Horse Soldiers The Extraordinary Story of a Band of US Soldiers Who Rode to Victory in Afghanistan (Hardcover) Book

[yota691]

Horse Soldiers is the dramatic account of a small band of Special Forces soldiers who secretly entered Afghanistan following 9/11 and rode to war on horses against the Taliban. Outnumbered forty to one, they pursued the enemy across mountainous terrain and, after a series of intense battles, captured the city of Mazar-i-Sharif, which was strategically essential if they were to defeat the Taliban.

The bone-weary American soldiers were welcomed as liberators, and overjoyed Afghans thronged the streets. Then the action took a wholly unexpected turn. During a surrender of six hundred Taliban troops, the Horse Soldiers were ambushed. Dangerously outnumbered, they fought for their lives in the city's immense fortress, Qala-i-Janghi, or the House of War. At risk were the military gains of the entire campaign: if the soldiers perished or were captured, the effort to defeat the Taliban might be doomed.

As the Americans struggled to hold the fortress, they faced some of the most intense urban warfare of our time. But until now the full story of the Horse Soldiers has never been told. Doug Stanton received unprecedented cooperation from the U.S. Army's Special Forces soldiers and Special Operations helicopter pilots, as well as access to voluminous after-battle reports. In addition, he interviewed more than one hundred participants and walked every inch of the climactic battleground.

This exciting story is filled with unforgettable characters: brave Special Forces soldiers, tough CIA operatives, cunning Afghan warlords, anxious stateside soldiers' wives who do not know where their husbands have gone, and humble Afghan boys spying on the Taliban.

Deeply researched and beautifully written, Stanton's account of America's quest to liberate an oppressed people touches the mythic. The Horse Soldiers combined ancient strategies of cavalry warfare with twenty-first-century aerial bombardment technology to perform a seemingly impossible feat. Moreover, their careful effort to win the hearts of local townspeople and avoid civilian casualties proved a valuable lesson for America's ongoing efforts in Afghanistan.

Horse Soldiers is a big-hearted and thrilling read, with an epic story that reaches not just across the cold mountains of Afghanistan but into the homes of small-town America, and confirms Doug Stanton as one of our country's preeminent storytellers. http://shop.history.com/horse-soldiers-the-extraordinary-story-of-a-band-of-us-soldiers-who-rode-to-victory-in-afghanistan-hardcover-book/detail.php?p=104222

Mr. President, Let Me Introduce You to the Men Who Fought the Taliban from Horseback

Jimmie | October 23, 2012 | Comments (0)

Monday night, Mitt Romney noted that our Navy is at its smallest strength since 1917. The President responded thusly:

“You mentioned the Navy, for example, and that we have fewer ships than we did in 1916…Well, Governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets because the nature of our military’s changed. We had these things called aircraft carriers where planes land on them. We have these ships that go underwater, nuclear submarines. So the question is not a game of battleship where we’re counting ships. It’s ‘What are our capabilities?’”

A fine, snarky response, suitable for any playground. But let me give the President his due. Our military has indeed changed. We used cavalry extensively a hundred years ago. We do not now. Our fighter pilots fought great battles in the air with guns and now they use missiles. Our ships used to blast away with cannons and now they use…well…big cannons. And we still use ships to support those strange “aircraft carrier” things and, occasionally, to hunt down threats to merchant shipping such as pirates off the coast of Somalia.

Okay, maybe the President shouldn’t get much credit here. As it happens, horses played a pretty important role in recent military history as well. Just ten years ago, our invasion of Afghanistan began on horseback. Members of a group called Operational Detachment Alpha (ODA) 595, part of a larger force named Task Force Dagger, which consisted of Green Berets, airmen from the Special Operations Aviation Regiment, and combat controllers from the US Air Force. ODA-595 fought alongside members of the Northern Alliance, horseback, in the first-ever battle against the Taliban.

In fact, that battle, the Battle of Bishqab, featured a cavalry charge.

The combined Northern Alliance troops and Green Berets arrived at their staging area in the late morning. As the Afghan troops began assembling, Nelson, from his observation point two miles from the enemy’s position, began his reconnaissance. Through his binoculars, Nelson could see a cluster of empty mud houses on top of a hill that was the village of Bishqab. On another hill nearby he identified at least one trench and a collection of brown pickups, several T-54/55 tanks, a number of BMPs – armored personnel carriers armed with cannons and machine guns – and several ZSU-23 anti-aircraft artillery.

