Battle of Wanat
Encyclopedia
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
's far eastern province of Nuristan. The position was defended primarily by U.S. Army soldiers of the 2nd Platoon
Platoon
A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two to four sections or squads and containing 16 to 50 soldiers. Platoons are organized into a company, which typically consists of three, four or five platoons. A platoon is typically the smallest military unit led by a commissioned officer—the...
, Chosen Company, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne), 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team
173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team
The 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team is an airborne infantry brigade combat team of the United States Army based in Vicenza, Italy...
.
The Taliban surrounded the remote base and its observation post and attacked it from the village and the surrounding farmland. They destroyed much of the Americans' heavy munitions, broke through U.S. lines, and entered the main base before being repelled by artillery and aircraft. American casualties included nine killed and 27 wounded, while four Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers were wounded. The U.S. combat deaths represent the most in a single battle since the start of U.S. operations in 2001.
The Battle of Wanat has been the focus of widespread debate, generating "a great deal of interest and scrutiny among military professionals and from outside observers." This is primarily due to the relatively "significant number of coalition casualties". Several investigations were launched into events leading up to the battle. The initial investigation was completed in August 2008. In July 2009, Senator James Webb
Jim Webb
James Henry "Jim" Webb, Jr. is the senior United States Senator from Virginia. He is also an author and a former Secretary of the Navy. He is a member of the Democratic Party....
requested that the U.S. Army formally investigate the battle and previous investigation. Lieutenant General Richard F. Natonski
Richard F. Natonski
Richard F. Natonski is a retired United States Marine Corps lieutenant general whose last assignment was as the Commander of U.S. Marine Corps Forces Command. He assumed the post in August 2008, having previously served as the United States Marine Corps Deputy Commandant for Plans, Policies and...
conducted another investigation in late 2009 which led to orders of reprimand for the chain of command. In June 2010, the U.S. Army revoked the reprimands. They stated that no negligence was involved and said of the soldiers that "by their valor and their skill, they successfully defended their positions and defeated a determined, skillful, and adaptable enemy".
Background
In 2008, NATO forces in southeastern Afghanistan deployed sub-company-sized patrols to the Pakistan border to disrupt supplies flowing to the Taliban from the Federally Administered Tribal Regions of Pakistan. They established small patrol bases, which came under regular attack by Taliban forces.In June, a small contingent of 48 American and 24 Afghan troops, 72 in total, were operating in and around Wanat, a mountain village that was the center of the Waygal District government and about five miles from the coalition military base Camp Blessing. Five days before the attack, on July 8, a platoon from the Second Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team established Vehicle Patrol Base (VPB) Kahler and a separate observation post called "OP Top Side" near Wanat. 8 July, 2d Platoon, Chosen Company, departed from Camp Blessing after sunset in a ground assault convoy for the 90 minute long drive to Wanat. The convoy contained five M1114 armored Humvees. There was one for each of the three rifle squads, a vehicle for platoon headquarters, and the last vehicle containing the TOW missile squad. The Humvees mounted heavy weapons, two with 50-cal machine guns, and two with MK-19 40mm automatic grenade launchers
Mk 19 grenade launcher
The Mk 19 Grenade Launcher is a 40 mm belt-fed automatic grenade launcher or grenade machine gun that entered U.S. military service during the Cold War, first seeing action during the Vietnam War and remaining in service today.-Overview:...
in protected cupolas to provide extra firepower and protection. Their goal was to create a Combat Outpost (COP) to connect with and provide security for the local populace, coordinate $1.4 million in reconstruction projects, and disrupt Taliban activity. The brigade was to be relieved by a newly arriving U.S. Army unit in two weeks.
The patrol base was situated on an open field about 300 meters long by 100 meters wide surrounded on two sides by buildings which composed the village. July 9, a six man engineer squad arrived by Chinook helicopter. They brought a Bobcat loader and a shipping container with engineer equipment. The soldiers reinforced the base with existing terrain, sandbags, barbed wire, and used the Bobcat to fill a number of HESCO barriers
Hesco bastion
The HESCO bastion is both a modern gabion used for flood control and military fortification and the name of the British company that developed it in the late 1980s. It is made of a collapsible wire mesh container and heavy duty fabric liner, and used as a temporary to semi-permanent dike or barrier...
