The Bravo Two Zero mission, undertaken by an eight-man British SAS patrol during the 1991 Gulf War, had two primary objectives. Firstly, the patrol was tasked with intelligence gathering and observation. Their main role was to establish an observation post deep within Iraqi territory. From this covert position, they were to monitor and report on enemy movements, with a specific and critical focus on locating mobile Iraqi Scud missile launchers. These launchers represented a significant threat to Allied forces and regional stability, making their detection and targeting a high priority for coalition air power.
Secondly, the mission included a sabotage objective. The patrol was also tasked with identifying and severing underground fiber optic cables used by the Iraqi military. This action aimed to severely disrupt enemy communication lines, thereby impairing their command and control capabilities and hindering their ability to coordinate military operations effectively. In essence, Bravo Two Zero was a deep-reconnaissance and direct-action operation designed to provide crucial intelligence and inflict damage on key Iraqi military infrastructure.
However, despite these clear objectives, the Bravo Two Zero mission rapidly deviated from its intended course. Almost immediately upon insertion, the patrol was compromised, forcing a dramatic shift in their operational focus. The subsequent events transformed the mission from one of intelligence gathering and sabotage into a harrowing struggle for survival and escape, ultimately preventing them from achieving their initial strategic goals.
.Michael Asher’s rigorous investigation into the Bravo Two Zero mission, published in his book The Real Bravo Two Zero and a Channel 4 documentary, aimed to demystify and correct the popular, often sensationalized, narratives that had emerged from the accounts of ‘Andy McNab’ and ‘Chris Ryan’. Asher, with his unique background as a former SAS soldier and an accomplished desert explorer fluent in Arabic, was exceptionally positioned to conduct such a forensic re-examination.
His methodology was groundbreaking for a military history account. Instead of relying solely on official debriefings or the published memoirs, Asher literally walked the ground that the Bravo Two Zero patrol covered. He traveled to Iraq, a decade after the Gulf War, and painstakingly retraced the patrol’s supposed route. Crucially, he sought out and interviewed local Iraqi Bedouin tribesmen and other civilians who had witnessed parts of the operation. This firsthand testimony from the “other side” offered a stark contrast to the existing narratives and provided crucial, previously unheard, perspectives.
Asher’s key findings systematically dismantled many of the more dramatic claims:
- The “Discovery” of the Patrol: While McNab and Ryan described intense firefights with Iraqi soldiers after being discovered, Asher’s interviews with locals indicated a far less dramatic initial encounter. He found evidence that the patrol was likely spotted not by armed Iraqi troops, but by three elderly Arab civilians, one of whom was in his 70s. This more mundane discovery led to the patrol’s decision to withdraw, rather than a prolonged battle with numerous casualties.
- The Scale of Engagements: The highly publicised claims of the patrol “mowing down hundreds” of Iraqi soldiers and destroying tanks with rocket launchers were particularly scrutinised. Asher’s on-the-ground investigation and interviews with Iraqis revealed no evidence to support such large-scale engagements or high enemy casualties. He concluded that any armed contacts were likely with local police or armed civilians, and the number of enemy killed was virtually nil. This directly contradicted the “body count” claimed in the popular books.
- Logistical Inaccuracies: Asher also highlighted discrepancies in the patrol’s initial movements. McNab’s account claimed a 20 km march on the first night, but Asher, supported by Chris Ryan’s own debriefing and Mike Coburn’s account (Soldier Five), confirmed a much shorter initial distance of around 2 km due to the immense weight of their gear, which required them to “shuttle” equipment. Asher even performed his own physical re-enactments with heavy packs, further solidifying his assessment of the patrol’s limited initial progress.
- The Blame on Vince Phillips: A significant aim of Asher’s work was to rehabilitate the reputation of Sergeant Vince Phillips, who died during the mission and was portrayed negatively in both McNab’s and Ryan’s books, often being blamed for mistakes. Asher’s research, including retrieving Phillips’ binoculars and returning them to his family, strongly suggested that Phillips was unfairly scapegoated. He argued that the patrol’s failure stemmed from a combination of factors, including inadequate planning, poor communication, and logistical issues, rather than the alleged incompetence of one individual. Other patrol members, such as Mike Coburn and Malcolm MacGown, also later publicly challenged the accounts of McNab and Ryan, often corroborating Asher’s findings and defending Phillips.
- Official Debriefings: Asher pointed out that the heroic and highly dramatic elements present in the bestselling books were conspicuously absent from the official post-mission debriefings given by the patrol members to the SAS. This suggested that the more sensational details were later additions, possibly for commercial appeal.
Michael Asher is an award-winning author, historian, and desert explorer. He’s a former SAS soldier who lived with a nomadic group in Sudan. He and Mariantonietta Peru were the first to cross the Sahara desert from west to east by camel, a journey of 4,500 miles.
He’s received several prestigious awards, including the Ness Award, Mungo Park Medal, and Lawrence of Arabia Memorial Medal. Asher has written 23 books on various subjects, from travel to spirituality. He’s also helping to create Nomad Ways, a course in the UAE that teaches students traditional desert nomad skills like storytelling.
Asher’s The Real Bravo Two Zero is not just a historical correction; it is a deeply critical look at the commercialization of military experiences and the ethics of recounting events that involve life and death. His work sparked significant debate within the military community and among the wider public, challenging the established narrative and ultimately contributing to a more nuanced, albeit less glamorous, understanding of the Bravo Two Zero mission. The controversies surrounding the books also led the British Ministry of Defence to introduce stricter confidentiality agreements for serving military personnel regarding the publication of memoirs.
I was glad to get a hold of this. Although I was aware of the controversy over the McNab and Chris Ryan accounts I was not aware of the details. The book and the video provide a far more “balanced” view which was not surprising giving Australia’s recent example of journalist Nick McKenzie’s biography of Roberts-Smith, “Crossing the Line”. The Real Bravo Two Zero is well worth acquiring.