To reach the enemy, Dostum’s troops, about 1,500 cavalry and 1,500 infantry, would have to travel a mile over an open plain cut by seven ridges, each between 50 and 100 feet high and spaced about 600 feet apart. The momentum of their attack would be slowed during the crossing of those ridges and, worse, make them sitting ducks each time they reached the top of a ridge. To anyone familiar with military history, the Battle of Bishqab had the potential of being the Charge of the Light Brigade, Fredericksburg, and Pickett’s Charge at Gettysburg all rolled into one.

The difference here, of course, was American air power. But would it be enough?

With his position plotting complete, Nelson began calling in air strikes. As the bombs began to fall, Dostum shouted into his radio, “Charge!” The first horse cavalry charge of the 21st century had begun.

When the first wave of horsemen had covered about a half-mile, the surviving Taliban heavy weapons opened up. Men and horses began falling to the ground, dead or screaming in pain from their wounds. But whether it was the fact that the horsemen were moving too fast, that the Taliban troops had not ranged their weapons, or some other reason, the defensive fire was not as concentrated or as accurate as it should have been.

When the surviving horsemen reached the second ridge, they halted, leaped off their horses, and laid down cover fire for the second wave of cavalry. That second line crashed into the Taliban trenches. Suddenly Taliban soldiers were throwing away their weapons and running away. The battle continued to rage as darkness fell. When the aircraft above had to leave to refuel, Dostum’s troops were forced to abandon the battlefield when armored Taliban reinforcements arrived.

Soldiers on horses — American soldiers, mind you — also fought in a larger battle the next day and in the battle at Mazar-i-Sharif where Mike Spann, a CIA officer and our first casualty in Afghanistan, died.

Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld showed a picture of an American soldier on horseback in a news conference and that photo so impressed a sculptor named Douwe Blumberg that he began work on a monument to those soldiers. He visited Fort Campbell and worked with special forces soldiers there to make sure he had the details right. Vice President Joe Biden dedicated his finished work, a beautiful 16′ tall bronze statue he called America’s Response Monument, De Oppresso Liber (also known as the Horse Soldier Monument), on Veterans’ Day, 2011. It stood in the lobby of the building opposite Ground Zero for almost a year.

The President said he visited Ground Zero not that long ago. Perhaps he saw it. Or perhaps his Vice President mentioned the horse statue to him. Maybe not. He seems a bit hazy on the details of who our soldiers are and what they do.

He probably also missed the news that the Horse Soldier Monument was rededicated at its permanent location on Greenwich Street very near Ground Zero just this past Friday.

Perhaps once the election is over and he’s re-settled in his Chicago mansion, he can read Doug Stanton’s excellent book Horse Soldiers: The Extraordinary Story of a Band of US Soldiers Who Rode to Victory in Afghanistan and learn a bit about what a strong and versatile military really looks like. http://www.sundriesshack.com/2012/10/23/mr-president-let-me-introduce-you-to-the-men-who-fought-the-taliban-from-horseback/

Edited October 24, 2012 by yota691

[G12LF]

Yota thank you so much for this story and the web sight. I look forward to reading your many reports every morning.

[PowerGeneration]

Our navy is the strongest in the world! I guess you have'nt read anything about our battleship New York

You dont need a bunch of ships exchanging fire at short range when the new york can reach targets more than 5000

miles away.Less men to be killed sounds better to me.

We have nuclear subs that pack quite a punch armed with nukes to strike in a moments notice anywhere in the world.

I loved the story about those brave men on horseback and they deserve that statue.God Bless Them All.

This is a great story until you brought in modern day politics.

Really nice statue! I will go there one day and pay my respects for a job well done!

[simple]

Yota and the writer must be Romney supporters since theres no purpose of the article. POTUS aware horses are still used.

[yota691]

Yota and the writer must be Romney supporters since theres no purpose of the article. POTUS aware horses are still used.

Simple your Weak and Uninformed!! But it's expected!!!

Edited October 25, 2012 by yota691

[simple]

Simple your Weak and Uninformed!! But it's expected!!!

No purpose in that comment either. Spelling is "you're."

Yota, what's weak and poor is your post, "No updates on CBI Currency Auctions for 2 days in row". Are you new to this dinar thing, uninformed or trying to pump the base? Happens frequently, sometimes more than 2 days.

Read more: http://dinarvets.com/forums/index.php?app=core&module=search&do=new_posts&search_filter_app[forums]=1#ixzz2AGvfTLUW

Edited October 25, 2012 by simple

[rightsonword]

*FACE PALM*

The president said there were FEWER horses in use now. And guess what, HE WAS RIGHT.

He never said there were no horses or bayonets.

Seriously, this blind hatred is asinine. I can't stand Obama, but really, stop grasping at straws simply because you don't like the man.