1978 Crossmaglen ambush

On 21 December 1978, three British soldiers were shot dead when the Provisional IRA's South Armagh Brigade ambushed an eight-man British Army foot patrol in Crossmaglen, County Armagh, Northern Ireland.[2]

1978 Crossmaglen ambush
Part of The Troubles
Date21 December 1978
Location
Crossmaglen, County Armagh, Northern Ireland
54°7′55.72″N 6°34′57.10″W
Result Provisional IRA victory
Belligerents
 United Kingdom Provisional IRA (South Armagh Brigade)
Commanders and leaders
Sergeant Richard G. Garmory [1] Unknown
Units involved
British Army Unknown
Strength
8 soldiers 1 improvised tactical vehicle
4 - 5 Volunteers
Casualties and losses
3 killed None
Crossmaglen
The site of the IRA ambush.

Background

Since the Troubles began, the South Armagh area was one of the most dangerous places for the British security forces, and the IRA's South Armagh brigade carried out numerous ambushes on the British Army and Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC). Several British security force members had been killed in Crossmaglen during 1978.

Ambush

When the patrol was near Rio's Bar in Crossmaglen coming around a bend, a red Royal Mail-type van was spotted by the patrol's commander, Sergeant Richard Garmory.[3] The van was fitted with armour plating and was facing away from the patrol, which Garmory believed to be in a suspicious place on the other side of the street. Just as Garmory noticed what looked like boxes in the back of the van (it was sand bag covering for the IRA) IRA volunteers opened fire from the back of the van with an M60 machine gun which was fitted to the van's floor. Four other IRA volunteers armed with AR-15 ArmaLite rifles and an AK47 opened fire on the patrol and the British soldiers returned fire but did not claim any hits. A handful of Christmas shoppers scrambled for cover. Three soldiers at the front of the patrol were fatally wounded. They were treated by staff at a nearby health centre and then taken to Musgrave Park Hospital, but were declared dead on arrival.[4] The soldiers killed were Graham Duggan (22), Kevin Johnson (20) and Glen Ling (18). All were members of the Grenadier Guards regiment.[5]

See also

References
  1. Bandit Country: The IRA & South Armagh by Toby Harnden pp.62 - 63
  2. Melaugh, Dr Martin. "CAIN: Chronology of the Conflict 1978". Conflict Archive on the INternet (CAIN). Ulster University. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  3. Ashcroft, Michael (2009) [2008]. Special Forces Heroes. Headline Review. p. 262. ISBN 978-0755318087.
  4. Toby Harnden, Bandit Country, Coronet Books, 2010; ISBN 0-340-71737-8, pp. 62, 84-86
  5. Sutton, Malcolm. "CAIN: Sutton Index of Deaths". CAIN. Ulster University. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
    - "Ulster Guerrillas Kill 3 Soldiers in Ambush Near Ireland's Border". The New York Times. 22 December 1978. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.