Mission In January 2006, Defence Secretary
John Reid announced the UK would send a PRT with several thousand personnel to Helmand, in southern Afghanistan, for at least three years. This had been planned as part of the gradual expansion of ISAF's area of responsibility from the Kabul region to the rest of Afghanistan. An initial strength of 5,700 personnel in Afghanistan was planned, which would stabilise to around 4,500 for the rest of the deployment. Helmand was a volatile region with local conflicts over drugs and land, and where the Afghan army were "non-existent".
Ashraf Ghani, the
Kabul University chancellor at the time, reportedly told a British planner in 2005 that there could be no worse peacekeeping force sent to Helmand than the UK, due to local sensitivity and its proximity to the site of the 1880
Battle of Maiwand, predicting a "bloodbath" as a result. Locals and Taliban propaganda called the British presence in Helmand the 'Fourth Anglo-Afghan War', viewing it as colonial Brits returning with "vengenance" for Victorian era defeats. In 2009, MP
Bernard Jenkin, during a parliamentary debate on Afghanistan and
Pakistan, described the 2006 deployment to Helmand as "one of the most ill-judged and ill-conceived military deployments of modern decades".
Activities Before the main deployment, the
Royal Engineers constructed a central fortification,
Camp Bastion, to serve as a main base. A camp for an Afghan force (Camp Shorabak, initially for 3rd Brigade,
205th Corps) was built nearby. On 1 May, the US OEF force was relieved in a ceremony. At the same time, the United States began a major offensive,
Operation Mountain Thrust, against the
insurgency in south Afghanistan. This brought ISAF forces into open conflict with the Taliban. British forces originally tried to provide security to reconstruction, but instead became engaged in combat.
Platoon houses were soon established in northern settlements, due to pressure from the provincial governor for an aggressive stance. However, these quickly became a focus for heavy fighting. One of these was in
Sangin, which was
cut off and surrounded by the Taliban in early July. Eleven soldiers were killed in
Sangin District over the subsequent period. On 16 July, with support from American and Canadian forces, 200
paratroopers were airlifted to take the town. In early August, 500 paratroopers and
Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers were airlifted to
Musa Quala after violence flared around the platoon house. One British soldier was killed in the battle. On 25 August, several hundred soldiers were involved in a second operation to escort a group of Afghan policemen as a show of force. The Taliban made direct assaults on the British-held compounds, attacking with small arms fire, RPGs, and mortar rounds at short range. The British responded with airstrikes and artillery, often aimed right outside their compound walls, in what became a
close quarters battle. Casualties increased on both sides, with many more Taliban casualties as their assault had exposed them to the full scope of NATO's heavier firepower. Numbers of civilian casualties and damage to local infrastructure increased. The NATO forces grew increasingly concerned that they were alienating residents with heavy-handed tactics, in spite of their intention to win "
hearts and minds". It was also becoming clear that the British did not have the number of troops and helicopters to sustain the platoon house strategy indefinitely under the circumstances. Realising that the situation could not carry on unchanged, British commanders approached local tribal leaders to organise a temporary ceasefire. Through pressure from the local tribal elders and their mounting casualties, the Taliban agreed to withdraw from the contested towns at the same time as the British, having been unable to realise their goal of forcibly expelling the foreign troops. NATO estimated Taliban losses over the summer period to be around 1,000 killed in Helmand alone. The British commander,
Brigadier Ed Butler, later said the deal had come just 48 hours before Musa Quala was planned to be abandoned because of the risks support helicopters were taking. The truce drew criticism from American commanders who believed it showed a sign of weakness on NATO's part. The deal would again be called into question when the Taliban retook the town of
Musa Qala by surprise in February 2007, following the killing of a leading commander in an American airstrike. The town was eventually retaken by British and Afghan forces. By late September, 31 British soldiers had died in Afghanistan over the year. Corporal
Mark Wright, was posthumously awarded the George Cross and Corporal
Bryan Budd was posthumously awarded the
Victoria Cross, the British Armed Forces' highest awards for gallantry. Brigadier Butler declared the Taliban to have been "tactically defeated" for the time being.
Response The stress of operations was admitted to be unexpected by the
Ministry of Defence, and there was increasing pressure to send more forces to Helmand. Lieutenant General
David J. Richards said that this was the heaviest persistent combat the British Armed Forces had experienced since the
Korean War or the
Second World War. As a result, Operation Herrick was increased to 7,700 personnel. Additional aircraft, artillery pieces (including 4
GMLRS) and armoured vehicles (such as
Warrior IFVs), an additional
Platoon of Snipers were also sent.
Operation Mar Karadad As of December 8, 2007, an alleged 2000 Taliban rebels occupied Musa Qala. Coalition forces prepared for a siege of the town.
Operation Mar Karadad (translated as Operation Snakebite) was commanded by HQ
Task Force Helmand, a bolstered HQ 52 Infantry Brigade, supported by
82nd Airborne Task Force Corsair. Afghan troops supported by British, Danish and US troops fought for control of the town, which was a major Taliban drug trafficking station and the Taliban's only occupied village in the strategically crucial Helmand province. It was considered to be of symbolic importance to both international forces and insurgents operating in the area. There had been some civilian evacuation, partly aided by the aerial dropping of leaflets warning of the impending battle. In preparation, it was believed that the village was heavily mined by Taliban fighters.
Sergeant Lee Johnson of the
2nd Bn The Yorkshire Regiment was killed shortly after 10am on 8 December 2007, whilst taking part in an operation to recapture the town, when a
land mine exploded. The Taliban insurgents withdrew from the area by midday on 10 December leaving the Afghan army and NATO forces in control of the town. This was the major operation of Operation HERRICK 7 for Task Force Helmand.
