Battle of Nasiriyah - Operation Iraqi Freedom - Animated

[@TheOperationsRoom]

Thanks to Opera Browser for sponsoring this video. Go to opr.as/Opera-browser-The-Operations-Room to download it for free today!

[@ChairmanMeow1]

I actually have used Opera for a while and really enjoy it. Its built off of Chrome so its pretty similar. Built in adblock and built in VPN is why I got it originally.

[@kskeel1124]

So what happened to the commander of the 507th that drove his lightly armed and armored support unit into an enemy controlled city out of what seemed to be sheer incompetence that lead to the death and capture of a dozen of his soldiers and compromised the entire invasion because of his mistake???🤔

[@KorkutFamz]

Nit for nothing Opera is pretty good especially on underpowered devices

[@jan2lim2011]

the best browser, been using it eversince

[@BradPittishere]

Opera Limited is owned by Beijing Kunlun Tech Co., Ltd. just so you know what to expect... Privacy and security my 🫏

[@loslobos786]

I was in Nasiriyah just a little bit behind these guys. To see the events I participated in displayed like a history lesson is surreal.

[@2x2is22]

Welcome to old age. It'll only get worse from here

[@antonseoane9092]

Do you find these videos accurate to reality on the ground as someone who participated?

[@waltdyer0302]

@@antonseoane9092video audio was mostly good but the visuals were way off. Charlie CO was only at the north side of Sadam Canal and not at the top of the T intersection

[@jasona9438]

1/11 Marines here, the Artillery fire was from 10th Marines and 11th Marines respectively

[@loslobos786]

@@antonseoane9092 they are as accurate as they are going to get, I think. The problem is that so much is lost to history. There's alot of little things that don't get reported and people on the ground only see their small little section of the War. Fog of War exists , for instance I remember little birds from military Intel flying over us blaring Queen and heavy metal music. Apparently it was meant to motivate us we just thought it was ridiculous. To this day no one can confirm to me that that happened. I've never seen an official report of any kind yet I saw it. So much is lost and so much is changed for the narrative of history. Every Iraqi I talked to treated me like a liberator yet when I rotated home all the news said was how hated we were and how dangerous it was for us there, honestly the Iraqis hated each other more than us but if you listen to the news we were Stormtroopers. History really is just a lie we all agree to believe however I think we're getting alot of truth in these videos and I can't wait for more.👍

[@KaoKacique]

I try not to judge situations where the people involve don't have all context, but seeing the convoy safely pass through Nasiriyah and then decided to pass through the city again despite knowing there was armed resistance inside was painful to watch

[@JoeyCarb]

My guy successfully excuted a speed run of one of the most dangerous places in the world for US troops and said nope that was too easy try again.

[@tocsa120ls]

my thoughts exactly

[@jeffreyholdeman3042]

Soft skills…..soft skills 🙄

[@MrTotalNiceGuy]

There were some bad decisions made. Not much to say beyond that.

[@gobblox38]

That unit used a PowerPoint generated map for navigation which had no grid reference. It was an utter leadership failure.

[@phonicallychallenged2906]

"It's nothing like Southampton, there's no beer and they're shooting at us. It's more like Portsmouth" is peak British banter.

[@tennesseewilliams101]

What is the reputation of those cities?

[@JonathanLundkvist]

@@tennesseewilliams101 Porthmouth being a Royal Navy city may indeed take pot shots at any stray Marines :D

[@masterbaiting22]

​@tennesseewilliams101 Southampton is relatively nice and Portsmouth is a shit hole

[@charliesilverwood3608]

​@@masterbaiting22southampton is a shithole and pompey is a bigger shithole.

[@ImplodedAtom]

@@masterbaiting22 Can confirm. My ex is from Portsmouth.

[@edgymememaker2602]

Newer generation marine here 2018-current, and they showed us this in our fratricide class at TACP. So many things that the FAC and aircrew did improperly and it’s just beyond tragic what happened. Since then a lot of changes/ rules/ templates have been made to reduce fratricide incidents like this. Our instructors taught us these rules are written in blood for a reason

[@tonymorris4335]

Best of luck to you as a disabled EOD tech. You guys don't have to deal with that nightmare of concrete IEDs and shit hopefully. Every war is different and Ukraine is fighting a war totally different from mine but also the same. Fear and anxiety are strong but you can overcome it. Advice from a vet here too, if you have an injury go to the doctor every time it bothers you even if you expect to just get motrin or something. The VA will not fight you if you went in for your knee 5x in active duty but if you only go once they justifiably won't see it as a disability if it only bothered you once. Get your shit documented.

[@waltdyer0302]

Somewhat of a scholar on this battle here. Yes the FAC fucked up but most of the blame needs to be put on the shitty command. They had all Mar forces on channel 1. Even LCpls were on the comms. The battalion was so strict and didn’t let anyone innovate. Eventually the C7 command vic got stuck in a shit bog under a power line and lost all comms so they somewhat lossened up. What they didn’t show in this video is how south Charlie Co was. They were on the northern bank of Saddam canal and not at the T intersection. When they showed the 2 abrams go north they forgot to mention both of the loaders on either tank were a Arty FO nicknamed “sprout” and a FAC named Hawk

[@whatilearnttoday5295]

@@tonymorris4335Like any abusive relationship you require proof or they'll throw you on the scrapheap with all the other broken bodies.

[@notNajimi]

@@whatilearnttoday5295”that didn’t happen, and if it did it wasn’t that bad”

[@Big_Glizzy.]

It's normal to get the shakes when you actually deploy for the first time into combat. Just breathe. Also if a vehicle is disabled, take everything out especially radio. We made that mistake once but we were able to watch over our disabled truck from a nearby house waiting for recovery. And learn verbal commands in the local language, it helps a ton!!! OIF 06-07

[@OutspokenSeeker]

A10 Warthog trying to not decimate friendly forces: challenge impossible

[@DanielDracohun]

No need for those useless fancy electronics, RIGHT?!

[@coltseavers6298]

Great as always. One bit of advice though, you might want to put an - *_in operation 'time stamp'_* - in the lower left corner of the screen as I constantly lost track of the hours during the battle. Keep up the great work.

[@Rhinozherous]

I also like this idea!

[@JeepWranglerIslander]

Not a terrible idea but for certain events it's going to be very hard for that to be in any way accurate unless he gets access to the actual after-action reports, and even then you're contending with potentially intentional and unintentionally unreliable narrators.

