The attack on cop keating resulted in eight americans killed. The battle of wanat took place due to a number of tactical mistakes by the u. Basically, a battle narrative, the book is thorough and unflinching. The battle of kadesh is a battle that occurred nearly three thousand years ago and helped shape the strategic position of the hittite empire. The fighting at cop keating, which is also known as the battle of kamdesh, involved an attack by over 400 insurgents against the combat outpost, which was slated to be dismantled. The attack was the bloodiest battle for us forces since the battle of wanat in july 2008, which occurred 20 miles 32 km away from kamdesh.
Combat outpost cop keating, originally established as a base for a provincial reconstruction. Jonathan brostrom, and the attack on cop keating in kamdesh. The remains of a building at cop keating smolder after the insurgent attack. Perspectives on the battle of wanat rand corporation. The battle began saturday morning, when insurgents stormed the two american base camps in the kamdesh district of nuristan province, pounding them with guns and. The battle for cop keating has come to illustrate the war in afghanistan, where the mission is often as misunderstood by the american public as the remote corner of the planet where its occurred. What happened at firebase mary ann the night of march 2728, 1971, was, according to the author of this riveting account, the u. According to soldiers who called the outpost home, being at keating was like being in a fishbowl or fighting from the bottom of a paper cup. Nato says around 100 insurgents were killed in the battle. The strategic studies institute ssi is part of the u.
The local police chief was also captured by the attackers and executed, said maj. Valor awards generated from battle of kamdesh on oct. Battle of kadesh, 1275 bc, major battle between the egyptians under ramses ii and the hittites under muwatallis, in syria, southwest of. Pitts, who received the medal of honor for his actions during the battle of wanat. Opposing ramses was the army of muwatalli ii which was encamped near kadesh. In one of the worlds largest chariot battles, fought beside the orontes river, pharaoh ramses ii sought to wrest syria from the hittites and recapture the hittiteheld city.
The battalion commander traveled to kamdesh to meet. Though isolated and significantly outnumbered, the american forces were able to rely on their resilience and. An untold story of american valor paperback october 22, 20. The study focuses on the july, 2008, battle in afghanistans waigal valley during which nine american soldiers died and 27 were wounded defending their. General petraeus, commander of us forces in afghanistan, the army and marine counterinsurgency field manual fm 324 would convert the.
The outpost was manned by 54 american personnel from b troop, 3rd squadron, 61st cavalry regiment, who faced greater than seventoone odds in the battle. Thirtythree hundred years ago, below the sundrenched walls of kadesh, the egyptian and hittite empires fought for control of the land now known as syria in the first battle about which modern man has detailed contemporary accounts. Both films will culminate in the battle of kamdesh, which took place oct. It occurred on october 3, 2009, when a force of 300 taliban assaulted the american combat outpost cop keating near the town of kamdesh of nuristan province in eastern afghanistan. The battle for cop keating has come to illustrate the war in afghanistan, where the mission is often as misunderstood by the american public as. You might not know this, but you cannot fold them in a pdf, which makes it impossible to look at them. In a new book, the cnn anchor tells the story of combat outpost keating.
The taliban vowed to attack such efforts as part of a campaign to discredit the afghan government. Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from wikipedia or other free sources online. The strategic lessons unlearned from vietnam, iraq, and afghanistan. Battle of kamdesh, ana soldiers hid under their beds or looted the american. Battle of kamdesh military wiki fandom military wikia. The attack resulted in multiple isaf personnel casualties and.
At the time of the battle of kadesh, muwatalli ii was king. Cut off from any support, 60 american soldiers defended against an attacking force of more than 300 enemies. While were on the subject of books, an interesting novel i read earlier this year is the valley by john renehan. When the daylong battle was over, eight american soldiers were dead and over 20 wounded in the relentless attack on combat outpost keating. The battle took place on a remote hilltop in quang tin province during the latter days of vietnamization, when open defiance of orders was common among gis. An untold story of american valor is a 4 star story of a small corner of the afghanistan war that claimed so many fine young men. The battle of kadesh was fought around 1274 bc between the two leading empires of the age, these being the egyptian empire of north eastern africa and the hittite empire to its north. The battle of kamdesh, which netted two medals of honor. Outnumbered and with taliban overrunning the base, clinton. Afghanistan blends theory and practice in an effort to adapt to war in. The battle of kamdesh took place during the war in afghanistan 2001present. After battle of kamdesh, more coin diana west home. A direct descendant of the vietnam warera m16, the more compact m4 is. For the first 100 generations of its recorded history, the kingdom of egypt had been very.
