[9] Previously hindered by national caveats,[10] the deteroriating security situation prompted the German-led Regional Command North to launch a series of operations to take on the rising insurgency.

However, with an increasing toll from suicide and roadside bomb attacks it soon became obvious that NATO's dangerously restrained and considerably under-strength forces in the area—especially from Germany and Hungary—were not able to maintain public order in rural areas.

Moreover, a Pashtun minority in several regional "pockets" began to gradually change allegiance and support opposition movements against both foreign troops and other Afghan ethnicities.

Reluctant to engage directly, the Taliban mainly relied on guerilla tactics, killing three Germans over the year and wounding more than thirty along with causing casualties among the mountain Afghan security forces.

A similar development struck Faryab province and the surrounding districts: having already taken action to rout the Taliban, the Norwegian forces of PRT Meymaneh saw themselves increasingly threatened by insurgent activities.

Around the same time, US forces were called into Northern Afghanistan to reinforce the German contingent and provide Regional Command North with direly needed aviation and air mobility assets.

[16] Afghan government and allied forces Insurgents Concerted operations began with numerous raids and "provocative patrols" into the Taliban heartland, already dubbed "Talibania" by German troops.

German troops tried to maintain a presence even in remote areas during these weeks and were frequently attacked in the face of an overall deteriorating situation in all RC-N: On April 17, 2010, a Norwegian officer was killed when his patrol struck a roadside bomb.

[23] On April 29, German troops made a concentrated advance into Chardara district and suffered 15 casualties when they were attacked by suicide bombers and came under heavy fire by an overwhelming insurgent force.

A trooper of 2nd company, 292nd Light Infantry Battalion was killed in action, marking the first time since World War II that a German soldier would fall in combat.

Responding reinforcements surrounded the attackers and battled them for more than a day in a fierce engagement which also involved allied close air support and Afghan forces, of whom one police officer was wounded in action.

On June 4, German forces including the quick reaction element of Regional Command North undertook another concentrated advance into rebellious Chardara district after a patrol had been ambushed close to a bordering wetlands.

[28] During the fighting, Master Sergeant Daniel Seibert, a squad leader with 2nd company, 212th mechanized infantry battalion and Master Sergeant Jan Hecht, a squad leader with 2nd Company, 391st Mechanized Infantry Battalion led a daunting counterattack to save the lives of a German recce party in distress and were later awarded Germany's highest military award.

For having evacuated a critically wounded German while under hostile fire that day, Sergeant First Class Steffen Knoska, a squad leader with 2nd Company, 1st Air Assault Regiment would also be awarded for valor.

For the first time in the war, the Germans would deploy infantry fighting vehicles and artillery, killing a large number of insurgents on July 19; in addition to the heavy weaponry's first use in earnest, American A-10 Warthogs flew several close air support sorties.

2009's Presidential elections were expected to worsen the situation, however only a few attacks actually occurred while the turnout was in progress: Three police officers were killed and five kidnapped in Imam Sahib on August 19.

[39] The attack, though justified by several officials, caused considerable uproar in Germany and led to the resignation of senior officers and the Minister of Labour Franz-Josef Jung in October 2009.

[48] Civilians were caught in the crossfire once more as the Taliban attacked the Mischa Meier Bridge (named after a German soldier who was killed in action there) which extends across the Kunduz river to the southwest of the city.

Five Taliban and three locals guarding the bridge were killed in action; other attacks on the same day resulted in the deaths of ten insurgents in Imam Sahib and Khanabad as well as in the capture of six others.

For this reason, a fourth and final offensive was launched on December 14, the first time ISAF's new counter insurgency strategy "clear – hold – build" should be put to test in Regional Command North's area of responsibilities.

[51] A very serious situation unfolded during a firefight on February 5 when a routed group of Taliban in the process of being chased-down by German light infantry hid in a crowd of villagers, leading not only to their deaths but also to civilian casualties.

[57] A platoon of 2nd Company, 373rd Airborne Battalion was caught in the open after a roadside bomb struck their patrol in the village of Isa Khel; simultaneously, the troops manning a nearby base situated in an Afghan police station came under fire as well.

[59] Furthermore, coalition ground troops and responding US MEDEVAC helicopters belonging to the US Army's 158th Aviation Regiment sustained considerable combat damage in a hail of small arms fire.

[62] On June 27, four Norwegian troops were killed by a roadside bomb [63] in the course of a series of operations aimed at increasing coalition and government presence in Ghowrmach, another hotspot in the northern allies' area of responsibility.

While coalition forces were gaining the upper hand in Kunduz and in Faryab, their commanders feared the recent victories were all but in vain if the insurgent presence in the adjacent Baghlan province was left to act at will.

On April 11, 2010, one American who was part of the Hungary-United States Operational Mentor and Liaison Team 9.3 was wounded in combat by an RPG while returning fire from his fighting position.

[77] Only a day afterwards the Taliban scored a major propagandistic victory by killing Mohammed Omar,[78] governor of Kunduz province and the foreign forces main – albeit unreliable[79] – ally in the north.

From October 31 to November 4, 2010, German troops, with the support of American, Afghan and Belgian forces led Operation Halmazag, an offensive to establish a permanent ISAF presence around the village of Isa Khel and Quatliam, just 6 miles west of the main Coalition compound at Kunduz.

Fierce fighting – though less frequent in total due to the now-strong coalition presence – continued throughout 2011, with the Talibans' focus of operations shifting towards Baghlan province for a time until it came to a near-halt in late 2011.

An insurgent force tried to take the German outpost there by surprise but was fought off with considerable losses not least due to the defending 231st Mountain Infantry Battalion's commander, Lieutenant colonel Jared Sembritzki.