Product Description

'The 3 Commando Brigade's six month deployment in Helmand Province was among the finest pieces of soldiering I have come across' - General Sir Richard Dannett, Chief of General Staff. In October 2006, the Royal Marine Commandos took up their six month tour of duty in war-torn Helmand Province, southern Afghanistan - the toughest and hottest war zone on earth. After the tactical retreat of their predecessors, the Paras, the Marines knew they would have to take a different approach to have any chance of success. So they took the war to the enemy. Roving and aggressive, the Commandos forced the insurgent Taliban on to the back foot. As a result, they were involved in daily fire fights of an intensity not encountered by British troops since North Korea."3 Commando Brigade" is a thrilling first-hand account of that dogged, heroic pursuit of the Taliban by the ordinary Marines, sailors and soldiers responsible. It is a story of valour, fortitude, supreme physical and mental fitness, and unrivalled professionalism under the most testing of circumstances. The account explodes from the first page with Operation Glacier, a graphic, no-holds-barred account of a Commando attack on a key Taliban base south of Garmsir - a battle that ends with the dramatic recovery of a Corporal's body from alongside the fort by Apache helicopters. From this opening salvo the action never lets up, offering a startlingly honest account of the war in Afghanistan as told by the junior officers, corporals and marines on the ground.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #188963 in Books
• Published on: 2008-08-28
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 320 pages

HRH Prince Philip
'Masterly... To say that the story is `action-packed' is an understatement'

Bookseller
`a military historian and retired Royal Marines Lieutenant Colonel, the author has pedigree in this genre [and] great experience of battle'

About the Author
Ewen Southby-Tailyour is a military historian and retired Royal Marines Lieutenant Colonel. He has seen action in the Middle East himself, leading Commando troops in Aden, and Arab and Baluchi troops in Dhofar - for which he was awarded the Sultan of Muscat's Bravery Medal. He also fought in the Falklands war for which he was appointed an OBE. As a trusted insider he has had full access to the men who make up 3 Commando Brigade.

Customer Reviews

Dry, disjointed, disappointing
Military historian and retired Royal Marines Lieutenant Colonel Ewen Southby-Tailyour has written in 3 Commando Brigade, a rather dry and uninteresting book that I would generously characterise as modest in its' retelling of events in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, 2006.

In the author's notes at the end of the book, Southby-Tailyour thanks a colleague in helping to shape his manuscript "... into something more appealing to a wider audience... from 'niche market' to 'mass market'." This was not achieved. 3 Commando Brigade remains the work of a military historian. Perhaps this book will become invaluable as a source for future historians but as a book in its' own right, it does not succeed.

There is no dramatic narrative to this book, though perhaps that is the author's intention - to remove any 'glamour' from the awful truth of the battlefield. However, neither are there any strong characters to this book. Names occasionally repeat but not to the point of familiarity, stories are told and fragments of scenes are depicted but nothing really holds together. Firefights that take hours are skimmed over rapidly. The book becomes self-limited as a collection of disjointed non-linear recollections and quotes.

Despite the author, one still leaves this book with a tremendous admiration for the determination of the soldiers involved, though also quite strongly, that they are achieving next to nothing out there. Hills are 'taken' and compounds are 'cleared' and these operations are deemed a 'success' by those in command but there certainly seems to be an underlying acknowledgment that what the marines have done will not last, that their achievements are ultimately transient.

It is hard to recommend 3 Commando Brigade. I wanted to understand what life is like for the British foot soldier in a contemporary war zone but Ewen Southby-Tailyour didn't enlighten me as much I would have wanted.

The Marines at their best...READ IT!!!!!!!
It is always annoying when reading' that a mistake appears, something a proof reading should have picked up and yet is missed.Page 57, "on 8 October 2008 3 commando Brigade's brigadier, Jerry Thomas, formally took over from 16 air assault Brigade's brigadier, Ed Butler." If this was so then it has not happened yet!!!!
Having said that it takes nothing from the account of the marines in Afghanistan. I also like the fact that the Royal Engineers are mentioned often for the work that they have carried out.These boys are usually the unsung heroes in any conflict and at last they have been given recognition in this book.
It is written factually and contains many verbal anecdotes from the troops themselves. Along with the all important detail of action by troops and enemy alike, with good annalysis of equipment used, it aligns all parameters with intricate ability to bring all the supporting groups into the equation whilst still giving a first hand account of individual heroism in the field of battle.
I like the style of Ewen Southby-Tailyour and indeed found the opening prologue, detailing the Jugroom fort mission to rescue the body of Mathew Ford,an awesome account that puts this book on everyones must read list.

A smashing read
An absolutely smashing read - a true history but written in an 'approachable' manner as much for the lay person as the keen military historian. The photographs enhance the text perfectly.

Clearly written by a professional, military historian with no personal agenda and huge combat experience.

Cannot recommend it highly enough.