Operation Iraqi Freedom - The Invasion Begins - Animated

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President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair have issued an ultimatum to Saddam Hussein, leave the country in 48 hours or face an invasion. Before the ultimatum expires, British, American and Australian Special Forces move in to Iraq.
For context on the invasion, please watch Iraq War 2003 Explained - Why Bush and Blair Attacked Iraq on The Intel Report at • Iraq War 2003 Explaine...
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[@TheOperationsRoom]

Play War Thunder now with my link, and get a massive, free bonus pack including vehicles, boosters and more: playwt.link/theoperationsroom2023

[@lindafogle4236]

Warning⚠⚠⚠ Do not download this game it is highly dangerous. I have been playing for 2 years and have not completed one tech tree continue to download with you're own risk.

[@GunnerHeatFire]

@@lindafogle4236skill issue

[@callmenik1298]

@@GunnerHeatFire *money issue

[@GunnerHeatFire]

@@callmenik1298mix of both probably

[@jamesdelaney3797]

You have got to tell the story when Mad Dog Mattis called the opposing iraqi general on his cell phone to tell him he's bringing his Marines to attack. LEGENDARY BALLS

[@peanutlover5998]

Imagine being able to simply sleep through the beginning of an invasion. We should all be more like Trombley.

[@Seabee203]

Isnt that a scene in Generation Kill?

[@edwardfitzpatrick3168]

yes it is@@Seabee203

[@Kandiell]

it is.@@Seabee203

[@carminegalante4925]

​​@Seabee203 yea, but its based of a true story of the marine division he was talking about

[@CabbageBloke]

@@carminegalante4925It’s based on story from the Rolling Stones journalist embedded in the unit.

[@99AudiMan09]

it's hard to believe this is already considered a "historic event" and being documented as such...20 years ago seems like yesterday...Always love these videos!

[@AJPMUSIC_OFFICIAL]

Feel the same! This is as long ago as the Falklands war was from the the invasion. Seems like yesterday.

[@Butter_Warrior99]

I was hyucking born 20 years ago. I’m still wondering where the US was justified and where we weren’t.

[@JoeyMace28]

@@Butter_Warrior99Doesn’t matter anymore if we’re being honest. War ended 12 years ago. Justified or not, it happened and that’s it. Best one can do, if it was unjustified, is use that as a lesson for the future.

[@Butter_Warrior99]

@@JoeyMace28, I know, but being raised during the war on terror and seeing Obama announce the death of Osama Bin Ladin while I was in 5th grade and seeing the country rejoice. That was truly something.

[@JoeyMace28]

@@Butter_Warrior99 It was, and I miss it myself. Those days are gone unfortunately and I don’t feel like having a political conversation about why. As for Iraq, it’s up to each person to develop their own opinion with a heavy degree of nuance. It’s not very black and white, there was a lot of unjustified action; however, there are other things that make this war justified. Just read all you can and develop your opinion on it, don’t be dragged down by other’s dogma

[@2Links]

Had heard of the mission, but had no idea the CIA was 99.9% confident. Certainly brings a new meaning to it.

[@user-ey4ob3oc6u]

Meaning to what? Intelligence?

[@2Links]

@@user-ey4ob3oc6u As in, the way I have usually heard it told, the airstrike is more of a footnote (almost a shot in the dark, just in case they were able to get him). Whereas this presents it more as an important mission they expected would be able to decapitate Iraq immediately.

[@TorricRoma]

They were 99.99 confident because Iraq has used WMDs before

[@matthewbarabas3052]

i wonder how they were able to bungle that, this badly...

[@TwoFingeredMamma]

What they mean is, they are 99.9% confident with knowing that they can get away with anything they want seen as the public will believe anything they are told. 😆 "We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." - William J. Casey, CIA Director (1981). 😮

[@Marshal_Dunnik]

19:56 And also 20,332 bags of tea, without which the British Army cannot fight effectively

[@saturnv2419]

And it all had to be earl grey as well.

[@MrBubblecake]

I’d hate to be British. For the next however many thousands of years, whenever someone mentions tea (specifically from a bag) the first thing someone educated on history is going to think of will be “the most elite army Britain could field” losing a war to a bunch of farmers in America ☠️ Especially considering they’re a country with tea so heavily built in to their culture

[@paulleach3612]

@@MrBubblecake A bunch of farmers in America...? More akin to a large colonial militia - drilled by the French and with German field officers instructing. Plus massive boons from France and Spain to aid the war effort.. Think of it as Ukraine vs Russia. The fledgling U.S.A had the financial and military backing of two global powers, the British had bigger problems in India and China. But yeah, continue to peddle the myth of how untrained farmers defeated the British army single-handedly.

[@MagiconIce]

@@MrBubblecake To be fair, they were at a logistical disadvantage, Tea had to be imported from overseas and could not be grown in the 13 Colonies!

