LONDON - A soldier killed in Afghanistan is to be awarded Britain's most prestigious military honour, only the 10th such medal since World War II, for leading a "supremely courageous" assault against Taliban snipers, it was announced Monday. Lance Corporal James Ashworth, 23, is to be posthumously awarded the extremely rare Victoria Cross, Britain's highest military decoration given for valour in the face of the enemy.Ashworth led a 300-metre charge to an enemy position and after crawling to within metres of the final Taliban sniper left standing, lost his life trying to make sure his final grenade counted.He was on patrol with the reconnaissance platoon of 1st Battalion The Grenadier Guards in the Nahr-e-Saraj district of the troubled southern Helmand Province on June 13 last year.His family were present Monday at the Buller Barracks in Aldershot, southwest of London, where his citation was read aloud."Despite the ferocity of the insurgent's resistance, Ashworth refused to be beaten," it stated."His total disregard for his own safety in ensuring that the last grenade was posted accurately was the gallant last action of a soldier who had willingly placed himself in the line of fire on numerous occasions earlier in the attack."This supremely courageous and inspiring action deserves the highest recognition."A Ministry of Defence spokesman said the platoon were sent into Nahr-e-Saraj to engage a Taliban sniper team.They came under immediate fire, prompting Ashworth to lead a 300-metre charge on their position, in which two insurgents were killed.When a follow-up assault by an Afghan police unit stalled, Ashworth, putting himself in danger, led from the front, advancing on an insurgent compound and using grenades to drive the final remaining enemy to an outbuilding."The insurgent was now being supported by fire from several positions, with the enemy desperate to protect their sharpshooter team," an MoD spokesman said."Seeking to break the stalemate using his final grenade, L/Cpl Ashworth dropped to the floor and crawled behind a knee-high wall that ran parallel to the front of the outbuilding."He inched forward on his front as bullets flew overhead."When he was within five metres of the insurgent's position L/Cpl Ashworth was desperate to make his last grenade count," the spokesman said."He deliberately crawled out from behind the wall, exposing himself to fire to get a better angle for his throw."L/Cpl Ashworth was now in full view of the enemy just metres away, with rounds hitting the floor just centimetres around him."He was preparing to throw the grenade when he was tragically hit by enemy fire."Britain's Victoria Cross has been won on only two previous occasions since the 1982 Falklands War - once in Iraq in 2004 and once in Afghanistan in 2006.