it's funny 'cause it's true
One helluva tale: Welsh Guards in Helmand
In June 2014 I posted a short review of 'Dead Men Risen', as below in Part B and a new review by a British Army veteran, with two tours in Helmand, appeared today on WoTR hence Part A:http://warontherocks.com/2014/11/the...ad-in-helmand/
The book has now been released in the USA, minus any reviews:http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Men-Risen...Dead+Men+Risen
Here is one poignant passage:
Quote:
And yet it is only now – four years later and reading a publically available book — that I am now fully aware of things like: the intent of previous commanders in that area of operation; why troops and patrol bases were laid out as they were; how the battle for Babaji had been fought and the casualty figures associated with it. Similarly, I do not remember ever being briefed that “this is spot where Lt Col Thornloe died” during the several instances when I drove straight over it. I do feel genuinely upset by this “new” revelation and I can’t help but think that we desperately need to get better at passing down the stories of previous deployments as they are quite obviously relevant to the people that follow them on the same spot of land.
He ends with:
Quote:
Overall, I would strongly recommend (this book); it is as accurate and as full and frank a description of a UK Battle-Group deployment as you will find....
Amazon link (UK) with 127 reviews:http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dead-Men-Ris...1712629&sr=1-3
Part B
In 2011 'Dead Men Risen:The Welsh Guards and the Defining Story of Britain's War in Afghanistan' by Toby Harnden was published, winning plaudits and prizes. The author is an accomplished journalist and writer. His book 'Bandit Country': The IRA and South Armagh (Hodder, 1999), was excellent and so I sat down expecting a similar read.
'Dead Men Risen' was far better, harsh at times in portraying the campaigning, including the loss to an IED of the Welsh Guards CO. It combines interviews of a large number who served, with a good, balanced measure of criticism tactically and beyond.
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