[@davidty2006]

thats atleast 1 for every kettle

[@simonbas6]

My favorite fact about Iraqi freedom was that it was originally called Operation Iraqi Liberation. Til someone pointed out the acronym for that would be OIL which is a little too on the nose

[@gmailuser699]

OIL is a little too obvious for the real motive behind all such operations that US undertakes 😂

[@asherkosmos4312]

In Oil we Trust

[@SirHalifax]

Funny thing is, major oil companies actually opposed the invasion. They wanted reapprochment with Saddam, the abandonment of the Kurds, and the abolition of the no-fly zones. Why? Because then Saddam would let them in to drill and transport oil. It makes sense, really. Better for business to get oil out of a crapsacky but stable dictatorship than an active warzone that happens to be a “democracy”. Did they attempt to exploit Iraq’s resources after the invasion? Yes, absolutely. But they lobbied Bush not to invade under any circumstances right up to the 17th of March. Bush and the neocon’s motivations were to finish what Bush Sr. started and give a US show of force after 9/11.

[@vulkar59]

That's not true.

[@brainwashingdetergent4128]

They had weapons of mass oil reserves

[@Gunbudder]

For anyone who doesn't already know, Rolling Stone embedded a reporter with Marine First Recon (which is why we know what Colbert said to Trombley). You can read the reporter's (Evan Wright) book called Generation Kill if you want a first hand account of the very beginning of the ground invasion. Its an amazing book and gets into a lot of stories that are kind of insane. It really shows how utterly incompetent some of the leadership was, and how some leadership had such a massive boner to try out their pet theories on tactics that they were willing to risk lives. The HBO miniseries Generation Kill is also amazing, but it cuts out quite a bit from the book and combines some characters into one person. The character Rudy is playing himself though which is really interesting.

[@mcnultyssobercompanion6372]

Yep, the miniseries is really great. Written and produced by the brilliant David Simon ("Generation Kill" was actually filmed concurrent with season five of "The Wire".) Can't recommend it enough if you haven't seen it. And yes, having Reyes playing himself is a very interesting, and he's pretty good. I recall another real life veteran from that unit plays a role as well, but he doesn't play himself. He is played by another actor, which must have made the set quite surreal at times. I have not read the book so I can't speak to its quality.

[@ezragoldberg3132]

Fruity Rudy Reyes

[@guhalakshmiratan5566]

@@mcnultyssobercompanion6372 Actor Owain Yeoman portrays Sgt. Eric Kocher. Interestingly, the real Sgt. Eric Kocher portrays Gunnery Sergeant Rich Barrett.

[@sonnyd820]

Nathan Fick also wrote a book One Bullet Away really good read which describes the invasion.

[@stalinov91]

@@sonnyd820 The amount of shite Nate had to take from people above him and senior NCOs was unreal.

[@scotchbingeington6761]

8:25 "Remember, switching to your sidearm is faster than rebarreling your rifle"

[@rickjames18]

Hard to believe 20 years have passed since the invasion. I was with the 82nd 1-505 PIR running ops out of a FOB in Fallujah in Aug 2003. Now I sit here near my 40s with fewer memories. It is also interesting to learn how the invasion started. We all knew of the little piece we were tasked with but never really knew how it all came together.

[@hakimmihoubi8544]

war criminal

[@rickjames18]

@@hakimmihoubi8544 Thanks.

[@nimitz3453]

Thanks for your service

[@nimitz3453]

​@@hakimmihoubi8544your side is just as bad

[@pabbyescobabes3617]

​@@hakimmihoubi8544mad cuz bad.

[@kidbest100]

And so begins another documentary-quality series. Well done!

[@JerBuster77]

I was onboard the USS MITSCHER(DDG57) over there when OIF began. Seeing and hearing a tomahawk cruise missile launching in pitch dark from the ship is something that I will never forget.

[@WeAreWraithHD]

Congratulations, you’re a terrorist.

[@janeztomazic5546]

you must be so proud of yourself, let me guess now you support Ukriane

[@Spectre-tv7wi]

@@janeztomazic5546womp womp

[@delta789Kitsune]

​@janeztomazic5546 and you support Russia, we get it, you hate freedom

[@connorshelton9956]

@@janeztomazic5546what does Ukraine and Russia have to do with this💀💀 you’re a disgrace. Just a lil keyboard warrior

[@SmokeyNades]

Are the Iceman and Ray gonna sing us into the invasion?

[@canaanclb]

🎵Cause I'm just a teenage dirtbag baby🎵

[@peanutlover5998]

🎵Loving youuu is easy cause you’re beautiful 🎵

[@skullsaintdead]

_Stay frosty_

[@maxschaeffner9005]

Ops: "Throughout the invasion, Sargent Colbert and his radioman Ray Pearson will sing popular 90s and early 2000s American songs as a source of levity and to keep unit morale high. Notably, Colbert will forbid the singing of any and all country music within his vehicle."

[@Dan19870]

'Wake up Trombley, your missing the invasion'

[@manuelacosta9463]

This Gulf Wars series is very interesting and here we go with the second phase. Nice of you to start with SAS.

[@pekkakoski6595]

Operations Room never lets us down. Thanks.

