Over the course of the next few days, mortar and artillery fire steadily decreased. "It put them plumb in mind of aerial. A man stepped out indicating to his apparently pregnant wife inside and held up empty water bottles. 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. Destruction of the dam would have significantly affected the functioning of the country's electrical grid and could cause major flooding downstream from the dam. We sent a hundred guys, and they had like a battalion, so we were outnumbered. He was a good man, a damned-good man and well all miss him forever. Buy HD $2.99 More purchase options 4. B Squadron came and relieved us. The cost of the line was US$56.7 million and was paid by Iraq's oil revenues. The medics removed Feldbuschs blood-covered helmet and suctioned his airway, hoping to avoid a tracheotomy. 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 Rangers located the guards, rendered first aid, and carried them up to the top of the dam, all while still under attack from the south. Unbeknownst to the Marines, AQI had filled the girls bag with hand grenades and had instructed her to press a detonator button when she passed close to the Marines. The Battle for Haditha dam was the single largest engagement of the war fought to control the largest single strategic point of the conflict. The Iraqi dictator's claims that the US would target and destroy the dam complicated matters further. Best of all, reinforcements, initially in the form of a pair of M1A1 Abrams tanks, finally began to arrive. One of the great stories of modern war, it remained untold for years. The Haditha Dam also controlled the flow of the Euphrates into the lower Euphrates/Tigris River Valley. Staff Sergeant James Narrow (pseudonym), B 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. Within minutes, an A-10 rolled in and dropped a two thousand pound bomb just three hundred meters from 2nd Platoons location. By clicking Sign up, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider Yet one of the greatest Americanand Iraqivictories in the long conflict occurred in the little-reported Haditha Triad region of western Iraqs Al Anbar Province. However, having steeled themselves through the barrage, none were interested in giving the facility back to the Iraqis. Bonaparte the Bookworm Napoleon Was An Avid Reader; So What Were His Favourite Books? 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. 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 Guard F-16 that was Winchester showed up and kept making faux gun runs on the enemy which really helped to hold them at bay. By their eighth day on the dam, Doyles remaining 150 men were finally relieved and being transported back to H-1. The movie follows the story of the Marines of Kilo Company, an Iraqi family, and the insurgents who plant the roadside bomb. She didnt understand the instructions, so AQI set the bomb off remotely shortly after she rode by the Americans, killing her instantly. Another mortar team, firing from a small island, was engaged and silenced by a Ranger Javelin team. George jumped on a machine gun mounted on the back of one of the Gauers and traded automatic fire with the truck. Task Force Merrill January 30, 2016 41min TV-14 The battle started on 24 March 2003 when Rangers from 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, conducted a combat parachute drop onto H-1 Air Base, securing the site as a staging area for operations in the west. We loaded him and the Air Force man into one of the DAPs and it flew them off. He is an author, researcher, game designer, photographer, 2023 Defense Media Network. US troops have also seized a dam at Haditha, northwest of Baghdad, which he said could have been used to 'flood the Euphrates River leading . John D. Gresham lives in Fairfax, Va. Securing it was one of the first objectives of US special forces . Since the 2003 invasion, various U.S. Marine units had been stationed at the dam, as well as a small detachment of soldiers from Azerbaijan. See more stories on Insider's business page. The new arrivals had little time for reunions, however, as they were almost immediately ordered to move out for Objective LynxHadithah Dam. The numbers in that fight were calculated out to be 1:22. After several coordination delays, the Rangers ultimately moved out at 2240, two hours later than planned. Barrett products are used by civilians, sport shooters, law enforcement agencies, the United States military, and more than 75 State Department-approved countries around the world. The Rangers even reached out to several local clerics, who helped calm the local populace. Stay up to date with what you want to know. The Delta team's reconnaissance of the dam indicated that a larger force would be needed to seize and hold it, so a request was made and approved for a second Delta squadron from Fort Bragg to be dispatched with a further Ranger battalion, along with M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks from C Company, 2nd Battalion 70th Armored Regiment. John Gale (pseudonym) said, I was facing forward when I felt this blow to my lower left back. US commanders chose the Rangers of B Company, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment to take the dam. Stopping short