The Battle of Derapet
was fought near the village of
Derapet in the Tangi Valley in
Deh Rahwod
Deh Rawood is a district in Uruzgan Province, southern Afghanistan, and the name of the town that serves as district seat. Deh Rawood lies along the Helmand River. The tribes in the district are Pashtun, dominated by the Noorzai and Populzai sub- ...
,
Orūzgān Province
Uruzgan (Dari), also spelled as Urozgan or Oruzgan, is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. Uruzgan is located in the center of the country. The population is 436,079, and the province is mostly a tribal society. Tarinkot serves as th ...
, southern
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
, between a combined
Australian Army
The Australian Army is the principal land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (CA), wh ...
and
Afghan National Army patrol and
Taliban
The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pasht ...
forces on 24 August 2010.
[ Australian forces had only recently taken over responsibility for Deh Rahwod as part of a major expansion of their ]area of operations In U.S. armed forces parlance, an area of operations (AO) is an operational area defined by the force commander for land, air, and naval forces conduct of combat and non-combat activities. Areas of operations do not typically encompass the entire ...
which took place following the Dutch withdrawal from Afghanistan in August. The combined coalition patrol included 20 Australians and 20 Afghan National Army troops. The small Australian force from 1st Mentoring Task Force (MTF-1) based in Tarin Kowt
Tarīnkōṭ ( prs, ترين کوت), also spelled as Tarin Kowt, is the capital of Uruzgan Province in southern Afghanistan in the Tarinkot District. Tarinkot city has a population of 71,604 (2015), with some 200 small shops in the city's bazaa ...
included two sections of dismounted infantry and two ASLAV
The Australian Light Armoured Vehicle (ASLAV) is an eight-wheeled amphibious armoured reconnaissance vehicle of the LAV II family used by the Australian Army. It was built by General Dynamics Land Systems Canada, and developed from the U.S. Mar ...
-25 guncars and was tasked with a fighting patrol to find and inflict damage on insurgent forces known to be in the area.[
The patrol used an aqueduct to move into Derapet after engineers nearby had identified fighting-aged males moving into the area while women and children were seen leaving the valley.] Initially contacted by a large Taliban force of 90–100 insurgents from positions less than away, the Australian and Afghan troops counter-attacked from six different positions, engaging the insurgents with small arms, machine-gun fire and anti-armour rockets, while the cavalry engaged from the high ground in fire support.[ ]AH-64 Apache
The Boeing AH-64 Apache () is an American twin- turboshaft attack helicopter with a tailwheel-type landing gear arrangement and a tandem cockpit for a crew of two. It features a nose-mounted sensor suite for target acquisition and night v ...
attack helicopters also provided close air support,[ while one round of precision-guided medium artillery from a US ]M777 howitzer
The M777 howitzer is a British towed 155 mm artillery piece in the howitzer class. It is used by the ground forces of Australia, Canada, Colombia, India, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, and the United States. It was first used in combat during the US ...
was also used in support.[ A quick reaction force (QRF) was available nearby but was not required. Finally, after three and half hours of intense fighting the Australians and Afghans were running low on ammunition and broke contact, moving back through the QRF which was holding the rear, to their ]Bushmaster PMV
}
The Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicle or Infantry Mobility Vehicle is an Australian-built four-wheel drive armoured vehicle. The Bushmaster was primarily designed by the then government-owned Australian Defence Industries (ADI), and is curr ...
s at the vehicle drop-off point, prior to moving back to the patrol base at Anar Juy.[
One Australian soldier was shot and killed during the fighting and was subsequently evacuated by helicopter which took fire in conducting the medical evacuation, while no Afghan National Army casualties were reported.][ ] The ASLAVs had proven decisive, with the range and accuracy of their weapons and sensors allowing them to provide very effective support to the Australian infantry.[ Over 30 Taliban insurgents were reportedly killed during the battle, while more were thought to have been killed or wounded and then carried away by other fighters as they retreated.][ The surviving Taliban subsequently retreated into the mountains.][
Corporal ]Daniel Keighran
Daniel Alan Keighran, (born 18 June 1983) is an Australian soldier and a recipient of the Victoria Cross for Australia, the highest award in the Australian honours system. Keighran was awarded the Victoria Cross for Australia for his actions in ...
was awarded the Victoria Cross for Australia
The Victoria Cross for Australia is the highest award in the Australian honours system, superseding the British Victoria Cross for issue to Australians. The Victoria Cross for Australia is the "decoration for according recognition to persons w ...
for his actions during this battle. Keighran "with complete disregard for his own safety, broke cover on multiple occasions to draw intense and accurate enemy fire to identify enemy locations and direct return fire from Australian and Afghan fire support elements". Later in the battle Keighran "when his patrol sustained a casualty, again on his own initiative and in an act of exceptional courage, ... moved from his position of cover to deliberately draw fire away from the team who were treating the casualty." Other soldiers awarded for their actions in the battle were Lieutenant James Fanning (Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation.
Examples include:
*Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in action
* Distinguishe ...
), Sergeant Sean Lanigan and Private Paul Langer (Medal of Gallantry
The Medal for Gallantry (MG) is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force. It recognises acts of gallantry in action in hazardous circumstances. The MG was introduced on 15 January 1991, replacing the Imperial e ...
) and Private Sean Parker (Commendation for Gallantry
The Commendation for Gallantry is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force, it recognises acts of gallantry in action considered worthy of recognition. The award was introduced on 15 January 1991, replacing the I ...
).
See also
*Operation Slipper
The Australian contribution to the war in Afghanistan has been known as Operation Slipper (2001–2014) and Operation Highroad (2015-2021).
Australian Defence Force (ADF) operations and the size of the forces deployed have varied and ADF invol ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Derapet, Battle of
Conflicts in 2010
2010 in Afghanistan
Battles of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) involving Australia
August 2010 events in Afghanistan
History of Urozgan Province