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Thunder Run: The Armored Strike to Capture Baghdad
Thunder Run is the story of how, with fewer than a thousand men, and facing dug-in Iraqi forces, the Second ('Tusker') Brigade of the Third Infantry Division punched a hole through the heart of Baghdad with a high-speed charge to Saddam Hussein's Presidential Palace and Republican Guard headquarters.
The product of dozens of interviews with commanders and men from the Second Brigade, it is more than just a book about a single battle. It is a riveting account of how soldiers respond under fire and and how human frailties are magnified in a war zone. Many people believe that Baghdad was taken with a minimum of effort. But for the Tusker Brigade it was a cruel and terrifying three days of urban warfare.
Thunder Run tells the inside story of one of the most brutal and decisive battles in combat history and the biggest armoured battle involving American troops since the Vietnam War. It is an unputdownable, unforgettable first-hand account of how a single armoured brigade of fewer than a thousand men captured an Arab capital defended by one of the world's largest armies.
The product of dozens of interviews with commanders and men from the Second Brigade, it is more than just a book about a single battle. It is a riveting account of how soldiers respond under fire and and how human frailties are magnified in a war zone. Many people believe that Baghdad was taken with a minimum of effort. But for the Tusker Brigade it was a cruel and terrifying three days of urban warfare.
Thunder Run tells the inside story of one of the most brutal and decisive battles in combat history and the biggest armoured battle involving American troops since the Vietnam War. It is an unputdownable, unforgettable first-hand account of how a single armoured brigade of fewer than a thousand men captured an Arab capital defended by one of the world's largest armies.
362 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 22, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews
October 18, 2011
Thunder Run: The Armored Strike to Capture Baghdad is a 5 Star combat classic that brings home the noise, fear, sweat, grime, adrenaline-pumping thrills and sleep-deprived exhaustion of the race to capture Baghdad in the Iraq war. Mr. Zucchino provides a narrative as compelling and readable as his friend Mark Bowden’s tale of Mogadishu, Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War. Zucchino doesn’t waste much time on set-up, he gets you right into the battle, starting at the edge of Baghdad, 2 weeks after the invasion started. From there, you get a blow-by-blow tale of the next 3 days as the US Army takes the fight into the city, capturing Saddam’s palaces and government centers of power. The fight to hold on to the palaces hangs in the balance as the supply lines are under attack. Mr. Zucchino does a superb job painting the tactical and strategic situation around the action. He also does a reasonably good job bringing in other points of view, such as Iraqi civilians and military observers and participants in the battle. Mr. Zucchino fairly describes the Iraqi and mercenary resistance to the Thunder Runs as uncoordinated and unprofessional, while maintaining a fair point of view and recognizing the bravery of some of the Iraqi fighters. It is certain that you will be on the edge of your seat as the fight develops. You will also be amazed and proud of the young troops who take on the uniform and perform with such valor. One of the better battle histories I have read. If I had any request or complaint, it would be for pictures of the battle and participants (none in the book) and detailed maps of some of the pitched fights. Mr Zucchino’s focus is pretty much only on the Army’s part of the battle and he rarely brings in any of the joint aspects, like airpower, into the picture. That’s fine for his tale but I would have liked a little more comprehensive picture of the overall battle.
December 7, 2011
This book was an enjoyable read covering, as the name implies, the two thunder runs into the city of Baghdad by the Army's 3rd Infantry Division. The strong point of this book in my opinion was that it integrated viewpoints of a large number of troops in that battle along with alternative viewpoints of some Iraqi military members and some of the American soldiers' family members back home. I felt the author did a pretty good job not bogging the reader down or confusing them despite the mixture of these different viewpoints. I also enjoyed the moments when the author dabbled into some of the soldier's thoughts on killing. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to know more about the thunder runs themselves or anyone with an interest in tanks.
August 17, 2011
This book lacked a certain magic in the writing that would have guaranteed it 5 stars from me, but it is still a great book and I give it 4.
Thunder Run is a straight talking, no nonsense, in your face retelling of the Thunder Run into Baghdad. The details are richly retold and you nearly feel like you are there (which is the power of a good book).
If there is one thing this book gave me that most other books on the wars in the Middle East haven't, it is the shrapnel casualty rate. Thunder Run truly made me realise that it isn't always RPGs and AK fire that will cause large casualty numbers in a firefight.
A large portion of injuries outlined in this book seemed to be shrapnel. I knew of it's dangers, but this is the first time I got a true sense of how debilitating this secondary danger can be during operations under fire.
Thunder Run is a straight talking, no nonsense, in your face retelling of the Thunder Run into Baghdad. The details are richly retold and you nearly feel like you are there (which is the power of a good book).
If there is one thing this book gave me that most other books on the wars in the Middle East haven't, it is the shrapnel casualty rate. Thunder Run truly made me realise that it isn't always RPGs and AK fire that will cause large casualty numbers in a firefight.
A large portion of injuries outlined in this book seemed to be shrapnel. I knew of it's dangers, but this is the first time I got a true sense of how debilitating this secondary danger can be during operations under fire.
September 24, 2021
A 15 and a half hour unabridged audiobook.