because the position was still under attack, the Rangers left their vehicle behind a three-foot concrete wall and traveled the final hundred meters on foot. Eight US Marines faced charges in the deaths, but only one was convicted of a crime, that of negligent dereliction of duty.. Taking advantage of the bright daylight, he directed his platoons to concentrate on clearing areas skipped during the frenzy of the initial assault. P.S., The cartoon I made in honor of Chief Greg Coker made it to T-Shirts at SOFREP (Geos Winchester) pretty slick! A Battle For Haditha Dam Aired on Jan 24, 2016 Iraq 2003: A group of U.S. Army Rangers fights to seize control of Haditha Dam - a strategically key location in Operation Iraqi Freedom - when. Chief Greg Coker joined Ranger Company C to conduct mission planning for the next important objective in the fight for the dam. Returning to the ROD site, CPT Doyle assembled his First Sergeant, MAJ Kilburn, and SFC Stanley Morgan (pseudonym), the fire support noncommissioned officer, to develop a plan. Lauder called in Little Bird attack helicopters for additional support. THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING VETERAN JOURNALISM - JOIN SOFREP+ Feb 29. Late on the April 1, Doyle was informed that the expected relief forces would be delayed, and he would have to hold until relieved. While clearly facing a tough job, Doyle was not without means to hold on. 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. Finally, the Rangers demonstrated the value that a flexible, cohesive, and highly trained assault force can bring to the modern battlefield. The movie follows the story of the Marines of Kilo Company, an Iraqi family, and the insurgents who plant the roadside bomb. On our route back we stopped again in the vicinity of Haditha dam and conducted a 21-Gun Salute in Georges honor. Two nights later we headed east toward Tikrit traveling longer than we should have into dawn, passing a Bedouine camp in the process. Read Next: Battle of Haditha Dam: The saga comes to an end One man flew the gunship while the other leaned outside and gunned downed the Iraqis below. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Visit his website www.darack.com or follow him on Twitter @EdDarack. Endurance: B Company Under Fire On April 5, no artillery was fired at the Rangers, and they began expand their perimeter from their original blocking positions. Following the Battle of Haditha Dam, Delta Force handed the dam over to the Rangers and headed north to conduct ambushes along the highway above Tikrit, tying up Iraqi forces in the region and attempting to capture fleeing high-value targets trying to escape to Syria. Smith aimed and registered the first enemy kill of the operation. The Rangers rapidly reduced the distance between vehicles, and raced toward the objective at sixty kilometers per hour. The leaflets announced the Marines intention to bring normalcy back to the area. Their actions earned CSM Birch and SFC Duncan Silver Star commendations.11. 3rd Platoon spent the morning consolidating enemy prisoners and improving its own fighting positions.15, In the afternoon, CPT Doyle issued an order to CPT Thompson to clear the eastern half of the dam complex. First Lieutenant Graham White, B Company, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, interview by Lieutenant Colonel Robert W. Jones, Jr., 23 October 2003, Fort Benning, GA, tape recording, USASOC History Office Classified Files, Fort Bragg, NC. Captain David Doyle, B Company, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, interview by David Jenkins, 23 October 2003, Fort Benning, GA, tape recording, USASOC History Office Classified Files, Fort Bragg, NC. Early on the night of April 1, the Rangers and Delta Force operators stormed the dam. 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. 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. 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 turning point came after a series of atrocities committed by AQI insurgents fighters used local children as unwitting suicide bombers. For their actions against the enemy, they both received the Silver Star. White desperately searched for the gravel road that would lead them to the dam. Critics Consensus. South of the dam, a Ranger platoon secured the dam's power station and electricity transformer against sabotage. Iraq 2003: A group of U.S. Army Rangers fights to seize control of Haditha Dam - a strategically key location in Operation Iraqi Freedom - when they realize they are outnumbered by a strong Iraqi force. 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. This corridor proved critical to al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) throughout the war. They had all been killed, wounded, or rudely spanked into a state of little or no desire to fight the small American Special Operations force any farther. 