It is now clear that the British presence in Afghanistan – billed by our Government as 'a mission to provide peace and security' – has witnessed some of the deadliest fighting and most extreme warfare since the Korean War.
Patrick Bishop, best–selling author of "Fighter Boys" and the forthcoming "Bomber Boys", has been given exclusive access to the Parachute Regiment known as '3 Para', which during the summer of 2006 suffered some of the worst fighting of the Afghanistan conflict. In this definitive account of what happened to the men and women of 3 Para in the heat of Helmand, Bishop reveals the hitherto unreported aspects of their daily experiences, as well as the horrendous conditions in which they were forced to fight. With soldiers battling not only the enemy, but also 50°C heat, insufficient rations, lack of ground forces and nearly fatal amounts of sleep deprivation, this desperate conflict has come to embody a war more reminiscent of Rourke's Drift – characterised by fierce hand–to–hand fighting against an ever–increasing Taliban threat – than the antiseptic warfare promised by modern technology. Recognition of 3 Para's achievement was made by the award of a Victoria Cross and a George Cross to two soldiers in A Company – the highest achievable awards for gallantry.
This is a war that has been fought far from the media and the public gaze. Now, for the first time, we have access the true stories that have remained hidden behind the headlines. Patrick Bishop's vital and unique account of modern warfare in extraordinary times and these innumerable stories of breathtaking bravery will make modern military history.
