Book description
'The 3 Commando Brigade's six month deployment in Helmand Province
was among the finest pieces of soldiering I have come across'
General Sir Richard Dannett, Chief of General Staff
In October 2006, the Royal Marine Commandos took up their six month
tour of duty in war-torn Helmand Province, southern Afghanistan - the
toughest and hottest war zone on earth. After the tactical retreat of
their predecessors, the Paras, the Marines knew they would have to
take a different approach to have any chance of success. So they took
the war to the enemy. Roving and aggressive, the Commandos forced the
insurgent Taliban on to the back foot. As a result, they were involved
in daily fire fights of an intensity not encountered by British troops
since North Korea.
3 Commando Brigade is a thrilling first-hand account
of that dogged, heroic pursuit of the Taliban by the ordinary Marines,
sailors and soldiers responsible. It is a story of valour, fortitude,
supreme physical and mental fitness, and unrivalled professionalism
under the most testing of circumstances. The account explodes from the
first page with Operation Glacier, a graphic, no-holds-barred account
of a Commando attack on a key Taliban base south of Garmsir - a battle
that ends with the dramatic recovery of a Corporal's body from
alongside the fort by Apache helicopters. From this opening salvo the
action never lets up, offering a startlingly honest account of the war
in Afghanistan as told by the junior officers, corporals and marines
on the ground.
Ewen Southby-Tailyour is a military historian and retired Royal
Marines Lieutenant Colonel. He has seen action in the Middle East
himself, leading Commando troops in Aden, and Arab and Baluchi troops in
Dhofar - for which he was awarded the Sultan of Muscat's Bravery Medal.
He also fought in the Falklands war for which he was appointed an OBE.
As a trusted insider he has had full access to the men who make up 3
Commando Brigade.
