British Troops Launch Major Offensive In Helmand As Setting For Huge, Upcoming "Operation Mastarak"

Over 1,000 British troops have begun a big offensive push in central Helmand province in Afghanistan as a prelude to the big show, Operation Mastarak, which will include British troops, American Army, American Marines and Afghan Army.

From the article at Times Online:

British forces in Helmand have launched a major air and ground operation close to the Taleban stronghold of Marja before a major offensive expected to begin in Helmand in the coming days.
The operation, which involved the Grenadier Guards battlegroup, as well as a company each from the Royal Welsh and from the Coldstream Guards, focused on an area known to British troops as Five-Way Junction, in the southern part of Nad Ali district. Up to a thousand British troops were involved in the first manoeuvres.
It forms part of the "shaping phase" of Operation Mastarak, the widely anticipated Nato spring offensive to clear central Helmand, including the last area openly controlled by the Taleban in central Helmand, Marja. The operation, which means "Operation Together", is expected to involve 5-10,000 British troops and US Marines as well as thousands of newly trained Afghan soldiers and police. The push, when fully underway, will be roughly double the size of last year's "Panther's Claw" operation.

Now, the last couple of major operations by U.S. and NATO forces in this region of Afghanistan were shown to be very successful with not a whole lot of Taliban resistance. It's hard to tell what is going to happen with Operation Mastarak - the Taliban certainly know it is coming and that there are TONS of Americans and Brits coming for them, so you'd think the Taliban would skidaddle out of there but I have a feeling they will try to put up a bit of a fight over this sacred ground.

For one thing, the option of the Taliban to just take a two month hiatus in Pakistan until things cool off in Helmand isn't that attractive now with what the Pakistani military has done in Swat and in South Waziristan so that might be a reason for them to try and test how tough this offensive will be and the other reason I think the Taliban might fight harder this time is that they actually believe the new troop levels coming to Afghanistan from the U.S. will be able to HOLD this section of Helmand province. The Taliban don't mind leaving a place due to pressure but they always are intent on coming back to take it back - they won't be able to do that if the Americans leave a couple of thousand troops here.

Like I say, it will be interesting. I know I'd like to see the body count of Taliban when a bunch of American Marines get done with them.

British troops launch major Afghanistan offensive

British forces in Helmand have launched a major air and ground operation close to the Taleban stronghold of Marja before a major offensive expected to begin in Helmand in the coming days.
The operation, which involved the Grenadier Guards battlegroup, as well as a company each from the Royal Welsh and from the Coldstream Guards, focused on an area known to British troops as Five-Way Junction, in the southern part of Nad Ali district. Up to a thousand British troops were involved in the first manoeuvres.
It forms part of the "shaping phase" of Operation Mastarak, the widely anticipated Nato spring offensive to clear central Helmand, including the last area openly controlled by the Taleban in central Helmand, Marja. The operation, which means "Operation Together", is expected to involve 5-10,000 British troops and US Marines as well as thousands of newly trained Afghan soldiers and police. The push, when fully underway, will be roughly double the size of last year's "Panther's Claw" operation.
In an unusual departure from conventional military policy, the coming operation has been briefed to reporters in advance.

Speaking at the Ministry of Defence, the director of communications for operations in Afghanistan, General Gordon Messenger, said that the coming offensive would feature British forces in "a central role".
"Helmand is at the heart of General McChrystal's plan to demonstrate decisive success against the Taleban insurgency," said General Nick Parker, speaking from Kabul.
However, it is understood that US Marines will form the majority of the forces in the push.
The unusual openness from the military reflects a shift in strategic thinking driven by the US commander, General Stanley McChrystal, from a strategy focused on targeting and killing the Taleban to one rooted in the protection of the population.
"The plan is to do it in the least aggressive way possible," General Messenger said. But he added: "Clearance operations by their very nature are high risk. We can't discount a fight and we can't discount casualties."
The main focus of the coming operation, according to British commanders, will be in the Hold Phase that follows the initial clearance.
"The clearance is not the critical phase it is the hold that follows, that 30-90 day period is where the strategic effect will be felt."
Six British soldiers have been killed in the past two weeks, all of them in roadside bomb attacks.