecting the lawless badlands of Maysan province, 150 miles north of Basra.
For two months religious extremists have waged a war against the PWRR that is almost unseen by the British public.
Fighting is so intense, Our Boys have been attacked more times than any Army unit since the Korean War.
The men arrived on April 17 and have had an incredible 320 â Å“contactsâ ? with the enemy â †around five a day.
These are anything from a single hand grenade tossed in front of a Land Rover to the three-day battle for the province's capital Al Amarah last month.
Our Boys have fired 30,000 rounds against the rebels. They have lost a dozen vehicles and had 28 soldiers wounded. But, incredibly, there have been no deaths.
At least 100 insurgents â †from rebel cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi army â †have been killed.
Combat has ranged from Challenger II tanks firing high explosive shells to the first bayonet charge by British troops since the Falklands War.
Lt Col Matt Maer, commanding officer of the PWRR's 1st Battalion, said: â Å“My men have walked into a maelstrom of violence the like of which none of us has faced before.
â Å“But they have reacted superbly and faced hardship with astonishing courage, endurance and humour. They are true heroes.â ?
The CO added: â Å“Before we arrived, we weren't expecting two months of war.
Heavyweight ... tank crushes weapons
â Å“I told my men to expect a tour like no other, but I had very little idea how true that was going to be.
â Å“And it is a forgotten war. People back home have very little idea of what is going on here because we are so remote.â ?
It is the first taste of combat for many of these men from the PWRR, nicknamed The Tigers.
Coalition troops throughout Iraq battled al-Sadr's Shiite Muslim group during the April uprising. Fighting calmed after a few weeks, EXCEPT in desperately poor Maysan.
The hardcore Mehdi in the area number around 300, but ranks can be swelled up to 3,000.
Near misses occur with terrifying regularity.
Lance Corporal John Barr, 34, from A Company, poked his head out of his Warrior armoured vehicle â †and nearly had it blown off by a rocket-propelled grenade.
The RPG missed his head by inches during a street ambush in Al Amarah.
L/Cpl Barr, from Chichester, Sussex, said: â Å“It's amazing we haven't lost anybody with the stuff they've chucked at us.
â Å“I thought this would be a simple peace keeping tour. But as soon as we got here it turned into something just like Black Hawk Down. It's been my first time under fire, but one of the things I take great pride in is that I've proved I can handle it.
â Å“The whole unit has. This regiment has a very proud history. Here in Iraq, we've been given a chance to show this generation is up to it too.
â Å“Everyone shares the risks and everyone's played their part.â ?
The soldiers who have seen the most action are from 8 platoon, C Company, led by 2nd Lt. Richard Deane, of Co Londonderry.
The subaltern has had 12 of his 25 men wounded in combat during a succession of ambushes.
Bullet holes and blast marks pock mark the platoon's Warriors.
Brave 2nd Lt. Deane, 22, has been wounded twice himself, once getting shrapnel in his face and another time ending up unconscious during an RPG strike on his Warrior turret.
He said: â Å“Before we came out, all the lads were really looking forward to getting stuck in. Now I think we'll all be delighted if we never see another round fired until we get home.
â Å“A lot of young blokes have been forced to grow up pretty quickly. I'm looking forward to getting home for some leave in nine days and seeing my three-year-old daughter again.â ?
Battle ground ... where Brits are fighting rebels
Maysan province's volatility is not new to British troops.
Just 20 miles down the road from Camp Abu Naji is Majar al Kabir, where a mob massacred six Royal Military Policemen.
Most men fly into the base by Chinook helicopter because the road from Basra is considered too dangerous for anything but large convoys supported by armour.
The Hercules flight Sun photographer Dan Charity and I arrived on four days ago was the most terrifying either of us has had.
The RAF transport plane veered violently from side to side on its final approach to make itself less of a target for an RPG attack.
Troops are also battling the blistering Iraqi summer and strong winds that kick up daily dust clouds.
They have seized huge caches of rifles, heavy machine guns, mortars and RPGs during raids.
These have been crushed under the tracks of a 60-tonne Challenger 2.
Fifteen miles outside the main camp is an outpost jokingly dubbed The Alamo because it has been attacked so often.
Y Company have been in fortified Cimic House in the heart of enemy territory in Al Amarah since the start of the tour.
Major Justin Featherstone's 130 men have had 180 mortar rounds fired at them and got into 73 gun fights with the Mehdi army.
Three snipers man the rooftop bunker at all times on the lookout for the next attack. Company Sergeant Major Dale Norman, of Gosport, Hants, said: â Å“I was mortared nine times and shot at twice on my 35th birthday here. I'll never forget it.â ?
Sergeant Dan Mills, 35, had a miracle escape when he was saved by his body armour during an ambush.
The soldier was shot in the upper back as he directed fire in Al Amarah.
Sgt Mills, from Middlesex, said: â Å“I was knocked on to my face by the bullet. It felt like being kicked by a horse and I knew I had been shot.
â Å“But when I felt for hot sticky blood, there was none. I couldn't understand it, so I got up and carried on with the contact.
â Å“It was only when we got back to base that a mate saw the hole in my body armour,
â Å“He had a dig around and pulled out a 7.62mm AK47 bullet. I am a very lucky boy.â ?
Baking shot
Chink of light ... baking tray
was mangled by mortar
LUCKY cook Alex Whitlam, 22, holds up a shrapnel-hit baking tray â †after a mortar bomb smashed into his kitchen at â Å“The Alamoâ ? outpost in Al Amarah.
Lance Corporal Whitlam, from Norwich, walked out to fetch extra rations 20 SECONDS before the strike.
Two hours later he had cooked an evening meal for the men.
He said: â Å“I cleaned up and got on with my job. You have to, even if someone is trying to kill you.â ?