[@jakesemrow2678]

this would be so helpful, i also found myself getting lost with a couple different U turns and dangerous treks through ambush alley

[@lelionnoir4523]

Excellent suggestion.

[@thefeof6161]

​@@JeepWranglerIslanderno, no need for that, he uptades the hour in the narration, so its just to have that number always there

[@amberwalters8458]

Thank you for creating this video. I am Sgt Walters youngest daughter. This gives me something to process for my grief and anger and it helps me understand the situation better as I was only 9 months old when he was killed. I pray for the rest of you who may have lost a friend or a loved one in this disaster that should have NEVER happened. There’s people that need to be held accountable but clearly the only thing the military can do is lie.

[@yjsuck]

I'm sorry for your loss. As an OIF vet myself I struggle to understand why we were there and what good we did. To me it wasn't worth the cost.

[@gunzales]

Gonzales family sends our respects. OEF/OIF Veteran here

[@DaveTerrasidio]

im sorry for your loss ma'am... for what its worth; the respect i have for your father is basically limitless. he and every other service person involved. thankfully lessons learned from experiences like this, have greatly improved comms, etc between our services, etc... of course...as always, war is truly " **Hell** on Earth" 🤲🏼 🙏🏼 ❤‍🔥 💔

[@PaleHorsePhoto]

Hello, I was a part of this battle. I was a crewman manning a 240G on an AAV with 1/2 C Co, we were the first ones that pushed through Ambush Alley. This video leaves out a lot of what happened and has several discrepancies. I'm happy to talk about the events of that day if you'd like. Thank you for drawing attention to this battle.

[@aidancooper9498]

What are the 2 most important things left out, and the 2 largest discrepancies?

[@murdock638]

That's badass. Thank you for your service. 💪💪💪

[@Novabunny_]

YAT YAS 🐊

[@ElTeerino]

What a CF that was.

[@SpeedsoftSpades]

Hell yeah, man

[@brianhall4182]

I'm getting real Black Hawk Down vibes from the video. A convoy continuously running through enemy fire due to not knowing where they were going. Man. I can only imagine how absolutely terrifying that must have been.

[@waltdyer0302]

Those marines in the town were stranded for almost 3 hours with constant fighting. If bill hadn’t heard them they would’ve all been toast

[@waltdyer0302]

@@CubeInspector what are you talking about?

[@waltdyer0302]

@@CubeInspector also were you even there? No so don’t comment retarded shit unless you are Iraqi then get shit on

[@_-JonDoe-_]

⁠@@waltdyer0302I’m guessing they are referring to the captain how got them into the situation in the first place… Which is so hard to talk about. This is so recent. I mean, there are actually people from this battle IN THE COMMENT SECTION.

[@AParticularlyConcernedCitizen]

Except Black Hawk Down was competent commanders purposely fighting through the enemy to find stranded allies and having to navigate a maze of road blocks and strongpoints. This was a guy deciding a bunch of his subordinates needed to die because he failed to turn at an intersection and refusing to do anything close to making an intelligent decision.

[@JoeyCarb]

One of my DI's was in Nasiriyah as a squad leader. It was the only thing he wouldnt talk about. All he would say is that it was his daily mission to make sure we were better equipped than he was to be successful should we find ourselves in a similar situation.

[@whatilearnttoday5295]

The same situation happens in every conflict. It's always a clusterfuck.

[@FrankYammy]

@@whatilearnttoday5295False

[@Evan-g3z]

The winner is he who controls the chaos better, Napoleon said something like that

[@Atlas531]

I was working with an ex-Army Capt when this happened. When we saw the news report on TV, he said something like, "I'm not surprised, I used to work with the 507th, and they were always getting lost." I was blown away with his nonchalance and with the knowledge that there were trained US troops with GPS units in hand who were able to get lost on a paved road system.

[@connorjohnson4402]

Its not like they had google maps back then and idk if you ever had to deal with the older tomtom or other GPS navigation systems at the time but a wrong turn wasnt something that was particularly uncommon. Yes i know they had military GPS and its different I'm sure but people are people and make mistakes, but yea it was a particularly bad one to make.

[@jesperomsf816]

@@connorjohnson4402 I don't know how old you are but my mom drove me around when i was going to primary around 2005 and she had a perfectly fine, talking and working GPS system in her tiny budget shopping car, attached to the window. In a time where Garmin wasn't known for watches. There's no way US soldiers in 2003 should be able to get lost when their employer owns GPS

[@2x2is22]

​@@jesperomsf816A support unit like this at that time likely had only one GPS-enabled vehicle in the convoy. Maybe 2. I got down range three years after this and we had two GPS's per convoy (then called Blue Force Tracker). It wasn't until half way through the tour that all vehicles got it. The force that went into Iraq in 2003 was really the Desert Storm force. Literally, all their equipment was Desert Storm era. It took a few years to get everything updated to what we see soldiers with today

[@herrensaar1989]

@@2x2is22 Gps terminals have been standard equipment in all overseas US military vehicles since the early 90s. Trying to save 1000$ with risk of getting lost in a warzone, was something the US didn't want to happen again like in the first gulf war. And they would also cary detailed paper maps the of area they're in. This whole part of the operation was atragic showing of poor leadership, poor training, poor backup plans and in general a unit not fit for active duty.

[@whatilearnttoday5295]

@@connorjohnson4402All B-Company needed was an aerial photo of the area.

[@danishvaunt]

This engagement is a textbook example of why attention to detail and good communication is key in combat situations. We all saw how literally one wrong turn can get so many people killed and miscommunication can result in friendly fire or your units security being exposed. But also the fog of war isn’t kind and Murphy’s law is what runs wars so given the fact they were still able to complete their objectives in the end is the only silver lining.

[@carrott36]

Second time one wrong turn has gotten a bunch of people killed for no reason, although granted far more minor than the first.

[@khurramzafar]

​@@carrott36Took me a while to understand it, let's see how many more people get it

[@comet_box9159]

The first one pretty much changed history

[@Kaiserboo1871]

@@khurramzafar Franz Ferdinand?

[@kenheise162]

No, this is a classic example of officers who suck at basic skills. You never see them at training events.

[@webby2275]

My goodness this was a frustrating episode. So many issues due to simple mistakes and poor or nonexistant communication.

