Ambush Alley: The Most Extraordinary Battle of the Iraq War

by Tim Pritchard

Book Overview

March 23, 2003: U.S. Marines from the Task Force Tarawa are caught up in one of the most unexpected battles of the Iraq War. What started off as a routine maneuver to secure two key bridges in the town of Nasiriyah in southern Iraq degenerated into a nightmarish twenty-four-hour urban clash in which eighteen young Marines lost their lives and more than thirty-five others were wounded. It was the single heaviest loss suffered by the U.S. military during...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0891418814
• ISBN13: 9780891418818
• Release Date: September 2006
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.6" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

couldn't put it down

A well written book about the worst day of the war. My son was there and assures me that this was the way it was. Two themes shine through: the importance of the U.S. Marine Corps' unparalled training, and their unique ability to "adapt and overcome". I'd like to thank Mr. Pritchard for writing a fair and unbiased account of a much undertold story.

True to life

I am always nervous about a person who didn't partake in the battle or the war writing a book about it. I remember Tim coming around base asking to speak with people. He wasn't the first, and the other had muffed pretty badly on a lot of areas. He assured everyone that our story would be told as it was, no big fish stories, and no cover-ups. He obviously did his homework well. This book is true to life. Like it or not, this is what happened. There might be some wild west like narritive, but actually it wasn't that different. This was a whirlwind of a battle and Pritchard catches the current perfectly allowing the reader to follow as the battle progressed. Thank you for doing this day justice, I believe this is a must read for a true account of a bloody day in Iraq. Semper Fi

A Must Read!

This book hits the nail on the head. The urban battlespace and skillfully executed deceptive tactics of today's unconventional enemy changes the rules about the way battles are fought and won. A navigation blunder by a supply convoy set events into motion that drew American forces into the enemy's Somolia-like "fire sack". It was the Iraqi force's dream come true - an opportunity to recreate the end-state of 1993's Black Hawk Down. Col Davis and the Marine's of Task Force Tarawa were too smart to let that happen. Despite the misapplication of close air support that killed Marines - Task Force Tarawa was successful. God Bless the young men who fought this battle.

I was there...

I was a corporal with 1/2 on that fateful day that changed my life forever. Tim Pritchard's retelling of our story was right on as far as I am concerned. The confusion, chaos, and total fear of combat is something that can never be accurately felt by someone who is reading a book unless you have experienced it for yourself. The important thing is that the story itself is told. Not how well it is told, just that it is told. I could not put the book down until I finished reading it once I started. From the first words I was immediately transported back in time to that day and his storytelling brought back up many memories I had forgotten, some good and some bad. It was very interesting for me to get a complete picture of what actually went on that day and be able to see all the pieces of the puzzle and not just my own. Take it from someone who was there, this story is the real deal, uncensored and brutally honest. March 23, 2003 was not something pretty or something we should push under the rug and forget about. It did happen. Combat is the most horrible of things in this world and I hope our story will make people realize this. But to deny that it ever happened would also be a travesty. The bravest of Marines paid the ultimate sacrifice that day and the fact that Tim Pritchard has told our story is the best way I know to honor those brave Marines. Their memories will live on forever.Thanks Tim, you have given us all honor.

Great account of this battle!

Reading this book puts you in Iraq with the young Marines that fought this battle. It shows how none of them finished that day untouched by the horror of war. It also shows how easily marines can be cut off from communication and how they relied on their own knowledge and courage. My son was in this battle. This book is a must read for everyone involved, marines, parents, wives, brothers ,sisters, ect...........It gives you a very realistic understanding on what our boys went through in Iraq!