At least, that was the plan.1. History of Army Corps of Engineers Projects: Missile and Space Programs to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, How 80 Coast Guardsmen Saved an Alaskan Town During Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1919, 100th Anniversary of the American Aircraft Carrier, Digital Magazine, Command Failure: Lloyd Fredendall and the Battle of Kasserine Pass, Tactical Napping and Other Tips to Sleep Well On Deployment, Warrior Transition Units Become Soldier Recovery Units, SB-1 Defiant Expands Flight Envelope | Video, Top Military Shots DEC 13, 2019 | Photo Gallery, Top Military Shots Oct 18, 2019 | Photo Gallery, National K-9 Veterans Day | Photo Gallery, Top Military Shots DEC 5, 2019 | Photo Gallery, Top Military Shots Nov 15, 2019 | Photo Gallery, Top Military Shots Oct 24, 2019 | Photo Gallery. 616K views 1 year ago #TheWarfighters Iraq 2003: A group of U.S. Army Rangers fights to seize control of Haditha Dam - a key location in Operation Iraqi Freedom - when they realize they are. Based on their Afghanistan experience, the Rangers knew that a guy with a weapon did not actually indicate combatant status; everyone carried weapons, both militia and civilians. Flying in broad daylight, the flight arrived at the dam less than an hour after Feldbusch went down. A civilian vehicle approached the Rangers' blocking position at one end of the dam. s01e03 - A Battle for Haditha Dam Transcript detail There is no going back to the person that I was before Haditha Dam. As the GMV reversed direction, the gunner manning the Mk 19 40 mm automatic grenade launcher took a point-blank hit from an AK-47 as the vehicle escaped. The dams capture also prevented any further use of the facility as a river crossing by foreign terrorists, while ensuring its availability to coalition forces. B Squadron came and relieved us. Tribal fighters seen during a battle with ISIS militants, in Haditha, Iraq, Aug. 25, 2014. But then I began to fight my way back. Dawn brought new conflict on the dam. The Target. The Read allAn investigation of the massacre of 24 men, women and children in Haditha, Iraq allegedly shot by 4 U.S. Marines in retaliation for the death of a U.S. Marine killed by a roadside bomb. Command Sgt. Haditha is a city on the Euphrates River northwest of Baghdad, Iraq. The Marines convinced Farouk to establish a resurgent police force, with he as the chief. We had already hit Objective Serpent and were up at Lynx calling for fire at Haditha dam until Greg Ironhead Birch showed up with a whole battalion of Rangers he really knows how to show up to a fight proper. White desperately searched for the gravel road that would lead them to the dam. Coker and the other Night Stalkers flew several danger-close missions in support of the American commandos on the ground. The company arrived at the ROD site just as the sun welcomed a new day. Duncan radioed CPT Doyle, relayed the situation, and requested permission to recover the wounded Iraqis. 33 Reviews 2,500+ Ratings. I think I just laid down in the corner of the position and stayed there for a while; how long I just dont know. Captain Timothy Donald (pseudonym), A Company, 2nd Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, interview by Dr. Charles H. Briscoe, 12 September 2003, Fort Campbell, KY, tape recording, USASOC History Office Classified Files, Fort Bragg, NC. Chief cleared the way for Tony and watched him offload his Ranger and drone. After several coordination delays, the Rangers ultimately moved out at 2240, two hours later than planned. John D. Gresham lives in Fairfax, Va. Drama History War An investigation of the massacre of 24 men, women and children in Haditha, Iraq allegedly shot by 4 U.S. Marines in retaliation for the death of a U.S. Marine killed by a roadside bomb. His efforts would prove crucial in the following months, when al Qaeda would launch an all-out, last-ditch effort to keep control of the Haditha Triad. The Battle of Haditha Dam: Mowing Iraqis down like bowling pins. The ensuing four-day battle at Haditha Dam was the single largest engagement of the entire war. The cost of the line was US$56.7 million and was paid by Iraq's oil revenues. Then, as if in a movie, he hit it dead on: there was the gravel road, and the asphalt road two hundred meters further on. We were racked out just a few hours when one of our men on guard reported a truck approaching with a DShK heavy machine gun mounted on it. RLTW! Captain Brad Thompson, C Company, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, interview by Dr. Charles H. Briscoe, 23 October 2003, Fort Benning, GA, tape recording, USASOC History Office Classified Files, Fort Bragg, NC. CPT Doyle briefed his plan to the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR) pilots and tweaked the fire support plan. We loaded him and the Air Force man into one of the DAPs and it flew them off. When the hawk landed at the FARP, Objective Serpent, Chief and another Ranger unloaded the bodies of the three men and then wept for the loss. I thought about the Ranger creed and all the other guys on the dam, and slowly started getting back in the fight. Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window), The Battle for Haditha The U.S. Marines Greatest Untold Victory of the Iraq War, Raid on Los Baos The WW2 Prison Camp Rescue That History Forgot , Huzzah! Military Historys Ten Most Famous Battle Cries, The Battle for Haditha The U.S. Marines' Greatest Untold Victory of the Iraq War MilitaryHistoryNow.com | CENSORED.TODAY. Tony knew Chief had his back with his six-guns. John D. Gresham The senior employee of the group expedited the search for demolitions by guiding a squad to key locations within the facility. The Marines fought an army of phantoms on a battlefield of shadows. Almost immediately, RPG and small arms fire crisscrossed over the hood of the vehicle. They were augmented with a Delta Force sniper/reconnaissance team from C Squadron, while the elite pilots of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, the "Night Stalkers," would provide air support. down I could see that I had been hit, but that the round had hit the last chance plate on the back of my body armor. Opening his well-worn Ranger handbook on the hood of his vehicle, Doyle quickly constructed an operations order. The Battle of Haditha Dam: The beer is on us! John Gale (pseudonym) said, I was facing forward when I felt this blow to my lower left back. The medics bandaged Feldbuschs face and carried him to the truck, avoiding impacting artillery rounds all the way. They were a pitiful sight to be sure, the prisoners were; just ordinary men, they two. Dividing 2nd Platoon into two elements, 1LT White led one section toward the western administrative tower, and his platoon sergeant, Sergeant First Class (SFC) Jeffrey Duncan, led the other eastward across the causeway. When Lauder and his team arrived, Feldbusch was not breathing and his face was turning blue. The Battle of Haditha Dam: The beer is on us! The Iraqis counterattacked with infantry, tanks, and artillery, pressuring the Rangers to their limits. Battle of Haditha Dam: Former Delta operator and Ranger Sergeant Major saves the day by George E. Hand IV Mar 13, 2020 Share This: You can read the previous part here. Chief Greg Coker joined Ranger Company C to conduct mission planning for the next important objective in the fight for the dam. A hidden battery of Iraqi 155 mm howitzers also pounded the beleaguered Rangers for hours, prompting brief memories of the artillery barrages of World War I. The movie follows the story of the Marines of Kilo Company, an Iraqi family, and the insurgent. Soon after 1st Platoons firefight, CPT Doyle repositioned his troops and prepared for the next phase of the once-uncomplicated mission. With the top of the dam now clear, 2nd/B moved to their blocking positions at the northeast end. Russ was there with the Rangers when a car pulled up several meters from the barricade. The new arrivals had little time for reunions, however, as they were almost immediately ordered to move out for Objective LynxHadithah Dam. They are hardly targets of no significance. While the hindsight of bystanders is always 20/20, the crucible of battle makes the situation at the moment of truth far less certain for those in the fight. There, like a cornered, wounded animal, they would put up their final fight. Mar 23. During the 2003 invasion of Iraq, United States Army Rangers seized the Haditha Dam on 1 April in order to prevent it from being destroyed. A Battle For Haditha Dam Jan 24, 2016 | 42m 11s | tv-14 v,l | CC Iraq 2003: A group of U.S. Army Rangers fights to seize control of Haditha Dam - a strategically key location in Operation. The next battalion to occupy the region, the First Battalion of the Third Marine Regiment, didnt suffer a single loss of life. The Rangers followed the same procedure as in the western building, breaking and blowing down doors, and collecting all items of potential intelligence value. Later, the Iraqis tried to infiltrate some personnel near the bridge in a kayak and several small boats, which were promptly sunk. Your donations help keep MHN afloat. As American and coalition forces focused on Baghdad and the nearby cities of Fallujah and Ramadi, AQI would retreat to the relative safety of