(essentially wall-sized sandbags) around the three squad positions and to create a firing pit for the big 120-mm mortar. However the Bobcat broke down for one day, and could not lift high enough to place barriers to a 7-foot height, but were placed to just a 4-foot level, which would make it vulnerable to direct fire from guns or rockets which the attackers would exploit. The troops dug many of the fortifications and trenches with hand shovels. Still in preparation at the time of the attack, some areas were only protected by a barrier of concertina wire, but with no posts or stakes, the wire was just placed on the ground.
The Afghan company contracted to bring heavy construction equipment delayed its arrival to until 13 July. It was decided that soldier labor with the aid of an engineer squad and a Bobcat front end loader already at Bella would be good enough to prepare an initial defense in the six days until heavier equipment arrived. The number of men at the base was judged enough to defend against intelligence estimates that placed the insurgent forces in the local area at only about 150 experienced fighters, though they did not know that attackers would be backed up by Al Queda and other guerilla groups from neighboring regions as far away as Pakistan and Kashmir. While they thought it was possible the base might be attacked while the camp was being prepared, they thought it unlikely. Platoon Sergeant Dzwik later remarked "I was expecting harassing fire from any one of the high ground in every direction. I did not think the village itself would let the AAF [Anti-Afghan Force] turn their village into a battle zone.
Soldiers at the base noticed warning signs, including groups of men watching the construction from the nearby village, which was set at a higher elevation than the outpost, and other groups of men moving through nearby mountains. At a dinner meeting in the village, a villager told the Americans that they should shoot any men seen in the mountains, and asked them if U.S. UAVs were keeping watch nearby. The day before the attack, the militants began flowing water through an irrigation ditch feeding an unused field, creating background noise that masked the sounds of the advancing fighters.
Although the Americans believed that 100 or 200 attacked the base, a senior Afghan defence ministry official who did not reveal his name told Al Jazeera that he had information it was between 400 and 500 fighters. Tamim Nuristani, former governor of Nuristan believed that numerous Taliban and Pakistani militant and terrorist groups banded together from surrouding region including Kunar and in the Bajaur tribal agency in neighboring Pakistan. Participating groups included Taliban, al-Qaeda, Kashmir-based Lashkar-e-Taiba
Lashkar-e-Taiba
Lashkar-e-Taiba – also transliterated as Lashkar-i-Tayyaba, Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Lashkar-i-Taiba, Lashkar Taiba or LeT – is one of the largest and most active militant Islamist terrorist organizations in South Asia, operating mainly from Pakistan.It was founded by Hafiz Muhammad...
and Pakistan-based Hezb-i-Islami. Al Qaeda's senior leadership, including Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
and Ayman al Zawahiri, are thought to shelter in the region. Taliban spokesman stated "The fighting in Afghanistan is getting heavier. When the Americans drop bombs on civilians ordinary people want revenge - that's why they are joining the Taliban, strengthening us" pointing out their "ability to enter the bases and kill Americans." A NATO spokesman believed that the Taliban had moved into and expelled a nearby village for the attack. On the evening of July 12, Taliban soldiers moved into Wanat and ordered the villagers to leave. Undetected by the Americans, they set up firing positions inside houses and a mosque next to, and overlooking the perimeter.
The battle
About 4:20 a.m. on July 13, Taliban forces opened fire on the base with machine gunMachine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
s, rocket-propelled grenades, and mortar
Mortar (weapon)
A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....
s. Another 100 militants attacked the observation post from farmland to the east.
