| Battle for Sangin (2010-2011) | |||||||
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| Part of War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) | |||||||
 Marines from 3/5 India Company in Sangin in October 2010. | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Taliban | |||||||
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The Battle for Sangin was an extended campaign during the War in Afghanistan. Sangin is considered the bloodiest battleground of Afghanistan by both United States and United Kingdom alike. With both nations suffering the loss of over 100 killed in action, and several hundred moderate to severe casualties. [1]
In September 2010, Liam Fox, the British Secretary of State for Defence, announced that northern Helmand would be transferred to the U. S. Marines; British troops had been in the area since 2006. [2] The British troops withdrew on September 20, 2010, to be replaced by 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines (3/7) which deployed to Helmand province from March 2010 to October 2010. During this deployment, the Marines of 3/7 faced daily attacks and operated in various locations including Musa Qaleh, Marjah, and Sangin.
In Sangin, 3/7 relieved 40 Commando Royal Marines in July 2010 and began clearing operations in some of the most dangerous areas of Afghanistan, where they began operation "Sangin Sunrise," which cleared all the tree lines that led to the Helmand River. 3/5 relieved 3/7 in October 2010, and began their clearing operations in early October 2010 under the command of Lt Col Jason Morris. They conducted the clearing operations in the Sangin District of Helmand Province, Afghanistan in support of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021), between September 2010 and April 2011, where they crushed the Taliban forces that had held out for so long against previous units in the area.
Attached to 3/5 was Kilo company of the Third Battalion, Twenty-Fifth Marine Regiment (3/25 Kilo), commanded by Major Alexander Snowden. 3/25 Kilo, along with 1st Combat Engineer Battalion commanded by Lt. Col. Andrew Niebel, 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion, Echo Company, Second Battalion, Ninth Marine Regiment (2/9 Echo), and Naval Corpsman from Regimental Combat Team 2 (RCT2.) These units came to the aid of 3/5 due to the number of casualties; 25 KIA, 184 WIA, [3] sustained during the immediate months in their deployment in Sangin, thus allowing the unit to more effectively clear through Sangin. They were actively in Sangin from October 2010 until April 2011 at which point the unit was relieved by First Battalion, Fifth Marine Regiment (1/5), which began the second phase (holding phase) of Sangin, returning in October 2011 with 17 KIA, 191 WIA. [3]
Sangin was a region that was primarily shaped, cleared, held, and built (in tactical terms) by the units: (in no specific order) 1/6, 3/7, 2/4 (Fox), 3/5, 3/25, 1/23, 2/8, 2/9, 1/5, 1/7, 2/7, 1st Tanks, 1st/2nd/3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st/2nd/5th ANGLICO,9th ESB, 8th ESB, 7th ESB, 1st CEB, 2nd CEB, 3rd CEB, Tactical PSYOP Team 1061. and members of MARSOC/USASOC/NAVSOC (SOTF).
From November 29 - December 6, Marines from Mobility Assault Company, 1st Combat Engineer Battalion began a major clearing operation of Route 611 towards the Kajaki Dam, an area which was known by most units to be the most heavily mined area in the region as well as one of the most insurgent-ridden districts in the south. While the CEB Marines cleared the route from the front, Marines from 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines provided security, overwatch, and conducted counter-insurgency operations on their left and right flanks. Combat Engineer Marines utilized multiple tools in their arsenal, which predominantly included the M58 MICLIC as well as CEIA CMD Compact mine detectors. At the end of the 8-day operation, Combat Engineers cleared Route 611 of 50 IEDs ultimately improving the mobility of coalition forces throughout the area. A trip that would normally have taken 8 hours or more was now able to be completed in 18 minutes. [4] [5]
3rd Battalion, 5th Marines is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps. The battalion is based at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California and consists of approximately 1,000 Marines and Fleet Marine Force Navy personnel. The 3rd Battalion falls under the command of the 5th Marine Regiment which falls under the command of the 1st Marine Division.
1st Battalion, 5th Marines (1/5) is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps based out of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California consisting of approximately 800 Marines and sailors. Nicknamed Geronimo, it falls under the command of the 5th Marine Regiment and the 1st Marine Division. The battalion was formed in 1914 and has served in every major conflict that the United States has been involved in since then.
The 1st Battalion, 7th Marines (1/7) is an infantry battalion of the 7th Marine Regiment of the United States Marine Corps. It is currently based at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms. Consisting of approximately 1,000 Marines, it is part of the 1st Marine Division.
The 3rd Battalion 7th Marine Regiment is an infantry battalion of the United States Marine Corps. They are based at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms and consist of approximately 800 Marines. The battalion falls under the command of the 7th Marine Regiment and the 1st Marine Division. The battalion has seen combat in World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War and was a part of the main effort during the initial invasion of Iraq in 2003. During the Global War on Terror, the battalion saw eleven sequential combat deployments; five in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, three in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, and three in support Operation Inherent Resolve. The unit has a long, decorated history with countless achievements. Its members were described as "true professionals" by embedded reporters during the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
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Sangin is a town in Helmand province of Afghanistan, with a population of approximately 20,000 people. It is located on 32°4′24″N64°50′2″E in the valley of the Helmand River at 888 m (2,913 ft) altitude, 95 km (59 mi) to the north-east of Lashkargah. Sangin is notorious as one of the central locations of the opium trade in the south of the country, and is also a town that has traditionally supported the Taliban. It was described by British newspaper The Guardian as "the deadliest area in Afghanistan" in 2010. Sangin also houses the main bazaar for Sangin District. Route 611 passes through Sangin.
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The 23rd Infantry Regiment is an infantry regiment in the United States Army. A unit with the same name was formed on 26 June 1812 and saw action in 14 battles during the War of 1812.
The siege of Sangin was a military engagement which occurred between June 2006 and April 2007, between Taliban insurgents and the British Army during the war in Afghanistan. During the engagement, the district centre of Sangin District in Helmand Province was occupied by British forces and was completely surrounded by Taliban fighters. At one point fighting became intensive, causing General David J. Richards, the then-NATO commander in Afghanistan, to declare that Helmand province had seen the fiercest fighting involving British troops since the Korean War. The siege became emblematic of the difficulty of the mission being carried out by British soldiers in Afghanistan, who nicknamed it "Sangingrad".
The Helmand province campaign was a series of military operations conducted by the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) forces against Taliban insurgents and other local groups in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan. Their objective was to control a province that was known to be a Taliban stronghold, and a center of opium production. None of the ISAF's intended strategic and political objectives were achieved in the long term.
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Operation Moshtarak, also known as the Battle of Marjah, was an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) pacification offensive in the town of Marjah, Helmand Province, Afghanistan. It involved a combined total of 15,000 Afghan, American, British, Canadian, Danish, and Estonian troops, constituting the largest joint operation of the War in Afghanistan up to that point. The purpose of the operation was to remove the Taliban from Marja, thus eliminating the last Taliban stronghold in central Helmand Province. The main target of the offensive was the town of Marjah, which had been controlled for years by the Taliban as well as drug traffickers.
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