After the release of "Twelve Warriors", there were divergent opinions. It was even more confusing to see the sudden horse riding. There was even news coming out that some former Green Shell players were very dissatisfied with it. Of course, movies are artistic creations after all, and the subjective intentions of the creators are always mixed, and some excessively exaggerated scenes will inevitably mislead the audience. The author uses a clumsy article to talk about the real historical details behind those exaggerated plots.
If you have to go into details, the so-called First boots on the ground, that is, the first batch to enter Afghanistan after the 9.11 incident, should be an 8-member CIA task force code-named Jawbreaker, with personnel from the CIA SAD-SOG Special Operations Group (CIA SAD-SOG) And the Counter-Terrorism Center. They carried 10 million U.S. dollars in cash and entered the northern part of Afghanistan to find warlords and armed groups against the Taliban such as the Northern Alliance. The CIA personnel appearing in the film refer to the team, whose official name is the Northern Afghanistan Liaison Team (NALT, Northern Afghanistan Liaison Team). The team arrived in Uzbekistan on September 14 and took a Mi-17 helicopter with tail beam number 91101 on September 26 to sneak into the Panjshir Valley in the north of Kabul and met the representatives of the Northern Alliance who had been waiting for a long time. It also established an operational base to maintain communication with the anti-terrorism center at the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, USA.
The ODA 595 was exactly one of the first US troops to enter Afghanistan, and ODA 555 entered at the same time on the same day. Originally, the US military planned to allow special forces and CIA personnel to enter Afghanistan on September 14. However, for various reasons, the CIA was unable to deploy them faster. The operational strength of the 5th Special Brigade of Green Bay, which belongs to ODA 595, was only available on October 5. The deployment to the K2 air base in Uzbekistan began, and the US military officially launched Operation Enduring Freedom on October 7.
By head from left to right: Bill Bennett, Robert Pennington, Paul Evans; Andy Marchal, Steve Kofron, Mike Elmore, Chad J, Pete W, Mark Nutsch, Steve B, Vincent Makela, William Summers
As described in the film, on the night of October 19, the mission of ODA 595 carried MH-47 Chinook helicopters of the 160th Special Aviation Regiment, flying over the Hindu Kush Mountains and entering Dehi, about 75 kilometers south of Mazar-e-Sharif. Reunited with Uzbek armed forces led by Dostum. ODA 555 entered the Panjshir Valley and met with CIA personnel to support the local Tajik forces.
The title of the film, 12 Strong, seems to be to highlight the courage of the 12-man combat detachment of ODA595, a green shell standard, but according to the real situation, it should be called 14 Strong. After all, there were two ODA 595s from the United States. Combat Air Traffic Controller (CCT) Bart Decker and Mike Sciortino of the Air Force Special Forces. Some of the green shells have the ability of joint terminal strike guidance (JTAC), but calling close air strikes (CAS) for air traffic control still relies on two professional CCTs. The Horse Soilder memorial statue opposite the World Trade Center memorial site has the Latin motto "Liberate the Oppresso Liber" (De Oppresso Liber) written on the base of the green shell. Although the designer said that he did not refer to any photos, it looks very much like it came from the Air Force. Bart Decker of the 23rd Special Tactics Squadron.
In the movie, when Colonel Mulholland introduced the mission to the protagonist, he called the ODA 595 led by him as the "dagger" task force, which is not accurate. The real "Task Force Dagger" includes several ODAs deployed by the 5th Green Shell Group in northern Afghanistan, as well as the CCT and ETAC assigned to these Green Shells, as well as the 160th Special Aviation Regiment that transports them. . ODA 595 is only part of the task force.
Before departure, the K2 Air Base (Karshi-Khanabad Air Base) where ODA 595 is located is not like in the movie, there are tents everywhere, and it looks organized. At that time, the deployment was very hasty, and the construction of the temporary base was still in progress. Most of the green shells slept on the ground of the bunker hangar built in the former Soviet Union.
It is said in the movie that ODA 595 and the commander lack actual combat experience, which is very inconsistent with the facts. The mission of ODA 595 itself is focused on the Middle East and Central Asia. It used to train special forces from Kuwait, Bahrain and other countries. As early as 2000, ODA 595 had been to Uzbekistan for the JCET project to train Uzbekistan airborne brigades and special forces. (For what is the JCET project, please see [News] Recent JCET project between U.S. Special Forces and Serbia )
A large part of the plot in the film is about how the ODA 595 team members gained the trust of Dostum and made him fully support the US military's action against the Taliban. In fact, Dostum does not need the green shells to win trust. He is a counter-Taliban force cultivated by the CIA for a long time. He has always been looking forward to the stars and the moon for the arrival of the US military. In his early years, Dostum was a senior military officer in the Afghan Communist government supported by the Soviet Union. He was trained by the Soviet army, so he could speak Russian like in the film. After the withdrawal of the Soviet army, he became a warlord again. He joined Masood (the Tajik leader who was assassinated by the Taliban two days before the September 11th incident in the beginning of the film) and fought against the Pashtuns. Captured Kabul. After the Taliban gained control of Kabul in 1996, he fled to Mazar-i-Sharif. Later, because his deputy betrayed him to join the Taliban, he had to go into exile in Turkey in 1997.