[@HalcyonAD]

Nice breakdown. Looking forward to the rest of the series as it is filling holes in my research for OIF. I was on the Theodore Roosevelt in the Med for this one. One thing, for the invasion, only one squadron of Super Hornets (VFA-115) was involved in OIF and they were flown by the US Navy. The Aussies used older A model Hornets.

[@PilotGrapefruit]

Can’t wait for this series! I’m a huge nerd with Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom, and this channel hits the spot 😁

[@Admiral_Jezza]

"Destroy the water treatment plant, which is a suspected chemical weapons facility" LMAO

[@ChucksSEADnDEAD]

Chlorine.

[@MietoK]

Yeah, and remember to secure important oil facilities. Who needs water anyways

[@Heavenly_Fury]

@@MietoK Considering they found tons of chemical weapons...I wouldn't doubt them

[@mrsobchak898]

That water plant in Baghdad when we got there was the most horrible water ever

[@Ivan.A.Churlyuski]

@@Heavenly_Furywhen you say tons I assume you’re being sarcastic since we literally found nothing.

[@HealthySkepticism1775]

I highly recommend the mini series based on First Recon's actions during the initial invasion. Generation Kill

[@tylerweiss8476]

One of my favorite HBO shows! Great book as well!

[@KitamusPrime]

It's the most accurate depiction of the Marine Corps on film. 2 of the actors were there, and Fruity Rudy plays himself. As a Marine Corps veteran, it's literally just like watching the Corps. The way they walk, talk, gear, communicate, dealing with command etc is all 100% accurate lol it's also filled with inside jokes

[@hirumaryuei]

So I wanted to talk about the SIlkworm that hit Camp Commando, since "it was not detected" is a bit inaccurate. I was located a bit forward of Camp Commando at the time near the Iraq-Kuwait border. I was in the same camp as the Patriot battery that shot down the subsequent missiles. At the time the choppers had just flown overhead that evening and the whole camp was transitioning from "business as usual" to "this is actually happening" mindset. Then suddenly this fucking sonic boom rips out, probably less than 1000 feet off the ground, heading from north to south. I'm like "was that a jet?" and my co-worker is like "yo I think that was a missile." Maybe 5 seconds later the air raid sirens go off and we run to the missile bunkers we built over the last few weeks. The next day we hear Commando was hit in the berm right outside the comm tent. We drove by it later and there's a huge impact crater like, probably 10 yards max from 9th Comm's ops tent on the outside of the camp. I spoke with some of the junior soldiers running the Patriot battery and there was apparently a pretty big dressing down over the whole thing. It never happened again.

[@bgroovin1343]

We must have been at the same place. My tent was near the patriot battery. It scared the crap out of me when it launched, quickly followed by the explosion overhead. Never saw so many people quickly put on their gas masks and run for the trenches without having to be told!

[@blueteammember2708]

Yeah, I can imagine. About the people manning the defense were pretty lucky that it didn't really hit anything.

[@mukhtarsyajaratun1025]

is there any casualties?

[@dogekoko9865]

you know what really happned

[@hirumaryuei]

@@mukhtarsyajaratun1025 There were none, the impact was on the outside of the berm. I never talked to the 9th Comm guys there afterwards but I couldn't see any obvious shrapnel damage on the 170s which is either a fucking miracle or they replaced the dishes.

[@Michael-wn3rh]

TheOperatipnsRoom, I can't tell you how much joy and knowledge I've gleaned from your videos these past several years. I've had a pretty rough 2023...issues at home, laid off from my job of 8 years, etc. As soon as I'm back on my feet, I plan on joining the patreon. You guys richly deserve it. Thank you for all the work.

[@AsteroidM749A]

Good luck brother. Hope you get back up on your feet 💪

[@OwnedGolem]

Man, I miss the 90's/2000's carrier air wings. Like I obviously understand that they want to consolidate to help maintenance, but damn all those types of planes were so cool. F-18s, f-14s, a-6s, a-7s. It's just not as cool now with only super hornets, though with f35s now we're starting to see this again a bit

[@RazorsharpLT]

Super hornets are an amazing 4++ gen fighter. It's said that their stealth rating matches the rating of the Russian SU-57, which is hilarious.

[@OwnedGolem]

@RazorsharpLT I mean I think the stealth part is more a diss towards the su57 than anything lol. And don't get me wrong, I love the super hornet. I love seeing all the types of planes litering a flight deck. The vietnam-desert storm Era was peak carrier air wing, imo. At least aesthetically

[@clydedoris5002]

Their is the ea 18 that took the ea6b prowler job but yeah its still an f18 airframe

[@OwnedGolem]

@clydedoris5002 yeah it's neat, but it just looks exactly like an f18 visually lol

[@DK33O]

Back when the UCLASS program was a thing, I was expecting new generations of unmanned strike aircraft to bring back some variety to carrier air wings. But then the Navy decided to kick that can down the road and UCAVs are still just a vague "someday" plan after the MQ-25 tankers come online. The F/A-XX program could also eventually bring another non-Hornet airframe to the fleet.

