Battle for Baghdad (looking for map)

History Channel ^

[KeyLargo]

Battle for Baghdad. Airs on Tuesday, August 23 at 9:00pm ET

For 21 days in the spring of 2003, two US Army and Marine divisions race north across the Iraqi desert from Kuwait. Their mission: seize the Iraqi capital as quickly as possible. The planners of Operation Iraqi Freedom believe that taking Baghdad in a hurry will be like "cutting off the head of the snake" and will bring a speedy end to the war. But it won't be a cakewalk. A tenacious force of guerrilla fighters throw up roadblocks. They call themselves Saddam Fedayeen--Saddam's Men of Sacrifice. The Fedayeen weapon of choice is the RPG--the rocket-propelled grenade. This nasty piece of handheld artillery can stop the Marines' thin-shelled armored personnel carrier, and it can even put a tank out of commission if it hits it in just the right spot. We'll hear from troops who found themselves on the receiving end of punishing RPG barrages and veterans who recount stories of brutal shootouts on the bloody road to Baghdad. TVPG V

[KeyLargo]

I have watched the "Shootout" series on the History channel and the programs have been very good so far.

[My2Cents]

Thanks. Will be watching.

[andyk]

Thanks for the heads-up.

[nascaryankee]

Very good series. Thanks for the reminder.

[68skylark]

I can highly recommend this book:

Thunder Run : The Armored Strike to Capture Baghdad, by David Zucchino

[A.A. Cunningham]

[Americanexpat]

I have seen this program. The thing that I found interesting is that the Army destroyed a terrorist training base in the north and the Marines destroyed one in the south that housed 600 terrorists. Funny you don't hear anything about this on the MSM. This disputes the lefts lies about there being no proof of Saddam supporting terrorism prior to the invasion.

[GovGirl]

I highly suggest "GENERATION KILL: Devil Dogs, Iceman, Captain America and the New Face of American War"

I had a good friend who was in the battalion Evan Wright rode with, and he told me to get a copy. Wright sent copies of the book to the whole bn when it was published.

[Wolverine]

Check this: The United States Army in Operation Iraqi Freedom

 

[68skylark]

Thanks for the comment. I read "On Point" when it first came out. It's riveting reading -- even better than the work of professional writers.

[Wolverine]

I work with a guy who is writing the offical history of Iraqi War II.

[68skylark]

I work with a guy who is writing the offical history of Iraqi War II.

That's very interesting -- give him my regards. By Iraq War II, do you mean the whole war starting in March 2003 (that is, are you calling the first Gulf War Iraq War I and calling all of this war Iraq War II)? Or are you saying that the "major combat phase" from March to May 2003 was Iraq War I, while the following "pacification" phase is Iraq War II?

The pacification phase has been difficult for us -- it hasn't gone badly by historical standards. But I don't think anyone will argue it's gone well -- not at all. We're winning the physical war but we're losing (or tying) the "information war" to persuade people of the benefits of liberty.

If your co-worker can actually unravel the things we've done right and wrong in the last few years, then he's a genius who's done a huge benefit for his country.

One of the last reports from Michael Yon, called "proximity delays," seems to argue we're not even trying to win the "information war." That really doesn't sit well with me -- it's costing us lives of good soldiers.