In the early days, the CIA simply looked down on Dostum, but after al Qaeda planned the bombing of the US Embassy in Kenya in 1998, the CIA began planning to attack Al Qaeda led by bin Laden and the Taliban regime that sheltered him. At this time, American diplomat Charlie Santos, who is familiar with the situation in Central Asia and the Middle East, suggested that the CIA train Dostum, because in Afghanistan, apart from Masood, who is leading the Tajik armed forces in Panjshir, the only one who can convene people to fight against the Taliban is powerful. Tam, he is the Uzbek armed leader after all.
The CIA began to provide support to Masood’s Tajik forces in June 1999. On April 22, 2001, Dostum and several of his men took the Mi-17 helicopter provided by the CIA and sneaked back from Uzbekistan to their original nest in northern Afghanistan. Masood and Dostum had been continuously harassing the Taliban with the support of the CIA before the 9/11 incident, but with little success. Moreover, it caused a fierce reaction from the Taliban, and the assassination of Masood also confirmed the hard-line attitude of the Taliban.
After the 9.11 incident, due to the US military's plan to launch operations, Dustum also came into the sight of JSOC under the recommendation of Charlie Santos. The CIA was initially reluctant to contact Dostum with JSOC. Later, due to the intervention of military operations, the CIA and the military reached a cooperation to let a green shell team support Dostum and cooperate with CIA agents in the Uzbek armed forces. The task was finally assigned to the head of ODA 595.
The photo was taken by Robert Young Pelton, a war correspondent. Pelton came to Mazar-i-Sharif on the second day of the riots in the Charajan Prison and interviewed Dostum and some ODA 595 players.
The call sign in the movie is also inconsistent with reality. The call sign of ODA595 is Tiger 02. In the final key battle of the movie, the battle of Mazar-e-Sharif, ODA 595 was actually divided into five groups. Captain Mark Nutsch and a communications sergeant formed a command group, called Tiger 02, to follow Dostum’s large force. The remaining four are three-person teams, with call signs Tiger 02A, Tiger 02B, Tiger 02C, and Tiger 02D. Group C is equipped with a CCT, and Group D has a newly assigned Air Force Terminal Strike Director (ETAC).
In the battle of Mazar-e-Sharif, there was absolutely no scene of sudden horse riding, not to mention that it was not in line with common sense of combat. Even if the shooting was serious, there were few ODA 595 players in reality. With reference to US military regulations JP 3-05, the core of foreign internal defense (FID) and unconventional warfare (UW) missions is mainly training and support, as well as a certain degree of frontal combat. In reality, the longest thing that Lubei team members do with Dostum and his men is chatting, all kinds of bragging are getting close, the people from the CIA are short of money, the lack of weapons and equipment makes people airdrops, and they perform from time to time. JTAC, let everyone watch the shocking scene of B-52 dropping the bomb. According to Mark Nutsch, they want to make Dostum and his middle and high-level military officers feel that the Americans do have a sense of presence and can help them win the Taliban.
Horse riding is only limited by the terrain conditions in the mountains of Afghanistan. In order to achieve the purpose of mobile combat, the use of horses as a tool is not like "combining modern technology and cavalry tactics" as described in the original novel. Although the author of the novel Doug Stanton stated that it was documentary literature, he visited the parties and was published after being reviewed, but in fact there are many unrealistic self-imaginations. For example, Mark Nutsch, who was interviewed by Doug Stanton, said that he used to like to read history books and was very interested in Mongolian cavalry tactics. When he came to Afghanistan, he even fought on horseback like cavalry. Doug Stanton understood that it was written into the book as an ancient cavalry warfare, and it will inevitably have an impact on the filmmakers later.
When they called for air support, they did encounter the Taliban’s BM-21 "hail" rockets firing at the Tajik armed forces marching in the Tianji Valley, but the loss of Dostum’s troops was not serious, and they were quickly caught in the air by the U.S. military. The power is eliminated, not like the fictitious in the movie, charging into the rocket launcher position like a cavalry, and after a fight, the threat is lifted. After the Taliban suffered heavy losses, they immediately lost their will to resist, and a large force of more than 10,000 people immediately disintegrated in the direction of Kunduz.
In the film, it is mentioned that General Atta, who participated in the encirclement of the Taliban from the west, and another green shell are mentioned, referring to ODA 534, the call sign Tiger 04. In the movie, Dostum began to have conflicts of interest with Atta, and he was fighting for territory, but then he gave up on the overall situation. In fact, this is all imagined by the screenwriters. Before the US military launched the Mazar-e-Sharif campaign, the warlords of various quarters cooperated very well, and could even be said to be obedient. Under the coordination of the U.S. military, the territory has long been divided, because they eagerly hope that the U.S. military can provide immediate support and then eliminate the Taliban.
