Book description
When the Royal Marines Commandos returned to a chaotic Helmand in the
winter of 2008, they realised that to stand any chance of success they
would need to pursue an increasingly determined Taliban harder than
ever before.
This time they were going to hunt them down from the air. With the
support of Chinooks, Apaches, Lynx, Sea Kings and Harriers, the
Commandos became a deadly mobile unit, able to swoop at a moments
notice into the most hostile territory.
From huge operations like the gruelling Red Dagger, when 3 Commando
Brigade fought in Somme-like mud to successfully clear the area around
the capital of Helmand, Lashkar Gar, of encroaching enemy forces, to
the daily acts of unsupported, close-quarters 360-degree combat and
the breath-taking, rapid helicopter night assaults behind enemy lines
- this was kind of battle that brought Commando qualities to the fore.
As with the Sunday Times bestselling 3 Commando
Brigade, ex-Marine Lieutenant Colonel Ewen Southby-Tailyour brings
unparalleled access to the troops, a soldier's understanding of the
conflict and a visceral sense of the combat experience. This is the
real war in Afghanistan as told to him by a hand-picked band of young
fellow marines as they encounter the daily rigours of life on the
ground in the world's most intense war zone.
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.