[@Armoredcompany]

After ten years of working for them, anytime someone in the military or Intelligence says "99.9% accuracy" and they don't show you a live video feed...what they really mean is 40-45% accuracy. Also, for clarification, the 160th is known as the "NightStalkers". The "Black Swarm" moniker refers to events specific to the 2003 invasion where flights would go out consisting of two little birds, two MH-60s with targeting pods, and two A-10s. To my knowledge, it hasn't been done since.

[@tylerclayton6081]

We haven’t been in a conventional war since then

[@Off-roading1]

I’m from the Wake island till now the animation has come so far and so has the story telling well done!❤

[@kevinzuniga4910]

This series is going to be epic! Really excited for this!

[@callsignnazran1454]

I watch the start of this and I’m so glad I’ve been along for the ride. Watching this channel grow and the quality of the animations increase. God bless Ops room. Thank you for making my sleep schedule non existent

[@OutletVibes]

Grats on 1 milly, not surprising with the quality of content you put out!

[@latinopotato3636]

Hard to think that 70k people have subscribed in the last week. It’s like a whole nfl stadium subscribe in a week, crazy growth and content good job men

[@charliemunson7467]

Best username on KZbin 😂

[@hillogical]

18:41 I knew it. I'm now considered "part of history". Not everyone I served with was able to get old, so I guess I'll consider myself lucky.

[@jasonrist6582]

This Air Force service veteran (1991-1995} salutes you and your fallen.

[@jackthorton10]

Ya did good sir, welcome home, and thank you for be awesome

[@caseyo6033]

F@*#ing weird ain't it? I'm party of history? I am part of history!.

[@Henry-yf2np]

Thank you for your service!

[@scottperry7311]

I have come to believe over the years that this war was a big mistake. I think that the consequences of fighting a war we should never have started, based on erroneous information will take decades to fully come to fruition. This is no slight to the men and women who served in the American and allied armed forces, I thank you for your service and sacrifice. Nor, am I trying to defend Saddam Hussein and his brutal regime. I simply believe we did far more damage than good, and that we should stop trying to right a world with often allowing another horrific government or system to take power once we remove the old one.

[@krityaan]

Disarmament plans with North Korea ruined, Iran sent firmly into the path of nuclearisation, bolstering the ranks of Islamic terrorist organizations for years to come, and played no small part in influencing the belligerence of Russia and China today. That Americans still find the second Gulf War justifiable is always jarring to me. The first gulf war started the unipolar moment, the second one ended it.

[@andrewwiggins9262]

I was tracking that the purpose of this video was to explore to operational aspect of this conflict. Your personal opinion as to whether or not we should have do this is irrelevant.

[@carlosboozer6017]

@@andrewwiggins9262 What? He is just giving his opinion on the conflict. The video even talks about how it was controversial and how the justifications were not necessarily sound. The point of the comment section is for people to discuss lol

[@antonioaspoliveira]

​@@krityaan far from majority. but the contracts on the fields are all on us corporations. And will still be there until most people don't remember how unjustify this war was. This sort of crazy

[@atomicwedgie8176]

@@andrewwiggins9262 We attacked because Saddam would not sell oil backed by the US Dollar... simple as that. The BRICS nations have finally dumped the 'petrol' dollar.

[@PsychCrimeInfo]

My dad was there on day one and stepped off with 1st Marines with General Mattis. He was gifted a map of the battle from him. We have it hanging in the basement. I remember this like it was yesterday. Was just about to start kindergarten.

[@tacticalideasdefense4243]

I was just rewatching the trailer again. Perfect timing. Keep up the amazing work

[@Peterd1900]

@21:07 You mention that Australia contributed F/A-18 Super Hornets These would have just been normal Hornets The RAAF did not operate Super Hornets at the time The RAAF got its first Super Hornets in 2010 as replacenent for the F-111

[@TheDevildogGamer]

I've been waiting sooooo long for this!

[@JoeyMace28]

We even have DDG in the house. This is crazy

[@major_kukri2430]

Hey, bud

[@VisualBasic6]

I need to watch Generation Kill again. It's such a well done series.

[@atellismarin4607]

I appreciate the stated focus on the soldiers involved in the fighting and not the politics. I enlisted shortly after 9-11 and ended up in Iraq.

[@posthumousc4913]

Sounds like the same complaint GIs had when they enlisted after Pearl Harbor and ended up fighting Germans. I enlisted pre-9/11 and I ended up in Iraq too.

[@atellismarin4607]

I suppose I can understand the disappointment for those that enlisted after December 7th 1941 and before December 11th 1941 @@posthumousc4913

[@jackthorton10]

Still, we as citizens hold you with distinction, for your service and valor, welcome home gentleman

[@daudhassan4551]

I’m sorry but, you blindly served a government that oppressed other countries. We don’t doubt your bravery, but you do not have our respect.

[@jackthorton10]

@@daudhassan4551 Then you can kindly take your displeasure out of here and go take a hike

[@davidchase9424]

"Operation Iraqi Liberation" Or "OIL"!

[@MattMerica76]

It was never called that.