the Triad to rest, train, regroup and plan new attacks. However, it took the Rangers many hours to clear the dam complex due to its huge size and the hundreds of rooms it contained. That night the enemy closed to within two hundred meters of 2nd Platoons positions, pinning down the Rangers with RPGs. The rest of 3rd/C continued to take heavy Iraqi fire from a pair of buildings, which would continue to be a problem for the next three days. With robust designs and vintage classic style, discover the heritage of military timepieces today! Back at the FARP Chief refueled and reloaded immediately, ready to spring from Serpent to re-engage with any froggy Arabs. stay. W hen militants in Iraq made their . An investigation of the massacre of 24 men, women and children in Haditha, Iraq allegedly shot by 4 U.S. Marines in retaliation for the death of a U.S. Marine killed by a roadside bomb. Platoon sergeant SFC Roger Sherry (pseudonym) spotted an Iraqi peeking from behind the gatehouse, but he was quickly captured. One of the most horrific examples of this occurred when a squad from Echo Company happened across a young Iraqi girl on a bicycle wearing a Mickey Mouse backpack. The crucial battle for Baghdad may have begun on Wednesday with invading US forces launching a pincer attack on Republican Guard units and were reported to be just 35km away from the Iraqi capital. Delta Force recce operators drove through Iraqi lines around the Haditha Dam on customised ATVs, marking targets for Coalition airstrikes resulting in the eventual destruction of a large number of Iraqi armored vehicles and antiaircraft systems. Chief called his five-minute approach warning to Mo on the call for fire frequency. While most of the rounds fell in the lake, every platoon had a few shells fall within a kilometer of their position. The angle of attack prevented the Rangers from returning effective fire, so they were forced to call in air support. Unfortunately, the mortars were replaced by 152 millimeter heavy artillery from the southwest. The real challenge was one of toughness and endurance, for as the sun set on April Fools Day 2003, he had no real idea when the 154 men in his force would be relieved. The Marines convinced Farouk to establish a resurgent police force, with he as the chief. Five of the armed Iraqi guards died instantly, and another nine piled out of the truck, taking cover behind the concrete railings along the dam. Almost 5 miles long and 200 feet high, the dam is one of the largest in the world and can provide electricity to hundreds of thousands of homes, even reaching Baghdad more than 150 miles away. Amazingly, Alan escaped with only a gunshot wound to his toe, and Gale was unhurt.13, Last in the movement order, 1st Platoon established two blocking positions across the road leading to the dam complex. Mideast Water Wars: In Iraq, A Battle for Control of Water Conflicts over water have long haunted the Middle East. The Herculean task of clearing nine floors of ten offices each, a control room, locked bathrooms, and balconies, rested solely on Whites section of approximately twenty Rangers. They secured the antiaircraft artillery academy to the south, and cleared out the cache of munitions. Coker, a Night Stalker pilot and author of "Death Waits in the Dark," spent 30 years in uniform and completed 11 combat tours. A quarter of the way across, a vehicle came barreling down on the Rangers. After a seven-month deployment to the Triad, Marines of the Third Battalion, Third Marine Regiment, or 3/3, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Norman Norm Cooling, began preparing to return to their home base at Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. Leaving a small guard detail for the workers, the rest of the Rangers moved topside, and observed that outside the building all hell had broken loose.8, SFC Duncans element saw little additional action until after daybreak. Unfortunately, SPC Alan (pseudonym) made a wrong turn on the way down, and entered a developed area serving as an academy for antiaircraft artillery. Since they did not have counterbattery radar, observers had to visually pick up mortar sites, observation posts, and artillery pieces one at a time, and guide airstrikes to take them out. South of the dam, a Ranger platoon secured the dam's power station and electricity transformer against sabotage. Meanwhile, Rangers on the eastern side engaged a truck carrying fourteen Iraqi soldiers leading to a firefight that the Rangers won, killing at least five Iraqis. The Rangers even reached out to several local clerics, who helped calm the local populace. Running into a strong Iraqi blocking