[@JackTagar]

Breakdowns in communication, especially in combat, are to be expected. Thorough training *should* diminish that kind of problem. Using thermal markers for friendly vehicles, not having your air support equipped with them, and rolling without a FAC? Inexcusable.

[@monsoon270275]

Come on man? You know the drills... If you're gonna slate anyone, prove them wrong by doing better, if not, shut your hole.

[@abdiganiaden]

@@JackTagar the aircraft guys didn’t have prime membership and didn’t get it on time

[@christasimon9716]

@@abdiganiaden "You go to war with the army you have, not the army you want." They only had a couple years and unlimited funding to get ready for this invasion.

[@CheburashkaGenovna]

Soooo..... would be better to stay at home - right? 😏

[@1833marine]

My Marine Brother Sgt. Michael Bitz was one of the Marines that died when the RPG went inside the AAV with the Ramp Blown off.

[@ComedyReap]

stop invading other peoples country

[@hurrymagwaya]

condolences for your loss

[@Matttheyapp]

Tell that to hussein who invaded kuwait and iran 😂 ​@@ComedyReap

[@khurramsardarbangash]

War is hell my friend! So sorry for your loss. God bless your brother.

[@xsrrr]

He should have stayed home

[@ChairmanMeow1]

The logistics of war are truly mind boggling. Its a miracle any progress is made at all. The defensive force has such a massive advantage, especially in urban areas.

[@eduardobreda1279]

The fucking COURAGE to try and take a city like this. Imagine being one of those marines in the back of the fucking AAVs that got hit. Fuck that.

[@DustinHorvath1987]

I was thinking that it's interesting how the standards of conducting warfare have changed over the last century. A bunch of times in this video I was sitting here kind of facepalming: - "we don't expect a lot of resistance at this river crossing intersection" You mean a crossing over the euphrates at a relatively large city with thousands of combatants? A vitally important strategic location? - We'll split our convoy and send some of our force over this open field so they can flank" Oh, just call an audible to divert some of your forces through a mostly-unscouted area you have no intelligence for? - Multiple occasions of forces running off in directions and the rest of their fellow units don't know where they are in the city - Multiple engagements taken in knowingly-unfavorable circumstances Just so many things where you watch the decisions being made and you go "what on earth were you guys thinking???", but that's because we're so used to people planning so thoroughly and having excellent communication and excellent strategy, and concentrating their forces in the best circumstances and most favorable engagements. It gets easy to take all of that for granted.

[@ChairmanMeow1]

You said what I was trying to say much more eloquently. :D That is a historical fact of warfare though, being surprised, constantly learning things. Like the Americans learning how effective paratroopers were. @@DustinHorvath1987

[@ChairmanMeow1]

I always imagined what it must have been like to be in one of the landing crafts on dday, and see the one right next to you get deleted by a mortar. @@eduardobreda1279

[@zambiakid]

@@DustinHorvath1987 "No plan of operations extends with any certainty beyond the first encounter with the main enemy forces. Only the layman believes that in the course of a campaign he sees the consistent implementation of an original thought that has been considered in advance in every detail and retained to the end." - Field Marshal Helmuth von Moltke, 1871 A meticulosly planned advance behind an artillery barrage was a great idea, until my grandfather's regiment advanced faster than expected into the very same artillery barrage in the desert in WW2 killing a large number of his friends. Great idea on paper though.

[@eermirosemh8339]

The part were the T69/55 platoon is decimated by a single AT team without being able to return fire is peak WARGAME experience.

[@agusti92]

Except for the part where some poor dudes were killed like sitting ducks because their ineffectual commander stripped them down of their mobility.

[@werewolf632]

The T55s were long obsolete by the time Iraq War happened. If the Iraqis had 1/5 the capability of US ... the war would have never happened. Look at Iran ... America or any western powers will never invade Iran because the losses will be unacceptable.

[@saintadolf5639]

​@agusti92 which part is that? The swamp part?

[@JoMomma1973]

I was a REMF stationed in europe, and was in a waiting room in landstuhl hospital in Germany when the first casualties showed up there. Was seated next to a marine whose face was badly torn up and the whole left side of his body was bandaged or casted. He said he was the lone survivor of his AAV (or thought he was) in that battle.

[@DaveTerrasidio]

my god...

[@Spartan_082]

Thanks for covering some of the lesser known engagements in history. I did a battlefield discussion with my Marines about Nasiriyah, stressing the importance of planning, coordination, sleep sustainment, and complacency while conducting convoy operations. To assist the discussion were several of our senior leadership who were there during this battle. Sometimes its hard to see these battles as little more than historical markers but then you talk with some of the guys who were there.

[@PaleHorsePhoto]

And intelligence. I was a part of this battle and our intelligence was shit. We were told the population was friendly and we wouldn’t face any resistance.

[@DesMen-i9z]

Amidst all these chaos, there was a convoy of 3 Land Rovers from the British Army Pathfinder Platoon slipping through Nasiriyah tasked with recceing an Iraqi airfield north of the city. After driving through not far from the city, they were ambushed along the way by Iraqi Army and Fedeyens militia. They made a U-turn back to the city and passed Marines lines but at the risk of blue on blue as the Marines were on high alert due to the losses suffered while driving through the city in the day.

[@staidenofanarchy]

"Its more like Portsmouth" solid gold

[@jbdawinna]

First ever properly linked KZbin short to video I’ve ever clicked on, I love you

[@donchaput8278]

Wow, amazing how the slight miscommunications can cause so many issues. Another great video

[@KeeganMovieScenes]

wouldnt call them slight but yeah

[@jacksmith-mu3ee]

Usa owes reparations

[@alexstrodder8174]

One of the best channels on KZbin. Incredible videos with clearly countless hours of research going into each video and a respect for history. Brilliant.

[@jacksmith-mu3ee]

How

[@Poondr]

21 years and not a single day has passed that I haven't thought of this day. Not only was 507th my Battalions maintenance company 5/52 ADA Ft. Bliss, we also shared barracks with them. Jessica Lynch and Lori Piestewa shared a room about 5 doors down on the same floor and Stg Riley's (captured by Iraqis that day) room was 1 door down across the tiny hallway from mine just to name a few. We passed that intersection a few hours earlier and skirted the city the night before. So sleep deprived, hallucinating, almost fired on an Iraqi truck with a gun mount until I closer and it turned out to be a donkey. Nobody in the invasion force had slept for 3 to 4 days straight and were encountering heavy resistance form an enemy we were told had no will to fight. That day changed the the mentality of everyone in country. Anything that moved is now a target. \

[@davidt3563]

My brother in law was a mechanic in the army during this time. He saw so much horrible remains, bits and blood in vehicles from that time. He said without the monumental amounts of therapy he definitely wouldn't still be here. He is a fantastic father and person and I can't imagine my family without him.

