Wargame Articles

Retreats portrayed as advances 2005

An occasional series on aspects of contemporary warfare.

The CO of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, Lt General David Richards announced in the best propaganda style on the 11th of August that the British army was launching "Major combat offensives against the Taliban in southern Afghanistan…" On the intensity of the fighting he added, "This sort of thing has not happened since the Korean War or WWII".

I guess the General has not heard of Goose Green or the battles of the Desert Storm, let alone all the battles fought by other armies of the world since the 1950's.

The grand offensive is actually a retreat (tactical withdrawal) from many of the forward positions in the south of the country. The Taliban (et al) are using heavy weapons and frequently outnumber British forces. The British commanders took the sensible decision to bug out and centralise the British force again. They are waiting for more supplies (ammunition), more heavy weapons (e.g. they want at least as many mortars as the Taliban), more air support and someone to fix the broken down helicopters they are relying on.

I guess they hope that journalists rely on press releases and do refer to the map.