Author(s): Roger Cole & Richard Belfield

Military

'How many are they?' The reply came in the finest traditions of accurate situation reporting, 'f***ing hundreds of them!'

Marbat, South Oman, 19 July 1972 is one of the least-known yet most crucial battles of modern times. Operation Storm is the inside story - told by those who took part - of the greatest secret war in SAS history. The tipping point was Marbat, a secret battle which defines the world we all live in today. If the SAS had been defeated at Marbat, the Russian and Chinese plan for a communist foothold in the Middle East would have succeeded, with catastrophic consequences for the oil-hungry West. Operation Storm is a page-turning account of courage and resilience. Marbat was a battle fought and won by nine SAS soldiers and a similar number of brave local people - some as young as ten years old - outnumbered by at least twenty five to one. Thousands of heavy calibre bullets, rockets, shells, mortars and grenades were fired in a six hour fire-fight of staggering intensity. Operation Storm is a classic story of bravery against impossible odds, minute by minute, bullet by bullet.