3 Para

Product Description

Afghanistan in the summer of 2006. In blazing heat in remote outposts the 3 Para battlegroup is pitted against a stubborn enemy who keep on coming. Until now the full story of what happened there has not been told. This is it. In April 2006 the elite 3 Para battlegroup was despatched to Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan. They were tasked with providing security to reconstruction efforts a deployment it was hoped would pass off without a shot being fired. In fact over the six months they were there the 3 Para battle group saw near continuous combat -- one gruelling battle after another -- in what would become one of the most extraordinary campaigns ever fought by British troops. Around parched dusty outposts reliant on a limited number of helicopters for food & ammunition resupply troops were subjected to relentless Taliban attacks as well as energy-sapping 50 degree heat & spartan conditions. At the end of the tour the Taliban offensive aimed at driving the British & Afghan Government troops out of Helmand had been tactically defeated. But 3 Para paid a high price: fourteen soldiers & one interpreter were killed & 46 wounded. 3 Para will tell the stories of the men & women who took part in this extraordinary & largely unreported saga. Best-selling author Patrick Bishop has been given exclusive access to the soldiers whose tales of courage & endurance provide an unforgettable portrait of one of the worlds finest & most fascinating fighting regiments & a remarkable band of warriors. Their bravery was reflected in the array of gallantry medals that were bestowed on their return including the Victoria Cross awarded to Corporal Bryan Budd & the George Cross won by Corporal Mark Wright both of whom were killed winning their awards. 3 Paras saga of comradeship courage & fortitude is set to become a classic.