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The Battle of An Nasiriyah

By John

I've been doing quite a bit of reading into the 2003 fight for An Nasiriyah, widely believed to be the toughest battle of the second Gulf War. I devoured Marines in the Garden of Eden, Richard S. Lowry's account of the Marine action at the Nasiriyah bridgeheads. Lowry's website summarizes the book effectively:

The true story of the bloodiest battle in the campaign to oust Saddam Hussein.

It began on March 23, 2003, a clear Sunday morning in the city of An Nasiriyah, Iraq, where members of the 507th Maintenance Company had become hopelessly lost on their trek through the desert. The enemy ambushed the 507th at first light, killing and wounding twenty-one soldiers and taking six prisoners, including the now-famous Private Jessica Lynch. By nightfall, 18 Marines had given their lives in what would become the battle for An Nasiriyah.

For the next week, An Nasiriyah was rocked with gun and mortar fire, as the Marines of Task Force Tarawa fought to wrest control of the city from Saddam's fanatical followers. This is the story of the battle for "The Nas," as seen through the eyes of the soldiers, sailors, Marines, and newsmen who made it through those terrible seven days, and would never forget what they experienced, what they learned-or those they lost in the name of freedom.

Lowry's website also provided a link to Lt Col Doug Feiring's online journal, which is a first hand account of Feirings' in-the-mud experiences during the 7 day slugout. I liken it to reading the journal of a soldier in the 101st Airborne Division during the Battle of Bastogne. An excerpt:

the_nas.jpe
Col. Feiring's photo of 2/8 moving North into An Nasiriyah.

We spent the day coordinating the movement of several large logistics convoys through Ambush Alley. There were several convoys waiting to get through including one from Marine Wing Support Squadron 374 (MWSS-374). This unit was tasked with establishing an airfield at Qalat Sikar, 60 miles north of An Nasiriyah. They would not be able to move through until the following day and were parked on the road just outside of our camp. One of their lead vehicles was an airfield fire truck with several fuel trucks close behind.
As darkness started to settle, we started getting reports of enemy activity near the railroad station. We lit that place up with artillery. We fired a "Battalion 10" which means each of the 18 howitzers in the artillery battalion fired 10 rounds each. I have never heard such an impressive sound. We all certainly hoped that put the damper on any enthusiasm the Iraqis might have had to attack that night.

Col Feiring's journal is absolutely superb. Read the whole thing.

October 2, 2006 12:35 PM The Long War

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Comments

I believe one of the Marines in 2/8-- "America's Battalion"-- was Capt Charlie of Lightning From the Sky, http://lightning1-2.blogspot.com/.

LtCol P · October 2, 2006 04:13 PM

Have you read Flags of our Fathers yet?

SeeMonk · October 3, 2006 04:52 AM

Indeed I was present for the battle. I missed most of the fighting, however. Echo Co 2/8 found itself in the quieter sectors of the city for most of the battle.

Charlie · October 3, 2006 10:09 AM

Charlie,

I interviewed Kevin Yeo for the book. I do tell a little about your company's exploits south of the Euphrates River.

Also, I tell the story of the battle at the bridge on 24 March and the fight to take the Tykar Military Hospital.

Thank you for your service to our country.

Richard S. Lowry

Richard Lowry · October 3, 2006 10:32 AM

i was there, and no one can understand what happend there. B Co. (aka stuck in the mud bravo)

Strong · October 21, 2006 09:09 PM

I've been trying to find out as much information as possible about our time in Nasiriyah...I was a Sgt. with 1st Plt E 2/8 during those long days. I've spoken with a friend who was in 3rd Plt and it seems they had much more action themselves...there portion of the defensive perimeter faced the city. He managed to always be with one of 2/8's sniper teams and saw quite a bit of carnage throughout the first few days. The free fire zone time was insane...our company corpsman tallied over 5 kills himself. I was lucky enough to have sat in on the interogation of the doctor that treated Jessica Lynch at the hospital on the south end of the city. That is the moment that I seem to remember the clearest. Share your moments, I need the refreshing. Semper Fi.

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