Dead Men Risen: An Epic Story of War and Heroism in Afghanistan

by Toby Harnden

Dead Men Risen, winner of the prestigious Orwell Prize for Books, is the epic story of a beleaguered British battle group fighting desperately to prevent the Taliban from seizing Afghanistan's Helmand province just as the U.S. Marines arrive to take over.

Bestselling author Toby Harnden describes how men from the coal mining valleys and slate quarry villages of Wales found themselves in the most intense combat faced by British troops for a generation. Underequipped and overstretched, the fighting prowess of the Welsh Guards in the killing fields of Sangin and Nawa awed the U.S. Marines. NATO commander General Stanley McChrystal, who was awaiting a response to his urgent request to President Barack Obama for more troops, hailed their "burn-in-your-gut passion."

Harnden was on the ground with the Welsh Guards in Helmand in 2009. He gained access to a trove of secret military documents and conducted nearly three hundred interviews in Afghanistan, England, Wales, and the United States to produce this timeless and profound account of men at war.

Commanding the Welsh Guards was Lieutenant Colonel Rupert Thorneloe, a passionate believer in the justness of the war who was dismayed by the military and political incompetence surrounding it. In chilling detail, Harnden reveals how and why Thorneloe�the first British battalion commander to die in action since the 1982 Falklands War�was killed by an IED during Operation Panther’s Claw. By the time the fighting was over, almost no rank had been spared.

From the searing heat of the poppy fields and the mud compounds of Helmand to the dreaded knock on the door back home, the reader is transported there. Harnden weaves the experiences of the soldiers, their historical forbears and the flawed NATO strategy into a masterly narrative. No other book about modern conflict succeeds on so many levels. Dead Men Risen is essential for anyone who wants to understand the reality of the Afghan war for the U.S and its allies.

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

530 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 2011

About the author

Toby Harnden is a winner of the Orwell Prize for Books. A former foreign correspondent for the Sunday Times of London and the Daily Telegraph who reported from thirty-three countries, he specializes in terrorism and war. Born in England, Harnden was imprisoned in Zimbabwe, prosecuted in Britain for protecting confidential sources, and vindicated by a $23 million public inquiry in Ireland. A dual British and US citizen, he spent a decade as a Royal Navy officer before becoming a journalist. He holds a First Class degree in modern history from Oxford and is the author of Bandit Country: The IRA & South Armagh and Dead Men Risen: An Epic Story of War and Heroism in Afghanistan. Previously based in London, Belfast, Jerusalem, Baghdad, and Washington, DC, he lives in Virginia.

Reviews

['Aussie Rick' · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having recently finished reading “Dead Men Risen” by Toby Harnden I wanted to wait a few days to collect my thoughts before attempting to write a review on this book. I really don’t think I can write an adequate review of this book but I will try, as the story of these brave soldiers needs to be read. As a side note, the book was first published in 2011 and initially the British Ministry of Defence attempted to stop its publication.

For me, this was an important book to read to get a full understanding of what happened to British forces in Afghanistan and how things looked on the ground to British troops in their early deployments. The book catalogues the six-month deployment of the Welsh Guards in Helmand, Afghanistan, in 2009.

The book also outlines the concerns of the Welsh Guards commanding officer, Lt Col Thorneloe, in regards to the lack of British aviation support, specifically helicopters, inadequate attempts to deal with the devastating threat of low metal content IED’s (improvised explosive devices), chronic undermanning, the flawed strategy of seizing territory without the appropriate resources to hold it, not to mention the continued use of vehicles not fit for purpose in combating the effects of IED’s. In fact, Lt Col Rupert Thorneloe was killed by an IED on July 1, 2009.

In the Australian army; “The role of infantry is to seek out and close with the enemy, to kill or capture him, to seize and hold ground and to repel attack by day or night, regardless of season, weather or terrain.” The Welsh Guards were doing all that but they had problems with maintaining the areas seized from the Taliban.

Once ground was seized Forward Operating Bases and Patrol Bases were established, but due to lack of infantry soldiers these gains could not be further consolidated nor the area around the bases be pacified for further civilian and mentoring operations. Also due to a lack of helicopter support all supplies had to be delivered by road using vehicles not really designed to combat the effects of IED’s.

Again and again we read of these brave young soldiers, 18-19 year olds, getting out of their vehicles and sweeping and searching the roads for IED’s. Over and over again we read of these poor men losing their lives, limbs and minds to devastating explosions. At this stage the Taliban had developed and were using low metal content devices that the British sweeping devices could not detect, with fatal consequences.

