The March Up: Taking Baghdad with the 1st Marine Division (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Bing West (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This very readable eyewitness history of the 1st Marine Division in the recent Iraq War was penned by two very qualified observers: both West and Smith served in Vietnam as Marines; Smith also served in Granada and Beruit, while West (The Village; The Pepperdogs) is a former Assistant Secretary of Defense. Unsurprisingly, their account of Marines advancing from Kuwait to Baghdad-and thereby ending up farther from the sea than any Marines in history-is far from anti-military. Perhaps more unexpectedly, though, they present their campaign history warts and all. The portrait of the division owes its breadth to interviews from several hundred sources, not all of whom survived. Two stand out: Shane Ferkovich, whose squad prevented sabotage of an oil-pumping station in the beginning of the march and helped take down Saddam's statue at the end; and General Mattis, the division commander and chief juggler of conflicting demands. An exceptional selection of photographs and better maps than most books to date on the war add to this account's appeal.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Although the political wisdom of the war to remove the regime of Saddam Hussein remains a subject for debate, the brilliance of the military campaign to topple him must be acknowledged. Smith is a veteran of conflicts in Vietnam, Lebanon, and Grenada. West, also a Vietnam veteran, was assistant secretary of defense during the Reagan administration. They were embedded with the First Marine Division, which spearheaded the 1,184-kilometer march from Kuwait to Baghdad. This is a gritty, insider's account that reveals, often in dramatic fashion, the tensions, disputes, snafus, and successes that characterize a military campaign. As received on television news reports, high-tech warfare often seems sanitized, but West and Smith repeatedly remind us that war is still a horrid, nasty business that revolves around successful killing of enemy soldiers. Despite the rapid defeat and collapse of the regime, they credibly assert that rapid success was not inevitable; it was the product of numerous decisions, often taken at the tactical localized level, as well as healthy doses of good fortune. Jay Freeman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Bantam; First Edition edition (September 9, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 055380376X
• ISBN-13: 978-0553803761
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (55 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #666,258 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Singing the Praises of Marines, September 23, 2003

By	Michael H. Frederick (Gaithersburg, MD USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Dittos to the above reviewers. As a former Marine I find it hard to be truly objective about this book. The overwhelming impression about "The March Up" is honesty. The Marines, after reading this concise and crisp piece of work, come across as a stellar fighting force of the highest caliber. Isn't that what they've always been known for?

Regardless of how you feel about the invasion of Iraq you can't help but admire the professionalism, dedication and sense of duty shared by the young men at the tip of the American war machine. West and Smith, without glorifying anything or overdoing the Gung Ho banter, provide a precise Abrams tank's optical gunsight on one of America's elite fighting forces and, despite some errors and initial setbacks, the Marines come out smelling like roses. What other branch of service would allow two "lowly" grunt rifle squads to seize one of the war's most important objectives, the oil processing facility known as "the Crown Jewel?"

In action after action the Leathernecks come across almost as chained dobermans, straining for their chance to get into the thick of it. The riflemen are disappointed numerous times when their chance to take out an enemy position is missed, when it's over before they get their licks in. They curse the tankers who "get all the shots" at long range. They're eager to close with the enemy and destroy him. That's what they're there for and I'm darn glad we have them.

No other authors/journalists could have gotten as much access with the Marines as Smith and West did. Only former Marines can understand and, consequently, garner respect from the young hard chargers currently in the thick of it. I doubt if a retired Army general would have gotten as much respect or sense of camaraderie from the 3rd I.D. over on the left. The authors saw everything with experienced eyes and it shows in their reporting. If you want to know what really happened during those three weeks this is the book to read.

For one, I was interested to see some myths dispelled, especially the account of Iraqis surrendering en masse only to pull out weapons at the last second. I also enjoyed learning about what our modern weapons can do. You gotta love those optics and computers. From honing in on lone infantrymen with tanks' automatic weapons to calculating the azimuth of incoming artillery rounds, it doesn't behoove any foe to take our fighting force lightly. Nobody can touch us...in open combat. Consequently, we're now faced with cowardly guerilla tactics. They know they'd be obliterated with any other method.

There's an underlying feeling of Marine superiority (justifiably so, I think), especially when compared to our Army brothers-in-arms. One gets the feeling from the book that if it had been up to the Marines we'd have been in Baghdad in a week. Granted, there'd be some major mopping up to do but our casualties might have been even lighter in the end. I get the sneaking suspicion that if all of Iraq were occupied by these disciplined Marines we'd have fewer civilian deaths, less resentment and far less friendly fire incidents. Marines aren't perfect, just trained better. Just imagine if they had the armor the 3rd I.D. did.

Congrats to the authors on an excellent piece of work. They even got it on bookstore shelves with Marine Corps speed and efficiency. This must be the first (and will probably be the best) work on America's most recent war.

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Xenophon redux?, November 5, 2003

By	Kevin C. B. "Opportunistic reader" (Maryland) - See all my reviews

There are going to be a lot of books about OIF. There were simply too many reporters for their not to be in the next year. However, to get a book, and such an excellent book written by two men (both former Marines themselves), that understand combat, logistics, operations, the fog of war, and most importantly the Marines involved in The March Up is going to make this book stand out from those that follow it's lead.

This story is filled with masterful anecdotes conveying brutality, indiference to danger, empathy to tragic circumstances, grievous mistakes, ignorance, fleeting command confusion, survival, death, anguish, and trial by fire. The technical capability of the troops, the competency of the officers, the capabilities of the NCOs, and the combat readiness of the Marines shine forth in this book. However no one is perfect, yet even the faults displayed are simply a contrast to a well organized and disciplined professional fighting force, more than any detraction of ability. The grit is as real as the dust layered on the vehicles of 1st MarDiv as they smashed into Baghdad, and what you experience will leave you with pride in the young men this country still produces to serve as Marines. Semper Fi.

23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Marine Combat: The Unvarnished Truth, November 13, 2003

By	Terrence J. Sexton "Terrence Sexton" (USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a candid, hard-hitting, first-hand account of the war to topple Saddam Hussein, written by men who personally witnessed the events they describe. Smith and West, now civilians, are both Marine combat veterans. They were given a unique opportunity to travel as unattached civilian observers with the First Marine Division on its march through Mesopotamia and on to Baghdad. Unlike imbedded journalists, Smith and West were free to jump from unit to unit within the division at their own discretion.

Their familiarity with Marine Corps culture and tactics enabled the authors to engage the Marines and uncover stories that might otherwise go unnoticed. Given their backgrounds, one might expect Smith and West to be overly forgiving or generous in addressing the mistakes and shortcomings they observed. But this is not the case. The authors do an admirable job of remaining objective and taking the Corps to task for civilian casualties, tactical errors and the like. I was impressed with the integrity of this book.

The March Up is somehwat narrow in scope and more anecdotal than comprehensive. The definitive history of the Second Gulf War has yet to be written. But until it is, this book will provide useful insights on the impressive achievements, and shortcomings, of the First Marine Division on the road to Iraqi liberation.