Vielsalm Incident
A thread started by SwanSongUnsung, who seemed to miss one of the things which makes the British Army truly great: namely the ability of its soldiers to spot a bluffer at 50 paces...
Lets begin SwanSongUnsung's tale...
... On the night of 12/13 May 1984, around 2 o'clock in the morning, during the Oesling NATO Military Exercise, the so called Vielsalm Incident took place.
The Vielsalm station in Belgium was attacked and a guard was shot several times, but miraculously survived. A large quantity of arms were stolen.
Later some of these arms ended up in the hands of the French terrorist group Action Directe, and the Belgian terrorist group Les Cellules Communistes Combattantes.
The identity of the attackers remains a total mystery.
The guard was shot with a Thompson 45 submachine gun.
My understanding is that this gun was considered obsolete in 1984. I have also been informed that blanks were never developed for use with this weapon. There could therefore be no possibility of misunderstanding as far as this weapon was concerned. The person who fired the weapon would have known that it could not have contained blanks.
I am in direct contact with the Vielsalm commanding officer of that time. He informed me yesterday that a regular team of US Special Forces personnel had been assigned the task of "attacking" Viesalm, for the purpose of the military exercise but they were stood down at the last moment. The "assassins" then took their place.
Much has been written about the Vielsalm incident. Many people point the finger at U.S. Special Forces and/or right-wing elements within NATO. I personally do not believe this.
I would be very grateful for any information concerning Oesling Military Exercises. I am also interested in use, by the military, of the Thompson 45 submachine gun.
And So...
... despite trying to have a pop at those who suspected the tin foil hats needed donning and throwing a full on tantrum, SwanDung came out of the battle looking bruised and battered and promptly threw his teddy in the corner.
