Lessons from the battle of Sam Hill

“Either my mind is playing tricks or there’s movement at 10 o’clock,” says Pte Jonah Nelson, of 8/9RAR.

His mind was playing tricks. From a concealed bunker crouched beside a .50 calibre machinegun, the young sleep-deprived infantryman is constantly scanning the bush with night-vision goggles.

It’s one in the morning and Pte Nelson, with the rest of Bravo Company acting as Red Force, is entrenched on both sides of a critical route deep inside the Shoalwater Bay Training Area.

They’re anticipating an attack from Blue Force, comprising units from Brisbane-based 7th Brigade, which includes dismounted infantry from 6RAR and the imposing Boxer combat reconnaissance vehicles (CRVs) of 2/14LHR assaulting as Battlegroup Warhorse.

It’s exactly 14 days into Exercise Diamond Run and the battle for Sam Hill is mere hours away.

When the Boxers did arrive there was little Bravo Company could do to slow their progress. With superior night-time optics and a devastating 30-millimetre cannon, the battle was over in a matter of minutes.

Officer Commanding Bravo Company Maj Brenton Mastro took some positives away from the firepower mismatch.

“The one good thing about training against 2/14LHR is that in future when we work with them overseas or on exercise we’ll be a better combined arms team,” Maj Mastro said.

“Tonight, what I would have liked to have seen was a bit more rapid fire on those weapons systems, to get that shock of action on the enemy.”

The 2/14LHR manoeuvre was actually a deception to draw the opposing force’s attention away from the main effort – Sam Hill.

There, two 6RAR companies used the bush to cover their approach against opposition uncrewed aerial systems and then assaulted the objective from the rear, while the majority of the dug-in defenders, including snipers, were postured forward.

2/14LHR Troop Leader Lt James Arnold said the feint achieved the desired effect.

“We were essentially trying to make the enemy think that the main effort was weighted towards our access,” Lt Arnold said.

Exercise Diamond Run 26 was a crucial test for Boxer Block II, which was introduced into operational service last year.

“It was the first major tactical exercise we’ve been on with Boxer Block II,” Lt Arnold said.

“We’ve learned a lot of lessons about living with the vehicle and maintenance in the field, which you can’t experience unless you come out for weeks at a time in a tactical environment on the vehicle.”

The new 40-tonne CRVs will replace the smaller Australian light armoured vehicle, which has been in service with the ADF for the past 30 years.

“Boxer has a lot more firepower and is better protected,” Lt Arnold said.

“It’s the way you use the equipment and where you use the equipment that will be the make or break.

“The Boxer is very powerful at initiating an advance. It’s very hard to stop once it gets rolling. I wouldn’t want to face it.”

The crews from 2/14LHR didn’t have it all their own way in the battle for Sam Hill.

“Having a thermal blanket over the top of an M777 and then unveiling it at the last second, before destroying us, was a bit cheeky,” Lt Arnold said.

“Those sorts of things you can’t really prepare for.”

See more images here.