Operation Conservation

Operation Conservation
Part of The Troubles and Operation Banner
H&K G3, the type of rifle used by the IRA team to cover its withdrawal
Date 6 May 1990 Location Cullyhanna, County Armagh 54°7′55.72″N 6°34′57.10″W / 54.1321444°N 6.5825278°W / 54.1321444; -6.5825278Coordinates: 54°7′55.72″N 6°34′57.10″W / 54.1321444°N 6.5825278°W / 54.1321444; -6.5825278 Result IRA victory British Army operation thwarted
Belligerents
Provisional IRA	British Army
Commanders and leaders
Unknown	Lance Sergeant Graham Stewart †
Strength
1 ASU	1 Infantry section
Casualties and losses
None	1 killed
Location within Northern Ireland

Operation Conservation was a British Army attempt to ambush a large Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) unit along the Dorsey Enclosure, between Cullyhanna and Silverbridge, in south County Armagh. The action took place on 6 May 1990. The operation was uncovered and thwarted by the IRA South Armagh Brigade.

The British Army, in the hope of luring a large IRA active service unit into attacking an entrenched Light Infantry unit, deployed its troops around the route between Cullyhanna and Silverbridge. A heavy machine gun ambush had taken place on another Light Infantry patrol on 28 April near the same area. More than 180 rounds were fired and a soldier was wounded in the leg.

The main position was to be surrounded and watched by 16 concealed sections belonging to the 2nd Battalion Scots Guards. The goal was to surprise and kill any IRA unit attempting to penetrate the area.

The troops were inserted into the zone on the first hours of 3 May. The IRA South Armagh Brigade watched these movements and was able to spot several of the hidden observation posts (OPs). Eventually, they decided to attack one of the British positions at Slatequarry, near Cullyhanna, which was in the more vulnerable situation. According to author David McKittrick, the British soldiers were lured to an open field after seeing smoke coming from the chimney of a derelict building.

On the very first hours of 6 May, the exposed British position began to receive heavy fire from an IRA unit emplaced on the slope of a hill nearby. The OP was attacked with two 7.62 mm GPMGs and a Heckler & Koch G3 rifle; the latter used to cover the machine gun team's retreat towards Slatequarry road, where a vehicle was waiting to pick them up. A bomb was planted between the OP and the road, to prevent any attempt to give chase. The IRA members fired their machine guns from a rocky terrain next to an abandoned building. The shooting lasted some 90 seconds, and a total of 316 rounds were expended by the two sides. The section's leader, Lance Sergeant Graham Stewart was hit and died of wounds the following day.