The initial attack hit the forward operating base's mortar pit, knocking out the 120mm mortars and detonating the stockpile of mortar ammunition. The insurgents next destroyed the Humvee-mounted TOW missile launcher
BGM-71 TOW
The BGM-71 TOW is an anti-tank missile. "BGM" is a weapon classification that stands for "Multiple Environment , Surface-Attack , Missile ". "TOW" is an acronym that stands for "Tube-launched, Optically-tracked, Wire command data link, guided missile"...
inside the combat outpost with coordinated fire from unguided RPG rockets. The mortars and TOW launcher which were to provide the heaviest and most accurate firepower had been quickly taken out by the attackers. The explosion of the mortar shells hurled the anti-tank missiles into the command post.
The most serious situation was the attack concentrated on a small team situated at the small observation post "TOPSIDE" nestled among rocks under a tree just 50 to 70 meters outside of the main base. The first round of fire hit with deadly accuracy, immediately wounding or stunning every soldier. Pfc. Tyler Stafford was blown out of his machine-gun position next to Spc. Matthew Phillips who threw a grenade before he was mortally wounded. Cpl. Jason Bogar fired hundreds of rounds from his automatic weapon until the barrel of his weapon became white-hot and jammed and then tended to Stafford’s wounds. An RPG wounded Sgt. Ryan Pitts, who was also tended by Bogar with an tourniquet around Pitts’ leg before switching to another gun. Bogar was eventually killed and his body was recovered uphill, evidently dragged there by an insurgent.
Four died within the first 20 minutes of the battle, another died later, and at least three others were wounded. Three times teams of soldiers from the main base ran through Taliban fire to resupply the observation post and carry back the dead and wounded.
The U.S. troops responded with machine guns, grenade
Grenade
A grenade is a small explosive device that is projected a safe distance away by its user. Soldiers called grenadiers specialize in the use of grenades. The term hand grenade refers any grenade designed to be hand thrown. Grenade Launchers are firearms designed to fire explosive projectile grenades...
s, and claymore mines. Artillery guns at Camp Blessing fired 96 155mm artillery rounds. The Taliban briefly breached the wire of the observation post before being driven back. After almost half an hour of intense fighting at the observation post, only one soldier remained. He was seriously wounded and fought alone until reinforcements arrived. Some militants also managed to get past the main base's earthen barriers. Two American soldiers, platoon leader First Lieutenant
First Lieutenant
First lieutenant is a military rank and, in some forces, an appointment.The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations , but the majority of cases it is common for it to be sub-divided into a senior and junior rank...
Jonathan P. Brostrom, 24, of Hawaii and Corporal Jason Hovater, were killed trying to deliver ammunition to the observation post. American soldiers were at times flushed out of their fortifications by what they thought were grenades, but which were actually rocks thrown by the attackers. Brostrom, Hovater, and another soldier may have been killed by an insurgent who penetrated the wire perimeter.
AH-64 Apache attack helicopters and a Predator unmanned aircraft drone armed with Hellfire
AGM-114 Hellfire
The AGM-114 Hellfire is an air-to-surface missile developed primarily for anti-armor use. It has multi-mission, multi-target precision-strike capability, and can be launched from multiple air, sea, and ground platforms. The Hellfire missile is the primary 100 lb-class air-to-ground precision...
missiles arrived over the base about 30 minutes after the battle began. Later, a B-1B Lancer bomber, A-10, and F-15E Strike Eagle aircraft were called in. The militants withdrew about four hours later. After the militants retreated, mop up operations followed, and the Taliban withdrew from the town.
Nine U.S. soldiers were killed in the attack, mainly in the observation post. Between 21 and 52 militants were reported killed with another 20 to 40 wounded, but coalition forces found only two Taliban bodies after the battle. The attack was the highest death toll for American troops in the country since Operation Red Wings three years earlier.
Operational issues
Civilian deaths caused by allied operations had increased sympathy among Waygal residents for the Taliban, who were allowed to move into the village. The residents may have been further dismayed by the failure of the Afghan president, Hamid KarzaiHamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...
, to address the concerns of a delegation of tribal elders in Kabul
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
two days previously.
