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On March 4, 2002, American special operations forces fought at 3,186 meters above sea level in the highest military engagement in U.S. History.  On the snow-covered peak of Takur Ghar they battled a competent enemy and an unforgiving alpine environment.  From a geographic perspective, the climate, terrain, cultural landscape, and cultural capabilities of both forces played a significant role in the execution and outcome of the battle.  The highland climate influenced both human and aircraft performance, and when combined with the rugged topography of the Arma Mountains and an overconfidence in the use of technology, compelled American forces to insert their aircraft directly on top of the peak of Takur Ghar, a historic and well-reinforced mujahideen observation post.  Once there, American forces found themselves isolated in a 17-hour battle with an enemy they expected to flee but instead demonstrated a commitment to fight and die to maintain their mountaintop fortress.   The combination of climate, physical terrain, and cultural landscape effectively offset the American’s combat power advantage, and when combined with the cultural capability of the mujahideen, led to one of the most grueling days of combat in NATO’s Afghanistan campaign.

(From THE BATTLE OF TAKUR GHAR: A GEOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS, P. Copeland, A. Pytlar, and C. Fuhriman, Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering, United States Military Academy at West Point, West Point, NY 10996)