[@davidchase9424]

I know. That would be to on the mark.

[@goldenhide]

So some minor notes: The MAGTF ("mag-taff") names aren't said by letter often. So a MEF would be "meff" and IMEF would be "First MEF." Though we haven't formed a MEB in forever that would be "Mehb" and a MEU is "miu." Also the RAAF didn't sign the contract for their Super Hornets until May 2007 so the Hornets involved in OIF were their "Legacy Hornets" (upgraded A and B, though the term also applies to C and D models as well). Still loved the breakdown and your background video on the otherr channel was great and brought a lot of info I was aware of to light.

[@HRHooChicken]

"What was the invasion of Iraq like, Grandpa?" "Idk i was asleep for most of it"

[@MM22966]

Small corrections: -160th SOAR's official nickname is "Night Stalkers". (I had not heard "Black Swarm" before. Some kind of informal nickname?) -Only 1 Brigade of 82nd Airborne (2nd BDE) was present for the invasion. The other two brigades were going to/coming back from Afghanistan at this time. -Cruises missiles from B-52's are Tomahawks, too, just air-launched versions. (I figured you know this, but not every viewer might, and it was an odd way to phrase it separately)

[@bgroovin1343]

I was thinking the same thing about that 160th name. Never heard of it before.

[@wannabedal-adx458]

to refute your 3rd correction. The USAF and the B-52's had the convention versions of the usually nuclear tipped AGM-86 ALCM, called the C-ALCM (C for conventional). These were much bigger than Tomahawks. They were used first in Desert Storm (see the 2 BW flight from Louisiana to Central Med and back). They were a secret in Desert Storm because arms control treaties didn't allow for conventional variants of nuclear missiles. But by the time OIF rolled around, they were 'legal' and able to used with less secretive circumstances (i.e. flown from and fired from overseas bases).

[@wannabedal-adx458]

@@bgroovin1343 Unless "Black Swarm" is used on the radio, then yes I have always heard the 160th SOAR referred to as the "Night Stalkers."

[@MM22966]

@@wannabedal-adx458 Thanks. I ran for years on the idea it was just an air-launched Tomahawk without checking. My bad.

[@Intravenous14]

While you are right about the nickname. They are referring to the name given to the strike group. The “Black Swarm” strike groups each consisting of a pair of AH-6M Little Birds; a FLIR-equipped, target-spotting MH-6M; and a pair of U.S. Air Force A-10A

[@sacer666]

Cpl Josh Ray Person: See, when Marines invade a foreign country, we've gotta buy all our own shit. Me and Brad spent 500 dollars of our own money just fixing up the Humvee. Bought our own antennas, filters, these cammie nets. We even painted it ourselves. Cpl Josh Ray Person: So yeah, [Puts on sunglasses] homes, we pimpin'.

[@rayperson4]

No country music ray

[@SheldonT.]

Wake up Trombley, you're missing the invasion - Recreated in "Generation Kill" HBO series. Excellent TV

[@jperson]

Sweet. I remember it well. It was dark when we crossed the line so honestly there wasn’t much for Trombley to see without NVGs. Brad and I were wearing them so it was pretty cool for us.

[@Snipurss]

How's it going man

[@jperson]

@@Snipurss Living the dream. You?

[@OzeanZonedOut]

13:45, small error, The GBU-28 is laser guided, not GPS guided, meaning that the pilots needed a direct uninterrupted line of sight to the target until the bombs struck

[@pepe8560]

Not necessarily the pilots

[@SeanCSHConsulting]

No, the pilots sure don't.

[@acid2-128]

@@SeanCSHConsultinglaser guided means they need to paint the target the entire time the bomb is in flight

[@jonathanpfeffer3716]

@@acid2-128They are referring to the fact that other assets can paint the target, such as friendly ground forces or the wingman. Pretty regular for one craft to do the lasing and the other to drop the bombs.

[@Kenneth_James]

The Enhanced GBU-28 augments the laser-guidance with Inertial navigation and GPS guidance systems

[@thomasmills3934]

"Bitchin' dude, bitchin'!" Is such a '90s thing to say! 😂

[@sephuris5555]

CIA: "we're 99.9% sure he's hiding at the Dora farms." (He wasnt there) SGT. Grizz: "yeah scoreone for military intelligence."

[@meshuggahdeciple327]

The Iraq War was a huge reason I decided to join the Army. Not because I supported the invasion, but because I wanted to help injured soldiers so they would have a better chance at survival. Thank you so much for covering this.

[@justalpha9138]

I myself am going to join the Oregon Air National Guard. My father served in the Army for over 22 years, and I want to avoid the mistakes he made. Hopefully someday I'll become a pilot for the F-35, even though the odds are slim. :)

[@defaultname354]

Isn't their heaps of youtube videos, showing heaps of vets throwing away their medals, gained from Afghanistan and Iraq, and heaps have PTSD and a 1/3 of vets are homeless now?

[@adamengeldinger1202]

⁠@@justalpha9138 good luck!