Coalition troops had noticed other warning signs. The day before the attack, the elders of Wanat conducted a shura
Shura
Shura is an Arabic word for "consultation". The Quran and Muhammad encourage Muslims to decide their affairs in consultation with those who will be affected by that decision....
without the post's Officer-in-Charge. As well, the villagers began pouring waste water into an area of dead space near the post more frequently, which may have concealed the movement of militants within the village.
A 2009 US Army report criticized the brigade commander, COL Preysler, and the battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel Ostlund, citing the lack of supplies, equipment, and drinking water for troops stationed in Wanat. At the same time, the report noted the incredible performance of the unit under fire.
The same report criticized the actions of the involved commanding officers as being counterproductive to military goals, stating that "The highly kinetic approach favored by TF Rock...rapidly and inevitably degraded the relationships between the US Army and the Waigal population."
This statement, portraying the operational approaches of the 173rd Airborne Brigade (TF Bayonet) and 2-503 PIR (TF Rock) in a negative light, is contradicted by David Kilcullin in his book, The Accidental Guerilla. Kilcullin stated that in March 2008,
The fact that Kunar has bucked the general trend [downward trend in security across the country] seems largely to be the result of a consistent U.S. strategy of partnering with local communities to separate the insurgents from the people, bring tangible benefits of governance and development to the population, and help the population choose their own local leaders through elections.
Kilcullin also noted a statement by a previous U.S. commander in Kunar regarding LTC William Ostlund, the 2-503 commander: "Bill O. understood deeply that the effect of Coalition operations on the people was the key question."
US withdrawal
After the battle, Major General Jeffrey J. SchloesserJeffrey J. Schloesser
Jeffrey J. Schloesser, USA is a retired Major General and the current President of . Schloesser retired from the Army in August 2010 as the Director of Army Aviation, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G3/5/7 and former commanding general of the 101st Airborne Division and Fort Campbell,...
, US Army commander of coalition troops in Regional Command East, Afghanistan, decided to abandon the patrol base and sent additional US troops to assist the base evacuation. Three days after the engagement the United States and Afghan armies withdrew from Wanat. An ISAF
International Security Assistance Force
The International Security Assistance Force is a NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan established by the United Nations Security Council on 20 December 2001 by Resolution 1386 as envisaged by the Bonn Agreement...
statement says ISAF and Afghan security forces "will continue to perform regular patrols near the village of Wanat." The coalition forces continued to maintain a larger patrol base about four miles away from Wanat and concentrated on protecting the larger Pech River Valley.
The district police force for the area was disarmed by the Americans and the district chief and police chief were briefly detained and questioned. Both were released within 24 hours according to a spokesperson for the district chief.
Speaking at a Pentagon news conference after the attack, U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Navy Admiral Mike Mullen said the incident indicated that "all involved with operations on the (Pakistan-Afghanistan) border must do a better job of policing the region and eliminating the extremists’ safe havens in Pakistan's federally administered tribal areas that are launching pads for attacks on coalition forces." The Associated Press reported that the attack underscored a general gain in strength of Afghan militants.
However, the 173rd Brigade Commander, Colonel Charles Preysler, specifically rebutted that conclusion in an interview on July 20, 2008. He stated that previous media accounts of the engagement mischaracterized the level of development of the platoon's defences. He also said that the withdrawal of the platoon did not constitute "abandoning" the position because no permanent defensive infrastructure was developed or left behind. He further stated that the position was "not overrun in any shape, manner, or form", adding that, "It was close combat to be sure — hand grenade range."
