After reaching the apogee of their flight, the rockets began their descent, each one spreading out and away from the others that it had been fired with. When the clamshell-like warhead of each of the rockets burst open, spewing its 644 bomblets, the Ukrainian gunners were in the process of preparing to load the fourth round of their barrage. None of the guns, however, managed to fire that round as the bomblets saturated an oblong beaten zone encompassing an area a little over one kilometer in size. The resulting devastation was not as complete as Salatinni would have liked, leaving several guns, vehicles, and artillerymen untouched. Left alone and given time, the Ukrainian artillery battalion would be able to recover some of its ability to function. It was, however, in military terminology, effectively neutralized and would no longer play a part in the battle that was developing along the Latorica.
The artillerymen supporting 1st Brigade were not finished. Their work, in fact, was just beginning. Even before the first MLRS rocket left its pod, the 155mm artillery battalion was receiving its firing orders over the TACFIRE net.
Bursts of radio traffic were heard on the frequencies that the brigade S-2, Lea Thompson, believed to be the Ukrainian brigade command net and artillery net, caught by the EH-60A Quickfix helicopter just after their artillery began to fire. Though each message was only a few seconds in length, together they were enough to fix the Ukrainians' locations. The electronic surveillance package on board the helicopter received and processed the signals using the targeted frequencies and recorded that information in its computer as back azimuths, or lines leading from the helicopter back in the direction from which the signals originated. After several seconds, this computer had accumulated several back azimuths, since the helicopter was moving and the source of the signal was not. Using its own internal mapping system, the computer plotted all the back azimuths and compared them. The point where all the back azimuths came together gave it, and everyone who had access to the computer's data down-link, the precise location of where the signals originated.
Lea Thompson compared the new location provided by the EH-60A helicopter with the one they had previously suspected to be the Ukrainian brigade command post based on earlier signal intelligence. When she saw that they matched, she became excited. "We've got 'em. We've got their CP." Bounding out of her command post carrier, she went over to Cerro.
"Hal, we should fire on the Ukrainian brigade CP now, while we have it."
Salatinni, hearing Thompson's request, stuck his head out of his command post carrier. "1st of the 66th Field Artillery is ready to fire that mission. Do we have a go?"
Cerro looked at Salatinni, then at Thompson. For a second he wondered if they appreciated what they were about to do. Did they really understand that through their actions they were about to dump several hundred pounds of steel and high explosives on a group of real human beings? And did they know what would happen to those human beings when that happened? How could these staff officers, so far removed from the actual killing, appreciate what they were doing? But as quickly as those thoughts passed through his head, they left, allowing the brain of the operations officer to re-engage. Without further hesitation, he turned back to Salatinni. "Go ahead, Sal, fire it."
Pulling his head back into his track, Salatinni nodded to his sergeant seated at the TACFIRE console. A simple "Send it" was all he needed to say to initiate the fire mission.
At the fire direction center of the 1st of the 66th Field Artillery battalion, the TACFIRE printed up the mission, giving the target location, a description of the target, recommendation as to the type of ammunition to be used and number of rounds to be fired, and which of the battalion's three batteries was to fire the mission. The officer on duty reviewed the information and recommendations. Deciding to accept the TACFIRE's recommendations, he hit a button that sent the necessary data to the battery it had selected to fire the mission.
Seven kilometers away from the battalion fire direction center, Battery B, 1st of the 66th Field Artillery, received the fire mission. The same data that had been displayed at battalion was displayed at Battery B. The executive officer of Battery B saw no need to change the orders to engage an enemy command post as a point target with two volleys of dual purpose improved conventional ammunition. Like the officers on duty at the other command posts, he accepted the mission and computer recommendations by simply hitting a button. Electronically, the battery's computer sent out the elevation and azimuth needed by each gun, information that it had already calculated and had ready.
Even at the guns, computers were standing by ready to work.
Upon receiving the elevation and azimuth from the battery's TACFIRE computer, the guns' own computers processed that information and translated it into action. Each gun commander ordered up the appropriate round of ammunition to be fired by reading it off of the computer's display. As the ammo bearers prepared and then passed the rounds to an assistant gunner who loaded the round, the gunner checked about the gun to ensure there was nothing in the turret of the M-109A5 howitzer that would get in the way when he fired. When the round and propellant were loaded and everyone was clear of the gun, the gunner hit the button that fed the elevation and azimuth into the howitzer's gun-turret drive. With quick, smooth movements, each of the eight guns of Battery B was laid on target. When all guns reported in that they were ready, the battery executive officer gave the order to commence firing.
The impact of those rounds across the river from Company C's position caught Kozak's attention, but she didn't bother herself with wondering who had fired them and what they had hit. As far as she was concerned, at that moment that artillery barrage wasn't important to her fight. Kozak had no idea how much the field artillery in her support had already begun shifting the odds of success back into her favor. In a span of minutes, before the first Ukrainian BMP had left its concealed position to commence the assault, the Ukrainians had lost their ability to bring indirect fire against her company. Equally important, the commander and much of his battle staff were also out of action. Although the initial American artillery fire missions had not touched any of the Ukrainian assault elements, when those elements came they would be without artillery support and would have no command and control element capable of directing the battle.
What was important to Kozak at that moment was the report that there were enemy tanks on her left flank taking her 1st Platoon under fire. There was also activity reported by her 2nd Platoon on the right. Kozak knew that there were enemy vehicles on both her flanks. Reports before the enemy attack of noise and numerous thermal hot spots in the woods across the river had alerted her to that. What she didn't know yet was whether the Ukrainians were trying to make a demonstration on one flank in order to keep her from shifting forces before the battle to the flank where the main attack was coming, or if they intended to hit both flanks with an attack.
From her position, Kozak could see the flashes of fire as enemy tanks on her left fired into the wood line where her 1st Platoon was located. Initial reports from Second Lieutenant Sylvester Ahern, platoon leader of that platoon, indicated that the Ukrainian tank fire was inaccurate and ineffective. They were, Kozak thought, firing blind. To her right, where the other enemy concentration had been reported, there was nothing. The platoon leader of her 2nd Platoon, Second Lieutenant Marc Gross, reported that while his dismounted infantry near the river line could hear numerous vehicles cranking up, they had no visual sightings yet and were not under fire. Although she didn't want to commit yet, Kozak was convinced in her heart that the action on the left was the demonstration and that the main attack would fall on her 2nd Platoon. Keying the radio, she ordered Ellerbee to stand by and be prepared to shift his entire platoon to the right in support of 2nd Platoon or as a counterattack.