[@jacksmith-mu3ee]

Why was he there . Shameful

[@DaveTerrasidio]

. cherish him. 🤲🏼 🙏🏼 ✊🏼 💔 ❤‍🩹 ❤‍🔥 and tell him, if he hasn't already come to the conclusion *(which i suspect, and am sure, is the case)* , that the gift he can take from the hell of war is to use his experience to *(truly; not like in that cliché...)* overcome, be the best human he can be for his children, you and the rest of his family and others generally. ...if you can forgive an old softy his optimism in people and the future despite the insanity on the news every day lol let me say that he is real lucky to have someone as smart, perceptive, compassionate, caring, etc, etc; enough as yourself in his life to realise and figure out life well enough to truly appreciate, realise and encourage the best in themselves and those around them... again; please forgive soft old *(i say old im 42 fgs ahaha!)* glass half full romantic me. i cant help it. god bless you, him, the rest of your family... and all our service people, who now reside in our hearts and minds, involved in this engagment and indeed te conflict as a whole.. 🤲🏼 🙏🏼 ✊🏼 💔 ❤‍🩹 ❤‍🔥 .

[@stephen5882]

I was part of RCT 1 and went through Nasiriyah a few hours after this part of the battle. The wrecked hmmwv hit the back of the other vehicle so hard the large pillar behind driver/passenger was bent backwards. The death and destruction I saw driving thought Nasiriyah was insane.

[@Cool-Tina]

Pvt Sloan is from my hometown area, and I drive by roadway signs in his memory on a daily basis. He is not forgotten.

[@sych7]

Holy shit dude, you're cranking these out really fast for how amazing these are. thanks for the amazing vids!

[@SirMatthew]

The convoy lead sacrificing his convoy so he wouldn't get chewed out for going the wrong way is a textbook example of why I will never join the military. He KNEW the city was guarded, they all saw the Iraqi military there.

[@PilgrimBangs]

My son was in the Command Amtrack in this battle. His buddy and best man was in the house fighting after his Amtrack was disabled.

[@jacksmith-mu3ee]

0 sympathy for your son

[@PilgrimBangs]

@@jacksmith-mu3ee oh he’s good to go. Came home married a beauty and they’ve three sons, life is good. Wasn’t asking nor in need of any sympathy. We’re a family of warriors who have stood in arms for America for 400 years. I’ve at least 23 ancestors who served in the Continental Army. We carry our duty and service with honor.

[@shotak5771]

@@jacksmith-mu3eefuckin clown 🤡

[@battlephenom8508]

Spotted the giant PoS. Get bent.@@jacksmith-mu3ee

[@Adonis8989]

​@markthervguy So happy for your son and his family. Was he part of the aav that was destroyed in ambush alley, where they had to dismount and seek shelter in a house?

[@BlackStarInitiative]

This battle has always fascinated me. Thank you and the team for the animation.

[@jacksmith-mu3ee]

List of Countries the US has Bombed Since the End c WWII (may be incomplete) Korea and China 1950-53 (Korean War) Guatemala 1954, 1960 Indonesia 1958 Cuba 1959-61 Vietnam 1961-73 Laos 1964-73 Belgian Congo 1964 Dominican Republic 1965--66 Peru 1965 Guatemala 1967-1969 Cambodia 1969-1970 Nicaragua 198OS El Salvador 1980s Lebanon 1982-84 Grenada 1983 Lebanon 1983, J 1984 (Lebanese, Syrian targets) Iran 1987 Panama 1989 Iraq 1991 (First Gulf War); 1991- 2003 (US/UK "NO Fly Zone") Kuwait 1991 Somalia 1992--94; 2007 Bosnia 1994-1995 Iran 1997 Sudan 1998 Afghanistan 1998 Yugoslavia 1999 Afghanistan 2001--ongoing Iraq 2003 (Second War--more recently predator drones) Yemen 2002, 2009 Libya 1986, 2011

[@mitchel123234]

I love the anecdotes you add from the soldiers.

[@HollywoodMarine0351]

Including Marines anecdotes.

[@mitchel123234]

@@HollywoodMarine0351 true

[@orderoftheyawgmoth]

I wish OR would add anecdotes from the opposing side as well. Now he just paints them as the infamous "The Other". Sigh.

[@joeoge9347]

Thanks for this video, my 1st Squad leader was a part of this battle as a member of the AMC. Its nice to see the bigger picture of what happened and the story told in a respectful way.

[@DrMerio518]

This goes to show how important communications equipment is in warfare

[@johngalt2506]

And how important comms discipline is.

[@SpartacusColo]

Or not getting lost.

[@DigitalLifeExperiences]

From personal experience in 2015, our COMMS were unreliable at best.

[@dcoing1907]

@@SpartacusColoeasy to say when you’re not in a desert that looks the same everywhere

[@SpartacusColo]

@@dcoing1907 Being impossible to truly understand where, precisely, the key mistake(s) were, the unit did, in fact, get lost; which lead to the entire debacle. Did they have inadequate maps? Did they have inadequate means to be able to evaluate their position? Was the Captain not paying attention to landmarks (river, large city)? Regardless: had they not gotten lost, the communications issue would not have mattered in this incident.

[@Deagnetic]

**Sees 507M Truck** "Dang, we ain't even in the city yet" - Trombley

[@sgtstedanko7186]

Served in Habbaniyah 2007. Thanks for doing these OIF clips. Much of our war has already been forgotten

[@LDrumsOhio]

It’s hard seeing this laid out and knowing how unprepared we were even six months later. So many bad decisions, bad leaders, and an unwillingness to challenge things or over prepare.

[@lightravenn]

Good video as always. I remember the story about this, how much I tried to dig for info back then to understand how a maintenance company ended up front, didnt find much. Then the movie about it.. and now this video making those thoughts come back to my head. What an awful situation to live.

