Battle of Panjwayi
| Battle of Panjwaii | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the War in Afghanistan (2001–14) | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Canada Afghanistan Netherlands United Kingdom United States
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 Taliban insurgents |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Local Taliban commanders | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 2,000 | 1,500–2,000 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
1,000+ killed (NATO estimate) | ||||||
The Battle of Panjwaii was fought in mid-2006 between primarily Canadian and Afghan soldiers, supported by small elements of Dutch, American, and British forces, and the Taliban. There were two separate times in which the forces were involved in heavy fighting in the region. The first phase was fought in July 2006, and the second encounter lasted from September to October 2006.
Prior to the summer upsurge of violence and fighting, there were limited contacts in the Panjwai district. On May 17 there were a number of battles between Canadian soldiers and Taliban fighters. One of the contacts claimed the life of Captain Nichola Goddard, Canada's first female combat arms casualty. In another contact on the same day, Sergeant Michael Thomas Victor Denine's acts of heroism resulted in him being later awarded the Medal of Military Valour. After this initial fighting Task Force Orion operated as a Battle Group in Panjway and Zharie Districts from 23 May until June 14, and were involved in a classic "running fight" with numerous Taliban groups (each containing 30–40 fighters). The Task Force recorded 37 firefights in that period. Then, between June 14 and July 7, 2006, B Company of 2 PPCLI remained in Panjwyai to keep the Taliban from seizing the initiative there while the remainder of the Task Force operated in Northern Kandahar.
In mid July 2006, Canadian and Afghan forces involved in Operation Mountain Thrust came into the Panjwaii area to help clear the area of Taliban strongholds. On July 8 heavy fighting broke out in the mud wall complexes where Taliban forces decided to dig in and fight for control of this area of Panjwaii. Canadian and Afghan forces on the offensive quickly gained control of the battlefield while heavy fighting was still ongoing. One complete Taliban group was destroyed in this fighting, another received casualties. Taliban groups in Pashmul and eastern Panywayi were forced to withdraw by July 12, when fighting waned.
During the following day Canadian forces were called to support Operation Hewad – a combined endeavour by a complete brigade attempting to clear Taliban from Sangin in Helmand. Canadians were tasked to relieve British soldiers besieged in Sangin district centre, and at the same time pressure Taliban command and control throughout the lower Sangin and Gereshk districts of Helmand, operations that again involved multiple firefights each day with dozens of Taliban casualties, but no Canadian deaths. On July 17 Task Force Orion was ordered to retake the captured towns of Nawa and Garmsir, which they did after intense fighting on July 18, They stayed for another week in Helmand. All these operations affected Canadian operations in the area of the Panjwaii region. The Canadians were assisted by three US special forces teams.
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Wikipedia