12 Strong

The Declassified True Story of the Horse Soldiers

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12 Strong

By: Doug Stanton

Narrated by: Jack Garrett

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The inspiration for the major motion picture 12 Strong from Jerry Bruckheimer, starring Chris Hemsworth and Michael Shannon.

From the New York Times bestselling author of In Harm’s Way comes a true-life story of US Army Special Forces soldiers overcoming great odds to achieve a stunning military victory in the Afghanistan War.

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

The bone-weary American soldiers were welcomed as liberators as they rode into the city, and the streets thronged with Afghans overjoyed that the Taliban regime had been overthrown.

Then the action took a wholly unexpected turn. During a surrender of six hundred Taliban troops, the Horse Soldiers were ambushed by the would-be POWs. Dangerously overpowered, 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 entire effort to outmaneuver the Taliban was likely doomed.

Deeply researched and beautifully written, Stanton’s account of the Americans’ quest to liberate an oppressed people touches the mythic. The soldiers on horses 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 proved a valuable lesson for America’s ongoing efforts in Afghanistan.

Doug StantonJack GarrettSimon & Schuster Audio

Armed Forces

Middle East

Military

Special & Elite Forces

War

Solider

Armed Forces Middle East Military Special & Elite Forces War Solider

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Overall a very good account of how special forces soldiers interact with local forces to achieve a goal. For those interested in the military diplomatic psychological of soldiering it is a good account of obviousness learned by American forces.

The overall story was interesting with Americans learning how small wars are fought without a large supply train. I found it very interesting that the book at times stressed the fact that the Afghans did a lot of the fighting rather than claiming all the valour for the US troops.
The narrator was good though the hoarse throatiness during stressful times in the story made my eyes roll.

In the end it draws a very good contrast to the beginning of the Afghanistan campaign as opposed to the Iraq campaign.

Overall worth a read or listen.