Having been in south Iraq at the time, and guarding a captured and converted airfield, I first heard we captured Baghdad a few days after it happened. I didn't believe the rumor because we had literally been told that to expect to partake in street fighting there if things didn't go well. Seemingly they went quite well. Now I know why. The brave warriors who drive into the heart of Saddams country and ensured that his forces were rocked back onto their heels and unable to mount a concerted defense.
Some of the accounts I liked the most are those of the Iraqi commanders that provided useful insight to how things collapsed for them so quickly.
Heartbreaking accounts included those of military families back home who, based on news reports, knew certain units had been in combat and took casualties but did not yet know who the injured or killed were. That wait must have been terrifying, they are likewise heroes/heroines.
I enjoyed this book.
Having been in south Iraq at the time, and guarding a captured and converted airfield, I first heard we captured Baghdad a few days after it happened. I didn't believe the rumor because we had literally been told that to expect to partake in street fighting there if things didn't go well. Seemingly they went quite well. Now I know why. The brave warriors who drive into the heart of Saddams country and ensured that his forces were rocked back onto their heels and unable to mount a concerted defense.
Some of the accounts I liked the most are those of the Iraqi commanders that provided useful insight to how things collapsed for them so quickly.
Heartbreaking accounts included those of military families back home who, based on news reports, knew certain units had been in combat and took casualties but did not yet know who the injured or killed were. That wait must have been terrifying, they are likewise heroes/heroines.
I enjoyed this book.
February 16, 2012
An unflinching look at modern armored combat. The author has a knack for conveying the confusion and chaos of the battles as they unfolded. The writing style is brisk and keeps the reader on their toes and gives one a sense of the chaos while reading, a miniscule taste of the firefights if you will. While the book does concentrate on the US armored forces the author takes the time to share some of the Iraqi side of things as well as some of the journalists side. On par with the book 'Black Hawk Down' (the author of Thunder Run was Mark Bowden's editor for BHD).
Interesting questions were put forth by the vets so many resources and time were devoted to toppling regime that little to no thought had been put into how to rebuild the country, that once the fighting ebbed the newly blooded combat vets werent quite sure what to do, neither did their command know. The ending left a question of whether the risky 'Thunder Runs' had been worth it, they toppled the regime from the inside out avoiding a long and drawn out battle for the city. These same units years later were sent back to Iraq to fight the very kind of battles the 'Thunder Runs' had avoided.
Interesting questions were put forth by the vets so many resources and time were devoted to toppling regime that little to no thought had been put into how to rebuild the country, that once the fighting ebbed the newly blooded combat vets werent quite sure what to do, neither did their command know. The ending left a question of whether the risky 'Thunder Runs' had been worth it, they toppled the regime from the inside out avoiding a long and drawn out battle for the city. These same units years later were sent back to Iraq to fight the very kind of battles the 'Thunder Runs' had avoided.
February 27, 2012
This book was very personal to me. As a wife of a soldier who actually was with the Tusker battalion at the time and went with them on the second Thunder Run and who didn't want to talk about his war experiences for nearly 9 years, I very much appreciate this book that helped me to better understand what my husband and his fellow soldiers went through. I love the style of Zucchino’s writing. I like that the book is written from many different viewpoints not just the US soldiers but also their families and also Iraqi people with real dreams, emotions, fears. I personally love David Zucchino for letting my husband use his reporter’s satellite phone to give me a brief call and let me know that he was alive and in the middle of Baghdad.
August 15, 2024
This book will immediately bring you to the midst of the Iraqi War without any background story. Fully action packed and non stop fighting.
As I read through this book, I really feel depress. A lots of lives were lost for no good reasons.
However this book did not address this issue.
As I read through this book, I really feel depress. A lots of lives were lost for no good reasons.
However this book did not address this issue.
September 28, 2019
Zucchino brings the Thunder Run (battle of Baghdad) to life with clear, terse prose. although total US casualties was less than, for example, the Battles of Fallujah, the author manages to keep one's attention hooked. fine military writing.
January 23, 2021
One of my favorite books about modern armored warfare. (As far as Iraq, I'd add The Eyes of Orion and Iron Soldiers.).
The core of the book is a run, up the gut, into Baghdad -- with a relatively small force. Probably contrary to every bit of book learning about an assault on a large urban area. Audacious, risky, and brilliant. What a job by our warriors!! I was riveted to this book, and figured that sleep would have to wait.
As with other Iraq war books, this one leaves me wondering "what if" the Iraqi forces had put a little more effort into attacking -- or at least interfering with -- our supply lines. I mean, being able to drive fuel and ammo trucks up the-near equivalent of an interstate highway was a luxury. Not that this was any cake walk. Far from it. This was a hard fight.
In any event, the ability of our warriors to recognize favorable resupply conditions -- and exploit them -- shows the rewards that training plus initiative plus the freedom to exercise that initiative can bring. How many armies would have made that attack?
The fight to Baghdad also reminds us how devastating an armored force can be. The sheer firepower is amazing. It first came home to me, from a passage in Das Reich: The March of the 2nd SS Panzer Division through France, how little chance a small resistance group might have against trained soldiers with armor and abundant heavy weapons. And that was with WWII-era ordnance.
