User:Redskevin2688/Battle of Barcadera Port
The Battle of Barcadera Port was one of the battles during the Aruban crisis that lasted from 10-14 September.
Prelude
Dutch
The
The Americans provided Tomahawk cruise missile strikes on the morning of Sept 12 from the American destroyers, the USS Cape St. George and the USS Halsey (DDG-97), hitting several Venezuelan positions, and also hit the main naval base in Maracaibo. This action forced the Venezuelans to divide their forces and reduce the number of SAM missiles guarding Queen Beatrix International Airport, reducing the threat to American airborne forces. US Marine Corps F-18 Hornets also entered the fray, mounting attacks on Venezuelan tanks and gun emplacements near the port. However, some of the strikes of it were in support of a failed SEAL attempt to recover the body of a downed Super Hornet pilot, who had to be extracted by a SEAL boat team and the Dutch complained that the effort compromised pre-invasion reconnaissance.The strikes did not cause serious damage to troops entrenched around the harbor, nor any serious causalities. Part of the reason was to avoid severely damaging the port, and fear of civilian causalities.
Still, they managed to strike a blow to the
Battle
On the evening of September 13, The
Later that night, the
Brigadier General Alejandro Medina, the SOCOM ground commander, was not in communication with the Dutch or German forces. Although in theory he commanded all Special Forces in theater, the Belgian and German Special Forces were under the command of Major General Nico Keller, the German commander. In addition, he failed to maintain communications with Lieutenant Colonel Rob Visser, the Dutch ground commander. A complain was that Lieutenant Colonel Visser, despite his NATO background, didn't speak English fluently.Two Dutch soldiers were killed and a German commando mortally wounded by friendly fire, before an ANGLICO officer attached to the Dutch managed to radio General Medina at the airport. [3]
The
By this time, the Marines had also landed on the beach, brought ashore using Amphibious Combat Vehicles and V-22 Ospreys. Their job was to advance to Highway 1, to block troops from the Savaneta Barracks from reinforcing the troops at the Airport to cut off the Venezuelan retreat. While Alpha Company took up positions at the seaport, Bravo & Charlie Company advanced towards the highway, backed by Abrams tanks and an anti-tank platoon, as well as air cover. They came under fire from nearby buildings. Lieutenant Henrique Alarcon, a platoon commander in Bravo Company, was injured while directing fire from a LAV-25, Lieutenant Alarcon was evacuated back to the seaport, where a casualty collection point had been established. Despite medical attention, the 28-year-old, a native of Union City, New Jersey died from fatal leg wounds. Additionally, two Marines were wounded, a LAV was sent to evacuate them, but it came under fire. Lance Corporal Francisco Fernandez, a Javelin missile operator, was ordered to fire his weapon in support, but accidentally killed by the backblast when his unit malfunctioned.
Linkup with the 3rd Calvary Regiment
The
On the 14th, the remaining Marines formed a perimeter around the seaport aided by Dutch forces, who advanced to aid 3rd Squadron in holding the road to Oranjestad. In addition, there were soldiers from the