Customer Reviews

Takedown: The 3rd Infantry Division's Twenty-One Day Assault on Baghdad

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The only thing preventing me from giving Jim Lacey's Take Down a perfect 5-star rating is the frequency of small errors, typos and misidentifications of units and facts that eventually detract from what is a superb tactical account of the division's bold masterstroke to topple Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq. Although it sounds like a nitnoid criticsm of the book, and many of the errors aren't noticed unless you are an experienced army Soldier or were there, I wish more diligence had been paid by the author and editors in putting together the final product.

That said- this is the definitive tactical account at the division level of OIF I and the assault on Baghdad. There are several books that take the battalion and company view of the Marne Division's tremendous success in March and April, 2003 such as Jason Conroy's "Heavy Metal," and David Zucchino's "Thunder Run," and while both are outstanding, they provide a limited perspective of the company/battalion and battalion/brigade fight involving 1-64 AR and the 2nd "Spartan" Brigade under Col. David Perkins. Lacey's "Take Down" the first to focus on the 3rd ID and all three maneuver brigades (Raiders, Spartans, Sledgehammer) and their leaders and Soldiers as they made the march up from Kuwait.

The people of this book are a who's who of heroes and leaders. In addition to the commanding general and his brigade commanders, Lt. Col. Ernst "Rock" Marcone, who commanded 3-69 AR is a central character. Although I didn't know him personally, I arrived as a new lieutenant to the tank company in 3-37 AR he had left command of at Fort Riley several months before in the mid-90's. The Deathstalker tankers still spoke about him in reverent tones and told many stories of "ol' Captain Marcone," so I found myself fascinated with his personal accounting of the various battles his battalion fought in Iraq.

Then, there is Lt. Col. Jeffrey Sanderson- commander of 2-69 AR- Speed and Power! His men truly loved him, as I came to discover while serving with many of them as the 3rd brigade, 3rd ID deputy operations officer in OIF III in 2005. Guys like "Snake" and "Paul" and "Pancho" all talked about "Pappy Sanderson" like a father figure and how he always led from the front, and I deeply regretted that I had not the chance to serve under such a fine combat leader. You get that sense about him in this book, as some of the stories told to me by his subordinate officers came to life in important detail here.

You get all of the Marne Division's finest in this book, which is concise, to the point, and an extremely fast read. It also dispels the silly myth once and for all that capturing Baghdad was a simple task, and that the roads leading to that tremendous accomplishment were easy. Those men and women of the Marne Division fought and bled giving better than what they got one hundredfold. Individual stories of heroism such as Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Sgt. 1st Class Paul Smith, Staff Sgt. Dillard Johnson of 3-7 CAV, the Hibner twins and Sgt. 1st Class Hector Camacho among others are part of the narrative.

There will undoubtedly be more books and movies told of this amazing operation, but this is an excellent starting point, and for anyone wanting to know the tactical details of how one mechanized division toppled an entire regime, this is the best account of it.

Again- content-wise I give it a 5/5, but the mistakes and misidentifications were enough to take it down just a bit.

An utterly fascinating account of the invasion of Iraq!!! I got an advanced copy of this book and finished it in a single day. I had already read a number of books about the invasion of Iraq and thought I had a clear understanding of what happened. I was wrong. Takedown was full of insights and told a story I had never heard before. What the 3rd Infantry Division accomplished was simply incredible and I am surprised that this has remained such an untold story for so long. If you have an interest in military history or current events, then this book is a must read.

I read this book in a single sitting. At critical moments in the battle the author really makes you feel as if you are watching events right over the shoulders of the troops doing the fighting. At the same time I was impressed at the scope of the book and loved reading the Iraqi side of the fight.

The author does a good job accounting for the "big picture" of the drive to Baghdad from the 3rd ID's perspective. It shows how speed was achieved, and puts into perspective the great challenges and accomplishments of one divisions rampage through Iraq, and how there was very little the enemy could seemingly do to stop them. If you are more interested in the individual's story.... this book is not for you. But if you generally love military history and how tactics develop on the battlefield from a unit perspective, you will enjoy this book. And it's a quick read! I was not dissapointed.

We in the military have learned to ignore most things reporters write, but the policy of allowing embedded journalists in the Iraq war may change that.

This author was embedded as a reporter for a national news magazine. He tells the tale of an amazing performance by the 3d Infantry Division from the inside, but with an outsider's perspective. He intersperses his own observations with accounts from interviews with officers and men of the Third, and even occasionally with the reaction of Iraqi officers to the Third and other U.S. units.

Well worth buying. Highly recommended.

Before reading this book I was afraid that it would be another dry account of operation "Iraqi Freedom", stuffed with so much first hand talk that it would be boring and repetitive in the process. It turned out to be a very nice surprise instead! With the help of numerous maps, Lacey explains in a simple but absorbing way all the operational and tactical aspects of the 21-day drive to Baghdad, balancing perfectly his story with extremely interesting material from the Iraqi side, especially that of the Republican Guard top leadership. The short chapters deal with every stage of that lightning campaign, using impressive first hand accounts wherever it is needed, but also fine analysis in order to give the reader a more in-depth knowledge of how a modern heavy division plans, moves and fights. Highly recommended to anyone interested in the Iraq war!

After reading Cobra II, I found the beginning chapters of the book not too helpful. But, about a quarter of the way in it really picked up and added new info. I esp. liked the Iraqi perspective. Bottom line: move over WW2 vets, as soon as Hollywood gets hold of the story of the 3rd ID during the "March Up," youngin's will have a whole new set of people to simulate video games. Must read for every American.

If you hadn't seen it on TV and in print from the people who were there, this would almost seem like fiction. But Jim Lacy interweaves the stories of the participants so well, the story just pulls you in and you can't stop reading.

If you want to understand, how the push to Baghdad has been done, that is the book to read

My boy was driving one of Clay Lyle's tanks in Apache Troop, 3-7 CAV. I watched almost every minute of CNN's coverage -- CNN had Walter Rodgers embedded with his unit -- and I've made a serious study of the events since.
This book provides a detailed and gripping overview of the battles fought by all the key elements of 3rd ID, and properly showcases 3-7 CAV's key role in the events. In ten or fifteen years, maybe the boy will have decompressed enough to read about what he did...