Andy McNab - Last Night-Another Soldier…

Toki got on the radio to MacKenzie to let him know that we couldn't move anywhere. Worse still, our ammunition was seriously low. We had completely run out of ammo for our rifles, and we'd only got about half a mag left on our pistols, so we had about six rounds each left. That was it.

MacKenzie said he would send two Apaches out to us. They'd be there in thirty minutes. Once they started firing their 30mm cannons into the maize fields, we'd have plenty of fire cover to get out. All we had to do was stand our ground until they arrived. Toki said MacKenzie had wished us all luck. The Tali rounds were getting closer by the minute, so it looked like we were going to need it.

I wiped the sweat off my mud-caked face, and tried taking deep breaths to calm my breathing. It wasn't working. 'Toki, they're getting closer, mate.'

'We are all right, Briggsy. They're just firing into the dark, trying to flush us out.'

'They will soon. It's nearly first light.' I was beginning to wonder if we were going to get out of this one. Another twenty minutes or so and the sun would be up – and there was no way we weren't going to be seen.

Flash was obviously thinking the same thing, and when he spoke, I could hear that he too was breathing heavily, which made me feel a lot better. 'How we going to stand our ground until the Apaches get here?'

'Mate, soon as it's light, they'll be able to see us,' added Si. He sounded as scared as the rest of us. 'Mate, we've got no ammo.'

We fell silent for a moment, and waited for Toki to come up with something. I was desperate for him to come up with anything that sounded like a plan.

Just then, two of the Taliban started shouting at each other in between firing off a few rounds across the maize. They definitely had a plan, and chances were it involved us.

My heart was beating even faster by the time Toki finally spoke. 'OK, listen in.'

We all moved an inch closer to him so as not to miss a word. 'Soon as it becomes light enough for us to see where we are going, we move to the edge of the maize and take cover in the irrigation ditch that runs in the open ground. That way we can wait up until the Apaches start hosing down the fields, plus we don't need to worry about getting hit by their rounds. Then, once they've done their bit, we can start moving and link up with Sergeant MacKenzie. Any questions?'

I had one. 'I've only got four rounds left – that's it. What happens if we run into them on the way out?'

There was a short pause before I heard the sound of grating metal. 'Fix bayonets,' came the reply.

I didn't keep mine in its metal sheaf like Toki, so I pulled my bayonet out from where I had jammed it into the webbing of my body armour. I twisted it into the barrel of my rifle, and checked and double-checked it was on tight.

This was getting really scary. I'd never actually used one before, at least not in real life. I'd only done it back in the UK while we were training. We'd practised screaming at sand bags as we charged towards them making what was supposed to be a terrifying face. You had to put on a war face to frighten the enemy as well as rev yourself up a bit. That way you'd be able to do the business with your bayonet when you finally reached him. It was all a bit of a laugh in training. I never really thought I might have to do it for real.

Si was feeling the pressure, too. 'Mate, we're outnumbered. There are shedloads of 'em out there.'

Toki's voice remained calm as ever. 'If we move through the maize slowly and quietly, we shouldn't bump into any of them. But if it kicks off, we'll take them one at a time. That's right, isn't it, Briggsy?'

I managed to mumble a yes, but it didn't sound very convincing.

Toki ignored my fear and carried on. 'In here, they're going to have to be within a metre or so before they see you. And when they do, you got to be quick. Remember, grip the weapon. Get your body behind it, the butt tucked in under your arm. Ram that lump of metal into him before he has a chance to do anything to you. Aim for the centre of what you can see of him. His bones and kit will resist a little, so keep your body weight behind the weapon. Take him down, leave him dead or alive, and just keep moving on. Fight your way out of the field and take cover in the ditch.'

Flash spoke quietly but urgently. 'It's first light, Toki.' He was right. The eight-foot-high maize field was beginning to take shape.

'You ready?' Toki fixed his eyes on Flash, who took a gulp of air before he answered slowly and steadily, 'Ready.'

Toki then checked out Si, although to be honest, when his reply came he sounded less sure.

Toki then fixed his eyes on me. 'You ready?'

My mouth was so dry I couldn't get the words out.

'Briggsy, you ready?' he repeated.

I swallowed hard and tried to sound confident. 'Ready.' It was more of a squeak than an answer.

Toki started to move through the maize, 'Single file, behind me.'

Flash and Si fell in and I followed behind, each of us a couple of metres behind the other. We needed to be spread apart as much as possible to prevent a burst of Tali fire taking all four of us down at once, but not so far apart that we couldn't see the next man in front.

The maize rustled as we pushed ourselves through. I held the pistol-grip of my rifle with my right hand. My left was around the barrel, keeping the bayonet raised, ready to take on anyone who came near. I desperately hoped they wouldn't. With just a few rounds each, staying hidden was going to be our greatest weapon.

As I inched my way slowly through the field, a head of corn banged against my shoulder and made me jump like a startled rabbit. Even a snap of straw under my feet made me flinch. I could still only see about two metres ahead of me, but I could hear all four of us breathing heavily.

Every so often the Taliban would let out one of their bloodcurdling screams and a whole load of them would open fire with their AK47s. We would duck down automatically every time it happened, praying that the rounds weren't heading our way. Toki kept us moving forward as quickly as we could.

All of a sudden, Si screamed out, 'Contact right! Contact right!' All four of us turned. I could just make out the shape of two men as one of them fired wildly in our general direction. We all fired a few puny rounds into the thick maize as they zipped past us then quickly disappeared.

'Out of ammo! RV. Get to the RV!' shouted Toki and we broke into a run. I was still last in line, huffing and puffing, sweating in my body armour and helmet, terrified I might get left behind.

There was a burst of fire from the Taliban to my right, then an ear-piercing scream stopped me in my tracks. It came from one of us.

'Man down! Man down!' I crashed through the maize to try to reach whichever one of us had been hit, but I still couldn't see through the thickness. Toki's voice hit me from about five metres ahead. 'Keep moving! He's dead. Go, go!'

More fire came from my right as I carried on running, jumping over Flash's body on the way. He was face down, soaked in blood. More fire followed from the left, and then from behind. I still couldn't see anything except maize. Another round of fire burst out from ahead of us. I started to panic. 'Toki!'

Before I could decide which way to run, Si was screaming at me. 'Briggsy! Left. Tali, left! Look left!'

There was a Taliban just a metre to my left. Dark eyes wide open, teeth bared, his beard glistening with sweat. There was nowhere to run.

I don't know who screamed the louder, but both of us yelled at the top our lungs as we hurled ourselves towards each other. I gripped my weapon and lunged as hard as I could. The bayonet made contact with his chest. His dark eyes took one last look down the barrel of my weapon as his shirt and skin resisted for a second before giving way under the bayonet's blade. I heard a squelch as the cold, hard steel resisted a little against bone.