No Lack of Courage: Operation Medusa, Afghanistan

by Bernd Horn, R.J. Hillier (Foreword)

No Lack of Courage is the story of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s Operation Medusa, the largely Canadian action in Afghanistan from 1 to 17 September 2006, to dislodge a heavily entrenched Taliban force in the Pashmul district of Afghanistans Kandahar Province. At stake, according to senior Afghan politicians and NATO military commanders, was nothing less than the very existence of the reconstituted state of Afghanistan, as well as the NATO alliance itself. In a bitterly fought conflict that lasted more than two weeks, Canadian, Afghan, and Coalition troops defeated the dug-in enemy forces and chased them from the Pashmul area. In the end, the brunt of the fighting fell on the Canadians, and the operation that saved Afghanistan exacted a great cost. However, the battle also demonstrated that Canada had shed its peacekeeping mythology and was once more ready to commit troops deliberately to combat. Moreover, it revealed yet again that Canadian soldiers have no lack of courage.

Genres: Military Fiction, History, Nonfiction, War, Canada

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Atar · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an American from the United States born after WWII and the Korean War all I've ever heard or read about Canada's military is that it was basically the little brother to our military. That they were a pacifist nation or peace keeping nation. This book about Operation Medusa in Afghanistan 2006 proves that when called upon to have our backs as brothers they can do so with as much force as other nations. They proved their fighting prowess in a manner that is typical of their southern bigger military brothers. They deserve to be called a fighting force for they proved themselves in modern battle.

[Alexandre · Rating 2 out of 5]

More of an essay than a book , 35% of the book is references and notes . Lots of the info is duplicate. That being said it is well presented and interesting to hear about the conflicting higher interest on the battlefield .
The tittle is very on point .

[Trent · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read for those who wish to understand Canada's entrance and roles in Afghanistan. I read this book after Fifteen Days (Christie Blatchford) and The Taliban Don't Wave
(Rob Semrau) and I preferred this book to the other two due to the political introduction and the very broad use of references that collect the different points of view on the battlefield of multiple contacts CAF soldiers faced. In general terms he managed to capture battles if Fox Sports does with hundreds of TV cameras at an NFL game.

I definitely recommend this book for anyone who wants to get an idea of what the military and it's soldiers went through from the day the gov't said go to Op Medusa.

[Michael Davie · Rating 2 out of 5]

A disappointing and sometimes frustrating read. The book contains a number of typographical and grammatical errors, as well as a few inexplicably repeated passages. More significantly though, it also contains several factual errors, which I find inexcusable for a historical account written by a professional historian. If I had not been present in Kandahar during the events described, I don't think this book would have held my interest.