This item cannot be shipped to your selected delivery location. Please choose a different delivery location.
Deliver to Finland
Added to

Sorry, there was a problem.

There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Please try again.

Sorry, there was a problem.

List unavailable.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Operation Herrick: An unofficial history of British military operations in Afghanistan 2001-2014 Paperback – December 1, 2015

4.9 4.9 out of 5 stars 17 ratings

The Afghanistan War achieved many firsts. It was the first trillion dollar war and Britain's longest war in a century. At its height it sucked in some fifty allied nations into a central Asian country of no strategic significance. It was undeniably a war, yet the civilians outnumbered the combined military manpower of all contributing nations, bar the United States. It began as a necessary response to the outrage of the September 11 attacks, but ended in a divisive and ruinous exercise in armed nation-building. More aid was thrown at Afghanistan than was distributed to the war-broken nations of Europe under the Marshall Plan, yet the country was left in a parlous state. Billions of dollars of Western ordnance was expended against an enemy equipped with AK-47s and little more. The phenomenal imbalance between the combatants did not result in clear victory but rather intractable stalemate. Nobody won. Ultimately, the Afghanistan War is difficult to ignore, or sweep under carpets. It is British government policy not to commission official war histories until a lengthy period has elapsed, typically a quarter of a century or longer. This policy clearly benefits protagonists whose reputations are thus preserved (at least while they are still alive), but it does little for those at the bottom of the pile, some of whom are now lying under gravestones. This book is written for those officers and soldiers. It addresses the broader strategic aspects of the war, both the military and civilian missions, but also seeks to tell the story from the perspective of the men and women who served in Task Force Helmand. With candour it seeks to answer the question: what exactly did happen in Britain's war in Afghanistan? Any proceeds from the book will be donated to the Army Benevolent Fund.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (December 1, 2015)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 826 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1519225512
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1519225511
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.41 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7 x 1.87 x 10 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.9 4.9 out of 5 stars 17 ratings

Customer reviews

4.9 out of 5 stars
4.9 out of 5
17 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

There are 0 reviews and 2 ratings from the United States

Top reviews from other countries

Kevin Cairney
5.0 out of 5 stars Big detail and well researched. Not afraid to give a view.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 4, 2023
Big book and very well researched (check the reference list). The detail for each tour consolidates a political viewpoint that is objective. There is also a strategic context provided. Given the aim of objectivity there is little narrative on the British war dead and so it feels a bit discompassionate (I served in Camp Bastion Trauma Centre) but the approach serves the book well. Anyone who calls for British (or any military intervention) military involvement needs to read this book. We may learn something about our own military but the exercise in Afghanistan taught us that sometimes war is futile & the people don’t want us. That said the book moved into a happy place into >2011 when we turned the tide, but sad to say in 2022, it was never to be. Great book and I’m thankful for having read it.
Holdfast
5.0 out of 5 stars WHAT A WASTE OF YOUNG LIVES.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 2, 2019
A very interesting title about the whole Afghanistan deployment. I found it particularly relevant because I deployed on Op HERRICK 10. with the 19 Lt Bde BG. I was a SO2 working alongside the PRT in Lashkar Gar the comments made by the author relating to the Civil Servants of DFiD are spot on, they were in it for what they could get out of it and quite honestly were not interested kinetic side of things despite the fact that service personnel were dying. An interesting read and I am astounded that the author has been able to pull together so much information in one place. Who is he?
2 people found this helpful
Report
Gordon Y.
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 22, 2016
fast delivery and excellent read
stanretoma
4.0 out of 5 stars Was there - book is very good
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 25, 2023
Islamic Jihad & Extreme Terrorism - part of my reading on the subject.
Schofieldma
4.0 out of 5 stars Very informative but written for the university educated.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 15, 2016
Packed with facts, on occasion a little bias. Author has a huge vocabulary and boy does he love to use it, as well as quoting Latin proverbs, so can be hard going for normal non university educatated people (like me).
The book is big and heavy, I found I was wrestling with it on a night trying to read it in bed.
2 people found this helpful
Report