US Army investigation
An investigation by the U.S. Army, completed on August 13 and released to the public the first week of November 2008, found that the Taliban attackers had been assisted by the local Afghan police forces and a district leader. The evidence included large stocks of weapons and ammunition discovered in the police barracks in Wanat after the battle. The stocks were much more than could be used by the villages' 20-man police force and included dirty weapons which appeared to have been used recently. In response to the report, Schloesser concluded that the governor and local police chief "had probably been acting under duress and had been cooperative with American troops." The governor was absolved of blame in the attack but it was unclear about what was done with the local police chief.The investigation also examined whether the Army had intelligence about a possible assault and whether the troops had access to it. The report found that despite reports earlier in July that 200 to 300 militants had been massing to attack another remote outpost in the vicinity, including numerous reports from local villagers that an attack was imminent, the commanders at Wanat had no reason to expect such a large frontal assault. The report, however, criticized the “incredible amount of time” — 10 months — it took NATO military leaders to negotiate arrangements over the site of the outpost, giving the Taliban plenty of time to coordinate and plan an attack on the base.
Further actions
In July 2009, U.S. Senator James WebbJim Webb
James Henry "Jim" Webb, Jr. is the senior United States Senator from Virginia. He is also an author and a former Secretary of the Navy. He is a member of the Democratic Party....
asked the U.S. DoD Inspector General
Inspector General
An Inspector General is an investigative official in a civil or military organization. The plural of the term is Inspectors General.-Bangladesh:...
to formally examine the battle and the U.S. Army's investigation into the event. In his request, Webb cited an unreleased report from the Army's Combat Studies Institute by a contractor, Douglas Cubbison, that criticized how senior Army leaders in Afghanistan, especially Ostlund and Preyser, acted before the assault at Wanat. According to that report, soldiers at the Wanat base were critically short of basic necessities such as water and sandbags and had complained repeatedly, to no avail, that their base was in a precarious position. Cubbison had written the report at the request of Lieutenant General William B. Caldwell IV, commander of the United States Army Combined Arms Center. Cubbison wrote that a few days before the battle, on July 4, a U.S. Army helicopter mistakenly attacked and killed 17 civilians, including all of the doctors and nurses at a local clinic, infuriating local Afghans. Platoon leader Brostrom and company commander Captain Matthew Myer told their commanders that they expected a retaliatory attack and asked for extra surveillance. Brostrom's father, retired Army Colonel David. P. Brostrom, alerted Webb's office to the Army historian's report. Said Brostrom, "After I read the report, I was sick to my stomach."
Letters of reprimand were issued to Colonel Charles Preysler, Lieutenant Colonel William Ostlund and Captain Myer for "failing to properly prepare defenses" at Wanat, Pentagon officials said March 12.
That same month, Myer was awarded the Silver Star for his actions during the battle of Wanat.
On September 30, 2009, US Central Command commander General David H. Petraeus appointed United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
Lieutenant General Richard F. Natonski
Richard F. Natonski
Richard F. Natonski is a retired United States Marine Corps lieutenant general whose last assignment was as the Commander of U.S. Marine Corps Forces Command. He assumed the post in August 2008, having previously served as the United States Marine Corps Deputy Commandant for Plans, Policies and...
to lead a new inquiry into the battle and which would look into related issues "beyond the tactical level." A later review was conducted by General Charles C. Campbell which "focused on the totality of circumstances that included and affected actions at Wanat", including interviews of the officers involved, and reviews of previous investigations with the exception of the Fort Leavenworth
Fort Leavenworth
Fort Leavenworth is a United States Army facility located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, immediately north of the city of Leavenworth in the upper northeast portion of the state. It is the oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C. and has been in operation for over 180 years...
Combat Studies Institute (CSI) narrative—stating that it had "not undergone pre-publication vetting and academic review in accordance with standing CSI research protocols". Campbell concluded that the officers involved were not at fault:
[The officers] were neither negligent nor derelict in the performance of their duties, exercising a degree of care that a reasonably prudent person would have exercised under the same or similar circumstance. To criminalize command decisions in a theater of complex combat operations is a grave step indeed. It is also unnecessary, particularly in this case. It is possible for officers to err in judgment—and to thereby incur censure—without violating a criminal statute. This is particularly true where the errors are those of omission, where the standards come from multiple non-punitive doctrinal publications, where there is less than complete and certain knowledge of enemy capabilities and intent, and where commanders enjoy wide discretion in their exercise of their command prerogatives and responsibilities.