[@That_Guy9168]

We learned about this in the Army and were drilled that if we didn't service our weapons, communicate clearly and loudly, and hone the react to contact drills we'd be dead or in an enemy prison.

[@Mayor-McCheese]

Love your videos!! Been around for awhile and you've only gotten better keep up the amazing work ❤

[@lagboi4539]

Looks like it's that time of the week again

[@johncurtis6815]

You’ve done another amazing job on this video series, bravo sir. That being said, I have a very very hard time watching/reliving these events having lived through this time and knowing 3 people very close to me were killed during the Iraq 🇮🇶 invasion and subsequent occupation. I look back on this time in history with genuine sadness knowing there was absolutely zero reason for the USA 🇺🇸 forces to complete this mission and sacrifice their lives in the name of “WMD’s”. An absolute tragedy and senseless loss of life on all sides.

[@michlo3393]

Be careful not to underestimate the effect, that getting rid of Sadaam and his Bathist regime had on the civilian population. WMDs or not, or whatever fucking reason we used to justify going in didn't matter to the people who no longer had to live in fear of that monster. Sure we shouldn't have invaded but, since we did, at least _that_ was a positive side-effect.

[@Mortablunt]

You’re forgetting what the actual effect on life in Iraq was. Living standards, plummeted, millions of people killed, a Civil War ,sectarian rifts that still haven’t closed, ISIS, impoverishment, there’s still a terrorist attacks, and now we have Iranian domination. We took the closest thing to a secular, stable Arab state and destroyed it killing millions of people on a lie, so some rich pricks could fatten their bank accounts a little more. Just for how destructive we were directly in case you want to blame the book of deaths on the sectarian stuff, America managed to kill just in the opening invasion, phase from bombardment to the fall of Baghdad, more civilians than Russia has killed in the past two years in Ukraine in just over a month.

[@justalpha9138]

My father was a Blackhawk pilot and combat medic for over 22 years. Although he started his deployment late into the Iraq War, his torment really began in Afghanistan. I applaud you for your service and bravery. I myself am about to join the Oregon Air National Guard, as I know I would not be able to do well in the Marines, I won't do the Army because of how my dad suffered, and I won't do Navy because I'm not a fan of being on boats. XD

[@jonny-b4954]

Meh, debatable. Sure, getting rid of him wasn't a terrible thing. He was a monster. But, who knows what would have happened if Sadaam had remained in power. Maybe they overthrow him or he dies and they end up better off than they are today. You can't underestimate the butterfly effect and how 1 decision can transform the timeline.@@michlo3393

[@jordank1489]

​@@michlo3393300,000 civilians died during the Iraq war. Sometimes, it's better the devil you know.

[@gwenna1161]

went through that town many times while I was deployed. it was one of the few points along our route that had a pay phone

[@simaminghui]

Absolutely incredible, team! I was in V Corps further West than this action but we heard about it. It was sobering to say the least.

[@theMull90]

How Walters did not get the medal of honour is beyond me, I mean he did literally did all he could in his service. He continued until the very end. He ended countless hostiles and never gave up even in the face of death. I know the silver star is amongst the very most prestigious medals one can be given, I always feel when he does absolutely everything he can in the face of overwhelming odds etc, then the highest “reward” is required. Or maybe it’s just my misunderstanding of the US military medal tradition and the purpose of each medal.

[@ScharfSchutzen]

I think the stipulation with the MoH is that is has to be an act of selfless bravery in support of others, Walter did what anyone would try to do in that situation, he earned the silver star for lasting longer than anyone else could in a fight of self preservation. Its respectable and noble but i understand why they chose a silver star over a Medal of Honor

[@TripleAlfafa]

@@ScharfSchutzen Wouldn't be surprised if the rationale was to ensure people wouldn't go off and do crazy shit that would likely get them killed unless it's really a situation where the whole unit is endangered.

[@Autobotmatt428]

@@ScharfSchutzen I don't think thats part of it. Honestly at the very least it should have been a Navy Cross.

[@chrisgraves4561]

To be fair, the Silver Star is a "hefty" award for valor. Only the Distinguished Service Cross, lies between it and the Medal Of Honor. Sgt. Walters definitely earned his.

[@JimBob-jr5up]

Yah, im sure it matters to the now dirt, his bones became. Im betting if we could ask him or his family, theyd probably rather he not take part in an illegal war for oil and military contractors, while remaining alive.

[@PersonalityMalfunction]

Fantastic account I thought I knew about, but as it turns out I didn't. So much detail, presented simply and accurately! Thank you.

[@Crulak]

I'm glad this story is getting told, but having lived through it - this one is hard to watch. This coverage doesn't really afford good context to the events and sequence that resulted in a lot of these human errors. The building pressure, the mounting sense of urgency, and at the time how easily the hostile forces were just rolling over. The stakes and expectations were rising, we knew it, and we knew at some point the haste would catch up. The stakes were rising day by day, hour by hour, down to a point where split second decisions (a missed turn, a garbled radio call), can and will result in life and death scenarios. Judging by the comment log, there are a lot of people out there that do understand what "shit hit the fan" means, but don't really "know" what it means and all the chaos that goes along with it. It's quicksand. The more you struggle, the more you sink. You know you have to do something, but everything you do next seems to turn out worse and worse. Their are no good options once the die is cast *and you know it the whole time sitting there living it, a slave to the scenario you've just found yourself in*. Judge the planning and preparation that left these combatants unprepared for the fight they were thrust into.. but spare the warfighters caught in the mix. If you weren't there, you don't know. Be glad you weren't there.

[@jacksmith-mu3ee]

0 sympathy for u

[@Crulak]

@@jacksmith-mu3eeoh no! 😂

[@jacksmith-mu3ee]

@@Crulak no back at u . This is why i don't care what covid did

[@bradyciessau3299]

@@jacksmith-mu3ee Congrats on being one of the stupidest people i've ever come across on the internet.

[@Its_shiki_time4876]

​@@jacksmith-mu3ee take your meds old man

[@R2Sam]

Love the Drach shoutout in the add section

[@TrickiVicBB71]

I was checking out who he subbed to. The Mighty Jingles, Liveth Evermore and, Historgraph are excellent channels

[@Andy-mr8te]

As someone who grew up with the navy and the marines in a small town outside of Portsmouth and who now lives outside Southampton, I laughed my arse off at those remarks 😂

[@lui5gif]

This is really interesting and it's good to see some people in the comments who were there mostly validating the info, but I'd love to see you post sources in the video description or pinned comment. History without sources can't be history

[@therealuncleowen2588]

7:40 Private Piestowa was KIA, the first Native American woman to die in service of her country. Squaw Peak in the Phoenix area was renamed in her honor, Piestowa Peak. For those unfamiliar, squaw is a derogatory term for a Native American woman, certainly that was a word that should never have been used to name a mountain. Renaming the mountain in her honor was very appropriate.

