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First Casualty

The Untold Story of the Battle That Began the War in Afghanistan

Author: Toby Harnden  

Paperback

In the first ever account of a battle that came to define the occupation in Afghanistan, war reporter Toby Harnden tells the gripping story of what happened in those fateful days and explains how it would lead to two decades of war and the terrorism-plagued world we have today.

The story of the six-day battle that began the War in Afghanistan and how it set the scene for twenty years of conflict.

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PRODUCT INFORMATION

Summary

In the first ever account of a battle that came to define the occupation in Afghanistan, war reporter Toby Harnden tells the gripping story of what happened in those fateful days and explains how it would lead to two decades of war and the terrorism-plagued world we have today.

The story of the six-day battle that began the War in Afghanistan and how it set the scene for twenty years of conflict.

Read more

Description

'Gripping ... A terrific action narrative' Max Hastings

'Reads like a Tom Clancy thriller, yet every word is true ... This is modern warfare close-up and raw' Andrew Roberts

Bestselling and Orwell Prize-winning author Toby Harnden tells the gripping and incredible story of the six-day battle that began the War in Afghanistan and how it set the scene for twenty years of conflict.

The West is in shock. Al-Qaeda has struck the US on 9/11 and thousands are dead.

Within weeks, UK Special Forces enter the fray in Afghanistan alongside the CIA's Team Alpha and US troops.

Victory is swift, but fragile. Hundreds of jihadists surrender and two operatives from Team Alpha enter Qala-i Jangi the 'Fort of War' to interrogate them. The prisoners revolt, one CIA man falls, and the other is trapped inside the fort. Seven members of the SBS elite British Special Forces volunteer for the rescue force and race into danger and the unknown.

The six-day battle that follows proves to be one of the bloodiest of the Afghanistan war as the SBS and their American comrades face an enemy determined to die in the mud citadel.

Superbly researched, First Casualty is based on unprecedented access to the CIA, SBS, and US Special Forces. Orwell Prize-winning author Toby Harnden recounts the gripping story of that first battle in Afghanistan and how the haunting foretelling it contained unreliable allies, ethnic rivalries, suicide attacks, and errant bombs was ignored, fueling the twenty-year conflict to come.

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Critic Reviews

“'Gripping ... A terrific action narrative'”

-- Max Hastings
'Reads like a Tom Clancy thriller, yet every word is true ... This is modern warfare close-up and raw' -- Andrew Roberts
'Meticulously researched and told with page-turning pace and power' Waterstones, Politics Books of the Year

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About the Author

Toby Harnden has been a journalist for 25 years, after previously spending a decade in the Royal Navy. He is currently the Managing Editor of the Washington Examiner, and before that was the Washington Bureau Chief of the Sunday Times. He has written two critically acclaimed and bestselling books, including Dead Men Risen, which won the 2012 Orwell Prize.

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More on this Book

The story of the six-day battle that began the War in Afghanistan and how it set the scene for twenty years of conflict. 'Gripping ... A terrific action narrative' - Max Hastings 'Reads like a Tom Clancy thriller, yet every word is true ... This is modern warfare close-up and raw' - Andrew Roberts Bestselling and Orwell Prize-winning author Toby Harnden tells the gripping and incredible story of the six-day battle that began the War in Afghanistan and how it set the scene for twenty years of conflict. The West is in shock. Al-Qaeda has struck the US on 9/11 and thousands are dead. Within weeks, UK Special Forces enter the fray in Afghanistan alongside the CIA's Team Alpha and US troops. Victory is swift, but fragile. Hundreds of jihadists surrender and two operatives from Team Alpha enter Qala-i Jangi - the 'Fort of War' - to interrogate them. The prisoners revolt, one CIA man falls, and the other is trapped inside the fort. Seven members of the SBS - elite British Special Forces - volunteer for the rescue force and race into danger and the unknown. The six-day battle that follows proves to be one of the bloodiest of the Afghanistan war as the SBS and their American comrades face an enemy determined to die in the mud citadel. Superbly researched, First Casualty is based on unprecedented access to the CIA, SBS, and US Special Forces. Orwell Prize-winning author Toby Harnden recounts the gripping story of that first battle in Afghanistan and how the haunting foretelling it contained - unreliable allies, ethnic rivalries, suicide attacks, and errant bombs - was ignored, fueling the twenty-year conflict to come.

Read more

Product Details

Publisher
Headline Publishing Group | Headline Welbeck Non-Fiction
Published
12th May 2022
Pages
448
ISBN
9781787396463

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