Sign-In
Cart
Damn Fine Soldiers: The Epic Story of Task Force 2-7 Infantry and the 21-Day Attack to Baghdad That Changed Modern Warfare
Paperback
21st Century United States HistoryIraq HistoryIraq War (2003-2011)
ISBN13: 9781493096992
Publisher: Stackpole Books Gpq
Published: Jul 7 2026
Pages: 320
Weight: 0.95
Height: 0.72 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
A frontline account of the battles, the brotherhood, and the grit that defined the opening drive of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
2100 hours, 20 March 2003, western Kuwait. Missiles streaked the night sky like the Fourth of July as American fighting vehicles revved and rattled near the Iraqi border. Distant fires flickered on the horizon. Jittery soldiers reported unidentified objects they thought were enemy tanks. The ground war in Iraq was fifteen hours old, and after more than a month in Kuwait, Task Force 2-7 stood ready to enter the fray - to breach the border and race toward their objective 400 miles away: Baghdad. During the next three weeks, the 2-7 would fight a series of eight battles culminating in the capture of Saddam International Airport and the thrust into the heart of Iraq's capital.
Lieutenant Colonel Scott Rutter commanded Task Force 2-7 - an aggressive battalion-sized outfit built to pack a punch while advancing fast - and then-Captain Matt Paul led a mortar platoon under him. Damn Fine Soldiers is their firsthand account of the 2-7's thundering drive up the Iraqi desert during the opening phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Beginning with the tense, uncertain moments when the task force rumbled into Iraq and swung its left hook along the Euphrates River, Rutter and Paul vividly narrate the 2-7's march through a landscape haunted by the landmarks of ancient Mesopotamia and littered with debris from Desert Storm a dozen years earlier.
From As Samawah to the Karbala Gap, from Saddam Airport to Baghdad, Task Force 2-7 waged a daring ground campaign that shocked and awed every bit as much as the massive aerial bombardment that preceded it. With the special grit and determination of the U.S. Army, the 2-7 fought its way north, battling a motley assortment of Iraqi Republican Guard, special forces, and militia - busting bunkers, demolishing enemy tanks, searching cars and buses - braving snipers, ambushes, boobytraps, and suicide bombers - enduring sand, sun, and heat - and dealing with the inevitable loss of good soldiers, one of whom would be awarded the Medal of Honor.
Visceral and reflective, Damn Fine Soldiers is an unfiltered account of modern war, told from the tip of the spear that drove deep into Iraq in March and April 2003. More than a memoir by two commanders who led from the front, it is testimony and tribute to the fighting spirit of the American soldier.
Also in
Iraq War (2003-2011)
The Secret Way to War: The Downing Street Memo and the Iraq War's Buried History
Danner, Mark
Danner, Rk
Paperback
One is a Warrior: The Relentless Fight of an Army National Guard Sniper Team in Ramadi
Martinez, Harry R.
Hardcover
Those Who Face Death: The Untold Story of Special Forces and the Iraqi Kurdish Resistance
Grdovic, Mark
Paperback
No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden
Owen, Mark
Maurer, Kevin
Paperback
American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History
DeFelice, Jim
Kyle, Chris
McEwen, Scott
Paperback
The Things They Cannot Say: Stories Soldiers Won't Tell You about What They've Seen, Done or Failed to Do in War
Sites, Kevin
Paperback
The Trident: The Forging and Reforging of a Navy Seal Leader (Large Print Edition)
Bruning, John
Redman, Jason
Paperback
American Sniper: Memorial Edition (Large Print Edition)
McEwen, Scott
DeFelice, Jim
Kyle, Chris
Paperback
One is a Warrior: The Relentless Fight of an Army National Guard Sniper Team in Ramadi
Martinez, Harry R.
Paperback
The Achilles Trap: Saddam Hussein, the C.I.A., and the Origins of America's Invasion of Iraq
Coll, Steve
Paperback
One is a Warrior (Large Print): The Relentless Fight of an Army National Guard Sniper Team in Ramadi (Large Print Edition)
Martinez, Harry R.
