Battle of Wanat - Inside the Ambush

CBS News Exclusive Video from the Wanat Firefight that Killed 9 U.S. Soldiers

(CBS)  After nearly 15 months of relentless combat in Afghanistan, the soldiers of 2nd Platoon Charlie Company are filling their last sand bags. They shot video of themselves just 12 days before they were supposed to go home.

The outpost they are building is at a village called Wanat - deep in a remote and isolated Afghan valley surrounded by the mountain passes insurgents use to infiltrate from sanctuaries in Pakistan, as CBS News National Security Correspondent David Martin reports.

CBS News Special Report: The Road Ahead

Watch David Martin's Exclusive Report

Just four days later it would come dangerously close to being overrun by an estimated 200 Taliban fighters.

Apache helicopter pilots recorded video on gun camera tapes obtained by CBS News -- a furious fire fight, buildings in flames, and the only officer still alive on the ground calling for help.

"Be advised, we're in a bad situation . . . Need you to come in hot immediately," said the soldier on the ground.

The enemy is so close the Apaches will have to lay down their canon fire within 10 meters of the American position.

The soldier on the ground said, "I know it's high risk, but we need to get these guys off of us."

The pilot responded, "You got to be kidding me."

More Taliban are shooting down on them from those buildings. The Apaches make run after devastating run. They also come in firing their cannons, but the Taliban keep shooting back.

A desperately needed medevac tries to get in through the maelstrom, but instantly becomes a target.

Medevac pilot: "We're taking fire. We just got hit in the lower belly just to the north side of the aircraft."

The Apaches clear away a landing zone for the medevac.

More on the Medevac Unit Involved in the Battle of Wanat
Soldier's Last Letter from Afghanistan
"I was Just Starting to Live My Life"
9 U.S. Troops Killed in Afghan Attack

Finally reinforcements arrive, and the tide of battle turns.

The battle took place a year ago in a valley that is now controlled by the Taliban. And it has triggered an investigation into why the 49 men of 2nd platoon were left so exposed so deep in enemy territory.

For much of its tour, the platoon was under incessant attack. Hunkered down at a base that was surrounded by high ground and could only be supplied by helicopter. Lt. Jonathon Brostrom set up a camera to record an assault on that base. When he was home on leave, he showed it to his father, retired Army Colonel David Brostrom.

"I was frankly shocked. They were getting attacked and probed every day, heavy attacks by enemy forces," said David Brostrom.

Brostrom's platoon and the other units fighting up and down the valley sometimes called in air strikes on houses from which they were taking fire.

"My son showed me that I said, you know, you just lost that village," said David Brostrom.

"We dropped 861 bombs with few questions asked," a senior commander is quoted as saying in a draft report for the Army Lesson's Learned Center obtained by CBS news.

They also fired white phospherous artillery at what they believed was a Taliban campfire. The rounds which were never intended to be used against personnel.

They were supposed to be protecting the population but according to the report the people "whose homes were being leveled and . . . Neighborhoods . . . Turned into battlefields . . . Saw no . . . Improvement in their lives and no real evidence of security."

Brostrom said, "You know, son, you need to get out of there." And he said, 'we are. We're moving to another location.'"

The new location - at Wanat - was supposed to be less exposed. But it was still in enemy territory.

David Dzwik was the sergeant of the platoon - 49 American and 24 Afghan soldiers. "I knew the mission had the potential of being quite hazardous," he said.

It was July and they were short of basic necessities. "The second day we were extremely low on water," said Dzwik. "When you start running out of water it's very hard to continue working through the heat of the day."

They had to take frequent breaks from preparing their defenses. Villagers knew what was about to happen.

Dzwik said, "a couple people came from the village, came up and said the enemy was going to attack."

Despite signs of an impending attack, unmanned surveillance drones which had been watching over the platoon were diverted to a higher priority mission.

A camera pointed at the sky recorded the first burst of machine gun fire.

"All hell broke loose," said Dzwik.

The first apache helicopters got there an hour and five minutes later.

Three-fourths of the Americans were killed or wounded.

"I pride myself on being able to push forward and kind of go through to do the job," said Dzwik. "For the first time in my career I actually stopped dead in my tracks when I came across the scene up there."

The Apache helicopter video shows American soldiers lying dead on the ground. One of them is David Brostrom's son.

"What did my son and what did those other sons die for?" asked Brostrom. "You have to do the investigation so this doesn't happen again."

Many of the soldiers on the videos are no longer alive. Nine were killed at Wanat.

Nine soldiers dead holding a piece of terrain which two days later the U.S. abandoned to the enemy.

