The Fires of Babylon, Mike Guardia
The Fires of Babylon, Mike Guardia
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The Fires of Babylon
Eagle Troop and the Battle of 73 Easting

Author: Mike Guardia

Narrator: Johnny Heller

Unabridged: 6 hr 51 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 07/04/2017

Synopsis

On the morning of August 2, 1990, Iraqi armored divisions invaded the tiny emirate of Kuwait. The Iraqi Army, after its long war with Iran, had more combat experience than the US Army. The Kuwaitis had collapsed easily enough, but the invasion drew fierce condemnation from the United Nations, which demanded Hussein's withdrawal. Undeterred by the rhetoric, the Iraqi dictator massed his forces along the Saudi Arabian border and dared the world to stop him. In response, the United States led the world community in a coalition of thirty-four nations in what became known as Operation Desert Storm. Leading this charge into Iraq were the men of Eagle Troop in the U.S. Army's 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment.

Commanded by then-Captain H. R. McMaster—who would go on to serve as National Security Advisor in the Trump administration—Eagle Troop was the lead element of the U.S. VII Corps' advance into Iraq. On February 26, 1991, Eagle Troop encountered the Tawakalna Brigade of Iraq's elite Republican Guard. By any calculation, the twelve American tanks didn't stand a chance. Yet within a mere twenty-three minutes, the M1A1 tanks of Eagle Troop destroyed more than fifty enemy vehicles and plowed a hole through the Iraqi front. History would call it the Battle of Seventy-Three Easting.

About Mike Guardia

Mike Guardia is an internationally recognized author and military historian. A veteran of the United States Army, he served six years on active duty as an armor officer. He is the author of the widely acclaimed Hal Moore: A Soldier Once . . . and Always, the first-ever biography chronicling the life of LTG Harold G. Moore, whose battlefield leadership was popularized by the film We Were Soldiers, starring Mel Gibson.

He has twice been nominated for the Army Historical Foundation's Distinguished Book Award and is an active member in the Military Writers Society of America.

Reviews

Goodreads review by fred jones on August 03, 2024

An Interesting and well written account of this Gulf War battle. Plenty of background and personal accounts of life in the war. Johnny Heller does an excellent job with the narration......more

Goodreads review by patrick on August 09, 2015

This is a story about the first Iraqi war and how 12 American tanks Eagle Troop lead by Captain HR McMaster, took out or I should say destroyed 50 Russian made tanks in 23 minutes. The book begins though with the begging’s of the cold war and the lack of equipment after the Vietnam war. Then goes in......more

Goodreads review by Rodney on October 27, 2018

This book focuses on the exploits of Eagle Troop in the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment in the Battle of 73 Easting in the 100-hour ground war at the end of Operation Desert Storm. This battle was a classic movement to contact engagement in which American armored units consisting of M1A1 Abrams tanks,......more

Goodreads review by Marc on May 02, 2022

This book reads like a by-the-numbers military outing, whether fictional or historical. They all follow the pattern of "Before the war, deployment, in the shit." This format is popular for a reason. It works. But some authors can lean into it better than others and part of me wonders if this one res......more

Goodreads review by Kasey Chang on June 25, 2024

There are plenty of memoirs and books about the battle of 73 Easting, but there are several units involved, so one from only one unit perspective is rather unique, and that is what we have here... the Eagle Troop, US Cavalry -- heavy. The author certainly did his homework, interviewed everybody he c......more

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