For the U.S. side, the battle proved the deadliest entanglement of Operation Anaconda, an effort early in the War in Afghanistan to rout al-Qaeda forces from the Shahi-Kot Valley and Arma Mountains.

MAKO 21 planned to link up with AFO team Juliet at the northern end of the valley, resupply it and then establish a hide site/observation post on the eastern ridge above Task Force Rakkasan's blocking position; while MAKO 30 planned to establish an observation point on the peak of Takur Ghar, which commanded a view of the Shahi-Kot valley.

The AFO suggested insertion at a point 1,400 meters (4,600 feet) east of the peak, but due to a delayed B-52 bomber sortie in the area, the team was told to turn back and land at the airstrip near Gardez.

The pilot, Chief Warrant Officer Alan Mack, made the call to take the stricken helicopter off; as he brought the Chinook back into the air, PO1 Neil C. Roberts fell out of the open ramp.

Dan Madden and Electronics Technician Second Class Brett Morganti grabbed hold of his pack but they lost his grip.

Razor 03 attempted to return and retrieve him, but the damage prevented proper control and the helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing in the valley[8] about 11 kilometers (6.8 miles) away.

As the Rangers and special tactics team exited the aircraft, Private First Class Matt Commons (posthumously promoted to Corporal), Sergeant Brad Crose, and Specialist Marc Anderson were killed (Anderson was shot and killed inside the helicopter while Commons and Crose were gunned down on the helicopter ramp).

They climbed the 45-70 degree slope, most of it covered in a meter (3 ft) of snow, weighted down by their weapons, body armor and equipment.

Meanwhile, the Rangers on the peak called in several Danger Close gun runs from orbiting F-15E and F-16C aircraft to suppress the enemy before again attempting another ground assault.

The attached USAF CCT, Staff Sergeant Gabe Brown vectored in airstrikes to keep the al-Qaeda forces at bay until the rest of the Rangers arrived; the CCT directed a number of strikes on the peak, which were well within the normal safety limits and he also called in a strike from a MQ-1 Predator UAV (which was the first recorded use of the vehicle), one of the two Hellfire missiles it fired collapsed the bunker.

As the Air Force CCT Staff Sergeant Gabe Brown called in a last airstrike on the enemy bunkers and with two machine guns providing suppression fire, 14 Rangers stormed the hill as quickly as they could in the knee-deep snow – shooting and throwing grenades.

An enemy counterattack midday mortally wounded Senior Airman Jason D. Cunningham, a pararescueman who died six hours after being hit.

However, Australian SASR soldiers, along with U.S. Air Force Combat Controller Jim Hotaling, had infiltrated nearby prior to the first helicopter crash as part of a long range reconnaissance mission.

They remained undetected in an observation post through the firefight and CCT Jim Hotaling proved critical in co-ordinating multiple Coalition air strikes to prevent the al Qaeda fighters from overrunning the downed aircraft.

Roberts survived at least 30 minutes (during which he was wounded in the right leg) before he was shot and killed at close range by a single gunshot to the back of the head.

MG Frank Hagenbeck did confirm that al Qaeda fighters were seen (on live video feed from a Predator drone orbiting the firefight) chasing Roberts, and later dragging his body away from the spot where he fell.

[16] Predator drone footage also shows the possibility that Chapman was alive and fighting on the peak after the SEALs left rather than being killed outright as thought by MAKO 30.