Washington Post: After the Battle, Unrest Remains

[spyblimp]

It's 2009 and we are the United States of America. We sent Men to the moon and we can see a penny from outer space..........but we cannot locate over 100 Taliban fighters that are approaching our remote outpost with plans to kill our soldiers. I don't get it....
We have the capabilities to identify the approaching Taliban with our heat sensors and camera capabilities. We do it all the time looking for people lost in the woods.
We don't need airplane type drones to do this, we need blimp or balloon types. They would hover over our posts, above enemy STA missile range (1 mile?) and just stay their and spy and look (24/7). Balloons have the advantage that they can stay and look all the time. I read our drone plane were diverted to another mission and were not keeping surveillance over the out post the time the Taliban attacked. The balloons would not have been diverted. The balloons can be deployed by the base and monitored by the base.

Why can't the USA create this?? If it is in the works lets use it! It's obvious to me that we do not have this technology. Why NOT!!!

That's all... I'm disgusted. We can not win this war without surveillance tools like drone aircraft and drone balloons.

CBS... Please investigate this weakness in our military and make a report (60 minutes)on this failure of the "best" in the world"

PAUL Connecticut

[RedWings_ninety_one]

We never should've been in Iraq in the first place. I bet that if President Bush had never went in to finish "Daddy's War," the situation in Afghanistan would be a very different one.

[jellolion]

just like the french in dien bien phu. this is going to end in disaster.

[canalstreet1]

If we don't have enough troops, why are our commanders in Afghanistan sending our forces on conventional patrols where they can be ambushed? The Pentagon seems hidebound to tactics that just don't work against insurgencies. We learned that hard lesson Vietnam. Or did we? Wouldn't it make more sense to adjust the strategy to the troop levels that currently incountry now? For example, why not concentrate on infiltration, quick-strike Special Forces raids on Taliban weapons depots and training camps, while intensifying Predator Drone attacks on key targets?

[noloyalisti]

This is a tragic and unnecessary quagmire to benefit the American rich corporations. Bring them home NOW before it ruins us (maybe too late already).

[justdatrooth]

Obama spends more time comforting the GITMOS than he does seeing that our troops are protected.

Speaking of which...he has 3 months to fully resolve all Gitmo cases and get the thing closed...or will he break that promise too?

[Prusaunt]

My comment was left for all those that are worried about the civilians in Afghanistan. Also count those civilians we lost on 9-11. It's time for us to win this war.

[helloall34]

There is not a clear goal for our troops in Afghanistan just as there has not been a clear goal in Iraq. This is this one and only reason we can not win. Troops should never have been committed without a clear goal. You can not win and get out if there is not a clear goal. As a veteran George HW Bush knew this well and planned as such in the first Iraq war (which is why it was very successful). George W Bush committed troops in both Iraq and Afghanistan without clear goals. Clear goals must be established now or the battle will continue to linger.

[odiecologne]

We would like to thank our troups for their service and dedication.The Commander who ordered this F.U.B.A.R.fish in a barrel strategy should be keel hauled!

[sapper21bravo]

If you havent been to Afghanistan, let alone the kunar province or around there. Dont write as if you know what is going on there. I.E. "Willy Pete", "Blowing up homes." We soldiers are very cautious of who and when we engage a target. Have to be these days because we can go to Prison for engaging a non enemy combatant, even in the heat of battle while bullets and RPG's are striking all around. not to mention IED's. like any other war Afghanistan isnt Vietnam, the only exception is we are fighting on their turf like Vietnam. Not in highlands like in Vietnam but Mountains with rediculous elevation and the terrain is even worse. Their is not always a way to control the high-ground there. Everybody, even the lowest pvt knows that fighting an up-hill battle sucks. You all have your opinions and you have the right to express them, but do you all honestly think that we soldiers (the ones spilling and shedding blood in the mud) fight for Oil? honestly do you? cause thats what some of you are expressing. people join the military for all types of reasons, but I think, every one of us have one reason in common. A sense of pride in our country, to stand up for the ideals that our great nation was created on. I wasnt there that day in Wanat, but having talked to a lot of the Infantry guys from able, battle, chosen and destined Companies while conducting Route Clearance for that battalion for the first 8 of my 15 months there. those boys, every one of them are hard charging Americans. My brothers, faught hard for eachother. But please remember, they also faught for you!

Sky Soldiers

[Prusaunt]

Thank you Sky Soldiers!

[jskul]

What is wrong with our military? They can not protect the soldiers to say nothing of the Afghans. I am incensed at the bungling of our leaders!

[justdatrooth]

That's why they call him "Obungler"...

[edgy44]

Americans love war. There's no other reason needed.

[luvheat]

you have GOT TO BE canadien

[luvheat]

Viet Nam all over again. Lose nine heroes fro ground abandoned two days later? How many people remember Viet Nam? How many remember the countless lives lost for a hill abandoned the next day? Instead of filling sandbags thse soldiers should have been airlifted out of there.

