Royal Marines show their firepower during dramatic beach assault

Flotillas of landing craft and fast boats churned up the River Tamar at Plymouth and the air rang with the sound of gunfire and darkened with the smoke of explosives.

This was the dramatic scene yesterday as Royal Marines played out a fast-moving amphibious landing exercise in Devonport Naval Base.

The commandos demonstrated their landing craft handling skills – and their ability to co-ordinate the complex task of putting men and machines ashore – as months of training came to the end.

A troop of green responded to a growing humanitarian crisis at Bull Point – perhaps the unluckiest place in Britain as it’s also prone to hurricanes, volcanoes, floods and other natural phenomenon as part of the Royal Navy’s disaster relief training.

In this case, however, the crisis was caused by man as inhabitants came under threat from enemy forces and urgently needed food, medical and other emergency supplies.

The spot chosen to deliver that aid was Wilson’s Beach, a drab, muddy stretch of shore a couple of hundred yards from Bull Point – and the men chosen to do it, trainee landing craftsmen from 1 Assault Group Royal Marines coming to the end of a demanding 14-week course.

The assault group are the UK’s leading amphibious warfare experts (they’re also in charge of board and search training) operating small boats and Offshore Raiding Craft up to the large roll-on, roll-off Landing Craft (Utility), capable of carrying Challenger 2 tanks.

First on the scene was a recce force of three small inflatable boats with four Royal Marines armed and loaded with rucksacks.

Crouching low in their boats with weapons trained on the beach the commandos – in combat gear and camouflaged faces – approached the beach at low speed, keeping out of sight to the enemy.

The boats’ crews then crept quietly and warily up the steep stony beach and slowly made the area and its perimeter safe for following friendly forces.

Meanwhile, one of the crew mapped the underwater beach gradient electronically to feed back to the ‘mother’ ship – RFA Mounts Bay further down river.

Next on the scene was a landing by a larger landing craft (vehicle and personnel) carrying a Land Rover with initial first aid medical supplies which was landed safely thanks to the initial recce troop.

This was followed by two even larger 152-tonne landing craft (utility) capable of carrying more than 100 troops carrying four heavy lorries which made a safe delivery under the protection of the Marines who then came under attack from defending enemy forces.

The enemy was repelled at the cost of one ‘casualty’.

Having been defeated on land, the enemy struck back on the water with fast, armed raiding craft operated by 539 Assault Squadron Royal Marines which attacked a larger boat until being driven back by commandos in a fleet of rigid inflatable boats.

“The fast-evolving exercise unfolds as if a real military operation, in real time,”

explained Capt Trevor Smith RM, Training Officer of 1AGRM which oversees the training of the student landing craft helmsmen.

“The exercise is devised by a corporal who had only eight hours to come up with the dynamic humanitarian scenario".

"The personnel involved were directed by him according to how the various aspects of the exercise happened, so it was as realistic as possible.

“The lads did very well and it all went as smoothly as can be expected when things are as realistic as possible and the unexpected is part of the test.’’

In addition to the involvement of his men and 539 ASRM, based at nearby Turnchapel, troops undergoing the all-arms commando course at Lympstone and soldiers from the Coldstream Guards joined in the training exercise.