Another Good Read

The First Marine Division is the ground combat element of the I Marine Expeditionary Force; the same division that had fought on Guadalcanal, at Khe Sanh, and in the retaking of Kuwait. In 2003, the 1stMarDiv was assigned to participate in the invasion of Iraq and the taking of its capital city, Baghdad. The March Up (to Baghdad) would take these Marines 740 miles across a hot and dangerous desert —they would do it in record time. Speed, as one expert noted, was the division’s best tool in overwhelming the enemy. Telling the story of The March Up: Taking Baghdad with the United States Marines are two contract writers who had unprecedented access to Marines and their commanders —both of whom are retired Marines: Colonel Bing West and Major General Ray L. Smith.

Francis J. “Bing” West served as an infantry officer during the Vietnam War, first as the platoon leader of a mortar platoon, 2^nd Battalion, 9^th Marines, later with a Combined Action Platoon that fought for 485 days in a remote village, and also as a member of the Marine Corps reconnaissance team that initiated “Operation Stingray”: initiating small unit attacks behind enemy lines. Colonel West also served as Under Secretary of Defense (International Security) in the Reagan Administration. He has been to Iraq and Afghanistan numerous times and has written nine books about his experiences as a US Marine.

General Smith also served in Vietnam, and since then commanded infantry units at all levels. He is entitled to wear the Navy Cross, Silver Star (2 awards), Bronze Star, and Purple Heart Medal (3 awards). While on active duty, General Smith served as Executive Officer 2^nd Battalion, 8^th Marines, Deputy Commander, Marine Corps Base, Japan, and Commanding General, 3^rd Marine Division.

The March Up takes the reader directly to front line action as the Marines, under the leadership of a man West describes as a werewolf on the battlefield, (then) Major General James A. Mattis, attempts to achieve their objectives before the Iraqi Army can organize a cogent defense. West and Smith use the Army command’s order to halt in place for resupply as a primary example of the cultural differences between the two services. General Mattis didn’t have time for stacking BBs; what he needed in terms of logistics support, he carried with him.

The sixty or so years of combined military experience enable authors West and Smith to understand the strategy and tactics of the Marine advance. They tell us what went right, and what went wrong. No other journalists had such unfettered access to infantry leaders; no one else had the mobility to cover the entire battle area. No other writers had as sophisticated an understanding of what was unfolding before them. Throughout the march to Baghdad, West and Smith observed eighteen separate combat units in the 1stMarDiv, and this enabled them to capture a dramatic and personal account of how the Marines fought this battle.

They also tell us of the unspeakable cruelty of war. Struggling to cross the Diyala River, the Marines find their first significant opposition. The number of bridges is limited; the Marines need pontoon crossings to help propel them forward. Searching for type equipment, the Marines encounter an Iraqi tanker truck and fire upon it, killing its operators, only to discover later that the Iraqi men were unarmed. The authors want us to understand that senseless tragedies are all too common in war; what happened there is emblematic of what is meant by the term, “fog of war.” Combat troops don’t know what they don’t know —but their lives depend on making snap decisions.

The March Up is about war, and death: the death of the enemy and the innocent. It is about death by lethal fire, and death by accident. How do our warriors deal with this day after day? How do Marines deal with the killing of carloads of civilians, who in their enthusiasm to get out of the way of clashing forces, race their family sedan toward Marines barricades, forcing the Marines to “open up” on them? Knowing what happened today, how do our Marines prepare themselves for the next day’s operations?

The March Up: Taking Baghdad with the United States Marines —only $11.00 on Kindle, or free in your local library.