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. Their violent house-searches lead to the massacre of 24 people, many of whom are women and children - tragic . About the same time, 3rd/C began to move down into Objective Cobalt, on the river level below the dam face. Haditha Dam was designated "Objective Lynx." West of Lynx was Objective Serpent, an old airfield and pumping station. The next battalion to occupy the region, the First Battalion of the Third Marine Regiment, didnt suffer a single loss of life. During their deployment, 3/3 maintained a strong outside the wire presence throughout the Haditha Triad, making great strides in the counterinsurgency campaign in the areabut at a cost; the battalion lost 15 of their members. U.S. Army photo. The Battle of Haditha Dam: The beer is on us! Twenty-nine tanks and three trucks also fell to the Ranger-directed airstrikes, along with 300 to 400 enemy killed by the time that they were relieved. With all enemy combatants either under coalition control or having fled, by the end of the week the Rangers turned their attention to helping the newly arrived Civil Affairs team rehabilitate the dam.21. Mar 23. Platoon sergeant SFC Roger Sherry (pseudonym) spotted an Iraqi peeking from behind the gatehouse, but he was quickly captured. The movie follows the story of the Marines of Kilo Company, an Iraqi family, and the insurgent 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. All Rights Reserved. Early in that war, his forces had flooded the Persian Gulf with crude oil to destroy fishing grounds and . RLTW! 1LT White and his driver, Sergeant (SGT) Thomas Corley (pseudonym), guided the formation through the narrow opening in the breached fence, and onto a raised gravel road, which precipitously dropped thirty feet down on each side. The Marines convinced Farouk to establish a resurgent police force, with he as the chief. Along with providing flood control and a third of Iraq's electrical generation capacity, the dam provided the only other crossing of the Euphrates River west of Baghdad. Mar 02. Men, women, and children walked the streets freely. US intelligence estimates put the number of enemy at more than 3,000, with over 1,000 killed in action and many more wounded. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Ed Darak is the author of The Warriors of Anbar. W hen militants in Iraq made their . Anticipating two buildings, Lauder and his men soon discovered twelve more buildings not depicted on maps. The 2nd Squad Rangers repositioned their vehicles on the north side of the road and responded to the enemy fire with MK19 grenade launchers and heavy weapons of their own. By what name was Battle for Haditha (2007) officially released in Canada in English? The biggest test of those Ranger qualities began late on April 2, when the first of over 350 Iraqi 155 mm artillery shells began to land around the dam complex. Chief came to be friends with the Fire Support Officer (FSO) of Company A, Captain Russ Rippetoe, in the time they spent working together to bring effective fire support to the Rangers. Fighters, weapons, money and supplies flowed into and out of Iraq from Syria through the corridor, as well as between strongholds along it. Big-hearted Russ Rippetoe and two Rangers gathered some water bottles and brought them to the car. The film was shot in an unconventional way whereas instead of a detailed script, there was only an outline of each scene and where the story was going. Mustang vs. Corsair Inside the U.S. Navys 1944 Match-Up Between the Two Fighters, Most Wanted The Nine Worst Nazi War Criminals (and How They Died), Battlefield Stalingrad Four Maps That Tell the Story of World War Twos Pivotal Struggle, Bloody First Contact When Vikings Clashed with Native North Americans. The Target. With 1st Squad leader SSG Jesse Ragan in the lead, three vehicles and twenty-seven Rangers maneuvered down the steep embankment into Objective Cobalt. Top editors give you the stories you want delivered right to your inbox each weekday. Located northwest of Baghdad, the dam was built during the Cold War to provide hydroelectric power for central Iraq, including Baghdad. Mar 02. Almost immediately, RPG and small arms fire crisscrossed over the hood of the vehicle. But a small special-operations contingent was sent to an objective close to the Iraqi capital. Ten Iraqi mortar tubes, along with dozens of machine guns and RPG launchers, opened up on the Rangers, sending them running for cover. The Rangers seizure of Hadithah Dam was crucial in the early stages of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. However, when the Iraqis shot at the lead vehicle and then dove into a bunker, the Rangers concluded that these particular armed individuals were, indeed, hostile. A Battle For Haditha Dam Buy TV-14 CC The Warfighters 164M subscribers Subscribe 37 The Warfighters S1 E3 Iraq 2003: A group of U.S. Army Rangers fights to seize control of Haditha Dam a. With robust designs and vintage classic style, discover the heritage of military timepieces today! AQI set up a shadow government in the region and increased both the frequency and viciousness of their attacks. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of any material on this site without expressand written permission from the author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Unable to access the area from the top of the dam, CPT Taylor directed his men to reverse course and head back through 1st Platoons blocking position. By midday of the 1st, CPT Doyle felt that the Rangers effectively controlled the dam. [1] As the vehicle retreated, leaving a trail of oil behind it, another round hit MK19 gunner Corporal (CPL) Jon Gale (pseudonym) in his body armor, knocking him backwards. 