Now we have a Commander-Chief who hasn't a clue about anything. Hasn't the guts to provide what the commanders are BEGGING for. Once we ran the Taliban out of there, we should have left and let the afghan govt take over. I think we should pull out everybody, let the taliban take over and then go in and take em out again. This time blow everything in place

[hagar39]

Ambushed? Isn't this an old story from Vietnam?
I read about Iraq and Afghanistan and have flash backs about the Vietnam war. Same old story.
The big difference? All of our troops now are volunteers.
They love this war crap.

[mjlewis6]

This where the war is......8 years later because of a shift in Bush's Presidential Agenda away from the Afghanistan battlefield against the Taliban...to some pretended 'IMMINENT ATTACK' from Iraq, March 2003 speech, and the presence of WMD's.

IN Iraq, even the UNSCOM teams on the ground were unable to find BEFORE the US Invasion and which US teams were unable to locate after a full year of invasion/occupation.

So, it is in essence YEAR ONE for the conflict in Afghanistan, the war President BUSH neglected, divided our forces, and literally CHASED OIL POLICIES. OUR ARMED FORCED HAS TO DO THE JOB for 9/11 and we had best gear up and do the job with as much force and boots on the ground to do the job. You want reconstruction on the ground? First kill all of the enemy and make it as costly on the enemy and any sympathizers that are willing to support Taliban or Al Qaeda.

We came because of 9/11...we will leave when the poppies are no longer growing and there are no bullets fired into the homes of families trying to send their daughters to school or trying to vote.
And most of all, we leave when the Taliban has surrendered it arms, gives itself to political accomodation and political activities, NOT armed resistance. There is no political accomodation for Al Qaeda, an extremist armed resistance Muslim group, like Hezbollah, that merely seeks destruction of other governments and killing of innocents.

[midlclass]

agreed and if we have to into pakistain follow them to the end of the earth. have your muslim religion but respect the rest of us as we would of you. if 9/11 hadn't of happen.

[longtree-2009]

it's not about bush, it's about obama and his generals now. the taliban with only rifles, RPGs, IEDs have prevailed for almost 9 years. the enemy has no tanks, no navy, no missiles, no air force yet they have prevailed for nearly 9 years. with all of our modern weaponry, military academy officers and strategists we have not defeated the taliban. sure we win win battles but we have not won the war and haven't won a war since ww2. what would obama do if people stopped volunteering to be cannon fodder? the enemy prevails after nearly 9 years and there is no victory in iraq or afghanistan. no one need fear our military, after all, we have won no war since ww2. america can be defeated, has been defeated, has been fought to a tie. surprised there aren't more armies like the taliban taking on the usa military.

[John_Merritt]

I couldn't watch the entire segment because the tears in my eyes and the pain in my heart wouldn't allow me. I am not a wuss by any stretch but I those boys could have been sons just as easily. I will never accept war when there is a chance for peace. Bin Laden needs to be brought to justice, if not by us, than his country people need to give him up otherwise they will always suffer because of his sins against mankind.

[Vet_Turner]

99ereHsdadhgaB writes that this is Obama's fault. He hasn't pulled any troops from Afghanistan or Iraq. What Obama is doing is reviewing policy so we can fight an effective war or get out. Bush took hissqishy little eyes of the ball in Afghanistan.
I understand why you would put an outpost out there like that but as a Blackhawk pilot, a combat platoon getting behind on water? ***! The weather was hot and dry so fog was not an issue. Are they that behind that they cannot support their own missions?

"Afghanistan is where empires go to die"

[timetocomeclean]

An hour and 5 minutes for AH-64 Apahces to show up?
Where were the US Air Force AC-130 gunships?
--Bush-Cheney-Rice-Rumsfeld conducted two simultaneous wars and never
bought more than what they inherited from Clinton.
Where were US Air Force, Navy and Marine Strike Fighters?
--That's right Bush-Cheney-Rice-Rumsfeld retired the F1117 Stealth
fighters at this EXACT time along with dozens of F-15s, F-16s,
FA18s, P-3s and and S-3Bs.

Bush-Cheney-Rice-Rumsfeld can start wars like street punks but they
couldn't and didn't support our troops on the ground.

Now you know why none of the Bush-Cheney-Rice-Rumsfeld relatives like Jenna and Barbara never signed up for the military, they knew they were sent into a failed mission.

[hungry1968-16]

by guyfrompa2009 October 6, 2009 9:04 AM EDT
What exactly is Obama waiting for? He's not pulling out the troops so what is the option? To go in with whatever we have available and finish this. Enough already.







We've got to finish cleaning up Iraq, as well as fighting the "forgotten war on terror".

The conservatives left us in a real disaster, and it's going to take a while to clean it up.

It's just a shame that we didn't put HALF the effort into Afghanistan that was wasted in Iraq. Afghanistan would have been cleaned up by 2004.