Operation Falcon Summit (Pashto: ''Baaz Tsuka'') was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

-led operation in the Battle of Panjwaii and, on a larger scale, in the

War in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC), the conquest of Afghanistan by the Macedonian Empire * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan, a series of campaigns in ...

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

forces launched the operation on December 15, 2006, with the intention of expelling

Taliban , leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders , leader1_name = {{indented plainlist, * Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013) * Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016) * Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...

fighters from the Panjawi and Zhari districts of

Kandahar Kandahar is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city, after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118 in 2015. It is the capital of Kandahar Pro ...

. Canadian troops had been fighting with Taliban fighters in the area for several months. Although the operation was under British command, the majority of movements and elements on the ground were

Canadians Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

operating from

forward operating base A forward operating base (FOB) is any secured forward operational level military position, commonly a military base, that is used to support strategic goals and tactical objectives. A FOB may contain an airbase, hospital, machine shop, and othe ...

s set up in the district during the fighting of

Operation Mountain Thrust Operation Mountain Thrust was a joint NATO and Afghan-led military operation in the War in Afghanistan. It involved more than 3,300 British troops, 2,300 U.S. troops, 2,200 Canadian troops, along with approximately 3,500 Afghan soldiers, supp ...

and

Operation Medusa Operation Medusa (September 2–17, 2006) was a Canadian-led offensive during the second Battle of Panjwaii of the War in Afghanistan. The operation was fought primarily by the 1st Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment Battle Group and other e ...

Information campaign

Early on December 15,

aircraft attacked a Taliban command post in the area, using laser-guided

bomb A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechan ...

rocket A rocket (from , and so named for its shape) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using any surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely ...

s, and fuel-air explosives to blast apart the makeshift fortress the

had constructed out of stone, concrete, and sheet metal. The same day, aircraft began dropping three sets of leaflets over the region, the first warning the population of the impending conflict, the next a plea for locals to turn their backs on the Taliban and support NATO, and the third consisting of an image of a Taliban fighter with a large X through it to warn Taliban fighters to either leave the area, or face NATO.

Landmine accident

During the days prior to the operation, Canadian soldiers held several meetings with

tribal The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

elders to discuss potential reconstruction efforts and to persuade locals to help support

in keeping the Taliban out of the area after the Taliban had been removed. While en route to one of these meetings (or ''shuras'' in Pashto) a Canadian soldier from the Royal 22^e Régiment, the "Van Doos", out of Quebec, stepped on a

landmine A land mine, or landmine, is an explosive weapon often concealed under or camouflaged on the ground, and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets as they pass over or near it. Land mines are divided into two types: anti-tank mines, whi ...

. The soldier, Private Frederic Couture suffered severe but non-life-threatening injuries and was medivac'd to a coalition hospital where he was stabilized. The landmine had been planted the night before by two Taliban operatives, who were spotted, shot, and killed by Canadian soldiers.

Engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

s then came to clear the area of landmines, but they missed the one that Couture set off. The mine attack was the first casualty of the operation.

Preparations for battle

On December 14 in the

Helmand province Helmand (Pashto language, Pashto/Dari language, Dari: ; ), also known as Hillmand, in ancient times, as Hermand and Hethumand, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, in the south of the country. It is the largest province by area, covering ...

there was increased activity around British bases prior to the announcement of the operation. Soldiers were seen packing large amounts of equipment and ammunition for a long stay outside the wire, and troops began moving out towards the area of operations. Although the Canadian commanders in Afghanistan did not officially announce that the

Canadian Forces The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; , FAC) are the unified Military, military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air commands referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force. Under the ''National Defenc ...

in the area would take part in the operation until the information campaign had been all but completed, Canadian officers gave very obvious hints that Canadians would be active participants. British commanders also stated prior to this that if need be Canadian personnel would be called upon for the operation. Back at the Canadian Forward Operating Bases in the Panjwaii District, soldiers could be seen preparing for battle. Troops were gathering ammunition and web-gear; and last minute checks were being conducted on Canadian armored vehicles such as the

LAV III The LAV III is the third generation of the LAV (Canada), Light Armoured Vehicle (LAV) family of armored personnel carriers built by General Dynamics Land Systems – Canada (GDLS-C), a London, Ontario, based subsidiary of General Dynamics Land ...

and Leopard C2 tanks.