In June 2010, General Campbell revoked the officers' reprimands, citing that they would have a "chilling effect" on ground operations. The Army said that the second look at the incident proved that the officers were "neither negligent nor derelict" and "by their valor and their skill, they successfully defended their positions and defeated a determined, skillful, and adaptable enemy who masses and attacks at times, ways and places of his choosing" Secretary of the Army John McHugh was also humbled by their courage, stating "We remain grateful for and humbled by their extraordinary courage and valor."
Gen. George W. Casey Jr., Army chief of staff further commended the performance of the soldiers:
In every review and study conducted to date, the courage, valor, and discipline of the soldiers who fought at Wanat have been universally praised. These soldiers were well-trained, well-led, and fought bravely to defeat a determined and intense enemy action to overrun their base in Wanat. They persevered in a fashion that deserves broad recognition of their bravery and tenacity. Our hearts go out to the families of the fallen soldiers.
Upset over Campbell's decision, family members of those killed in action wrote a letter to the Secretary of the Army asking that the findings of Natonski's investigation be upheld and the reprimands reinstated. In addition to the family members, the letter was signed by Senators Daniel Akaka
Daniel Akaka
Daniel Kahikina Akaka is the junior U.S. Senator from Hawaii and a member of the Democratic Party. He is the first U.S. Senator of Native Hawaiian ancestry and is currently the only member of the Senate who has Chinese ancestry....
, Jim Webb
Jim Webb
James Henry "Jim" Webb, Jr. is the senior United States Senator from Virginia. He is also an author and a former Secretary of the Navy. He is a member of the Democratic Party....
, Saxby Chambliss
Saxby Chambliss
Clarence Saxby Chambliss, Jr. is the senior United States Senator from Georgia. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a U.S. Representative ....
, Patty Murray
Patty Murray
Patricia Lynn "Patty" Murray is the senior United States Senator from Washington and a member of the Democratic Party. Murray was first elected to the Senate in 1992, becoming Washington's first female senator...
, and Claire McCaskill
Claire McCaskill
Claire Conner McCaskill is the senior United States Senator from Missouri and a member of the Democratic Party. She defeated Republican incumbent Jim Talent in the 2006 U.S. Senate election, by a margin of 49.6% to 47.3%. She is the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate from Missouri in her own...
.
In November 2010, the US Army's Combat Studies Institute published a historical account of the Battle of Wanat. The official US Army history of the battle, published in December 2010, places little blame on the senior officers involved, instead blaming the uncertain nature of war, mistakes by junior officers, lack of knowledge by Army officers on the Wanat region's complex political situation, and lack of intelligence that the attack forces would be drawn from the entire region, not just local area.
See also
- Restrepo (film)Restrepo (film)Restrepo is a 2010 documentary film about the Afghanistan war, directed by American journalist Sebastian Junger and British/American photojournalist Tim Hetherington....
Film made by reporters embedded into a similar observation post in the Korengal Valley. - Battle of Nam DongBattle of Nam DongThe Battle of Nam Dong was fought on July 5 until the next day on in 1964, when the Viet Cong and PAVN attacked the Nam Dong CIDG camp in an attempt to overrun it.-Battle:...
. A 1964 battle in the Vietnam warVietnam WarThe Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
where communist forces failed to overrun a special forces camp. The battle was dramatized in the The Green Berets (film)The Green Berets (film)The Green Berets is a 1968 war film featuring John Wayne, George Takei, David Janssen, Jim Hutton and Aldo Ray, nominally based on the eponymous 1965 book by Robin Moore, though the screenplay has little relation to the book.... - Battle for Hill 3234Battle for Hill 3234The Battle for Hill 3234 was a defensive battle and successful military campaign fought by 345th Soviet paratroopers in Afghanistan against a force of 200 to 250 Mujahideen rebels...
Soviet paratroopers repel Afghan insurgent forces dramatized in the 2005 movie The 9th Company.
External links
History of the battle published by the US Army's Combat Studies Institute.(Part 1) (Part 2)