Bravo Two Zero - Literary Accounts

Literary Accounts

• The first public literary mention of the patrol was in the autobiography of Lieutenant-General Peter de la Billière, the commander of the British Forces during the Gulf War. Storm Command (ISBN 0002551381) only mentioned the patrol in passing, but broke the ground for further books to be written on the subject. The book was released in 1992.

• The patrol commander authored an account of the patrol in a book titled Bravo Two Zero (ISBN 0-440-21880-2) under the pseudonym 'Andy McNab'. McNab used pseudonyms and nicknames for the patrol members who survived, but controversially used the full names of those who died. The book was released in 1993.

• A second member of the patrol authored The One That Got Away (ISBN 0-09-946015-7) under the pseudonym 'Chris Ryan'. It criticized McNab's leadership of the patrol and was particularly hostile in tone to the conduct of Phillips. In a later TV appearance Ryan (and perhaps in partial retraction) may have alluded to Phillips' memory saying he had once seen 'a very brave man' dying of hypothermia. As with McNab's account, Ryan used the same pseudonyms for those who survived, but referred to Phillips, Lane and Consiglio by their real names. Ratcliffe said of this move, " insensitive on and parts to hide behind pseudonyms when they named their dead colleagues in their books, in deliberate contravention of the Regiment's traditions." The book was released in 1995.

• Peter Ratcliffe (The SAS's Regimental Sergeant Major at the time of the patrol) wrote Eye of the Storm (ISBN 1930983018) which refers the controversy surrounding the differing accounts of the patrol in some detail. The book was released in 2000.

• Both McNab's and Ryan's earlier accounts were critiqued by SAS reserve veteran Michael Asher in The Real Bravo Two Zero (ISBN 0-304-36554-8). In 2001, Asher followed the original path of the patrol, interviewing local Iraqis who witnessed the events. The book was released in 2003.

• The Gulf War Chronicles (ISBN 0595296696) by Richard Lowry recounted much of the patrol's story, though appeared to borrow heavily from the earlier story published by McNab. The book was released in 2003.

• A third member of the patrol authored Soldier Five (ISBN 1-84018-907-X) under the pseudonym 'Mike Coburn,' aimed to "set the story straight", in reference to criticism of patrol member Vince Phillips in previous publications. The book was released in 2004. The account also levelled damning accusations against the army, and the Ministry of Defence went to great lengths to attempt to prevent its publication, which they failed to do, although they were granted all of the book´s profits.

• W. A. Harbinson under the writing pseudonym "Shaun Clarke" presents a strikingly similar story to that told in the accounts of McNab and Ryan in the first book of his SAS adventure series, Soldier A: SAS - Behind Iraqi Lines (ISBN 1-898125-00-7). Events that seem to be the same include the crossing of the Euphrates and subsequent death of "Legs" Lane in a hut nearby; the drinking of radioactive/contaminated water by a lone SAS member running for Syria; the patrol being split into 3 and 5; the group of 3 splitting up after one dies of hypothermia, and the incident regarding a member who thought his hands had turned black when he was indeed wearing gloves, the remaining two of that group splitting up after one decides to follow a goat-herder. However, Harbinson's book was published in July 1993, pre-dating the publication of McNab's account in October 1993, and Ryan's two years later. The character who makes a run for Syria is given the name Danny Porter, while MacGown is called Stan, and Phillips, Taff. The source of Harbinson's apparent knowledge of detailed information relating to the real Bravo Two Zero patrol is unknown.

• Will Fowler writes of the patrol over a number of pages in SAS Behind Enemy Lines: Covert Operations 1941-2005 (ISBN 0-00-719990-2), however he names the patrol commander as Sergeant "Mitch" Mitchell, whilst naming the other members as per previous literary accounts. His account follows the same basic story line, however at one point he states that there were only two LAW rockets between the whole patrol, not one each as per McNab's and Ryan's accounts.