Bravo Two Zero

We were all aware of the role played by the British Army in the Gulf War but little was known of the exploits of the SAS at the time, this book seeks to redress that with a brutal account of an 8 man patrol detailed with severing the underground communication link between Baghdad and North West Iraq, oh yeah, and they also had the task of locating and taking out the threat of Iraq’s scud missiles !!!

The story is written by the Sergeant of the mission Andy McNab and was to become one of the most critically acclaimed “war story” novels ever. It chronicles from start to finish the events surrounding the mission and how it went disastrously wrong. He goes into shocking detail of how he was captured and the subsequent nightmare he went through while help captive where he endured all sorts of torture, both physical and mental at the hands of the Iraqi’s.

It has of course since been made into a film starring Sean Bean and most of us are aware of the plot and the events surrounding the ill fated mission. The one question I had always wanted to know the answer to is whether in hindsight they would have killed the young Iraqi boy who discovered them in their hideout? I was lucky enough to come across an interview where one of the group (I’m not sure whether it was McNab himself or Chris Ryan) said that they wouldn’t have because it would have compromised them anyway ….. after reading some of the books since which shows the ruthless thinking of these guys I think this was probably a diplomatic answer and I for one am glad I wasn’t that Iraqi if they had known what was going to happen !!

In summary though, and to get back to the review in question the book, although quite long never fails to keep your interest. This of course is accentuated by knowing that it is a true story. Some of the details are even more shocking for knowing that and it is further proof of the mental strength the SAS must have in order to survive.

An absolutely brilliant read that you will go back to over and over again.