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. It was a routine they would conduct many times over in the week ahead. The Premier Online Military History Magazine. All day on April 1, groups of 50 to 100 Iraqi solders would form up in human wave attacks on 3rd/C, only to be beaten back by the two Ranger 120 mm mortar tubes, airstrikes, and accurate small arms fire. Rangers were alert and kept the car at gunpoint, as no Iraqis were to be trusted at this point in the battle. 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. Golf Company was dispatched to Haqlaniyah. US reinforcements arrived and relieved the battered Rangers. The roots of the Haditha Dam seizure date to long before the start of OIF. Colonel Farouk held firm. Russ was out on one of A Companys roadblocks set up to keep civilians from wandering onto the dam. Star Jared Shaw Even better, by April 10, USAF C-17s were flying in Civil Affairs and engineering personnel to bring the dams generators back on-line, with the help of the civilian employees captured on April 1. 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. Support Veteran Journalism . Ordering his 1st squad to lay down suppressive fire, the other two squads moved up and took a number of the guard force personnel prisoner. Unfortunately, SPC Alan (pseudonym) made a wrong turn on the way down, and entered a developed area serving as an academy for antiaircraft artillery. By April 6, despite an occasional 155 mm artillery round lobbed into their positions, the Rangers had expanded their perimeter several thousand yards downstream. 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. By the end of their deploymentafter 23 of their ranks had died and 177 having sustained serious woundsAQI forces in the area were finally defeated. Significant actions, or SIGACTS Marine terminology for attacks went from over 300 per month to less than six. The Marines fought an army of phantoms on a battlefield of shadows. Read all Director Nick Broomfield Writers Weapons or Whiskey Company, re-tasked to function like an infantry line company, went to a number of locations throughout the desert south of Haditha, but spent most of their time at the small village of Albu Hyatt. While Rangers scrambled to finalize operational details, a pair of AH-6 Little Bird attack helicopters arrived at the assembly site to provide an aerial escort and close air support to the assault force. The bomb obliterated the attackers, and shattered every window in the dam complex. Later I found that the round had hit the plate around an inch up and in from the lower left corner, which was right over my left kidney. Marines erected an earthen berm around key portions of the Triad, walling it off, while biometric automated toolsets (or BATs), portable finger print and retina scanning gear, helped mobile patrols verify the identities of locals and detect insurgents. Platoon sergeant SFC James Lauder (pseudonym) led a squad to the south side of the road to clear buildings. An Iraqi man exited the vehicle and pointed to his seemingly pregnant wife still in the car, shouting to the American commandos for water and medical assistance. For Christmas they dressed up as Santas and elves gave toys. "We always work well together as a combat team, a well-oiled machine. Nevertheless, power continues to be generated, and road traffic passes over the Euphrates River every day. PO Box 1077 MURFREESBORO, Tennessee 37133 United States, P.O. as well as other partner offers and accept our. 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. Command Sgt. Destruction of the dam would have significantly affected the functioning of the country's electrical grid and could cause major flooding downstream from the dam. Stores were shuttered, schools closed and hospitals inoperable, all the while the enemy would attack and then slip away. A side effect of extended exposure to enemy fire, especially artillery and mortars, it has the ability to disable even the most hardened veterans. Led by Staff Sgt. A quarter of the way across, a vehicle came barreling down on the Rangers. As they stepped near, the couple detonated a Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED) which instantly killed Russ and the two Rangers. Already tired from almost two weeks of continuous operations, and fully exposed to the elements and noise of the barrage, some of the young Rangers began to fall victim. This was the cue to steel for the assault. THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING VETERAN JOURNALISM - JOIN SOFREP+ . By April 6, 2003, reinforcements, including a brace of Abrams main battle tanks, began to arrive. According to the Marines of 3/3 and 2/3 who followed the news of the area for years after these deployments, ISIS never took the Haditha Triad area. "Intel had briefed us that there was light resistance and eight to 10 personnel on the dam. I have spent some time with Iraq veterans and I feel this movie did a very accurate job portraying what they went through. The ensuing four-day battle at Haditha Dam was the single largest engagement of the entire war. 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