As the sun illuminated the surrounding terrain, sniper SSG Ronnie Jones (pseudonym) spotted Iraqis shooting rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) from the west side of the river, 990 meters away. Later, the Iraqis tried to infiltrate some personnel near the bridge in a kayak and several small boats, which were promptly sunk. Unfortunately, SPC Alan (pseudonym) made a wrong turn on the way down, and entered a developed area serving as an academy for antiaircraft artillery. The time: 1730 hours. 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. Nevertheless, power continues to be generated, and road traffic passes over the Euphrates River every day. 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. Bonaparte the Bookworm Napoleon Was An Avid Reader; So What Were His Favourite Books? One man stood in front of an apparent propane tank with an RPG, and the two others were standing behind the tank. 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. About the same time, 3rd/C began to move down into Objective Cobalt, on the river level below the dam face. The lead Rangers in Duncans element dismounted their vehicles near the western entrance of the dam, and paused to get their bearings. CPT Doyle briefed his plan to the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR) pilots and tweaked the fire support plan. The Rangers followed the same procedure as in the western building, breaking and blowing down doors, and collecting all items of potential intelligence value. Chief flew an escort mission that night for his own teammate Ranger Tony Ely, who was tasked to fly his MH-6 scout helo to the dam to deliver a surveillance drone and operator to the Rangers so they could get long eyes downrange. 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. With a replacement flight of Little Birds providing reconnaissance, the Rangers breached the final barrier, racing to reach the dam before daylight broke. By midday of the 1st, CPT Doyle felt that the Rangers effectively controlled the dam. By April 6, despite an occasional 155 mm artillery round lobbed into their positions, the Rangers had expanded their perimeter several thousand yards downstream. 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. I thought about the Ranger creed and all the other guys on the dam, and slowly started getting back in the fight. By what name was Battle for Haditha (2007) officially released in Canada in English? In the early days of the war, American forces never managed to establish an enduring presence in the region, which allowed AQI to lay down roots there. Spotting two armed Iraqi guards with his night vision devices (Nods), lead vehicle gunner Specialist (SPC) Watson aimed his M2 .50 caliber machine gun at them. Support Veteran Journalism . Stores were shuttered, schools closed and hospitals inoperable, all the while the enemy would attack and then slip away. The cost of the line was US$56.7 million and was paid by Iraq's oil revenues. While it took time, the Americans eventually wound up destroying 24 Iraqi mortars, 28 155 mm artillery pieces, and 23 AAA guns while on the dam. She didnt understand the instructions, so AQI set the bomb off remotely shortly after she rode by the Americans, killing her instantly. Looking. The medics bandaged Feldbuschs face and carried him to the truck, avoiding impacting artillery rounds all the way. Russ was there with the Rangers when a car pulled up several meters from the barricade. He was a good man, a damned-good man and well all miss him forever. 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. 3rd Battalions mission was to draw the Iraqi Armys attention way from the dam, so that special operations forces could cross and secure the facility. 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. Their violent house-searches lead to the massacre of 24 people, many of whom are women and children - tragic . With 1st Squad leader SSG Jesse Ragan in the lead, three vehicles and twenty-seven Rangers maneuvered down the steep embankment into Objective Cobalt. as well as other partner offers and accept our. The roots of the Haditha Dam seizure date to long before the start of OIF. John D. Gresham lives in Fairfax, Va. With robust designs and vintage classic style, discover the heritage of military timepieces today! The new arrivals had little time for reunions, however, as they were almost immediately ordered to move out for Objective LynxHadithah Dam. *Lighting a path to truth* Former Navy JAG Worldwide U.S. Military Defense. By April 6, 2003, reinforcements, including a brace of Abrams main battle tanks, began to arrive. At that point, news also came in that Delta Forces Master Sergeant George Andrew Fernandez had been killed at approximately the same time in a gunfight in a different part of the country. 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. Top editors give you the stories you want delivered right to your inbox each weekday. The Rangers were beginning to flag from the grueling work when they made an adrenaline-producing discovery.7, On the sixth floor, the Rangers found twenty-five startled civilian dam workers. . A Battle for Haditha Dam Episode aired Jan 24, 2016 YOUR RATING Rate Drama Iraq 2003: A group of U.S. Army Rangers fights to take control of Haditha Dam when they realize they are outnumbered. One particularly pesky mortar position, on an island about 2,000 yards behind the dam, was taken out with a Javelin anti-tank missile, along with a pair of 1,000-pound bombs. 3rd/C swept back down toward Objective Cobalt below the dam. The Battle of Haditha Dam: The beer is on us! Brad Thompson ordered the platoon to regroup before renewing the assault. Rangers move across the top of the dam. We all conduct realistic training in all terrains throughout the year. 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. See production, box office & company info, Very skillful exploration of the Iraq war. 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. The convoy separated and the Rangers followed the assault plan, each platoon focusing on its assigned objective. I have spent some time with Iraq veterans and I feel this movie did a very accurate job portraying what they went through. They even launched a SCUD missile at the airfield, but the Rangers and Night Stalkers there held them off. 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. With permission granted, Birch and Duncan sprinted down the hill, under antiaircraft artillery fire (firing in a direct fire mode) from the south. 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. At one point during the four-day battle, the Iraqis attacked Serpent in an attempt to cut of the Rangers' support. A very close-knit team," Coker said. His lines of communication back to H-1 were open, he was getting regular replenishment of ammunition and other supplies, and his casualties and POWs were being promptly evacuated. This story was first published in its entirety in The Year in Special Operations; 2006 Edition. Fortunately, the Rangers had ample close air support, and passed the fire mission to the A-10 Thunderbolt (Warthog) pilots. As one of them said later, I remember just starting to fold up, and fall in on myself. Mo reported that all was quiet at the dam, sounding like he had not slept in a hot minute. 