Not that the Iraqis contesting Baghdad were akin to the French resistance. There were many hardened fighters and plenty of weapons along the Iraqi highway. But there still was part of me that felt sorry for those on the receiving end of the 25 Mike Mike that tore up the attackers on both sides of the road to Baghdad. It was unfortunate that Saddam put them in the way of the U.S. Army.
The core of the book is a run, up the gut, into Baghdad -- with a relatively small force. Probably contrary to every bit of book learning about an assault on a large urban area. Audacious, risky, and brilliant. What a job by our warriors!! I was riveted to this book, and figured that sleep would have to wait.
As with other Iraq war books, this one leaves me wondering "what if" the Iraqi forces had put a little more effort into attacking -- or at least interfering with -- our supply lines. I mean, being able to drive fuel and ammo trucks up the-near equivalent of an interstate highway was a luxury. Not that this was any cake walk. Far from it. This was a hard fight.
In any event, the ability of our warriors to recognize favorable resupply conditions -- and exploit them -- shows the rewards that training plus initiative plus the freedom to exercise that initiative can bring. How many armies would have made that attack?
The fight to Baghdad also reminds us how devastating an armored force can be. The sheer firepower is amazing. It first came home to me, from a passage in Das Reich: The March of the 2nd SS Panzer Division through France, how little chance a small resistance group might have against trained soldiers with armor and abundant heavy weapons. And that was with WWII-era ordnance.
Not that the Iraqis contesting Baghdad were akin to the French resistance. There were many hardened fighters and plenty of weapons along the Iraqi highway. But there still was part of me that felt sorry for those on the receiving end of the 25 Mike Mike that tore up the attackers on both sides of the road to Baghdad. It was unfortunate that Saddam put them in the way of the U.S. Army.
October 30, 2007
Here is the minute-by-minute description of the armored offensive to capture Baghdad that the 3rd Infantry Division executed in March 2003. The best book about one campaign since Black Hawk Down, Thunder Run wastes few pages with setting the scene, prefering instead to dive into the maelstrom of the armored offensive that was not supposed to be possible. Ever since the Soviet campaigns in Afghanistan and Grozny, military scientists had counseled against using tanks in urban terrain. As I can attest from experience, armored units trained on urban warfare tactics and strategies in contradiction of this advice and their preparations paid off. The battle for Baghdad was a harsh one and a few times the American commanders were not sure that their infantry and armor could hold the positions they had taken. Hold they did, performing their job so well that the battle was nearly over before many viewers in the States knew it had begun.
February 28, 2018
This book brings back memories of news reports by embedded reporters of the coalition advance into Iraq during the 2003 Operation Iraqi Freedom and press interviews of Baghdad Bob, Iraq’s Information Minister, in which he made the most outlandish claims about American casualties. I cannot remember if any American soldiers ever photo-bombed one of his interviews in Baghdad in which he claimed that Americans were nowhere near Baghdad.
The title of the book, Thunder Run, refers to a tactic of reconnaissance by fire, first used in Vietnam, in which a mechanized force would advance through enemy territory and provoke enemy soldiers into firing on it and exposing their positions, which could then be destroyed. The book describes two thunder runs in which an armored unit advanced into the Baghdad airport and then from their newly acquired advance base at the airport into downtown Baghdad a few days later. This was a particularly radical move because army urban warfare doctrine at the time called for infantry to advance into a city while armored units maintained an ever-shrinking perimeter around the city. Why? It was felt that tanks and other armored vehicles were at a disadvantage and vulnerable in urban environments featuring buildings with floors too high for tank main guns to hit at close quarters and featuring allies and other great hiding places for recoilless rifles and RPG teams who would target the vulnerable rear engine grills of M1-A1 Abrams tanks. A hit to the grill would not necessarily breach the crew compartment, but it would kill the engine and disable the tank.
From the news, it appeared that American units had easily swept aside Iraqi resistance, but this book dispels that misconception. The thunder run into the airport encountered moderate resistance, but the thunder run into Baghdad was a completely different situation. The original plan was to enter downtown Baghdad, destroy something of significance and return to the airport, having shown that the Americans could go anywhere they pleased, whenever they pleased. The ground commander felt, however, that they should seize and hold part of downtown Baghdad. At the time, Iraqi propaganda was emboldening resistance by stating incorrectly that the Americans were being defeated. The commander hoped to demonstrate conclusively that resistance was futile in hopes that such a message would dissuade armed resistance and reduce casualties, both American and Iraqi. In this thunder run, a unit of tanks and other armored vehicles would travel up a highway from the airport to the Republican Palace in downtown Baghdad. Another unit would come after them and secure highway interchanges so that supply convoys of fuel and ammunition trucks could travel safely up and down the highway to resupply all the armored units. As with the thunder run into the airport, there was moderate resistance, and the area in and around the Republican Palace was easily captured. However, the units tasked with guarding highway interchanges ran into very stiff resistance that day. As a result, the supply convoys had to travel up the highway under fire, and several trucks transporting fuel and ammunition were hit and destroyed. Furthermore, the tactical operations command (TOC)(for communication with outside support such as air and artillery support) at the airport was hit by a missile and had to be reassembled with spare parts. The next morning was when the armored unit at the Republican Palace came heavy attack. These battles were probably the most intense fights of the war up to that point.