[@beefyoso]

I'm not a fan of most of the politically correct name changes happening, but that was one I could get behind.

[@donkeytonks6466]

The amount of lives that were lost due to incompetency at leadership levels is astounding

[@abaddon4823]

That’s normal

[@outofturn331]

I'm sure you're not referring to POTUS

[@waltdyer0302]

But also you must note the bravery that people showed after this. Bill drove back into the city multiple times to save marines

[@whatilearnttoday5295]

Wait till you realise that a small team captured Afghanistan in 2 weeks. Then command flew in and to get their Combat Action Badge (A requirement for further promotion) had their own HQ bombed. The coordinates looked wrong, but command was demanding the strike.

[@markr1toffeeman]

@operationsroom - how did the single M1A1 end up in the river and why is that not covered here? "On the morning of 27 March, two recon Marines found a sunken M1A1 tank at the bottom of the river. The tank had been missing since the night of 24-25 March. It had apparently plunged into the river when it drove through a gap where a sidewalk was under construction, causing the exposed reinforcing bar to crumble under the weight. The entire four-man crew died."

[@markr1toffeeman]

To be clear, I ask the question respectfully re: US Army and US Marines involved. This was an intense and unexpected battle and I was reading the military history of if, prompted by this excellent animation. Was surprised to see in the video no mention of the above occurring. Just curious as to why.

[@waltdyer0302]

@@markr1toffeemanbecause this covers just march 23

[@joeschmuckatelli1702]

@@markr1toffeeman That tank and crew were not part of this battle - their unit were bypassing Nasiriyah to the west at night, in a sandstorm and sleep deprived. It was just a tragic accident.

[@tibbs3112]

@@joeschmuckatelli1702 Took an AAVR7 and 2 M88s to fish it out if my memory serves me right. I met the recovery team leader playing warthunder of all things.

[@sccur]

Seeley is my old CO. He told this story very differently in 2004. This leaves out a crucial detail about how/why the AAV sunk and had to be abandoned. They took a different route to avoid ambush ally, which was a seewage canal that had been hardened over to look like a road. The weight of the AAV caused it to sink and get stuck.

[@Billy_Bob_Dan]

Been waiting all week

[@D.Trout222]

Its important to point out this was not a ambush. A bunch of pogs got lost and drove into the middle of a enemy held city. They did every thing wrong and were lucky to survive. Keep in mind not all units in the military are expected to fight the enemy. Also the fact that Lynch went on to try to blame the marines for not stopping them from driving into the city is idiotic. I feel awful for what happened to her but she should have never been on the 50 as she was not strong enough to use it. Also this is one of several events that caused the army to change their weapon manipulation training.

[@gobblox38]

That unit was using a simple map created in PowerPoint to navigate. They had specific points listed in MGRS, but there was no grid on the map. The leadership barely understood how the PLGR worked. There was so many things that went wrong in that unit.

[@twohorsesinamancostume7606]

Yeah, I was there and it royally pissed me off when she said that. Good Marines died because her unit was too stupid to follow in a damned convoy, the least she could do is show some accountability and own that

[@chargree]

@@gobblox38They should not have been using them, in that case. The leadership ALREADY knows that type of thing and logic. I keep seeing comments from veterans, or family/friends of veterans, that say they used this incident to train for future missions. This is a SHAME! They KNEW already that training on equipment is absolutely necessary before using it in WAR. If you dont know how to use it, it is useless. They learned this in the Revolutionary War, I would have to imagine, although common sense would argue the same point, with or without the stimuli of war variables. My question is, why did they need this incident to study to understand any of these things?

[@MrChickennugget360]

she was not on the .50 she was in the back seat with another female PFC. As mentioned in this video three other guys were in vehicle but were killed by the RPG that knocked out the vehicle.

[@gobblox38]

@@chargree the leadership of this unit did not take the training seriously. They didn't think to inspect equipment regularly. To be fair, there were individuals who were very serious about their training and maintaining their equipment. They were the ones fighting back

[@EJobuu]

My heart goes out to all those who lived, were wounded or were killed in action thru this ordeal. I hate to say it but it sounds like communication problems turned this whole event into one unbelievable Cluster Frak. I know it’s easy to look back thru the 20/20 recto-scope to say this or that should have been done. To all those who think that just try if you can even do that, to put yourself in that environment, not knowing much of what’s going on and getting shot at from all directions, fearing for your life and hopefully fearing for the lives of all your counterparts, before you start playing Monday morning quarterback on this. Of course mistakes were made. But this is Modern War. Not a game. Give them the respect they earned and deserve. Thanks to the Operations Room for putting all of this information together like this. You deserve your own medal for demonstrating to the general public that our freedoms that most people ignore every day are b/c troopers like these have put their lives on the line to help achieve. In this war and all the wars that this country has been involved in. Whether you agree with them or not the men & women who fought them deserve your praise, gratitude and your thanks for doing what they.

[@cysec4223]

How do you make a video of the Battle of Nasiriyah and not speak about the 'Hero of Nasiriyah', at the time, GySgt LeHew? The man received the Navy Cross for his actions that day and is a legend. I had the honor of being chewed out by him when I was a fresh Cpl in 1/3 lol.

[@scalleewagg9746]

Recently discovered channel. Amazing work. Only thing I'd say is to improve audio and voice (it's a bit monotonous and unengaging). Fab work mate tho keep it up!

[@CinderTheSkulldog]

My dad actually served in this operation. Idk if he served in this battle, but I'll definitely show him the video.

[@sin3369]

I think my staff Sargent was in this. Back in 2015. He never gave me great details but this sounds like it. Especially the rpg hitting his track and getting on the other side of the bridge.