Questions were raised about why the British army was deployed into this conflict without the adequate resources and equipment to complete their mission. Questions that many families in England wanted answers for. The book provides details not only of the combat operations of these men but also the sad process of how their bodies were returned to the UK and their families.

For me this was a powerful book, one that all politicians and chief-of-staffs should be required to read before tasking their servicemen and women into the next conflict.

[Manda Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a monster of a book, weighing in at over 600 pages (608 including the index) but it's a fascinating, detailed, intricate - and at times, very moving, account of the Welsh Guards' deployment in Afghanistan in 2010. I normally read military history, and I don't normally count last year as history - but the detail of this, and the trouble taken to get it - and the author's own admission that however many men he interviewed, he kept getting different, more complicated versions of the 'facts' - makes this one of the most important books on modern warfare.

I defy you not to weep at the deaths portrayed in all their horror, and pointlessness, and I defy you not to rage at a government that sent men and women to their deaths, inadequately supplied, with incoherent orders, in an impossible situation.

Well worth all 5 stars.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just over half way through this book about the Welsh Guards in Afghanistan.

Without giving anything away, everyone needs to read how British forces were sent out there under equiped which has led to loss of life. Whilst at the same time, its clear that they have carried and still are carrying out thier duties in a professional manner that we all expect and respect.

Claims that this is a definive book on the British Army in Afghanistan could well be true going by the experiences and accounts of men who have served there.

The disastrous first steps taken and the lack of suitable equipment is highlighted here in graphic detail. The lack of armoured transport is criminal as is the lack of helicopters. You also have to question the tactics used when coming to mine / IED clearance compared to that of the US forces.

Nonetheless, the professionalism, dedication and bravery demonstrated is second to none. Its a shame that lives were lost needlessly. Will Afghanistan change for the better? History will determine the answer.

[Alan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliantly written, but sad and depressing book.
As a father with two Son's in the British Army, this really isn't the book to read.
It's a depressing tale of brave men taking part in a pointless war in a far away land, with inadequate equipment and not even enough of that. Unlike their American counterparts, the British soldiers were caught in a game of politics. Send them to Afghanistan to support another pointless American war or risk having the Armies budget cut back home. That is not the right reason to go to war.
This book is a warts and all book, superbly researched and written.

[Gordon Taggart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome story of the Welsh Guards on Op Herrick in Afghanistan. It tells primarily the story of there levels of command officers cut down in their prime fighting a war with one hand tied behinds their backs. They are not the only casualties, fatal or otherwise, and the author has done a great job of researching into them all and humanising the faces that appeared with monotonous regularity. I will be honest in saying (having just come from the story of the Scots Guards on Herrick too) that the books becomes quite bleak and harrowing in the regularity with which the battalion suffered casualties and the manner that they became so. The tension and stress the soldiers felt is palpable in the writing. Brilliant book and something our politicians should be made to read

[Matthew Frerichs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. This book made me more grateful to be serving in the U.S. military as opposed to serving in Britain's service. The novel depicts a broken military infrastructure structure that is the product of politicians inbreeding with the milirary upper class for far too long. At times it was rough to read about these brave people sacrificing their all just because their upper management were too full of 'pride' to do the right thing.
The film "Lions for lambs" springs to mind as I read this book. I recommend this novel to anyone who has ever served in the military or is interested in military opetations. Be warned though that this author presented all of the detail and never held back.

[Mr Michael R Stevens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mixed Emotions

A thoroughly absorbing account of one Battle groups story in Helmand during 2009. At times I found this book hard to read, at other times I found it hard to put down.
It is an account of ordinary young men doing extraordinary things at the same time as being betrayed, and that is not too strong a word, by the government's unwillingness to spend money on equipment and manpower.
It is also an account of how the modern British Army struggled against a clear lack redirection from the M.O.C.
If you only read one book about the British Army in Afghanistan it should be this one.

[Malcolm Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best, real, no BS accounts of bravery to the highest level.
I could not put this down, often with tears in my eyes.
Real story, real lives, real losses.

I would buy it new again, just to put on my shelf in honour of the boys who came home and those that sadly did not.

[Matt Treston · Rating 5 out of 5]

An astonishing account of the Welsh Guards in one of the fiercest fighting periods during Britain's engagement in Afghanistan. Arguably the best British military book I have read, words do not do it justice.

[Alex Linschoten · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid 4. First thing's first: this is not a book about Afghanistan. It's a book about the British military experience in Afghanistan, and a small chunk of it at that. Don't go into this LOOOONG book with any other expectations.