During the fighting, four reporters were killed. Two had stayed behind at the airport during the thunder run into Baghdad, considering it too dangerous. However, the missile that destroyed the TOC incinerated them. The other two reporters that died were in the Palestine Hotel across the Tigris from the Republican Palace. A working two-way radio had been found on a dead Iraqi soldier, and the Americans were able to listen in as a forward artillery observer was calling in artillery and mortar strikes on them. The Americans promptly started looking for him so they could kill him. A tank crew saw a man with some equipment on a tripod on a balcony of a building across the Tigris. Thinking the equipment was a range finder, they concluded that the man must be the forward observer they were seeking and put a main gun round into the balcony where he stood. That building turned out to be the Palestine Hotel, and the man with the tripod was a press cameraman. He was killed along with a reporter in the room below. I have to wonder if the other two reporters would have been able to identify the hotel and warn the tankers about targeting it had they been there.
Up to this point, I have discussed the action, of which there was an abundance. However, there is so much more in this book. Killing people takes a toll even on trained soldiers, as does watching friends die. The author did an excellent job of giving the soldiers a mouthpiece to express those issues along with their desire to survive and return home to family. And, he didn’t stop there; he apparently had interviewed some of the Iraqis involved in the fighting and told their stories, too. All in all, I found this to be a very well-rounded book.
The title of the book, Thunder Run, refers to a tactic of reconnaissance by fire, first used in Vietnam, in which a mechanized force would advance through enemy territory and provoke enemy soldiers into firing on it and exposing their positions, which could then be destroyed. The book describes two thunder runs in which an armored unit advanced into the Baghdad airport and then from their newly acquired advance base at the airport into downtown Baghdad a few days later. This was a particularly radical move because army urban warfare doctrine at the time called for infantry to advance into a city while armored units maintained an ever-shrinking perimeter around the city. Why? It was felt that tanks and other armored vehicles were at a disadvantage and vulnerable in urban environments featuring buildings with floors too high for tank main guns to hit at close quarters and featuring allies and other great hiding places for recoilless rifles and RPG teams who would target the vulnerable rear engine grills of M1-A1 Abrams tanks. A hit to the grill would not necessarily breach the crew compartment, but it would kill the engine and disable the tank.
From the news, it appeared that American units had easily swept aside Iraqi resistance, but this book dispels that misconception. The thunder run into the airport encountered moderate resistance, but the thunder run into Baghdad was a completely different situation. The original plan was to enter downtown Baghdad, destroy something of significance and return to the airport, having shown that the Americans could go anywhere they pleased, whenever they pleased. The ground commander felt, however, that they should seize and hold part of downtown Baghdad. At the time, Iraqi propaganda was emboldening resistance by stating incorrectly that the Americans were being defeated. The commander hoped to demonstrate conclusively that resistance was futile in hopes that such a message would dissuade armed resistance and reduce casualties, both American and Iraqi. In this thunder run, a unit of tanks and other armored vehicles would travel up a highway from the airport to the Republican Palace in downtown Baghdad. Another unit would come after them and secure highway interchanges so that supply convoys of fuel and ammunition trucks could travel safely up and down the highway to resupply all the armored units. As with the thunder run into the airport, there was moderate resistance, and the area in and around the Republican Palace was easily captured. However, the units tasked with guarding highway interchanges ran into very stiff resistance that day. As a result, the supply convoys had to travel up the highway under fire, and several trucks transporting fuel and ammunition were hit and destroyed. Furthermore, the tactical operations command (TOC)(for communication with outside support such as air and artillery support) at the airport was hit by a missile and had to be reassembled with spare parts. The next morning was when the armored unit at the Republican Palace came heavy attack. These battles were probably the most intense fights of the war up to that point.
During the fighting, four reporters were killed. Two had stayed behind at the airport during the thunder run into Baghdad, considering it too dangerous. However, the missile that destroyed the TOC incinerated them. The other two reporters that died were in the Palestine Hotel across the Tigris from the Republican Palace. A working two-way radio had been found on a dead Iraqi soldier, and the Americans were able to listen in as a forward artillery observer was calling in artillery and mortar strikes on them. The Americans promptly started looking for him so they could kill him. A tank crew saw a man with some equipment on a tripod on a balcony of a building across the Tigris. Thinking the equipment was a range finder, they concluded that the man must be the forward observer they were seeking and put a main gun round into the balcony where he stood. That building turned out to be the Palestine Hotel, and the man with the tripod was a press cameraman. He was killed along with a reporter in the room below. I have to wonder if the other two reporters would have been able to identify the hotel and warn the tankers about targeting it had they been there.
Up to this point, I have discussed the action, of which there was an abundance. However, there is so much more in this book. Killing people takes a toll even on trained soldiers, as does watching friends die. The author did an excellent job of giving the soldiers a mouthpiece to express those issues along with their desire to survive and return home to family. And, he didn’t stop there; he apparently had interviewed some of the Iraqis involved in the fighting and told their stories, too. All in all, I found this to be a very well-rounded book.
November 30, 2022
The author describes shot by shot, grenade by grenade, RPG by RPG, etc. the rush of columns of tanks and Armored Personnel Carriers into the center of Bagdad during the 2nd Gulf War. The Iraqis assumed that the Americans would surround Bagdad and then take it piece by piece and were prepared to give them a Mogadishu welcome with soldiers shooting RPG and small arms fire from every doorway and roof top. The idea of a “thunder run” was to go to the center of the enemy position, in this case Saddam’s Presidential Palace, and fight outward causing demoralization and collapse of the enemy forces.