[@justalpha9138]

@@adamengeldinger1202 Thank you! I'll certainly need it! :)

[@EzekielDeLaCroix]

You realize that those guys are criminals, right..? They invaded a sovereign, independent country on the flimsiest of reasons. They're basically what we called the Russians in Ukraine.

[@osiris829]

Man I love your videos. I learn so much from them. I am subbed to many many YT channels, but you are one of less than a handful I am genuinely excited for updates. Keep it up!

[@nayhem]

3:22 Imagine training for a year for an upcoming invasion, all kitted out for combat, and within a few yards of setting foot on hostile soil you roll your ankle on some random rock.

[@posthumousc4913]

We had a POL guy break his wrist playing basketball in Kuwait and he got sent home.

[@yassinseif11]

​that must sad for him,all training for a wrist baseball injury

[@posthumousc4913]

@@yassinseif11 I think he was relieved. We had a lot of guys try getting out of deploying. The older guys, like our CSM and 1SG, put in retirement paperwork while other guys threatened suicide or purposefully failed drug tests.

[@yassinseif11]

@@posthumousc4913 I mean they have a point,broken wrist or few years prison is much better than ptsd or getting killed

[@spirz4557]

"Ray, the Battalion Commander offered no SitRep as to J-Lo's status."

[@BobFisher.]

So it begins holy

[@ScottRyan419]

15:37 fascinating I did not know this. At the time, I was in the 101st, and we were getting on the back of some 5ton trucks to go and stage as the first infantry battalion to cross the berm from the division. The first alarm for a chemical attack went off just as we got on the back of the trucks, and we had to get off in MOPP level 4 and run the 300 or so meters to the berm. Turn around, return, and get on the truck with all clear to have the alarm go off again. We were unhappy, the Patriots shot, and the subsequent smoke session began. Even with the adrenaline, it was miserable. We got on the trucks, and as we rolled out the gate of Camp New Jersey, the alarm went off again. This time, we just kept going. 😢😅 I look forward to the next installments of the series.

[@Human1337]

Love the vids, this one hit hard, was watching, then was like, wait a tick, I was there lol

[@ILLICITNOISE]

Loving these consistent uploads, I know it's a lot of work, thank you.

[@swnuois4298]

Insanely well done, big ups to the animation team.

[@cadams6702]

Awesome video as always. Correction though, RAAF sent 14 F/A-18 classic hornets from 75sqn not super hornets.

[@THEdanrugaming]

Yep, thought so too. Super Hornets were not fully operational in the RAAF until 2012

[@CabbageBloke]

The HBO series ’Generation Kill’ is an awesome show based on the invasion from the perspective of a Rolling Stones journalist embedded within a Marine recon unit.

[@earlhuff7847]

I watched it. Eh it was okay not great but not bad either

[@CabbageBloke]

@@earlhuff7847 I love it. 1. Because I like those type of box sets and 2. I did the Iraq invasion (British Army)

[@spirz4557]

"Dear Frederick, Thank you for your nice letter, but I am actually a US Marine who was born to kil whereas clearly you have mistaken me for some sort of wine-sipping communist dick suck. And although peace certainly appeals to tree loving bisexuals like you and your parents, I happen to be a blood crazed death dealing warrior who wakes up everyday, hoping for the chance to dismember my enemies, and defile their civilizations. Peace sucks a hairy asshole, Freddie. War is the motherucking answer. But thanks for writing anyway. Your pal Ray."

[@Docsully]

I was in Task Force Viking CJSOTF North. SF Medic & Sniper. ODA 056 B Co 2nd BN 10th SFG(A) We infilled via the MC-130 "Ugly Baby" (Bird #1 of 6) mission to Bashur and then posted on Hill Top 722 on March 23 2003. Attacked with the Peshmerga in Ayn Sifni on April 6th pushed south to Mosul first ODA or any Americans in there to the Airport by the evening of the 11th of April 2003. Fought tanks on foot and had never received as much machine-gun / ZPU 14.5, ZSU 23mm, mortar and artillery fire in my life before or since and I have dozens of deployments. Those opening weeks of Iraqi Freedom were nothing like Afghanistan I went through all my 9 lives in days. Semper Fi to the Marines and a big AIRBORNE to the 101st ABN who reinforced us at the Airport in Mosul. Damn glad to see you boys flying and rolling in. Finished off the deployment doing SSE for WMD and HVT Kill / Capture raids for the "The deck of cards". This was the most do it all (SF Mission Set) deployment you could have had as an SF guy. We did it all in one deployment. FID UW CT DA SR and some more shit we just thought up out of the blue:) De Opresso Liber Docsully Cardinal 1-6

[@planetcaravan2925]

Too long, didnt read

[@EnzoFazzi]

21:04 The Australians did not have Super Hornets in 2003. Great stuff as always tho!

[@lorenzooliveira1157]

What did they use?

[@jkagkajsdftubes]

The general saying, "bitchin dude bitchin" is hilarious to me

[@paulsakz1532]

You guys make my day every time you upload. It's such a breath of fresh air in a world of pointless media.

