Operation Medusa

The Furious Battle That Saved Afghanistan from the Taliban

Major General David Fraser, Brian Hanington

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English

McClelland & Stewart Inc.
15 May 2018

History; 21st century history: from c 2000 -; Military history; Battles & campaigns

"From the Canadian in charge of the joint military command in Kandahar Province in Afghanistan, this is the real on-the-ground story of one of NATO's bloodiest, most decisive and misunderstood operations- The battle of Panjwayi, the defining moment of ""Operation Medusa.""

From the Canadian in charge of the joint military command in Kandahar Province in Afghanistan, this is the real on-the-ground story of one of NATO's bloodiest, most decisive and misunderstood operations- The battle of Panjwayi, the defining moment of ""Operation Medusa.""

In the summer of 2006, David Fraser was the Canadian general in charge of NATO's Regional Command South, a territory spanning six Afghan provinces surrounding the Arghandab Valley. Birthplace of the Taliban decades earlier, this fertile region had since become Afghanistan's most deadly turf. It would soon turn deadlier still. Advised in the night by his intelligence officers that the Taliban had secretly amassed for a full-scale military assault, Fraser knew it would fall to him, his Canadians and their allies to avoid the wholesale slaughter of NATO troops, keep the Taliban from laying siege to Kandahar and restore control of the south of the country to a newly formed, democratic Afghan government.

The odds were solidy against Fraser's forces. The Taliban knew every millimetre of their own terrain. During the months of secret manoeuvres they had stocked every farmhouse, school, grape hut and tunnel with weapons and ammunition. They had drilled Soviet-era landmines into all of the marijuana and poppy fields, and dug IEDs into every roadway. Protected from detection by corrupt officials, their sophisticated warfare schools had successfully readied an army of zealous fighters to attack and fight to the death. And now their top commanders were poised to launch decisive military operations against freshly arrived troops who had never seen combat.

The bloodiest battle in NATO's history was about to begin."

By: Major General David Fraser, Brian Hanington
Imprint: McClelland & Stewart Inc.
Country of Publication: Canada
Dimensions: Height: 227mm, Width: 150mm, Spine: 24mm
Weight: 422g
ISBN: 9780771039300
ISBN 10: 0771039301
Pages: 336
Publication Date: 15 May 2018
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Major General (ret'd) David Fraser is a major-general of the Canadian Forces. He was the commander of the Multinational Brigade for Regional Command South in Afghanistan's southern provinces in 2006. One of the most decorated generals in Canadian Armed Forces history, Fraser was the commander of Operation Medusa in Afghanistan, the largest combat engagement of Canadian Armed Forces in more than 50 years. General Fraser was the Commandant of the Canadian Forces Staff College. After retirement, David Fraser has served as an executive with three different corporations, and has experience leading in both the battlefield and the boardroom. David Fraser is the recipient of the Order of Military Merit. As a writer and strategic communications adviser, Brian Hanington has moved through government circles for some 40 years, writing for prime ministers, cabinet ministers, bishops, admirals, movie stars, knights and even His Holiness John Paul II. As a writer of business strategy, Hanington serves a select group of clients throughout the U.S. and the UK. Brian has also consulted on a wide variety of books including The Idea of Canada and Ingenious, both for Canada's Governor General David Johnston. He is currently chairman of Stiff, the Ottawa-based agency he founded in 1988.

Reviews for Operation Medusa: The Furious Battle That Saved Afghanistan from the Taliban

Praise for Operation Medusa Operation Medusa: The Furious Battle That Saved Afghanistan from the Taliban is extraordinary for what it says (and maybe more for what it doesn't say) about the combat mission that arguably changed the course of a war that claimed the lives of 159 Canadian soldiers and cost billions of Canadian dollars. --CBC