The tank men did not know until the day before that they were going to do this. It filled them with excitement and dread.
The book was interesting for all the details that the Zucchino gives but besides those details it is not very enlightening.
There were two thunder runs. The first was run was straight up Highway 8 then turning to the airport where the US had a base set up and staying there for the night. The second run was the next day and was a run straight to the presidential palace and surrounding buildings followed up by a force that was to secure the 3 major intersections of the road and a third run to bring fuel and munitions to the US troops at the overpass and at the Presidential Palace.
In the first run the column of tanks heading into Baghdad going at 15 km an hour spaced apart and one of the tanks got disabled from an RPG from the rear which set it on fire. The tankers spent half an hour crawling around outside the tank trying to get it going again while Iraqis in the city around them were shooting at them. When they couldn’t put the fire out tankers brought up armloads of fire extinguishers from their vehicles to try. This I don’t understand. They are getting shot at by small arms and RPGs from all sides, chunks of metal being carved out of the tanks and they are going around outside their tanks? They are determined to tow the disabled tank out but eventually abandon it. In the first chapter the author describes the ordinance of his Abrams tank. It is unbelievable how much fire power they had.
On their second thunder run which they were going to presidential palace they found a massive minefield on Highway 8 blocking their path that had been set up during the night. The mines were just sitting on top of the highway little piles of dirt on top of them. Sappers went out in the middle of the night without protective gear and cleared the all off the road. First, they lassoed 8 mines and pulled them off the highway to make sure that they weren’t set up to go when moved. They cleared 440 mines put them on the sides of the road and then put orange plastic cones marking the cleared path for the tanks to go through. Weirdly there were Iraqi soldiers watching from afar while they did this but no shots were fired.
They were instructed on the second run to not stop for anything, not to try to repair a tank or tow it. If a tank was disabled, they were to evacuate the men and head on leaving the tank where it was. They didn’t want the half an hour delay where previously they tried to put the tank out and save the gear etc. under fire.
Zucchino describes the Iraqis as very brave but poorly trained, without discipline or coordination. They did crazy things like trying to ram tanks with cars or standing in the middle of the road and shooting at the tanks with small arms. They were just mowed down. There was little coordination between sections of the army. Saddam had seen to this by keeping his different groups of soldiers all separated because he was afraid of a coup
In preparation for the second Thunder Road US artillery was charged with destroying resistance on the various overpasses without destroying the overpass. They used to artillery shells that would explode 10 m above the ground spraying shrapnel over 100 m² area killing everyone in that area but not damaging structures.
One of the gunners in one of the Bradley fighting vehicles had named his son Bradley but his wife had vetoed his proposal of a middle name of Gunner.
It was very difficult to kill a moving soldier but the gunners had learned to bounce their rounds off the ground like a bowling ball which was effective.
There were Syrian soldiers who seemed more fanatic than even the Republican Guards. They were ordering around the Republican Guards and Iraqi soldiers talking of jihad. Wads of Iraqi dinars were found in their pockets when they were killed or captured.
At the gates of Saddam’s house with some concrete planters the first tank tried to blast through but it went up at 45-degree angle exposing its vulnerable underbelly. It backed and a second tank with a plow and a faster run of 30 miles an hour and blew through the planters and then through the iron gates of the palace
At one point a tank was attacked by car, after technical, after car, after car, eight or 10 in a row. They were all blown apart. One was blown up and a man came out wounded and bloody and burned waving the white flag. One of the US medics attended his wounds and then sent him on his way. Weird. The soldiers didn’t feel good about shooting fathers and sons but these people are crazy.
The author mentions mundane things that mess up a battle. In a Bradley fighting vehicle the top gun jammed and the commander manning it knew he had to have a wrench to unjam it. This commander had only been a BFV commander for two weeks with on-the-job training in the run up to this thunder run. When he realized he didn’t have a wrench he radioed to another vehicle and soon it was knock on the hatch and a reporter from the Los Angeles Times handing him the wrench. The reporter wanted to get out of the tank he had been in so that he could power up his satellite phone and get his report in before the midnight deadline for his paper. Weird shit happens in wars.
At another point soldiers exited the tanks and went into some bunkers with a pistol and a flashlight like Vietnam tunnel rats and emerged with 15 scared revolutionary guard soldiers, yelling “Don’t shoot don’t shoot,” with their hands up. The bunkers were filled with rotting food and trash and uniforms and helmets of soldiers had fled. The bunkers were also filled with arms and the Iraqis “could’ve killed us before we even knew what happened but they just wanted to surrender.”
A tank has a cupola.
Once inside the palace compound the Marines were receiving mortar fire. One of the soldiers had been trained on how to examine a mortar crater to figure out the trajectory. He did so and even found a mortar that had passed through a palm tree he calculated the angle, knew the range of the type of mortar that was being used looked on an aerial map and saw an Iraqi military compound with a stand of trees that would be the perfect place to launch mortars. Fighter planes and artillery were brought in to obliterate the site and the mortar fire stopped.
