In 2002, American forces in Afghanistan were involved in operations to search and destroy Al Qaeda and Taliban forces. It was determined that there was an enemy concentration in the Shah-i-Kot Valley. The valley had seen action between the mujahideen and the Soviet army during that war. The valley was surrounded by mountains with caves occupied by the enemy. There were also trenches and bunkers built in anticipation of an attack. Intelligence estimated 200-250 enemy combatants were in the area. The actual total was much higher. Some of them were deemed to be HVTs (high value targets). It was decided by American Gen. Tommy Franks that the valley should be targeted for an operation that would give the Afghan army a chance to prove itself. Plus, they would be better able to recognize civilians, thus limiting casualties to noncombants. (This turned out to be unnecessary because the enemy had encouraged villagers to leave because a battle was expected.) The reputation of Afghani soldiers was bad after their inability to get Osama Bin Laden when he was holed up in Tora Bora in 2001. The American military had foolishly allowed the Afghanis to go after the world’s most wanted man with little American support. The Afghanis prove to be very reluctant warriors who allowed Bin Laden to escape to Pakistan, but supposedly they were much better by 2002.
The mission involved about 2,000 coalition troops, including more than 900 Americans, 200 U.S. Special Forces and other troops, and 200 special operations troops from Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, France, Norway, New Zealand, and Afghan allies. The Americans would provide a blocking force that the Afghan army would push the enemy towards. (There had been no American blocking force at Tora Bora.) The plan for Operation Anaconda was for the Afghanis to be driven by trucks into the southern entrance to the valley. This force would have American special forces personnel with it to stiffen their spines. American soldiers would be helicoptered to the northern end to block escape passes. On the night of March 1, Delta Force operators were dropped to establish observation posts to call in artillery and air support. Temperatures were below freezing and snow covered the ground from 100 yards up on the mountainsides. On March 2, the Afghani trucks drove into the valley, with their lights on! There went the element of surprise. The expected air bombardment to pave the way was a fizzle as only 6 bombs were dropped. A truck carrying Americans broke from the formation and was hit by friendly fire from an American plane. The enemy opened fire on the convoy with mortars and rockets and the Afghanis panicked and refused to move. American reinforcements had to be sent to avoid a rout. With a valley full of enemy warriors wide awake and prepared for an attack, the blocking force tried landing in drop zones that were under heavy fire. Rocket propelled grenades played havoc with the helicopters. The Americans who managed to land were pinned down. During the night, a AC-130 Spooky gunship provided protective fire that saved the men from being overrun.
On March 3, SEAL teams were to be landed on Mount Takur Ghar. There was no sign of enemy on the top of the mountain, so because the insert was running late, it was decided to land on the top. The choppers came under heavy fire and an American fell out. (The battle on the mountain is known as the Battle of Roberts Ridge in honor of the American who fell out and who was killed by his captors, Navy SEAL Neil Roberts.) Another helicopter was shot down and crashed leaving its men surrounded by the enemy. The SEALs were pinned down by fire from all around but especially from a bunker. Strafing by fighters and dropping of bombs could not take out the bunker even with danger close runs. Finally, a CIA Predator drone succeeded with a Hellfire missile. Later, a Quick Reaction Force of Army Rangers climbed to them. But there was still such heavy fire that a medevac helicopter could not land. One of the severely wounded died. Two Medals of Honor were awarded posthumously to men who died fighting off numerous foes.
After the Battle of Takur Ghar, things got quiet in the valley as the remaining enemy managed to escape. On March 12, an Afghani force was sent to sweep the valley. It was equipped with tanks. It found the villages empty. On March 18, Gen. Franks declared the operation over and claimed it was “an unqualified and complete success”. This was quite an exaggeration as the Afghanis had once again proven to be untrustworthy allies and the Al Qaeda/Taliban proved to be tough opponents. It also was marked by numerous screw-ups. One big problem was the slowness of air support. 8 Americans were killed and 72 wounded. 100-1,000 enemy casualties were claimed, but only 23 bodies were found. During the operation, Canadian sniper Corporal Rob Furlong recorded the longest kill in history, up to then. He show a Taliban carrying a machine gun from 2,430 meters. (The record was broken in 2009). Operation Anaconda was the first large-scale battle since the Battle of Tora Bora and it was the first battle involving a large number of Americans.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Anaconda
https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Journals/Military-Review/Online-Exclusive/2017-Online-Exclusive-Articles/Operation-Anaconda-Shah-i-Khot-Valley-Afghanistan/
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