Offensive operations

On December 19, the offensive operations of Falcon Summit began. A massive barrage of Canadian

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

and tank fire rained down on Taliban positions in the area of operations which killed around 60 Taliban. The

artillery barrage In military usage, a barrage is massed sustained artillery fire (shelling) aimed at a series of points along a line. In addition to attacking any enemy in the kill zone, a barrage intends to suppress enemy movements and deny access across tha ...

lasted for 45 minutes and was supported by

heavy machine gun A heavy machine gun (HMG) is significantly larger than light, medium or general-purpose machine guns. HMGs are typically too heavy to be man-portable (carried by one person) and require mounting onto a weapons platform to be operably stable or ...

fire from Canadian .50-calibre guns. Shortly after the barrage ended, Canadian armoured convoys left the "protection" of being behind the wire and headed out into the

area of operation 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 ...

s and set up perimeters without a single shot being fired. The Canadians stationed themselves around the village of Howz-e Madad and are said to be on a "soft knock" approach with the villagers to help gain support. Over the next few days, NATO forces secured several more objective towns with very little resistance from Taliban fighters. Canadian Leopard C2 tanks were requested for support by the head of the

Afghan National Army The Islamic National Army (, ), also referred to as the Islamic Emirate Army and the Afghan Army, is the army, land force branch of the Afghan Armed Forces. The roots of an army in Afghanistan can be traced back to the early 18th century when th ...

(ANA), but were turned down due to the high number of

anti-tank mine An anti-tank or AT mine is a type of land mine designed to damage or destroy vehicles including tanks and armored fighting vehicles. Compared to anti-personnel mines, anti-tank mines typically have a much larger explosive charge, and a fuze desi ...

s littering the ground in the area where the tanks would have been used. Commanders believed that the lack of resistance they encountered was due to the bombardment of leaflets dropped during the information campaign. Near the village of Howz-e Madad was a 10-square-kilometre area full of mud-walled fortresses and 900 surrounded Taliban fighters. Canadian infantry and armour surrounded the area, which was ideal for the Taliban's style of attacks. The complex build of the area the fighters were held up in made it nearly impossible to escape from, and to the east of the complex was a road built by the Canadians after

, which ran along the

Arghandab River The Arghandab is a river in Afghanistan, about in length. It rises in Ghazni Province, west of the city of Ghazni, and flows southwest, passing near the city of Kandahar, before joining the Helmand River below the town of Grishk. In its lowe ...

, which made it impossible for any Taliban to escape using the road. Ten kilometres to the south of Howz-e Madad was a line of American soldiers, and to the west were more British soldiers making this a truly combined effort by the three nations to protect the Afghan people living nearby and bring down the Taliban. After 48 hours passed, the Taliban fired. Two rockets flew past C Company just south of Howz-e Madad. This was responded to by a burst of machine-gun fire from the Afghan National Army, but nobody on either side of the skirmish took any casualties. After the new year began, on January 5, a 45-minute firefight between about 20 members of the Royal 22^e Regiment and a force of Taliban fighters about half the size. Small arms including automatic rifle and machine gun fire, rocket propelled grenades and mortars were used against the Canadians. The Van Doos were conducting operations in the village of Lacookhal, which is just south of Howz-e Madad, looking for arms caches and Taliban fighters when the enemy force opened fire. By the time the fire ceased, at least two of the Taliban fighters had been killed with no Canadian or ANA casualties. The next day, Canadian

light infantry Light infantry refers to certain types of lightly equipped infantry throughout history. They have a more mobile or fluid function than other types of infantry, such as heavy infantry or line infantry. Historically, light infantry often fought ...

forces, backed by U.S. helicopter

gunship A gunship is a military aircraft armed with heavy aircraft guns, primarily intended for attacking ground targets either as airstrike or as close air support. In modern usage the term "gunship" refers to fixed-wing aircraft having laterally-mo ...

s, swept into the mud fortresses and routed out the remaining Taliban, most of whom fled.

References

CTV.ca
Soft approach working in Operation Baaz Tsuka {{DEFAULTSORT:Falcon Summit 2006 in the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) 2007 in the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Military operations of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) involving Canada Military operations of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) involving Denmark Military operations of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) involving the United Kingdom Military operations of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) involving Estonia Military operations involving the Taliban December 2006 in Afghanistan January 2007 in Afghanistan 21st century in Kandahar Province