[@mgway4661]

In OSUT we were given a jingle for immediate action for Jessica Lynch. SPORTS (now STR- slap tap reassess) Scream Panic Overreact Throw a tatrum Surrender It was proven that she didn’t understand what to do when her weapon had a stoppage. Maintenance issues were a problem for her entire convoy.. among many other issues

[@addysong1628]

I see little mention of command responsibility for the condition of the unit, vehicles, and soldiers in your remarks -- all the way from company and battalion training to ensure sufficient knowledge and muscle memory, all the way to division and strategic failures that led support convoys in the early years to go in without vehicle armor, crew serve weapons, blue force trackers, or even more than 2 radios in a whole convoy. Those are the big issues there -- the ones that created and aggravated the situation. A maintenance soldier in service one year who is not quite competent with handling a double-feed (while dealing with continuous gunfire, smashed vehicles, no armor, no comms, smoke, broken bones/concussion and under extreme stress, is not the decisive factor here. Greater weapon experience -- a responsibility reliant on her command, not her, to provide training time and feedback -- would not effect the outcome more than maybe having her fire 5 more rounds before being shot. My aggravation here is fueled by the recognition that you focus on one tiny feature of a broader failure, while giving a pass to the leadership that put under-trained and drastically under-equipped soldiers in the CF to begin with. That convoy had no add-on armor, little training, few if any blue force trackers, few radios, and poor leadership oversight from platoon to division level. I was in Iraq, 2004-2005. Battle of Fallujah with 2/2 -- David Bellavia's unit. My first two humvees were blown up. They had plywood armor. Logpacs only had 2-3 radios and maybe 1 BFT. Mostly un-armored. Dozens of IEDs and RPGs. I was wounded in Baghdad (1 Jun 04), got burns in the 9 Apr 04 ambush on the road to Najaf, and took a bullet to the SAPI plate in Fallujah. I cleaned CSM Faulkenberg's bloody bullet-splintered helmet out in Fallujah, and had to step on top of an aggressive staff sergeant who curled up on the floor in the fetal position in my vehicle gunbox, in order to return fire during an ambush in Muqdadiyah. I don't blame a maintenance unit private for the failing of a convoy or a whole Army corps. I blame the leadership -- including strategic level leaders who sent soldiers in without vehicle armor, BFTs, radios, maps, rest, mission briefings, sufficient training. Not the privates. And no, I'm not a kid. This is my daughter's Chromebook acct. I think having daughters is part of why such woman-targeted army jokes bother me these years. "You go to war with the Army you have, not the Army you want, or might have a later date." -- Donald Rumsfeld

[@piotrgrzyb3476]

Finally its there!!! I've been wating for this!

[@samburns2765]

I always watch these as soon as they come out, so goated

[@LuisAngel-xo8py]

Edging goated?

[@aesrenjoseph496]

fun fact a close relative of my family was in this convoy(not really sure if it was this specific convoy) as translator and when our neighbors knew about this they started shooting our house long story short The US didn't help us, application got rejected we left the country, and Denmark saved us out of nowhere.

[@mobius_1163]

Those two Abrams were absolute gigachads

[@robertagren9360]

Legend says Walters actual entered the city and is still there today fighting in the alleys with a sharp broken bottle

[@Dean_AZN]

Love the little Southampton/Portsmouth banter

[@British_monarchist]

That silver star should have been a Medal of Honor. He fought to the death

[@rickjames18]

I thought he was captured not killed?

[@SwissMarksman]

@@rickjames18 captured and shortly after executed

[@dester3275]

​@@rickjames18 he was forcibly captured, aka, he did not surrender but they disabled him and took him into captivity... Then executed him

[@rickjames18]

@@dester3275 I didn't say he surrendered I just forgot he was executed or murdered.

[@warwatcher91]

There were shockingly few MOH recipients during the Iraq war.

[@matthewadams2979]

I was there for this. Amazing to see it look like this!

[@rexmasters1541]

The desert sand never jammed our weapons!!!!! After being deployed to Iraq in task force shepherd and ripper we never had issues with sand jamming our weapons.

[@KombatKochPartDeux]

Same. It was just an excuse to cover the fact that their weapons were never touched the entire time they were in country.

[@2x2is22]

​@@KombatKochPartDeuxYea, support soldiers tend to think they'll never see action. It's not a good mindset for when shit gets real. The infantry is not always in a place where it can come save your ass

[@valkyrie321]

Horseshit. Most of the M-16s I utilized in the service were utter garbage and jammed constantly.

[@beertlont776]

​​@@KombatKochPartDeux this happend to me and what happend to you sounds different....you must be LYING!1!! Really showing the brains of the Infantry there.

[@erikhesjedal3569]

Finally an ad for something useful! I'm using Opera for mobile to watch this. I have never ever seen a single ad on KZbin unless it's embedded into the video like here

[@lolbots]

nice try

[@-sargntclashroyaleandmore-491]

Tragic about Walters being left behind... even under combat pressure, no man should have been left to fend for themselves

[@jacksmith-mu3ee]

0 sympathy for walters

[@-sargntclashroyaleandmore-491]

@@jacksmith-mu3ee you must be a psychopath then.

[@chargingcommando67]

@@jacksmith-mu3eeThey weren’t asking for empathy lil bro.

[@jacksmith-mu3ee]

@@chargingcommando67 even if they did no one cares Iraq deserves reparations

[@erocktherockjohnson5169]

@jacksmith-mu3ee nope.

[@_-JonDoe-_]

Ya know, I’ve heard hundreds of war stories from an academic perspective… but god DAMN this is much harder to stomach when it occurred so recently. It’s easy to shrug off the deaths in the Punic Wars, but this hits completely differently.

[@JoeFromTheAfternoon]

A section of tanks (2 tanks) go HAM and get things accomplished real quick at the end to help C Company. The Marine Corps will soon forget how invaluable having organic assets like tanks are and made the choice to get rid of them. It’s going to be a hard lesson in the future

[@MortRotu]

"It's not like Southampton, there's no beer and they're shooting at us.... More like Portsmouth." Say what you like about marines but they say it how it is.

