Para who died saving comrades to be awarded 'bravery medal'

Cpl Mark Wright is among 200 British soldiers likely to be recommended for bravery medals, including 'several' who could receive the ultimate recognition of the Victoria Cross.

• Video of American trucker being shot at in Iraq

Corporal Wright ran into the unmarked minefield to try to help badly wounded fellow soldiers after two of them triggered explosions, but after helping to treat their wounds and calling for a helicopter to winch them to safety he stood on a mine himself. He died on the way to hospital.

The 200 likely commendations reflects the vicious intensity of fighting against the Taliban over the summer in Helmand Province, where some 4,500 British troops are struggling to oust the enemy from their traditional stronghold.

Commanders have admitted they face the toughest sustained fighting by the British Army in half a century, and the extent of medal commendations makes a nonsense of earlier claims by ministers that the mission was mainly one of reconstruction and aid.

Almost 100 of the award recommendations involve members of the 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment, which forms the core of the infantry battlegroup taking on the Taliban.

Other units in line for medals include RAF Chinook helicopter pilots who have had to land to rescue British soldiers under heavy enemy fire.

Soldiers manning remote outposts have found themselves facing several Taliban attacks a day for weeks on end, often with intermittent supplies because of the dangers of travelling by road and the severe shortage of helicopters.

Army sources spoke of heroics by many soldiers in fierce close-quarter fighting, including bayonet charges. One source said: "We're talking Waterloo stuff here."

Victoria Crosses - the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy - are handed out only very rarely. Two were awarded in the 1982 Falklands conflicts - both posthumously and both to Paras.

None arose from the fist Gulf War and only one has been earned in Iraq, by Lance Corporal Johnston Beharry, 27, an armoured vehicle driver who twice saved his comrades from deadly ambushes in 2004.

Now it is understood up to half a dozen men are being considered for the ultimate recognition in combat - a stark illustration of the kind of fighting British soldiers are facing.

The minefield incident happened on September 6 in northern Helmand when a foot patrol of around half a dozen soldiers was climbing a hill to search for a suspected Taliban position and walked into an unmarked minefield, probably left over from the Soviet invasion in the 1980s.

Two of the soldiers suffered serious wounds as mines went off and were left bleeding on the ground.

Despite the danger from more mines Cpl Wright, 27, ran from a nearby position and took charge, helping to treat the men and calling for helicopter support by radio.

An RAF Chinook arrived and landed a safe distance away but could not help because it was not fitted with a winch to rescue the men.

Defence sources said an official incident report clearly ruled out suggestions that downwash from its blades triggered another mine.

According to Army sources Cpl Wright triggered another mine as he tried to coordinate the rescue, and suffered fatal injuries.

An American Blackhawk helicopter then reached the scene and winched the men to safety, but not before a fourth soldier was injured by another exploding mine, and Cpl Wright died aboard the helicopter.

An insider said: "More than half the men at the scene were injured by mines. They were incredibly unlucky. The odds against it were huge.

"When the mines started exploding they faced the choice of standing still and possibly watching their mates bleed to death, or moving to help them.

"These were men who had fought together for months, and a very special bond develops. They chose to help their friends, and they paid the price.

"Cpl Wright wasn't even part of the patrol but he put the safety of other soldiers above his own safety. He was a very, very brave man."