description: The inspiration for the major motion picture 12 Strong from Jerry Bruckheimer, starring Chris Hemsworth and Michael Shannon.From the New York Times bestselling author of In Harm’s Way comes a true-life story of American soldiers overcoming great odds to achieve a stunning military victory.Horse Soldiers is the dramatic account of a small band of Special Forces soldiers who secretly entered Afghanistan following 9/11 and rode to war on horses against the Taliban. Outnumbered forty to one, they pursued the enemy army across the mountainous Afghanistan terrain and, after a series of intense battles, captured the city of Mazar-i-Sharif, which was strategically essential to defeat their opponent throughout the country.The bone-weary American soldiers were welcomed as liberators as they rode into the city, and the streets thronged with Afghans overjoyed that the Taliban regime had been overthrown.Then the action took a wholly unexpected turn. During a surrender of six hundred Taliban troops, the Horse Soldiers were ambushed by the would-be POWs. Dangerously overpowered, they fought for their lives in the city’s immense fortress, Qala-i-Janghi, or the House of War. At risk were the military gains of the entire if the soldiers perished or were captured, the entire effort to outmaneuver the Taliban was likely doomed.Deeply researched and beautifully written, Stanton’s account of the Americans’ quest to liberate an oppressed people touches the mythic. The soldiers on horses combined ancient strategies of cavalry warfare with twenty-first-century aerial bombardment technology to perform a seemingly impossible feat. Moreover, their careful effort to win the hearts of local townspeople proved a valuable lesson for America’s ongoing efforts in Afghanistan.
language: English
title: The Horse Soldiers: A True Story of Modern War
titlecomplete: The Horse Soldiers: A True Story of Modern War
characters: Bert Calland, Martin Homer, Shannon Spann, Arnim Stauth, Mohammed Mohaqeq, Jason Kubanek, Atta Mohammed Noor, Wasik, Donny Boyle, Don Winslow, Dean Nosorog, Brett Walden, Alam Razam, Sonntag, Kurt Sonntag, Craig McFarland, Ahmed Lal, Colin Soloway, Dave Olson, Jerry Booker, Carson Millhouse, J. J. Sawyer, Mark Mitchell, Bob Roberts, Mullah Faisal, Ali Sarwar, General Habib Bullah, Konduz, Garful, General Doustoum, Mitch Nelson, Ahmed Malik, Alex Perry, Major General Geoffery Lambert, Marcha Spencer, Kevin Leahy, Aaron Smith, Burt Docks, Garth Rogers, Jerry Edwards, Evan Colt, Will Ferguson, Marilyn Lindh, Frank Lindh, Stu Mansfield, Fred Falls, Lisa Diller, Pat Essex, Colonel John Mulholland, Patrick Remington, General Tommy Franks, Greg Gibson, Mick Winehouse, Alex McGee, Ben Milo, Brian Lyle, Mullah Razzak, Paul Syverson, Najeeb Quarishy, Dave Betz, Choffee, Sonny Tatum, Vern Michaels, Karla Milo, Mike Spann, Haji Habib, Cal Spencer, Sam Diller, Lt. Col. Max Bowers
genres: Horses, Military History, Biography, History, American History, Historical, War, Nonfiction, Adventure, Military Fiction
ratings_count: 8156
publisher: Little, Brown