12 Strong (previously published as 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. The soldiers combined ancient strategies of cavalry warfare with twenty-first century bombing technology to perform a seemingly impossible feat. Outnumbered forty to one, they pursued the enemy army across the mountainous Afghanistan terrain and 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, and the streets thronged with Afghans overjoyed that the Taliban regime has 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 campaign: if the soldiers perished or were captured, the courageous 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.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.