The author describes blow by blow, machine gun bullet by machine gun bullet, coax gun by coax gun, RPG by RPG, main gun by main gun the battles along Highway 8 to secure the three overpasses and then maintain the perimeters as they’re getting shot at from buildings, and trenches, and bunk houses along the route. Convoys of fuel and ammunition supplies were sent up Highway 8 from the airport, one with armored vehicles and the other with thin walled, wheeled vehicles that could go faster. The column with armored vehicles got shot up and they lost several other vehicles and the one with we wheeled vehicles got through they could go about 45 miles an hour without armored track vehicles with them
The author describes friendly fire instances that on several instances killed US soldiers and all kinds of other fuck ups. You also learn details like when one tank wouldn’t start and another came up and used his “slave cables” which are basically big jumper cables to start the tank. One fella while closing the tank hatch got some of his outfit stuck in the hatch and when a crewmember below him pulled him down he pulled off his whole outfit and he fought the rest of the day in his underwear.
They did manage to get fuel and ammunition to all three intersections and to the people hold up in the palace but that night there was a counterattack by Iraqis with RPG‘s. The areas of the Americans were holding included the palace, the Al Rashid hotel and all kinds of other buildings and they were unable to secure the entire perimeter leaving big gaps between the soldiers and tanks etc. The officers were worried about getting overrun in the night just like at Mogadishu. 30 guys with RPG’s did make a nighttime attack when half of the US soldiers were asleep. A battle ensued running into the next day with similar details described though the Iraqis were running out of enthusiasm.
I have read a lot of war books and Zucchino is a great historian and writer but a bullet-by-bullet story of this Thunder Run is not that interesting. He does give a vivid description of the chaos of war and how easy it is to make mistakes. And he tells a good story about the professionalism of the US military.
The tank men did not know until the day before that they were going to do this. It filled them with excitement and dread.
The book was interesting for all the details that the Zucchino gives but besides those details it is not very enlightening.
There were two thunder runs. The first was run was straight up Highway 8 then turning to the airport where the US had a base set up and staying there for the night. The second run was the next day and was a run straight to the presidential palace and surrounding buildings followed up by a force that was to secure the 3 major intersections of the road and a third run to bring fuel and munitions to the US troops at the overpass and at the Presidential Palace.
In the first run the column of tanks heading into Baghdad going at 15 km an hour spaced apart and one of the tanks got disabled from an RPG from the rear which set it on fire. The tankers spent half an hour crawling around outside the tank trying to get it going again while Iraqis in the city around them were shooting at them. When they couldn’t put the fire out tankers brought up armloads of fire extinguishers from their vehicles to try. This I don’t understand. They are getting shot at by small arms and RPGs from all sides, chunks of metal being carved out of the tanks and they are going around outside their tanks? They are determined to tow the disabled tank out but eventually abandon it. In the first chapter the author describes the ordinance of his Abrams tank. It is unbelievable how much fire power they had.
On their second thunder run which they were going to presidential palace they found a massive minefield on Highway 8 blocking their path that had been set up during the night. The mines were just sitting on top of the highway little piles of dirt on top of them. Sappers went out in the middle of the night without protective gear and cleared the all off the road. First, they lassoed 8 mines and pulled them off the highway to make sure that they weren’t set up to go when moved. They cleared 440 mines put them on the sides of the road and then put orange plastic cones marking the cleared path for the tanks to go through. Weirdly there were Iraqi soldiers watching from afar while they did this but no shots were fired.
They were instructed on the second run to not stop for anything, not to try to repair a tank or tow it. If a tank was disabled, they were to evacuate the men and head on leaving the tank where it was. They didn’t want the half an hour delay where previously they tried to put the tank out and save the gear etc. under fire.
Zucchino describes the Iraqis as very brave but poorly trained, without discipline or coordination. They did crazy things like trying to ram tanks with cars or standing in the middle of the road and shooting at the tanks with small arms. They were just mowed down. There was little coordination between sections of the army. Saddam had seen to this by keeping his different groups of soldiers all separated because he was afraid of a coup
In preparation for the second Thunder Road US artillery was charged with destroying resistance on the various overpasses without destroying the overpass. They used to artillery shells that would explode 10 m above the ground spraying shrapnel over 100 m² area killing everyone in that area but not damaging structures.
One of the gunners in one of the Bradley fighting vehicles had named his son Bradley but his wife had vetoed his proposal of a middle name of Gunner.
It was very difficult to kill a moving soldier but the gunners had learned to bounce their rounds off the ground like a bowling ball which was effective.
There were Syrian soldiers who seemed more fanatic than even the Republican Guards. They were ordering around the Republican Guards and Iraqi soldiers talking of jihad. Wads of Iraqi dinars were found in their pockets when they were killed or captured.
At the gates of Saddam’s house with some concrete planters the first tank tried to blast through but it went up at 45-degree angle exposing its vulnerable underbelly. It backed and a second tank with a plow and a faster run of 30 miles an hour and blew through the planters and then through the iron gates of the palace
At one point a tank was attacked by car, after technical, after car, after car, eight or 10 in a row. They were all blown apart. One was blown up and a man came out wounded and bloody and burned waving the white flag. One of the US medics attended his wounds and then sent him on his way. Weird. The soldiers didn’t feel good about shooting fathers and sons but these people are crazy.