[@ryanmarquez9404]

Thank you for mentioning 1st recon. Generation kill is one of the most accurate Mini series and books to a deployment.

[@daminox]

I'm so hyped for this series!

[@ryanhodgetts]

Another great and detailed video! As a combat veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom, with a deployment to Musa Quala (2010), I would love to see one day a video like this about that. Just a suggestion, I assume these take a lot of advanced planning so no critic just a wish. Again amazing content

[@WeAreWraithHD]

No respect for you, terrorist.

[@ArenBerberian]

Excellent content! Hard to believe this is free! Eagerly awaiting the rest!

[@tangofrown3352]

A mistake here is that the A-6 Intruder was retired before this invasion, it’s role as a bomber was replaced by the F-14 with LANTIRN

[@martinkrebs6943]

excited for this new series… the fact you guys managed to keep the same level of quality for almost 5 years is just mindblowing

[@beny874]

A correction. The RAAF sent our classic Hornets. Super Hornets were not in service at the time. Cool content as always :D

[@TheKajunkat]

Trombley sound like the typical Marine. Never miss a chance to get some shut eye. "wake me when the shooting starts"

[@BigBoi678]

Having been in the military I can understand Trombley's exhaustion, but to sleep through an active invasion where you are the tip of the spear is next level🤣🤣

[@Zwackelmann173]

I am so happy that you included parts of Generation Kill :D

[@mochathegrande3640]

As a war thunder player it is NOT free to play. You pay with your soul

[@Alcochaser]

A few things. The plan here had to be changed later into the game. Originally the 4th Infantry Division was supposed to come down from Turkey, They went as far to land and deploy there, but at the last moment Turkey got cold feet and the 4th ID was withdrawn. The plan changed a bit, and the US literally used Blitzkrieg tactics here with the forces from Kuwait. Another reason they moved up the invasion was the entire invasion force was limited to using Kuwait as a starting off point, and Ballistic missiles were raining down on the restricted area. This battle really marked an American turning point. It was the first war since Vietnam where they stopped worrying about ground combat casualties and start ground combat immediately.

[@igrim4777]

I guess you're not counting the invasion of Panama as a war. Is that because you know it was illegal under international law?

[@Alcochaser]

That was literally a police action to arrest one guy @@igrim4777

[@tadferd4340]

​@@igrim4777I mean, so was this invasion.

[@donaldmorrison9940]

What's mad is that there were more British tanks involved in the attack on Basra than the UK have IN TOTAL available now, in 2024 (paper fleet if 227, 157 usable tanks)

[@byufan]

I was 11 almost 12 years old when the invasion of Iraq began. Crazy to think that was 20 years ago

[@This_Pleases_The_Nut]

I wasn't even born yet when the invasion began. But my dad was in Iraq at a supply depot for the USMC.

[@posthumousc4913]

The MLRS you see firing at 23:00 on the right side of the screen most likely includes (since it shows four battalions worth of launchers) 2nd Battalion, 4th Field Artillery Regiment, 214 Field Artillery Brigade (known prior to the war as Deep Attack). They'd support V Corps' advance throughout the invasion earning the nickname "America's Field Artillery Battalion" (which no one outside of Ft. Sill has probably ever heard of them). I'd land in Kuwait two days later with their sister battalion 1-14 FA.

[@Armymac]

Just wanna give some credit to your animators. The Visuals have improved consistently since I first started watch around a year or 2 ago. Truly is a amazing thing to see. Keep up the great work. Thx

[@pigmoonk2545]

21:08 RAAF did not have Super Hornets till 2010. Those in this video are legacy hornets which were only fully retired in 2021.

[@davidbecker5724]

Additional comment. I was fortunate to serve at the end of some initial invasion guys. Highlights I'd love to hear about is the bashur jump to block the northern corridor by the 173rd, the multi day long convoy you hinted at at the end. My old nco was a driver on that convoy that learned to drive during that convoy. Didn't have a stateside license at the time, and the 75th regiment jump onto the palace.

[@WeAreWraithHD]

No respect for you, terrorist.

[@goodshipkaraboudjan]

Funnily enough the UK knowing how pear shaped the job was asked ask Australia to send a task force centred around an RAR Battalion. The answer was a hard no. SASR and the RAN took the headlines but no one was keen on it. HMAS Anzac had her "Five Inch Friday" to support the badly planned USMC op.

[@livethefuture2492]

The hype is real. This series is looking to be even better than your iconic desert storm series and i can't wait to see what you have in store!

[@Jim-dr2ec]

Great work! I was a little disappointed to see the two CSGs in the Eastern med left out. I was on one of them.

[@nzhnsyhrn]

All i can hear is OIL

[@stephenmilton9998]

What ?! You cookin' ?!?

[@lockshabaz1876]

you gotta love how it was called " Iraqi freedom" lmao yeah ok

[@micahrowsell1788]

There's really no argument that Iraqi's didn't get freedom. Sadam was a brutal dictator. But was the Middle East better for it, and was it justified. Probably not

[@johnnotrealname8168]

Only 7 minutes late and WAIT WHAT! YES! I have wanted a run-down of this War. Thank You so much! I like the conventional phase, so innocent.

