British Media Grudgingly Admit That The 24 Marine Expeditionary Unit Conquered Taliban In Garmsir

Okay, the first thing I'd like you to look at from the article here at from The Independent which is a British media source, is the title of their article:

"How British forces took Garmsir from the Taliban "

So that's the headline...and they then proceed to blah blah blah about how dangerous the Taliban have been in the Garmsir area of southern Helmand province like this:

This was the front line between British forces and the Taliban pouring over the border from Pakistan. Until a few weeks ago, it was prime enemy territory, an unforgiving warren of trenches that British troops entered at their own peril.
Looking out over the deceptive calm of the newly planted corn fields, Captain George Aitken said: "We uncovered 37 bunkers. We found their sleeping bags. It was First World War trench warfare around here."

So, you ask, just how, HOW did the British manage to turn this hotbed zone of Taliban into a docile area? Wait for it..... :

Everything changed with the arrival of 1,000 US Marines from 24 Marine Expeditionary Unit. As A Company, 5 Scots battled and cleared south of the district centre, the Americans moved east and then further south down through the "Snake's Head", a tangle of small irrigation canals, destroying the enemy in their path. Now the new frontline is 10km to the south. The key question remains whether the Taliban will remain at bay when the American show of strength departs next month.

That's it for the mention of U.S. Marines in the article...there is literally no mention of the Brits doing anything to change this situation but they admit in that one paragraph that the Marines mowed through that area, that they cleared it out like a buzz saw going through a field of saplings.

And yet that headline certainly makes you believe the Brits did it. Right?

Well, I'm sure the 24 doesn't need press releases to make them feel good - just knowing that they kicked Taliban ass just like the 24 did in Ramadi is enough for them. This is an awesome fighting force folks and although I'm bitching about the British media not owning up to who the real heroes are here, at least the Brits mentioned it in the story - more than I can say for the ZERO reporting of these heroics by American MSM outlets. Bastards.

How British forces took Garmsir from the Taliban

"Annabel", as the British had codenamed the tiny biblical Helmand village of mud compounds, was no more. The shattered wreck of crumbling walls and a giant crater left by a 2,000lb aerial bomb bore testament to the ferocity of the fighting that had taken place.
This was the front line between British forces and the Taliban pouring over the border from Pakistan. Until a few weeks ago, it was prime enemy territory, an unforgiving warren of trenches that British troops entered at their own peril.
Looking out over the deceptive calm of the newly planted corn fields, Captain George Aitken said: "We uncovered 37 bunkers. We found their sleeping bags. It was First World War trench warfare around here."
Just 100km (60 miles) north of the Pakistani province of Baluchistan, these small compounds in Garmsir were deserted by farmers long ago to be replaced by the invaders from the south. Garmsir – it means "too much heat" – proved a thorn in the British side for a long time. The impenetrable front line was 100 metres from a lookout where the British soldiers and insurgents could eyeball each other.
Nearby, 180 soldiers in the small outpost of FOB (Forward Operating Base) Delhi – the most southern point of the British area of operations – battled to stem the tide of insurgents coming up from the border to be "blooded" on their way north.
But this week there were signs of a return to normality. Small groups of families, the first intrepid pilgrims to return to their former homes, stood staring as a patrol from 5th Battalion, the Royal Regiment of Scotland (Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders) trod carefully through the compounds. The farmers' expressions were neither hostile, nor welcoming, simply guarded.
Everything changed with the arrival of 1,000 US Marines from 24 Marine Expeditionary Unit. As A Company, 5 Scots battled and cleared south of the district centre, the Americans moved east and then further south down through the "Snake's Head", a tangle of small irrigation canals, destroying the enemy in their path. Now the new frontline is 10km to the south. The key question remains whether the Taliban will remain at bay when the American show of strength departs next month.
Capt Aitken, an Irish Guard attached to the Scots, led a patrol through the compounds, all named after soldiers' girlfriends and wives. The Taliban may have been routed from their old home ground but pockets of resistance evidently remained somewhere.
"They keep us on our toes," said the guardsman, explaining that, a fortnight ago, two of their number were injured here by a roadside bomb. Another recent patrol was ambushed as they tried to extract a heat casualty.
Moving tactically through the maze of compounds, vegetation and irrigation ditches, they scaled mud walls to surprise any enemy, maintained a watch from one compound as another was cleared and swept for mines.
"Annabel" was destroyed and "Emily" deserted while two lone men stood suspiciously watching from the roof at "Debbie". But in "Charlotte" – or the village of Abdull Ghani – there were signs of hope. Two months ago British troops were fighting, bayonets fixed, through the compound. Now they are back with a civil military aid team of Royal Engineers to talk to the locals, to see what work needs to be done and help them claim compensation for battle damage.