The Bridge on the Saddam Canal

February 28, 2024 00:40:01
The Bridge on the Saddam Canal
The Spear
The Bridge on the Saddam Canal

Feb 28 2024 | 00:40:01

/

Show Notes

In early 2003, Karl Blanke was a Marine platoon commander during the early stages of the US-led invasion of Iraq, when his battalion was given an objective: secure a bridge over what was known as the Saddam canal. It was meant to be a straightforward task. The intelligence briefings they received did not expect the Marines to meet with resistance from Iraqi military defenders. But as they approached the objective, that intelligence was quickly proved wrong. The lead elements began to engage, follow-on elements maneuvered alongside, and the battle began. Karl describes the fight that followed in this episode.

Other Episodes

Episode

May 25, 2022 00:44:55
Episode Cover

Leaving Afghanistan

In the late summer of 2021, after years of service to his country—including four years at the United States Military Academy—Major Naqib Mirzada, an...

Listen

Episode 0

October 27, 2021 00:53:20
Episode Cover

Mosul Gets Hot, Part 1

In late 2004, Mosul was becoming more and more unstable. Matt Sacra, a Stryker platoon leader, and his soldiers deployed there to help quell...

Listen

Episode

May 03, 2018 00:38:00
Episode Cover

The Free Burma Rangers in Iraq

Dave Eubank is a former US Army special forces officer and the founder of the Free Burma Rangers, an aid organization that works extensively...

Listen