That time when the US Military destroyed Russian Wagner Mercenaries in Syria

Up to 500 people, armed and with armored vehicles, closed in on where US Military personnel and their Syrian allies were positioned. There were 40 of them and they did not possess what they needed to neutralize the Russian tanks closing in on them. Russian Wagner mercenaries and their Syrian allies intended to take control of the location that the Americans were at. Lucky for the Americans, the Russians were not hindered by a lack of night vision. They kept firing at the Americans, consistently missed, then advanced as if they thought they had destroyed any potential resistance.

From the Army Times:

Andrew, a new team leader on his first deployment as a Special Forces officer, led the Special Forces team, which had cleared an area farther south. But they headed out again after seeing little activity. In the days leading up to the refinery attack, the Russians and Americans remained on opposite sides of the river.

The Russians planned to seize the oil refinery after arriving in Deir al-Zour governorate, Andrew says. A team of about 30 soldiers from Joint Special Operations Command was stationed at the refinery, while Andrew’s team and platoon of Marines were located at a mission support site 20 minutes away, monitoring drone feeds of the area.

At three p.m., the Russian-led force began to gather near the refinery, and by early evening, more than 500 troops and 27 vehicles, including tanks and armored personnel carriers, were in position.

The situation confounded military officers and intelligence analysts in the region and in Washington as they watched on drone feeds. Pilots and ground crews across the region went on alert, while Andrew and Chauncey–the Special Forces team sergeant–gathered the team and prepared the QRF.

Soldiers loaded three M-ATV armored trucks and an MRAP armored truck with equipment, ammunition, and food. They staged the convoy so the soldiers and Marines could race to the trucks and leave immediately. They checked their weapons and ensured each had extra ammunition and thermal optics. A Black Hawk with additional medical support arrived with extra blood for transfusions, Andrew says.

By nightfall, everyone was prepared for a fight, but hoped they wouldn’t have to be: The Special Forces armored trucks were no match for the Russian tanks.

The article lists three statements from intercepts of Russian phone calls related to the event shows how one sided this battle became, in favor of the US and humiliating for the Russians.

The Army Times has more information here.

Category: Military issues, Russia, Syria