The contingent of 49 united states and 24 afghan national army soldiers valiantly defended their small outpost. The attack was the bloodiest battle for us forces since. The attack was the bloodiest battle for us forces since the battle of wanat in july 2008, which occurred 20 miles 32 km away from. In an effort to deceive ramses, he planted two nomads in the path of the egyptian advance with false information regarding the armys location and shifted his camp behind the city to east. An assault by 300 taliban fighters resulted in eight americans killed and 22 wounded, and prompt withdrawal from nearly destroyed base. The battle of kamdesh took place during the war in afghanistan. Along with the battle of wanat, cop keating is a signature conflict of the war. Romesha will be awarded the medal of honor at the white house on feb. Within kamdesh today a visitor can identify each of the original clans identified by sir george scott robertson in the 1890s when he visited the area outlined in his book the kafirs of the hindu kush. The illfated american military base was in a remote afghan valley, and. David brostrom, a retired army colonel, said there are a lot of lessons to be learned from the battle in wanat that killed his son, 1st lt.
The battle of kamdesh would be one of the costliest battles for the americans of the entire afghanistan conflict as it saw an american outpost partially overrun after an attack by over 300 taliban fighters. On october 3rd, 2009, taliban forces attacked combat outpost keating near kamdesh, afghanistan. A medal of honor was just awarded to ssgt romesha for his actions in. River valley outside kamdesh, afghanistan, where the battle of kamdesh occurred, an assault that loosely serves as the basis for part of john renehans novel, the valley. Posts tagged battle of kamdesh army vet receiving medal of honor for afghan fight.
Both movies revolve around cop keating, a fishbowl of a base at the bottom of three mountains in nuristan province, built in 2006 to help stem. The taliban and sadiq had long competed for the allegiance of fighters in kamdesh, and the u. Deadly attack on remote posts highlights afghan risks. Kadesh, modern tall annabi mind, ancient city on the orontes al.
Kamdesh literally means place of the kom, as it is the unofficial capital for the kom tribe. The site is located about 15 miles 24 km southwest of homs. It was originally in kunar province and then was moved to the newly created nuristan province in 2001. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. The battle of kamdesh a true story of american valor. The contemporary history on the battle of wanat is a study written by the combat studies institute at fort leavenworth, kan. Sadiq wanted to allow longstalled development projects to resume. What marine recruits go through in boot camp earning the title making marines on parris island duration. Battle of kamdesh, a 2009 battle 20 miles from wanat, the bloodiest battle for u. This is a video recreation of the combat action at wanat, nuristan province afghanistan, on july 2008.
The battle of wanat study 12 november focus at the u. The axe has a long history in egyptian warfare and iconography, used in the battle of kadesh and various other contests. Armys standard infantry weapon repeatedly overheated and jammed during a bloody 2008 battle in afghanistan. Kadesh is mentioned for the first time in egyptian sources when thutmose iii 14791426 bce defeated a syrian insurrection under the leadership of the prince of kadesh at megiddo in. On that day, the men of company c, 2d battalion, 503d parachute infantry regiment, endured four hours of intense close quarters combat and mounting casualties.
The battle of kamdesh, which netted two medals of honor, is coming. Battles of the war in afghanistan involving afghanistan. Combat action in afghanistan, 2008 army university press. The battle of kadesh or battle of qadesh took place between the forces of the new kingdom of egypt under ramesses ii and the hittite empire under muwatalli ii at the city of kadesh on the orontes river, just upstream of lake homs near the modern lebanonsyria border the battle is generally dated to 1274 bc from the egyptian chronology, and is the earliest battle in recorded history for. Army releases report on battle at combat outpost keating. A true story of american valor is a compelling minutebyminute retelling of the battle of keating, that took place during the afghan war, october 3, 2009.
959 1672 22 754 1602 257 707 1084 531 1047 213 302 1214 1151 1089 1475 1378 691 220 992 1164 527 1230 90 906 1664 667 180 618 707 742 931 848 860 10 1298 1349 1469 498 1317