Hardcover
Those Who Face Death: The Untold Story of Special Forces and the Iraqi Kurdish Resistance
Grdovic, Mark
Hardcover
American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History
Kyle, Chris
McEwen, Scott
DeFelice, Jim
Paperback
The Unit: My Life Fighting Terrorists as One of America's Most Secret Military Operatives
Gamal, Adam
Kennedy, Kelly
Paperback
Generation Kill: Devil Dogs, Iceman, Captain America and the New Face of American War
Wright, Evan
Paperback
Love My Rifle More Than You: Young and Female in the U.S. Army
Williams, Kayla
Staub, Michael E.
Paperback
The Interrogation of Saddam Hussein: My Six Months Inside the Mind of a Tyrant
Piro, George
Hardcover
Recon 701: A story of Resiliency, Brotherhood, and Triumph, as told by the troopers of G/10 CAV
Bailey, Desmond V.
Paperback
American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History
DeFelice, Jim
Kyle, Chris
McEwen, Scott
Hardcover
What You Can Do About It: Taking Real Action Against Corruption, Radicalism, and Moral Decay to Save America
Maness, Robert L.
Hardcover
Sirens: How to Pee Standing Up-An Alarming Memoir of Combat and Coming Back Home
Colbert, Laura Naylor
Paperback
The Achilles Trap: Saddam Hussein, the C.I.A., and the Origins of America's Invasion of Iraq
Coll, Steve
Hardcover
The Prisoner in His Palace: Saddam Hussein, His American Guards, and What History Leaves Unsaid
Bardenwerper, Will
Paperback
Fading Echoes: A True Story of Rivalry and Brotherhood from the Football Field to the Fields ofHonor
Sielski, Mike
Paperback
All Secure: A Special Operations Soldier's Fight to Survive on the Battlefield and the Homefront
Satterly, Tom
Jackson, Steve
Hardcover
Brothers Forever: The Enduring Bond Between a Marine and a Navy SEAL That Transcended Their Ultimate Sacrifice
Sileo, Tom
Manion, Tom
Paperback
Victory Point: Operations Red Wings and Whalers - the Marine Corps' Battle for Freedom in Afghanistan
Darack, Ed
Paperback
When Presidents Fight the Last War: The Oval Office, Sunk Costs, and Wartime Decision-Making Since Vietnam
Groves, Bryan N.
Paperback
Walk in My Combat Boots: True Stories from America's Bravest Warriors
Patterson, James
Eversmann, Matt
Paperback
Outlaw Platoon: Heroes, Renegades, Infidels, and the Brotherhood of War in Afghanistan
Parnell, Sean
Bruning, John
Paperback
Black Hearts: One Platoon's Descent Into Madness in Iraq's Triangle of Death
Frederick, Jim
Paperback
Counting on Death: A Marine Infantryman's Journey from the Front Lines of Combat to the Fight for Peace
Shores, Joshua
Hardcover
Babylon's Ark: The Incredible Wartime Rescue of the Baghdad Zoo
Spence, Graham
Anthony, Lawrence
Paperback
Cobra II: The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq
Trainor, Bernard E.
Gordon, Michael R.
Paperback
War Made Invisible: How America Hides the Human Toll of Its Military Machine
Solomon, Norman
Paperback
Radical Courage: How One Marine's Sacrifice Helped Change America
Alva, Eric
Cross, Candi S.
Paperback
All American: Two Young Men, the 2001 Army-Navy Game and the War They Fought in Iraq
Eubanks, Steve
Paperback
Joker One: A Marine Platoon's Story of Courage, Leadership, and Brotherhood
Campbell, Donovan
Paperback
Fortune Favors Boldness: The Story of Naval Valor During Operation Iraqi Freedom
Costello, Barry M.
