Tunnel Rats vs the Taliban: How Aussie sappers led the way in the war on terror: How Our Sappers in Afghanistan Took the Fight to the Insurgents Using the Lessons Learned From Vietnam

by Jimmy Thomson, Sandy MacGregor

They were young, they were tough and they were everywhere. They were both the backyard builders and the frontline troops in Australia's war against the Taliban.This is the powerful story of the sappers, the Army engineers in Afghanistan whose raw courage and skills were inspired by the original Australian Tunnel Rats of the war in Vietnam. These Tunnel Rats of Afghanistan have rooted out the enemy from deep inside their caves and mountain hideouts, have defused thousands of improvised explosive devices (the booby traps and landmines of this most recent of wars), built bridges and schools to win a war of hearts and minds, and fought side by side with special forces commandos and SAS troops. They, too, lost a disproportionate number of their comrades and many returned home with the devastating baggage of war, post-traumatic stress disorder.Inspiring and action packed, this is the story of a special breed of soldier operating in a modern war against an enemy with medieval morals . . . and bombs triggered by mobile phones. It is a story that connects the unsung heroes of Vietnam with the modern heroes of Afghanistan.

Genres: Military Fiction

290 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2015

About the author

Not writing, then writing.

Reviews

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Turns out I have as bit of a fixation on war stuff, yet I had no idea what a sapper was if what they did. And really good read, as war drama goes.

[Mitchell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well detailed story of what Army engineers have to deal with on a day to day basis in Afghanistan.

[craig hurdle]

Great reading

I gave this a four star rating a very good story i about the Australian sappers that are engineers that go first to make way for the troops going into caves and blowing up weapons that have been left behind by the Taliban in Afghanistan they work well with the special forces and commandos there are more books about the sappers especially Vietnam.