Operation Conservation

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Operation Conservation
Part of The Troubles
Date 6 May 1990
Location Cullyhanna, County Armagh
Result British Army operation thwarted
Belligerents
Flag of IrelandProvisional Irish Republican Army Flag of the United KingdomBritish Army
(Scots Guard)
Commanders
Unknown Lance Sergeant Graham Stewart †
Strength
1 ASU 1 Infantry section
Casualties and losses
None 1 dead

Operation Conservation was a British Army attempt to ambush a large IRA unit along the Dorsey Enclosure, between Cullyhanna and Silverbridge, at South Armagh, during the early days of May 1990. The operation was uncovered and thwarted by the IRA South Armagh Brigade.

Contents

[edit] British Plan

The British Army, in the hope of luring a large IRA's ASU into attacking an entrenched Light Infantry unit, deployed its troops around the route between Cullyhanna and Silverbridge.

The main position was to be surrounded and watched by 16 concealed sections belonging to the Scots Guard regiment. The goal was to surprise and destroy any IRA unit attempting to penetrate the area.

[edit] The action

The troops were inserted into the zone on the first hours of May 3. The IRA watched these movements and was able to spot several of the hidden observation teams. Eventually, they decided to attack one of the positions near Cullyhanna, which was in the more vulnerable situation.

On the very first hours of May 6, the Guards post began to receive heavy fire from an IRA unit emplaced on the slope of a hill nearby. The OP was attacked with two 12.7 mm GPMGs and a Heckler & Koch G3 rifle, the latter used to cover the machine gun team retreat. The IRA members fired their machine guns from a rocky terrain next to an abandoned building. The shooting last some 90-seconds, and a total of 216 rounds were expended by the two sides. The section's leader, Lance Sergeant Graham Stewart was hit and died of wounds the following day.[1]

[edit] Aftermath

The sudden counter-ambush disrupted the British operation, and the officer in charge aborted it. Author Toby Harnden suggests that this IRA show of force proved again that they could dispute the ground to the troops everywhere in South Armagh, seriously hampering their freedom of movement.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Harnden, pp. 394-395

[edit] References

Harnden, Toby: Bandit Country: The IRA & South Armagh, Coronet books, 1999.