[@EgoApocalypse]

Nice nod at the end ;) Great vid as always. Looking foward to the rest :)

[@brokenbridge6316]

That little bit at the end about Chomley falling asleep was funny.

[@-SkyCat-]

I love history. i have ALWAYS LOVED learning it.. this is hands down my fav. the Japan side was sooo i couldn't miss an Episode and even Rewatched many of them. your Voice is perfect for this good sir! im just waiting for more!

[@burakcaner8361]

yeah, yeah.. 'freedom'..

[@acornreichler2085]

Public polling from April 2003 showed at least 80% of Americans supported the Bush stance towards Iraq. Many of those same people will now try to steal the valor of the antiwar movement, and pretend like they always thought that. Nowadays, it's pretty clear to everyone that this was both an illegal and disastrous war. But know that the vast majority of Americans supported it at the time, and keep that in mind when thinking about current modern-day conflicts and the fickleness of "popular opinion"

[@ChucksSEADnDEAD]

Illegal? What law says it was a crime?

[@tahaemad5809]

@@ChucksSEADnDEADso you think it’s Legal to hoop into a country without a justified reason and then leave it on ruins for the next coming 20 years ?

[@ChucksSEADnDEAD]

@@tahaemad5809 Happened a lot through history. My point is that people keep saying "illegal war" but they're just repeating what someone else said. They don't know what a legal or illegal war is.

[@saladin3273]

​@@ChucksSEADnDEADthe same people supporting Ukraine use that terminology to come off as righteous.

[@xMr_Sebax]

Iraqi freedom by invading it

[@planetcaravan2925]

They shoudlve just made a tiktok video instead

[@someone-pz4dg]

USA baby 🇺🇲🤷‍♂️

[@luuk341]

question for those with more tactical knowledge than I do. at about 17:00 in the video it is explained that the SAS commander deems the potential casualties from assaulting the water treatment plant to be too great and orders an airstrike. My question is why they sent the SAS in the first place? Why not just go for airstrikes from the get go?

[@wolven777]

Didn't make sense to me too. I guess that operation was the perfect introduction to a war where the commanders had no problem with wasting resources, human or otherwise.

[@MichaelOnines]

It was a suspected chemical plant. Their mission was to secure the hard evidence needed to prove to the world the intel assessments of an ongoing clandestine chemical munitions program in Iraq were accurate. Using air strikes instead risked destroying what they were sure would be concrete evidence to back up the assumptions the entire western world's intel communities had coalesced around. Proved about as reliable as the "99.9%" chance Hussein and his heirs-apparent were staying in that compound near Bagdad.

[@westrim]

@@wolven777 They had no problem with wasting resources, so they decided not to throw men at a death trap? What? The answer to the question from luuk is that they didn't know how much resistance there would be.

[@wolven777]

@@westrim You don't risk very precious assets based on an assumption. The fact that they bombed the place when they couldn't capture it proves that they didn't have any serious intel, just assumptions.

[@HoucKSF]

Imagine living near Dora Farms, like holy shit what the fuck did my neighbor do to the US

[@jonk6008]

so much for that 99.9% accuracy huh? Maybe we shouldn't blindly follow bourgeois elites into their wars

[@lukasxss1794]

Which we did not? Were you even alive at this point in time? Because if not you cant even deduct how pro invasion anyone was

[@IceAxe1940]

​@@lukasxss1794Yes you guys did protests didn't do a damn thing and you guys just stood idly by while millions of Iraqis were killed.

[@lukasxss1794]

@@IceAxe1940 this comment is just sad

[@IceAxe1940]

@@lukasxss1794 Yes your comment is very sad, the vast majority of Americans were supportive of the war in Iraq, your denial of that fact doesn't mean jack.

[@lukasxss1794]

@@IceAxe1940 so what? You just hate americans for the decision of literally one man? Its sad what happened and literally everyone can agree on that so what is wrong with you?

[@rustyrolla5432]

Honeslty props to you for just focusing on the what and where stuff happened.

[@TheOverlandGolfer]

I instantly switch from what I am viewing when this notification hits

[@johnsmith-jq1uc]

fr

[@blazerit420]

You see those farms over there? ""Sir?"" I dont want to. ""Yes sir!""

[@wazzo8527]

Will this series feature Cpl. Ray Person's perspective on the reason for the war? I think he made some good points.

[@jonprindle9485]

Thanks for this work. Love your details, graphics and presentation. There were thousands of surveillance and reconnaissance sorties before the invasion. 1 MARDIV didn't just drive in alone -- we were all overhead constantly. ALSO: there are some mispronunciations like saying M-E-F instead of MEF (called MEFF). Al Udeid is pronounced like "You Deed". Thanks!

[@ferallion3546]

The Generation Kill reference was a nice touch. Can’t wait for future installments.

[@PattMcCrotch]

OMGosh, Christmas has come Early, guys! Thx, TOR. You guys are the Best