It takes a little while to get going, with some fairly horrible Afghanistan 101 sections that you'd be best to skip over entirely, but I felt I learnt some things from this book in a way that various other memoirs/'histories' etc hadn't told me. You really get a sense in some detail of what things were like during the period described in the book (around the time of Operation Panther's Claw c. 2009). At first I thought this was going to be one of those books where there are 100 different characters and you have to take notes just to follow the story, but sensibly Harnden opted to tell smaller set-piece scenes and stories where fewer characters came into play.

All things considered, this is a fairly damning account of the British involvement in Helmand, told from a convincing perspective on the ground with soldiers rather than at the level of abstraction that many authors attempt.

Worth a read if you want a sense of the complexity of the fight on the ground, though perhaps skip the first fifth of the book. Also, if you want to know about Afghanistan itself or the Taliban or anything like that, don't bother with this book; it isn't about that (nor does it claim to be).

[Tin Wee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A diary of the Welsh Guard's six month deployment in Helmand, Afghanistan. An intense read which describes in detail the various missions where they experienced losses, including that of their Commanding Officer, Company Commander, and Platoon Commander. Descriptions of how the families received the news of, and come to terms with, the deaths of their loved ones are heartwrenching. A tribute to the courage, fighting prowess, and luck of the Welsh Guards, and at the same time an indictment of the higher British command and the political masters that sent them in under- manned and under- resourced. It's a long book, but well worth the read.

[Yong Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good narrative. The most interesting part of the book is the history of the Welsh Guards and its place in the House Guards. Men who have nothing, escaping poverty and life in the coal mines, shedding Welsh blood for English leaders. Once the story moves to Afghanistan, it becomes more familiar. The grinding monotony punctuated by intense periods of fear, violence and tragedy. The men from Wales may represent the Crown but they fight for each other who are often brothers and cousins. This book makes me want to read more about Great Britain, our most important alliance partner, at war.

[Andy Blanche · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m reeling, having just completed the book over a marathon two day read. Mesmerising.

It feels, dare I say, so kinetic. I’ve never served and, in common with many men who haven’t, I feel a tinge of guilt and not a little curiosity. Could I take the step forward when approaching contact?

This book is outstanding (and I’ve read a great many such volumes). I could taste the dust in my mouth and feel the heat and the fear.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very gritty story of the Welsh Guards' experience in Helmand Province in Afghanistan. It spares no details in the description of the deaths and injuries suffered by the Welsh troops. It is not for the squeamish. The book also delves into the effects that the fighting had on their minds. They were victims of the flawed planning and lack of a distinct mission that plagued the Afghan War. If you are interested in the war this book is a good one to read.

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am done reading Dead Men Risen. This is the second book I have read by author Toby Harnden. Clearly his ability to draw the reader into the events that have happened to good men is a gift. The author has a poet's heart. The no BS truth presented in the book is a rare treat. From a Yank, here's to the Welsh Guardsmen. My kind of men.

[Stuart Keating · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read less than 200 pages over a couple of months.
For me the reading was tedious, I just couldn’t get into it, seemed to lack flow.
Many of the books I have read, I couldn’t put down, and read them in less than a week.
I will say, there is a lot of very good information and history here.

[James Holland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sad, tragic and gritty. Understaffed, with limited resources the Welsh Guard took it to the Taliban in Helmand province nevertheless. The courage of these young men is notable. An outstanding overview of a British battle groups six month deployment.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Starting off really well was actually sad when I had to put it down and do some work!Book was great and was full of the higjs and lows of modern battle!Captured the dark squaddie humour well!

[Land Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartbreaking. Thought-provoking. Inspiring. Infuriating.

[Curtis Dean Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book, doesn't hold anything back, from a different angle.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Massively detailed and very difficult to read as this was not a fairytale with a happy ending for all. Dead Men Risen retold much about the history of the Welsh Guard to present day Afghanistan.

[Austin · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can produce a whole series of facts that demonstrate progress, but demonstrating progress is not the same as measuring progress.

[Jack Oughton · Rating 5 out of 5]

An enormous, meticulous book, full of insight into the Welsh Guards' time in Afghan. Eyeopening.

[Alan Hurst · Rating 1 out of 5]

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[Simeon · Rating 4 out of 5]

An eye-opening account of the life of a british soldier in the modern era of warfare

[Courtney Chick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book so far, interesting reading about the British involvement in Afghanistan.

[Stephen Boiko · Rating 4 out of 5]

British viewpoint on Helmond province Afghanistan 2009.

[Chris Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

Toby Harnden vividly captures the human cost of blind adherence to counterinsurgency doctrine long after it became apparent that the doctrine writers had little grasp of the reality on the ground.

[Tom Willis · Rating 5 out of 5]

No words can do this book the justice it deserves. By far the most gripping book I have read. Instrumental in the inspiration and desire to pursue a career as an Officer in the British Army

[Kerttu]

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