The author mentions mundane things that mess up a battle. In a Bradley fighting vehicle the top gun jammed and the commander manning it knew he had to have a wrench to unjam it. This commander had only been a BFV commander for two weeks with on-the-job training in the run up to this thunder run. When he realized he didn’t have a wrench he radioed to another vehicle and soon it was knock on the hatch and a reporter from the Los Angeles Times handing him the wrench. The reporter wanted to get out of the tank he had been in so that he could power up his satellite phone and get his report in before the midnight deadline for his paper. Weird shit happens in wars.
At another point soldiers exited the tanks and went into some bunkers with a pistol and a flashlight like Vietnam tunnel rats and emerged with 15 scared revolutionary guard soldiers, yelling “Don’t shoot don’t shoot,” with their hands up. The bunkers were filled with rotting food and trash and uniforms and helmets of soldiers had fled. The bunkers were also filled with arms and the Iraqis “could’ve killed us before we even knew what happened but they just wanted to surrender.”
A tank has a cupola.
Once inside the palace compound the Marines were receiving mortar fire. One of the soldiers had been trained on how to examine a mortar crater to figure out the trajectory. He did so and even found a mortar that had passed through a palm tree he calculated the angle, knew the range of the type of mortar that was being used looked on an aerial map and saw an Iraqi military compound with a stand of trees that would be the perfect place to launch mortars. Fighter planes and artillery were brought in to obliterate the site and the mortar fire stopped.
The author describes blow by blow, machine gun bullet by machine gun bullet, coax gun by coax gun, RPG by RPG, main gun by main gun the battles along Highway 8 to secure the three overpasses and then maintain the perimeters as they’re getting shot at from buildings, and trenches, and bunk houses along the route. Convoys of fuel and ammunition supplies were sent up Highway 8 from the airport, one with armored vehicles and the other with thin walled, wheeled vehicles that could go faster. The column with armored vehicles got shot up and they lost several other vehicles and the one with we wheeled vehicles got through they could go about 45 miles an hour without armored track vehicles with them
The author describes friendly fire instances that on several instances killed US soldiers and all kinds of other fuck ups. You also learn details like when one tank wouldn’t start and another came up and used his “slave cables” which are basically big jumper cables to start the tank. One fella while closing the tank hatch got some of his outfit stuck in the hatch and when a crewmember below him pulled him down he pulled off his whole outfit and he fought the rest of the day in his underwear.
They did manage to get fuel and ammunition to all three intersections and to the people hold up in the palace but that night there was a counterattack by Iraqis with RPG‘s. The areas of the Americans were holding included the palace, the Al Rashid hotel and all kinds of other buildings and they were unable to secure the entire perimeter leaving big gaps between the soldiers and tanks etc. The officers were worried about getting overrun in the night just like at Mogadishu. 30 guys with RPG’s did make a nighttime attack when half of the US soldiers were asleep. A battle ensued running into the next day with similar details described though the Iraqis were running out of enthusiasm.
I have read a lot of war books and Zucchino is a great historian and writer but a bullet-by-bullet story of this Thunder Run is not that interesting. He does give a vivid description of the chaos of war and how easy it is to make mistakes. And he tells a good story about the professionalism of the US military.
April 7, 2022
“Thunder Run: the armored strike to capture Baghdad,” by David Zucchino (Atlantic Monthly, 2004). On April 5-7, 2003, during the Iraq War, the Spartan Brigade of the Third Infantry Division (Mechanized), charged straight along Highway 8 into the center of Baghdad. It was not planned nor expected that this would happen. Army planners expected several weeks of fighting around the city, essentially a siege. But the armored units, against fierce but disorganized opposition, just plunged into the heart of the city. This account uses dozens of interviews from soldiers involved in the assault. Two things stand out for me: how powerful and rugged the M1A1 Abrams tanks were, and how well-trained the American soldiers were. No tanks were destroyed by Iraqi fire, there were very few Americans killed, but thousands of Iraqis died. Many regular Iraqi army troops basically ran away, but many others fought very bravely and tenaciously, but apparently they were not well trained and did not have powerful enough or modern enough antitank weapons. The Americans were worried about getting trapped in urban fighting for which tanks were not well-suited (think of Blackhawk Down in Mogadishu, or Israelis fighting in Lebanon---although this book never mentions that encounter). Instead, they just went right through into the city. This is not quite a rah-rah version---occasionally the troops, and even the commanders, were confused. Still, it’s an exciting but clear-eyed account of the battle, which was the decisive fight of the war. Zucchino spends a good deal of time describing how it happened that American troops fired on the Palestine Hotel and killed a number of journalists there. There are some very gruesome moments.
https://groveatlantic.com/book/thunde...
https://groveatlantic.com/book/thunde...
