3 men dead and 12 badly wounded.
No military trucks. No medics. Just guns and mortars.
Low defensive wall.
Exposed from rooftops, where the machine gunners held them off.
Helicopter came to pick up wounded guy.
Why didn’t helicopters rain HELL on the taliban?
Local elders didn’t call for the truce out of any love for the English. They were seeing too many dead on their side.
THIS WILL BE a blockbuster movie if made. The story needs to be told in more than just a documentary, though that is a start.
What’s the Royal Irish?
BTW, those English look pretty tough in the few photos that were in the article.
Just wow!!!
It’s Benghazi but over TWO MONTHS!!!
Going through that kind of hell makes you either dead or mega tough!
I recently saw a documentary on WWII in North Africa and the carnage the American troops took when they arrived and this was a campaign that lasted well over 6 months. It was a bloodbath where they were sending Americans into a meat grinder. Those who survived who were into their 70’s and 80’ in the documentary said the soldiers who survived were hard as nails.
There was a story about how outmatched the Americans were with their tanks against the German Tiger tanks. One shot from a Tiger towards an American tank incinerated the American tank instantly. There was one account where the Tiger shot off the turret from an American tank and the soldiers inside still alive were running as they were on fire. The Americans were totally unprepared for months on end. The point is that there can be major screw ups where soldiers are left to die like this thing in Afghanistan or North Africa.
I suspect these soldiers in Afghanistan became like that tough as nails.
I think I know this story. As I recall, the opposition Taliban ramped up their attacks gradually against the Brits who were eventually relieved by a full strength U.S. Marines battalion taking over the responsibilities in Helmand Province. It’s the Daily Mail being overly dramatic.
Royal Irish Regiment
http://www.army.mod.uk/infantry/regiments/24000.aspx
“What’s the Royal Irish?”
All Irish are royal.
I would guess Northern Ireland, still part of Great Britain.
As opposed to The Republic of Ireland.
The Royal Irish Regiment.
Yes, a large part of Ireland is now an independent Republic, but all of Ireland was part of the United Kingdom for quite a while and part of Ireland remains part of the United Kingdom, and many Irish soldiers have served, and continue to serve in the British Army. For this reason, there are a number of regiments of the British Army linked to Ireland that have the name 'Irish' in their name - the Irish Guards, and the Royal Irish being the two most famous of these.
The current Royal Irish Regiment was re-established in 1992 through the amalgamation of two regiments (the Royal Irish Rangers, and the Ulster Defence Regiment). It carries on a history dating back to 1688. It is officially based out of County Down in Northern Ireland. The regiment recruits in Northern Ireland and in Irish districts throughout the UK (it doesn't officially recruit in the Republic of Ireland for both legal and diplomatic reasons, but some recruits do come from there). Not all members of the Regiment are Irish, but most are at least of Irish descent.