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Updated Sunday 15 May, 2011 12:18 PM |
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This Day in Alternate History Blog
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The Iraq War: A
Military History As I mentioned in a
previous review, The March Up- Taking Baghdad with the 1st Marine Division, it seems that the recent war in Iraq has spawned more books
sooner than any other war in history. As
it is sometimes difficult to escape from the deluge of anti-war propaganda –
most of which is unrealistic and naive – it is a relief to find a book that is
just a military history of the conflict. The book begins with a potted history of Iraq since the end of WW1. Saddam came to power though treachery and made little commitment to human rights. As is inevitable in a society where the bringer of bad news is always killed, Saddam’s grip on reality slipped, convincing him that the west would allow his annexation of Kuwait. Instead, the west mobilised and Saddam missed a chance at a tactical victory, instead leaving forces in Kuwait that got clobbered by Desert Storm. There is then a short history of relations between the west and Iraq since then – including the failure of the US to support anti-Saddam revolts, and a short bit of background to the war. The book then discuses the advancements made to the US and British armed forces, including the development of precision weapons and extra defensive tactics. The Iraqi armed forces are also examined, but it is clear that Saddam was unwilling to allow them to be trained or deployed properly. Some units would simply melt away before the US forces got anywhere near to them, others would fight at gunpoint – guns held by Saddam’s thugs – and a few units killed their ‘political officers’ and vanished. The disparity in technology and intelligence is starkly revealed. The US/British tanks were far better than the Iraqi tanks, added to which was better training and tactics, which meant that the Iraqis were badly outmatched. The allies had total command of the air and were hunting Saddam as closely as possible; several bombs went off very close to him. The most vigorous defence came from Saddam’s Fedayeen. They were both fanatical supporters of the regime and people who had come from other Arab nations to fight the US. However, they had several avoidable problems: they were badly used tactically, they made themselves VERY unpopular with the Iraqis and they had very little arming and training. Often, they either charged US forces directly with RPGs, or used human shields and fought as small units. The Iraqi people had a chance after the war to demonstrate their contempt – leaving their bodies to decay in the sun – while prisoners complained to the US about the uselessness of the Iraqis who were meant to arm them. It is hard to imagine the US being too unhappy. The book finally makes observations on the future of the western armies. The British skill at innovation was noted, as was the problems encountered by Fedayeen. There are a few problems. The few maps that are provided, though colourful, are not tied to the text and convey very little information. Some of the pictures are very interesting, but there are few from the defending side. These are minor problems though, and the book is a very good read.
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