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Ambush Alley: The Most Extraordinary Battle Of The Iraq War (2007)

Ambush Alley: The Most Extraordinary Battle of the Iraq War (2007)

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Author
Rating
3.98 of 5 Votes: 1
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ISBN
0891418806 (ISBN13: 9780891418801)
Language
English
Publisher
presidio press

About book Ambush Alley: The Most Extraordinary Battle Of The Iraq War (2007)

This is a great book. It was hard to put down because of all the action, but I had to take breaks because of the intensity. In March 2003 Marine Task Force Tarawa was to secure two bridges in the town Nasiriyah, clearing a route for the assault on Baghdad. There was to be little resistance and almost no fighting. Uh huh. The first bridge was taken easily, but soon after several tanks and AAVs got stuck in mud pits. Now the marines had to set up defensive positions instead of cruising through to to secure the other brig. The maps weren't precise and radio communication between companies was severely hampered in the urban environment. The the town exploded with resistance. Companies and platoons got separated, marines got shot. A great story of courage, stamina and decisive thinking by marines when plans had to be changed. The story is told from the perspective of over a dozen marines, so you get to see different angles for the same time frame/event. This way of writing really lets you feel the chaos drama as it unfolds. You hear how the young marines thought some of the stuff they did over and over in training was stupid ("Reloading!") but they came to appreciate it in a firefight. Probably the modern war action book I've read since Blackhawk Down. God bless our troops, especially the killed and wounded of Task Force Tarawa.

Expecting to roll through Al Nasiriyah on the way to Baghdad, being welcomed by open armed Iraqis, the US Marines' plans went awry before they had reached the first bridge to the South of the city.The night before the planned manouver, an army convoy had made a wrong turn and stirred up a hornet's nest in the town. An oft used maxim is that "No battle plan survives contact with the enemy" and this book demonstrates this perfectly.Lack of communication, military intelligence and proper planning all contributed to a disaster that unfolds with horrifying predictability when read from afar.The author strings together a confusing and disorganised picture to give a more vivid experience than a movie."Black Hawk Down", the debacle in Somalia involving US Army Rangers, is often referenced in the book; principally because the similarities are startling. Clearly, the lessons of that day in 1993 were not learned.Pulling no punches, the author has clearly spent a great deal of time and careful interviewing to bring the details together. Highly recommended, although beware as once you begin reading it is very difficult to stop.

Do You like book Ambush Alley: The Most Extraordinary Battle Of The Iraq War (2007)?

I've read a number of books on Task Force Tarawa, all of which I enjoyed. Unfortunately this one didn't quite reach my expectations. Something about the way it was written made it difficult for me to truly feel for the men involved. Throughout my reading I felt very detached from events whereas in the previous books I've read I've felt my heart pounding in places, and a desperate need to see whether the men whose lives I was reading about came out unscathed. A little disappointing but still worth a read.
—Jenette

I was completely unimpressed with the first half of the book, but the second half of the book is what made it good. The first half seemed to repeatedly bang me over the head with trivial matters that should have been briefly noted instead of being the focal point. The book did give context as to the some of the marines themselves but failed to really describe the context of this particular battle to the overall operation itself. During the second half of the book, starting with the A-10 situation, I felt the author did an excellent job of capturing the thoughts and feelings of the marines, as well as the chaos and devastation of the battle. In respect to that, this book did a superb job, and I would recommend it on that basis.
—Chrissy

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