Aftermath After defeating Taliban and Al-Qaeda forces in the Shah-i-Kot valley, coalition forces launched a series of follow-up operations codenamed "Operation Jacana" starting April 16. These operations aimed to tackle insurgents who were expected to regroup and launch guerrilla attacks in surrounding areas. The British Defense Secretary, Geoff Hoon, announced the largest deployment of British combat forces since the Gulf War in 1991. Around 1,700 Royal Marines, including troops from the 45 Commando battalion, were sent to Afghanistan for these planned operations. Franks and Hagenbeck anticipated many more battles ahead, stating that there were ‘thousands of enemies [still] out there’. In fact, this assumption turned out to be completely false, and Operation Anaconda became the last major battle in Afghanistan for the next several years. This led many Royal Marines to complain that they had been deployed "a month too late", as the combat action that they had anticipated did not materialize.
Aftermath After defeating Taliban and Al-Qaeda forces in the Shah-i-Kot valley, coalition forces launched a series of follow-up operations codenamed "Operation Jacana" starting April 16. These operations aimed to tackle insurgents who were expected to regroup and launch guerrilla attacks in surrounding areas. The British Defense Secretary, Geoff Hoon, announced the largest deployment of British combat forces since the Gulf War in 1991. Around 1,700 Royal Marines, including troops from the 45 Commando battalion, were sent to Afghanistan for these planned operations. Franks and Hagenbeck anticipated many more battles ahead, stating that there were ‘thousands of enemies [still] out there’. In fact, this assumption turned out to be completely false, and Operation Anaconda became the last major battle in Afghanistan for the next several years. This led many Royal Marines to complain that they had been deployed "a month too late", as the combat action that they had anticipated did not materialize