Operation Volcano In early February 2007, at the end of a six-week operation, the Royal Marines cleared 25 Taliban compounds in the proximity of the
Kajaki hydroelectric dam in order to allow repair work to be conducted on the machinery.
Operation Achilles In between early March to late May 2007, the British led
Operation Achilles, NATO's drive to push the Taliban out of Helmand. In early May 2007 Operation Silver, a sub-operation of Achilles, successfully expelled Taliban fighters from the town of
Sangin. It was followed in mid-May by Operation Silicon, where British led forces removed the Taliban from
Gereshk and much of the surrounding countryside. The Royal Engineers then set up three camps in the area for the
Afghan National Army. The book "The Junior Officers Reading Club" documents Operation Silicon.
Operation Lastay Kulang A follow-up to Achilles, Operation Lastay Kulang was launched on 30 May 2007 near the village of Kajaki Sofle, 10 kilometres to the southwest of
Kajaki, to remove a Taliban force encamped there. A force of 1000 British troops, another thousand ISAF soldiers, and elements of the
Afghan National Army moved into the area to confront the insurgents. On the night of 30 May the American
82nd Airborne Division conducted an air assault on enemy positions during which one of their
Chinook helicopters crashed, apparently due to enemy fire, killing five Americans, a Briton and a Canadian. By the second of June, ISAF and Afghan forces had isolated several pockets of insurgent fighters in the north and south of the Upper Sangin valley. In an effort to win over local support, the Royal Engineers have started work on several reconstruction projects, such as digging irrigation ditches to help farmers in the area. Operation Lastay Kulang is described in the book,
Attack State Red, about the Royal Anglian Battle Group in Helmand.
Taliban spring offensive By late May 2007 the Taliban spring offensive promised for March 2007 had failed to materialise. This is put down in part to the massive casualties the Taliban took while trying to storm British strongholds across Helmand and by systematic attacks on their mid-level commanders during operations over the winter, which has hampered their ability to coordinate large troop movements.
The Daily Telegraph reported that they wouldn't "discount the Taliban as a spent force just yet", as an "increase in enemy tempo" was expected. As of October 2008 the number of clashes has risen from five a day to 15, lasting from 10 minutes to 11 hours. In a new development, it has been reported that the Taliban may be recruiting
child soldiers from the tribal areas of neighbouring
Pakistan to fight coalition forces.
Build-up to summer offensive In February 2008 the Taliban prepared for the summer offensive with a number of attacks on
JTAC Hill.
British royal family involvement in military uniform, 2015 On 28 February an American website, the
Drudge Report, reported that
Prince Harry, a member of the
Household Cavalry, was operating as a
Forward Air Controller on JTAC Hill with a
Gurkha unit. The MoD had made agreements with the British and a few other countries' media not to reveal that he was there until he came home or the news was otherwise released. An Australian weekly women's magazine
New Idea initially broke the story in January, but it was not followed up at the time. New Idea editors claimed ignorance of any news blackout. Then a German newspaper, the
Berliner Kurier, published a short piece on 28 February 2008, also before Drudge. In September 2012, Prince Harry, who was known as Captain Wales, deployed with 3 Regiment Army Air Corps to Helmand Province, where he completed an operational tour as an Apache attack helicopter co-pilot gunner, part of the UK Joint Aviation Group, itself part of the US Marine Expeditionary Force.
Kajaki Dam Convoy In late August one of the largest operations by British and NATO forces in Helmand province took place, with the aim of bringing electricity to the region. A convoy of 100 vehicles took five days to move massive sections of an electric turbine for the
Kajaki Dam, covering . The operation involved 2,000 British troops, 1,000 other NATO troops from Australia, Canada, Denmark and the US, and 1,000 Afghan soldiers. The Canadians covered the first leg and the British took over at a meeting point in the desert, using 50
BvS 10 Viking armoured vehicles to escort the convoy. Hundreds of special forces troops went in first, sweeping the area and although difficult to verify, British commanders estimated that more than 200 insurgents were killed, without any NATO casualties. British
BAe Harrier GR9 and
AgustaWestland Apaches, Dutch, French and US aircraft, helicopters and unmanned drones provided aerial reconnaissance and fire support. The turbine was finally commissioned in October 2016.
Other operations • OP Panchai Palang between 19 June 2009 and July 2009 • Garmsir Area of Operations handed from Task Force Helmand (TFH) to
24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (24 MEU) during June 2009 • Operation Moshtarak starts during February 2010 • Musa Qaleh Area of Operations handed from TFH to
I Marine Expeditionary Force (1 MEF) during March 2010. • Kajaki Area of Operations handed from TFH to 1 MEF during June 2010. • Sangin Area of Operations handed from TFH to 1 MEF during September 2010. • OP Qalai Sharqay during May 2011. • Lead security for Lashkar Gah transferred to ANSF during July 2011. .
Equipment During Operation Herrick a wide variety of equipment was used by the British Army: •
Foxhound from June 2012 •
Husky from 2010 •
Jackal 1 from 2008 withdrawn during H 17 •
Land Rover RWMIK withdrawn during H 14 •
Mastiff 1 from December 2006 and withdrawn during H 17. •
Mastiff 2 from June 2009. •
Ridgeback from 2010 •
Snatch Vixen from 2008 and withdrawn during H 14 • Lightweight remote control vehicle from November 2008 •
Dragon Runner from November 2008 • HORN Detector from May 2011 •
M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System withdrawn during H 17 •
Trojan Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers •
Python minefield breaching system from 2010 ==British casualties==