Paperback
The Iraq War: The Military Offensive, from Victory in 21 Days to the Insurgent Aftermath
Keegan, John
Paperback
The Spy Who Tried to Stop a War: Inspiration for the Major Motion Picture Official Secrets
Mitchell, Thomas
Mitchell, Marcia
Paperback
When Presidents Fight the Last War: The Oval Office, Sunk Costs, and Wartime Decision-Making Since Vietnam
Groves, Bryan N.
Hardcover
Det One: U.S. Marine Corps U.S. Special Operations Command Detachment, 2003 - 2006: U.S. Marines in the Global War on Terrorism
Piedmont, John P.
Paperback
Task Force Black: The Explosive True Story of the Secret Special Forces War in Iraq
Urban, Mark
Paperback
The Bremer Detail: Protecting the Most Threatened Man in the World
Gallagher, Frank
Del Vecchio, John M.
Hardcover
Driving Around, Waiting to Get Blown Up: Hearts, Minds, and the Occupation of Iraq
Stoneman, Mark L.
Paperback
Buried Alive: The True Story of Kidnapping, Captivity, and a Dramatic Rescue (Nelsonfree)
Hallums, Roy
Paperback
Soft Spots: A Marine's Memoir of Combat and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Van Winkle, Clint
Paperback
Radical Courage: How One Marine's Sacrifice Helped Change America
Cross, Candi S.
Alva, Eric
Hardcover
If You Love Someone, You Must Tell Them: A True Story of Young Love in the Post 9-11 Iraq War Era
Allen, Neal
Paperback
They Were Soldiers: How the Wounded Return from America's Wars: The Untold Story
Jones, Ann
Paperback
Zone of Action: A JAG's Journey Inside Operations Cobra II and Iraqi Freedom
Warner, Kirk G.
Paperback
Generation Kill: Devil Dogs, Iceman, Captain America and the New Face of American War
Wright, Evan
Paperback
Insurgent Hunter: Memoirs of a Navy Seal Turned Counterinsurgent Agent in Iraq
Templin, Stephen
Treadway, Jack
Hardcover
Innovation, Transformation, and War: Counterinsurgency Operations in Anbar and Ninewa, Iraq, 2005-2007
Russell, James
Paperback
The Second Battle of Fallujah: The History of the Biggest Battle of the Iraq War
Charles River
Paperback
Theatre of Iraq Under Occupation, 2003-2011: Lamentation, Homeland, Identity
Al-Shamma, James
Al-Azraki, Amir
Paperback
Crimson Mist: Legend of the Deadliest Platoon of the Invasion of Iraq
Thorpe, Ltc Stephen a.
Paperback
They Fought for Each Other: The Triumph and Tragedy of the Hardest Hit Unit in Iraq
Kennedy, Kelly
Paperback
The Beauty of a Darker Soul: Overcoming Trauma Through the Power of Human Connection
Mantz, Joshua
Paperback
Collateral Damages: Tracing the Debts and Displacements of the Iraq War Volume 60
El-Shaarawi, Nadia
Paperback
U.S. Marines in Battle: Fallujah, November-December 2004
McWilliams, Timothy S.
Schlosser, Nicolas J.
U. S. Marine Corps History Division
Paperback
Secrets and Lies: Operation Iraqi Freedom and After: A Prelude to the Fall of U.S. Power in the Middle East?
Hiro, Dilip
Paperback
Three Trillion Dollar War: The True Cost of the Iraq Conflict
Bilmes, Linda J.
Stiglitz, Joseph E.
Paperback
Eight Lives Down: The Most Dangerous Job in the World in the Most Dangerous Place in the World
Hunter, Chris
Paperback
The Last True Story I'll Ever Tell: An Accidental Soldier's Account of the War in Iraq
Crawford, John
Paperback
Final Engagement: A Marine's Last Mission and the Surrender of Afghanistan
Izant, Christopher L.
Hardcover
Uncommon Valor: The Medal of Honor and the Warriors Who Earned It in Afghanistan and Iraq
Zimmerman, Dwight Jon
Gresham, John D.
Paperback