In the film, Dostum likes to use the radio to directly contact the Taliban, saying "I will kill you". This is true in reality, and the actual situation is even more funny. Because of the bombing of the Taliban, the two CCTs attached to ODA 595 carried Special Operations Forces Laser Acquisition Markers (SOFLAM, Special Operations Forces Laser Acquisition Marker), and they could see obvious infrared laser beams through night vision devices at night. Dostum was shocked by this equipment, calling it the "death beam". Before hitting the Taliban, he would use the radio to shout, first learn the sound of a bomb cutting through the air and exploding, and then say: "The Americans are using death beams to fuck you, surrender!" Many times, there are unexpected surprises. After hearing this, many Taliban chose to surrender.
During the Battle of Mazar-e-Sharif, a Taliban commander named Fazal was surrounded. Dostum heard the reply from CCT contacting the airborne AC-130 gunboat. The radio call tone was a female. He immediately asked the green shell team to pair the communication device. Using his walkie-talkie, let the other party hear the female voice. Then, he said to Fazal, "Have you heard, there are angels of death in the sky, and we also have beams of death. If you don't surrender, let's go to Hell!" After a while, Fazal's people surrendered automatically.
The ODA 595 in the movie was withdrawn to the K2 base after the Battle of Mazar-i-Sharif ended. The truth is that they have stayed behind for a long time. After cooperating with Dostum to enter the city, a group of about 900 Pakistani Taliban volunteers fought stubbornly and occupied a former girls’ school that was later abandoned as a stronghold. Dostum’s men were unable to attack for a long time, so ODA 595 sent personnel to reconnaissance and let the newly sent terminal strike director Stephen E. Tomat guide the precision-guided bomb, killing the militants in the stronghold. Stephen E. Tomat later won the Silver Star for his outstanding performance in the Battle of Mazar-e-Sharif.
After the battle, the ODA 595 team captured the famous American jihadist John Walker Lind. At first, he did not speak English and lied that he was an Arab named Mohamed Hamadi. But in the end, he was screened out by CIA agents and temporarily imprisoned in Charajan Prison. Half a month later, a riot broke out in Charajan Prison, and ODA 595 also participated in counterinsurgency operations, but mainly with SBS to find CIA agent John Mark Span who was besieged in the prison, and later found Span’s body. Span also became the first American to die in Afghanistan.
After the situation in the area controlled by Dostum stabilized, ODA 595 began to retreat, but Dostum hoped that they could stay for at least half a year, so that he could get more benefits.
As described in the movie, most of the green shells don’t know how to ride horses. In the later stage, because of the need for riding maneuvers, they had to airdrop saddles, and even airdrop reprinted the field cavalry horse training order FM 2-5, which was abolished for half a century. Later, the U.S. Army simply re-edited a Special Forces Use of Pack Animals (FM 3-05.213 (FM 31-27) Special Forces Use of Pack Animals) in 2004 to teach how to use horses, donkeys, mules, and even goats. , Camels and other animals to maneuver. In 2014, this order was also updated. However, it is important to emphasize that this is not teaching cavalry tactics. The times are advancing. It is ridiculous that ancient or modern cavalry tactics reappear in reality. The so-called cavalry squadrons and cavalry squadrons doctrines of the US Army refer to the formation of the army’s armored combined forces. Became an honorary title.
So, as the title of this article says: they are just "cavalry" soldiers, not cavalry.
references:
- Learning from the First Victories of the 21st Century: Mazar-e Sharif —A Preview. William M. Knarr, Jr Robert F. Richbourg, John Frost. Institute for Defense Analyses. 2004
- Operation Enduring Freedom Battle Reconstruction: Battle Site Survey and Ground Force Data Reconciliation. William M. Knarr Jr, John Frost. Institute for Defense Analyses. 2004
Reference media:
- National Geographic Magazine, March 2002: THE LEGEND OF HEAVY D AND THE BOYS
- PBS TV interview on August 2, 2002: Interviews-US Special Forces Oda 595 | Campaign Against Terror | FRONTLINE | PBS
This article does not accept any gratuitous reprinting. Please contact the author for the use or reprinting, and discuss the remuneration of the manuscript according to the relevant national manuscript fee standards.
The original text was originally published in the WeChat public account "Spear Tip Research Association": [ Viewing Manual] It is a "cavalry" soldier, not a cavalry—the true historical details behind the exaggerated plot of "12 Warriors" on horseback
Today, when information is exploding and all kinds of messy information are flooded, when you turn on your mobile phone or computer and see all kinds of horror topics, it is often confusing. And if you are interested in special warfare information, how can you not be confused by various stalls, soft texts, and manuscripts? Welcome to the "Spear Point Research Association".
The "Spear Point Research Association" focuses on the research and exchange of information on the status quo, history, technical tactics, and equipment open source of special operations and special forces. All of our articles are original by the author, do not make unilateral subjective analysis, and pursue professionalism and rigor. Therefore, the number of publications per week is small, and the number of articles is small, and we strive to ensure quality. We try to extract the essence from the vast public sources of information, remove the fog from spreading the layers of soft articles, help readers and friends to enhance their discrimination, and build a platform for sharing and exchanging reliable knowledge. Thank you for your continued attention, please press and hold the QR code below.
View more about 12 Strong reviews