[@shawnmiller4781]

I would have thought Birmingham

[@robertagren9360]

And they all talked rubbish

[@soldierski1669]

To give this some context to those who haven't served. You are awake for long periods, not 14 hours.. like 24-48+, sometimes just nodding off for 5 min, sleep deprived making life or death decisions, unclean, probably sitting in a tactical vehicle for hours with that high pitched spent Diesel in the air. It's 100% an excuse as it's just what happens in war. SAPPER

[@LateNightRewrites]

Dang bro its insane how one command mistake and subsequeny comms breakdowns resulted in such loss of life

[@amounifnd]

Great job telling this story. Nasiriyah has an interesting history. Many of Iraqs non Islamic minority groups were prominent in the these areas like the Sabians (John the Baptist), Jews up until the invastion. There is also a Ziggurat in this region so it is very old. Sad to see how they were impacted by the war. It's also the place of the Shiah uprisings against Saddam. Saddam was executed over the suppresion of the uprisings here. Now these same people are in power today and many of the Pro Iran armed militia are from these areas. Now they are fighting against US interest.

[@AaronReese]

Having the context, watching a video that shows Iraqi troops in the city, made that moment when King turned around gut-wrenching. Maybe he thought he could squeak back through the same population center that didn’t fire on him the first time. It might have seemed more appealing than guessing his way back to the main force through unknown and unscouted areas. Brutal.

[@randomguyontheinternet8345]

As a veteran of the Iraq war. I will never understand why they allowed convoys to blindly ride into enemy territory. You can see in this video they are clearly getting shot up at the beginning. Yet do not form a combat line and try to fight back. Its like making yourself a target.

[@Heartless38260]

Overall fairly accurate. Many details were off but that's understandable.

[@jamiesauce12]

As someone from Portsmouth, hearing that comment about it was incredibly funny.

[@bIuebuIIet]

That MX company is in my BN. We hold a remembrance ceremony every year for them

[@sonofagun1037]

Getting real sobel navigation vibes from this one

[@bull614]

And that's why you never trust an officer with a map

[@KombatKochPartDeux]

@@bull614 I had a West Point LT whose degree was pretty much map making. That man could read a map and navigate that would put everyone to shame.

[@bull614]

@KombatKochPartDeux and your point is? I spent enough time around officers to never trust them with a map. You had one officer out of how many? There is always an exception but it doesn't happen often. I served too long and lost enough Marines. You will never convince me

[@waltdyer0302]

@@bull614bro bill peeples and Dan wittnan we’re both officers who saved countless lives… what’s your point

[@bull614]

@waltdyer0302 My point is that most officers I've seen should not be allowed to touch a map. Ok, I will give you that at least starting at Captains, they seem to improve. I'm not saying that there are no outstanding officers. I served with some of the best in history, but my opinion may be a little bias. That being said, there are more that I don't trust with a map than I do. Therefore, as a general rule, I say never trust an officer with a map.

[@fafinaf]

Haven't even watched this yet but you know it's a good video. Every operations room upload is guaranteed to be good!

[@willscott2498]

This is glazing

[@fafinaf]

This is me caring what you think@@willscott2498

[@Billiejean583]

Good video! It’s insane to see how mistakes were made. The Iraqi militias didn’t have the fire support to capitalise

[@johnnotrealname8168]

The Americans marines were more than capable.

[@Billiejean583]

@@johnnotrealname8168What I’m saying is the mistakes these companies made would have led to them being decimated if the militias had artillery/ accurate mortars or even better anti amour weapons. They just charged down a street getting ambushed.

[@johnnotrealname8168]

@@Billiejean583 Well yeah, they were mistakes. The impression one must not get is that the militias would have won it though. The marines and soldiers were more than capable.

[@carrott36]

@@johnnotrealname8168Capable soldiers means nothing when you make that many mistakes commanding them - the original commentor was saying that if the Iraqi soldiers had the equipment to more reliably take down the motorised units that repeatedly crossed the kill-zones, those men would be dead inside their vehicles.

[@johnnotrealname8168]

@carrott36 Again sure but the Marines and soldiers were better. They beat these militias on their ground.

[@TrickiVicBB71]

LOL, I am amused with the sponsor showing Drach in it

[@jollygreen4662]

Back in 2004, we had those blue force tracker gps with 1990 maps. We were on iraqi highway 1 and lead veh got lost and drove into the dense city. 2 hrs behind us was a marine unit who was on route continued north without getting lost. As we were trying to get back on highway 1. We heard theur got hit by an ied. That ied attack could have been us...

[@Jimmydreadful]

dear God, its like the Mogadishu video all over again.

[@tiberiusgracchus4222]

Gosh, the fog of war. Even the most well equipped military in the world is not immune to it. I don't remember the details of this battle being all that well covered by media at the time. It's been a long time though, maybe I just don't remember.

[@flamingpotato8906]

babe wake up the new operations room is out

[@litreland764]

God Bless Major Peeples (and the men in both tanks) for crossing the bridge both ways to aid trapped soldiers. And to everyone else as well that day who found themselves in a bad situation they didn't have any control of. And to everyone who made similar efforts whose stories we don't know. Trying to navigate in a foreign country while people are trying to kill you doesn't sound fun. Memories to the (somewhere between I think 30-40 people) who lost their lives that day, and who knows how many lived with lifelong injuries. And to the foreign servicemen, like the Royal Marines. The men captured. I hope whoever signed off on those plans was punished beyond a delayed promotion or demotion. They sure didn't care about the men they killed, or injured for lifetimes. I can't believe they lacked the necessary support.

[@Mortablunt]

General Mattis. The man in charge, Colonel Dowdy, realized how well fortified the enemy position was and didn’t want to attack it with his light infantry force, so he halted, but then General Mattis came up, relieved him of command, and then ordered the attack, Anyway, getting a lot of Americans killed. “Maneuver warfare” my ass!

[@waltdyer0302]

Rah! Bill is a good family friend of ours

[@ArchonShon]

5:25 He fought like a Lion!

[@JamesThomas-gg6il]

Even with all the advancements in high tech communications, the fog of war still exists.

[@Bruh-ne2zx]

Been waiting for this episode since I first read/watched generation kill

[@CRob172]

I used to work with a guy who was a marine reservist with the bridge unit out of Battle Creek, Michigan who earned a presidential unit citation for the battle and he said Nasiriyah was hell on earth

[@waynegriswold8953]

thank you for making these amazing videos that are about history! btw your voice sounds soo familiar! do you do a plane channel too?

[@JD-tn5lz]

It always puzzles me that despite logistics being as important as it is, we always call Motor T, "motor trash" and rightfully so. It's filled with the bottom of the barrel enlisted and half of Motor T officers should be cashiered. Truly incompetent Army leadership with this one

[@adamlomas8479]

You make some of the best content on KZbin 👌👍