Battle of Wanat - The Battle

The Battle

About 4:20 a.m. on July 13, Taliban forces opened fire on the base with machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades, and mortars. Another 100 militants attacked the observation post from farmland to the east.

The initial attack hit the forward operating base's mortar pit, knocking out the 120mm mortar and detonating the stockpile of mortar ammunition. The insurgents next destroyed the Humvee-mounted TOW missile launcher inside the combat outpost with coordinated fire from unguided RPG rockets. The mortars and TOW launcher which were to provide the heaviest and most accurate firepower had been quickly taken out by the attackers. The explosion of the mortar shells hurled the anti-tank missiles into the command post.

The most serious situation was the attack concentrated on a small team situated at the small observation post "TOPSIDE" nestled among rocks under a tree just 50 to 70 meters outside of the main base. The first round of fire hit with deadly accuracy, immediately wounding or stunning every soldier. Pfc. Tyler Stafford was blown out of his machine-gun position next to Spc. Matthew Phillips who threw a grenade before he was mortally wounded. Cpl. Jason Bogar fired hundreds of rounds from his automatic weapon until the barrel of his weapon became white-hot and jammed and then tended to Stafford’s wounds. An RPG wounded Sgt. Ryan Pitts, who was also tended by Bogar with a tourniquet around Pitts’ leg before switching to another gun. Bogar was eventually killed and his body was recovered uphill, evidently dragged there by an insurgent.

Four died within the first 20 minutes of the battle, another died later, and at least three others were wounded. Three times teams of soldiers from the main base ran through Taliban fire to resupply the observation post and carry back the dead and wounded.

The U.S. troops responded with machine guns, grenades, and claymore mines. Artillery guns at Camp Blessing fired 96 155mm artillery rounds. The Taliban briefly breached the wire of the observation post before being driven back. After almost half an hour of intense fighting at the observation post, only one soldier remained. He was seriously wounded and fought alone until reinforcements arrived. Some militants also managed to get past the main base's earthen barriers. Two American soldiers, platoon leader First Lieutenant Jonathan P. Brostrom, 24, of Hawaii and Corporal Jason Hovater, were killed trying to deliver ammunition to the observation post. American soldiers were at times flushed out of their fortifications by what they thought were grenades, but which were actually rocks thrown by the attackers. Brostrom, Hovater, and another soldier may have been killed by an insurgent who penetrated the wire perimeter.

AH-64 Apache attack helicopters and a Predator unmanned aircraft drone armed with Hellfire missiles arrived over the base about 30 minutes after the battle began. During the battle, troops were resupplied by UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter with fire support from the AH-64 Apache Helicopters. Injured troops were evacuated to nearby Camp Wright, where members of E Troop, 2nd-17th Cavalry, 101st Airborne Division would wait to rearm and refuel the UH-60's and AH-64's. Later, a B-1B Lancer bomber, A-10, and F-15E Strike Eagle aircraft were called in. The militants withdrew about four hours later. After the militants retreated, mop up operations followed, and the Taliban withdrew from the town.

Nine U.S. soldiers were killed in the attack, mainly in the observation post. Between 21 and 52 militants were reported killed with another 20 to 40 wounded, but coalition forces found only two Taliban bodies after the battle. The attack was the highest death toll for American troops in the country since Operation Red Wings three years earlier.