September 29, 2019
This embed's relation of the initial engagement of armored units south of the city that saw most of the Republican Guard's assets destroyed and routes in the southern outskirts of the city occupied. On 5 April, Task Force 1–64 Armor of the U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry Division executed a raid, later called the "Thunder Run", to test remaining Iraqi defenses, with 29 tanks and 14 Bradley armored fighting vehicles advancing to the Baghdad airport. They met heavy resistance, but were successful in reaching the airport. U.S. troops faced heavy fighting in the airport, but eventually secured the airport. This book also covers the next day, when a brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division attacked into downtown Baghdad and occupied one of the palaces of Saddam Hussein in fierce fighting. U.S. Marines also faced heavy shelling from Iraqi artillery as they attempted to cross a river bridge, but the river crossing was successful. The generally overwhelming force and ability delivered by U.S. forces onto an untrained and dispirited Iraqis as well as avid if ineffectual Arab mercenaries actually becomes as redundant (boring) as it is one-sided. How many ways are there to describe coax vs. flesh? One thing that kept this interesting to me is the accounts of about a half dozen Iraqis in the Rashomon effect spin on various melees.
There is also significant detail on the unfortunate and controversial incident that occurred on April 8, 2003 when an American tank fired a shell on the Palestine Hotel, killing and wounding journalists.
There is also significant detail on the unfortunate and controversial incident that occurred on April 8, 2003 when an American tank fired a shell on the Palestine Hotel, killing and wounding journalists.
July 26, 2020
Blackhawk Down with tanks. This covers the Battle of Baghdad in April 2003. Zucchino embedded with 2nd BDE, 3rd ID during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Zucchino soda thorough job interviewing members of the brigade. He even lists the Silver Star, Bronze Star, and Purple Heart recipients in his acknowledgements. This is the story of how 3ID conducted it's thunder runs on the Iraqi highways to capture Baghdad. The epilogue has an ominous warning of the long war that was to come as 2nd BDE moves to Fallujah and becomes targets as the insurgency rises out of the ashes of Saddam's military and Baath party.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 25, 2021
Detaljrik gjennomgang som dekker siste faser i slaget om Baghdad. Litt for mange personer og personlige skildringer gjør at jeg tidvis faller av, men likevel en god kronologisk tråd som dekker mange av faktiske beslutningspunkter og de dilemmaene man stod i.
Needless to say, tapstallene på irakisk side indikerer en ren nedslakting. Selv om det er nyanser av hva flere irakere foretok seg i april 2003 får man ikke helt svar på hva lå bak i form av tanker eller beslutninger høyere enn individnivå.
Needless to say, tapstallene på irakisk side indikerer en ren nedslakting. Selv om det er nyanser av hva flere irakere foretok seg i april 2003 får man ikke helt svar på hva lå bak i form av tanker eller beslutninger høyere enn individnivå.
March 11, 2021
Zucchino offers a fast paced account of the US armored attack into central Baghdad that captured Hussein's prison complex and helped to push the conventional phase of the 2nd Persian Gulf War to its conclusion.
Zucchino's account is filled with first person accounts from US soldiers (and some Iraqi soldiers and citizens). It is focused on telling the story of the armored thrust and the individual stories with limited analysis and some work to provide context to what it achieved.
Zucchino's account is filled with first person accounts from US soldiers (and some Iraqi soldiers and citizens). It is focused on telling the story of the armored thrust and the individual stories with limited analysis and some work to provide context to what it achieved.
November 13, 2023
"Thunder Run" is right up there with "Black Hawk Down", when it comes to giving the reader a realistic and unvarnished look into combat. It definitely doesn't shy away from describing the carnage and destruction that 3rd Infantry Division fought through on its lightning run through Iraq and into the heart of Baghdad, as well as the fierce battle to hold the city.
November 3, 2020
Pretty good account of tank/infantry warfare in Iraq. Imagine being the brigade to make a bold run into Baghdad and then stay to expand the fight. The Iraqis but up a fight but they were woefully disorganized in the face of superior equipment and training.
October 14, 2022
Great book. Definitely filled in a knowledge gap for me of this operation. This book is also a great resource to provide insight into modern urban warfare and the complexities of a trained professional military struggling to minimize civilian casualties.
May 22, 2024
In-depth, well-researched. Firsthand look at the Thunder Run into Iraq from multiple perspectives as well as important insight on the breakdown of civil society following the US military’s battlefield victory and lack of foresight or clear policy direction for what was to be done in-country.
October 30, 2026
I cracked open Thunder Run: The Armored Strike to Capture Baghdad looking for a casual read, but David Zucchino came through with a brutal critique of how hierarchy distorts truth and keeps us playing by broken rules.
May 15, 2018
Armored Warfare
Great book about modern armored warfare. Exciting, thrilling and factual. It also provides a glimpse into what our generation of warriors had to go through.
Great book about modern armored warfare. Exciting, thrilling and factual. It also provides a glimpse into what our generation of warriors had to go through.
February 21, 2020
This is a detailed account and at times is overwhelming but gives an accurate account of what war is like.
May 3, 2020
If only everyone could listen to the conversations had at my family's dinner table expanding upon what is already an incredible historical account.
July 17, 2020
This book should be on every armor officer’s shelf. A very well written account of a wildly impressive operation.
May 17, 2022
Superb story telling. One of the best "in the thick of it" narratives about modern military conflicts.
January 15, 2023
I am so thankful to the women and men of the US military. Thank you for your service.
January 22, 2024
well written and hard to put down. Details the planning and how things always change once the battle start, hard to put down
July 4, 2024
Good book for all the Jedi Tankers out there.
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