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. Marines of all companies kept up the pressure on AQI, and simultaneously worked to rebuild the civic infrastructure that was decimated by AQI. 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. 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. The bullet-riddled and oil-leaking vehicle finally died just short of 1st Platoons position. In true Ranger fashion, the section methodically cleared the building by kicking down doors, blowing off locks, and placing items with potential intelligence value into the hallways. CPT Doyle outlined the plan: 2nd Platoon would lead the main effort, seizing a foothold on the dam and clearing the inside of the dam complex; 1st Platoon would be the supporting effort, seizing the dominating high ground to the west of the dam; and between the B Company platoons, 3rd Platoon, C Company, would clear Objective Cobalt, an area south of the dam structure comprising power station buildings and a transformer yard. This was unlike any missionwe'd been taught about in Ranger history. Called the Ramadan Offensive, it was more of a call-to-arms than a well coordinated military campaign. Knowing that the Night Stalkers had stayed long beyond the protection of darkness, he released them with gratitude. Their mission was to prevent Saddam Hussein and his forces from destroying the dam. 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. Again the man indicated to his wife and the need for water. 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. 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. One of Georges teammates that was there at the fight with him recounts it as follows: We were some 300 miles inside the border traveling at night and sleeping hidden during the day. Box 378 Red Hook, New York 12571 United States. Once everybody was refueled and positioned, the convoy of seventeen vehicles and 140 Rangers penetrated the moonless night. As American forces continued to pummel AQI in places like Fallujah and Ramadi, the insurgent survivorsthe most battle-hardened and highly skilled of their ranksabsconded to the Triad. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of any material on this site without expressand written permission from the author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. 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. Early on the night of April 1, the Rangers and Delta Force operators stormed the dam. P.S., The cartoon I made in honor of Chief Greg Coker made it to T-Shirts at SOFREP (Geos Winchester) pretty slick! The Battle of Haditha Dam: Mowing Iraqis down like bowling pins. 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. 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. 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 Rangers pushed it the final fifty meters to safety. Relating the incident later, Cpl. Quickly regaining their composure, the Rangers returned fire and began to call in airstrikes to take out the mortar positions. 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. geo sends. A writer and photojournalist who spent time in Iraq and Afghanistan. Big-hearted Russ Rippetoe and two Rangers gathered some water bottles and brought them to the car. We were quickly in an Alamo position calling in all the air support we could get. On that first day alone, the three Little Birds expended an astounding 231 rockets, 66,000 rounds of 7.62 mm mini-gun ammunition, and 8,000 rounds of .50-caliber ammunition. The next battalion to occupy the region, the First Battalion of the Third Marine Regiment, didnt suffer a single loss of life. 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 Premier Online Military History Magazine. 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 April 5, no artillery was fired at the Rangers, and they began expand their perimeter from their original blocking positions. The area exploded in violence as members of each respective company moved into their home forward operating bases throughout the Triad: Echo Company went to the city of Haditha; Fox Company went to Barwana. "We always work well together as a combat team, a well-oiled machine. They were a pitiful sight to be sure, the prisoners were; just ordinary men, they two. 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. Command Sgt. John D. Gresham CPT Doyle soon figured out that his mission was expanding by the minute, because at the DLS his company was supplemented by a platoon from C Company and attachments from 3rd Battalions tactical operations center (TOC) II: an Air Force enlisted terminal attack controller (ETAC), a physician assistant (PA), the Command Sergeant Major (CSM), and the battalions executive officer (XO). When it was over, Duncan and battalion command sergeant major Alfred Birch rescued three of the wounded Iraqis who had fallen down a steep hill while under fire. Weather, including sandstorms, began reducing visibility and interfering with the Night Stalkers' flying, but on the third day, an MH-47 Chinook helicopter braved enemy fire and resupplied the Rangers, who were approaching 72 hours under fire on what was planned as a 24-hour operation. 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. Big-hearted Russ The Rangers at the barricade immediately opened fire on the vehicle behind the one that had just detonated; it too went up in a massive explosion another VBIED! Praesidus brings homage to the military watch tradition. The Battle of Haditha Dam: Mowing Iraqis down like bowling pins. This new line, stretching over a distance of 223 kilometres (139mi) with 504 towers, has a capacity of 400 kV and allows 350 MW from the Haditha Dam to be added to the national electrical grid. A blitzkrieg push from the south defeated Saddam Hussein's army in just 26 days. Chief cleared the way for Tony and watched him offload his Ranger and drone. Hearing the attack on SPC Alan and CPL Gale to the south, SFC Lauder called his platoon leader for reinforcements. Holding fire and calling out commands in Arabic, Staff Sergeant (SSG) James Narrow (pseudonym) and several other Rangers flex-cuffed the guards to a handrail along the road. THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING VETERAN JOURNALISM - JOIN SOFREP+ Duncan radioed CPT Doyle, relayed the situation, and requested permission to recover the wounded Iraqis. The locals had finally had enough and began coming forward to the Marines with information about the location of key members of AQI. RLTW NSDQ Sine Pari By Almighty God, with honor, and. "Intel had briefed us that there was light resistance and eight to 10 personnel on the dam. Haditha Dam was codenamed "Objective Lynx," while an old airfield nearby was codenamed "Objective Serpent.". But there was a major Iraqi base, a division-size force, in the town of Haditha that was home to Fedayeen, Republican Guards and Iraq regular army," Coker said. Combat stress trauma is hardly a new phenomenon. In other cases, insurgents simply targeted youngsters as part of their wider terror campaign. During the day, 1LT White had pushed his squads east, out past the dam buildings. 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 . 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