force, Capt. Quickly regaining their composure, the Rangers returned fire and began to call in airstrikes to take out the mortar positions. Buy HD $2.99 More purchase options 4. By late on the evening of April 2, a number of Doyles Rangers were showing signs of the disorder, as shells fell steadily around their positions. Lauder called in Little Bird attack helicopters for additional support. Fortunately, the Rangers had ample close air support, and passed the fire mission to the A-10 Thunderbolt (Warthog) pilots. The Triad would become one of the most violent places in the war, as the terrorist network oppressed the local citizenry and lashed out at American forces deployed to the region. The Iraqis, however, kept trying to get back to the dam. They were outnumbered and outgunned, and still stayed in the fight. The movie follows the story of the Marines of Kilo Company, an Iraqi family, and the insurgent Read allAn investigation of the massacre of 24 men, women and children in Haditha, Iraq allegedly shot by 4 U.S. Marines in retaliation for the death of a U.S. Marine killed by a roadside bomb. A side effect of extended exposure to enemy fire, especially artillery and mortars, it has the ability to disable even the most hardened veterans. They even launched a SCUD missile at the airfield, but the Rangers and Night Stalkers there held them off. On 1 April, C squadron, Delta Force and 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment conducted a night-time ground assault into the target on foot and in armored vehicles against the Haditha Dam complex. The movie follows the story of the Marines of Kilo Company, an Iraqi family, and the insurgents who plant the roadside bomb. For Halloween, members of Echo Company dressed up in costume during their patrols went door-to-door to hand out candy. Summary of all of the indirect fire engagements during the seven days at Haditha Dam. Amazingly, none of the Rangers was hit. On 30 March, Captain (CPT) David Doyle led B Company, and the attached section of 120 mm heavy mortars, from H1 to a remote desert landing strip (DLS) for refuel on the way to a remain-over-day (ROD) site. In Haditha, the center of gravity of the battalions fight, Echo Company worked hand-in-hand with Farouk and his fledgling police force. Seeing that I had not been hurt, I got back onto my weapon and helped get us out of there. Again the man indicated to his wife and the need for water. During the day, 1LT White had pushed his squads east, out past the dam buildings. Another mortar team, firing from a small island, was engaged and silenced by a Ranger Javelin team. But for that, I would almost certainly be dead.. Battle of Haditha Dam: The saga comes to an end. Located in northwestern Iraq, Haditha Dam was a strategic target for both sides. Star Jared Shaw About the same time, 3rd/C began to move down into Objective Cobalt, on the river level below the dam face. Feb 29. The convoy lost its aerial escort when a ground vehicles broken gearbox delayed progress to the point where the Little Birds had to divert for fuel.3. Mar 02. Relating the incident later, Cpl. One of the Ranger's rounds went through an Iraqi soldier and into a nearby propane tank, which exploded and killed the other two members of the RPG team. All Rights Reserved. Through the predawn darkness, the Rangers spotted three armed individuals standing in front of a small building, seemingly just looking around. Visit his website www.darack.com or follow him on Twitter @EdDarack. Battle For Haditha - November 19th 2005, Haditha, Iraq Iraqi insurgents bomb a convoy of US Marines, resulting in the death of their most popular officer. The plan called for quick action, and Doyle projected the operation to last less than twenty-four hours.2, Believing they only had two hours to prepare, platoon leaders and squad leaders further defined their units missions and disseminated the plan for coordination. Sniper attacks and ambushes by insurgent bands armed with machine guns and rocket propelled grenades erupted throughout region. On the fourth day of the battle, the Rangers suffered their first casualties in an attack that foreshadowed the coming insurgency. She didnt understand the instructions, so AQI set the bomb off remotely shortly after she rode by the Americans, killing her instantly. That night, the Night Stalkers fired ordnance as close as 12 meters from the Rangers. THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING VETERAN JOURNALISM - JOIN SOFREP+ The locals had finally had enough and began coming forward to the Marines with information about the location of key members of AQI. 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