What happened in Helmand's Sangin Valley in the spring of 2007 was nothing short of extraordinary. After the last gasp defence of the platoon houses by the Paras that preceded them in theatre, the soldiers of the Royal Anglian Regiment arrived in Afghanistan charged with taking the battle to the enemy. Despite brutal, debilitating conditions, the tour that followed became a bloody lesson in how to conduct offensive infantry warfare. Over a six-month tour of duty, the 'Vikings' battlegroup unleashed hell in heavy, relentless fighting that saw teenage soldiers battle toe to toe against hardcore Al Qaeda and Taliban warriors at unprecedented levels of ferocity.

InAttack State Red, Colonel Richard Kemp, a former Commanding Office of 1st Battalion, The Royal Anglian Regiment, and Chris Hughes, theDaily MirrorSecurity Correspondent, tell the story of the Royal Anglian's deployment for the first time. Combining the strategic insight of3 Parawith the adrenaline charge ofSniper One, they have produced the most dynamic, substantial and visceral account of the war in Afghanistan that's ever been written.