Fighting on the Frontline

War Wagons (1x2)

Ημερομηνία προβολής: Οκτ 02, 2011

The cameras follow the soldiers taking the fight to the enemy on board the British Army's latest armoured vehicle - the Warthog. This heavy, tracked armoured vehicle can fight in places where other military vehicles cannot. The crews call it 'combat caravanning', spending weeks at a time out on patrol in the deserts and main river valley of Helmand. The cameras capture the detail of this extraordinary camping trip as the crews try to snatch brief periods of relaxation, surrounded by an enemy that is always watching, ready to attack, but is rarely seen. The Warthog crews are from the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, which used to ride horses into battle. But they do develop affection for their modern-day mounts, naming them and constantly repairing and caring for them in order to stay on the move. When the fighting kicks off, camera rigs on the Warthogs capture the different angles of an intense battle with the Taliban, who are firing from less than 80 metres away. The bullets ricochet off the vehicles and past the heads of the commanders, who are exposed in their turrets. As the tour progresses, the crews' vulnerability is exposed when they strike their first IED (improvised explosive device) of the tour. Later, a rapid sequence of events leaves the Warthogs stranded in a river, like sitting ducks surrounded by the enemy.