October 27 in History
2014 – Britain withdraws from Afghanistan at the end of Operation Herrick, after 12 years four months and seven days
Operation Herrick, the codename under which all British operations in the War in Afghanistan were conducted from 2002, came to an end on this day in 2014, when UK ceased all combat and withdrew the last of its combat troops.
British operations in the War in Afghanistan consisted of contributions to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), and support to the American-led Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), within the country.
Operation Herrick superseded two previous efforts in Afghanistan. The first of these was Operation Veritas, which consisted of support during the United States invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001. The last major action of this was a sweep in east Afghanistan by 1,700 Royal Marines during Operation Jacana, which ended in mid-2002. The second was Operation Fingal, which involved leadership and a 2,000-strong contribution to a newly formed ISAF in Kabul after December 2001. Command was subsequently transferred to NATO ally Turkey several months later and the British contingent was scaled back to 300. Since then, all combat operations in Afghanistan have been conducted under Operation Herrick.
After 2003, Operation Herrick increased in size and breadth to match ISAF’s growing geographical intervention in Afghanistan.
In December 2012 UK Prime Minister David Cameron announced that 3,800 troops, almost half of the force serving in Helmand Province, would be withdrawn during 2013 with numbers to fall to approximately 5,200. The UK ceased all combat operations in Afghanistan and withdrew the last of its combat troops on October 27, 2014. Between 2001 and July 24, 2015, a total of 454 British military personnel died on operations in Afghanistan.
With the end of combat operations, British military operations in Afghanistan focused on training as part of Operation Toral, the UK’s contribution to the NATO Resolute Support Mission. This operation ended in July 2021.
-Wikipedia
Photo Caption – UK troops leaving Afghanistan in 2014 –Wikipedia
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