Grenadier Guards, An Account of Operations 1996-2015

Alan Ogden served with the Grenadier Guards in the 1970s. On leaving he joined the Financial Times and from there went on to a career in public relations and corporate communications. He has written five books about SOE operations in Europe and the Far East, edited the official history of the Raiding Forces Aegean, and also wrote the Afterword for the reprint of Billy Moss’ War of Shadows. Alan has also authored The Discontented – Betrayal, Love and War in Habsburg Hungary as well as six travel books including Romania Revisited, Fortresses of Faith, Revelations of Byzantium, Winds of Sorrow and Moons and Aurochs. In his 2018 book The Vagabond and the Princess he gives revealing insights into Paddy Leigh Fermor’s many Romanian journeys and, in particular, the touching story of the youthful author’s love affair with the beautiful Princess Balasa Canatacuzino in the 1930s.

• Foreword - HRH Prince Andrew, Duke of York.Preface.Chapter One – Political and military environment. Chapter Two – Northern Ireland: Op BANNER;Section 1 – Ballykinler;Section 2 – East Tyrone; Section 3 – Belfast;Section 4 – Summary of Op BANNER 1969-2006. Chapter Three – Western Balkans;Section 1 – Kosovo;Section 2 – Bosnia: Op OCULUS and Op ALTHEA.Chapter Four – Iraq: Op ENDURING FREEDOM;Section 1 – Overview;Section 2 – Op TELIC. Chapter Five – Afghanistan: Op HERRICK; Section 1 – Introduction;Section 2 – The ISAF deployment; Section 3 – Helmand Province;Section 4 – Taliban and ISAF arsenals; Section 5 – Op HERRICK VI;Section 6 – Op HERRICK XI; Section 7 – Op HERRICK XVI. Chapter Six – The Colonel’s Fund. Annexe A – Stabilising Actions. Annexe B – Nijmegen Company; 15th Company (RHQ). Bibliography and Sources.Abbreviations.