Tip of the Spear: U.s. Army Small-unit Actions in Iraq, 2004-2007 (Global War on Terrorism) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0160817366 ISBN 13: 9780160817366

Publisher: Defense Dept, 2009

Synopsis

�The lightning campaign that toppled the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq in the spring of 2003 at first seemed to herald the arrival of a new way of war, as Germany’s blitzkrieg had done at the beginning of World War II. But the initial victory in Iraq soon devolved into a persistent counterinsurgency conflict reminiscent of the long U.S. effort to pacify the Philippines after the quick defeat of Spain in 1898. In Iraq, American soldiers and their Coalition partners had merely traded one fairly weak and generally conventional opponent for a much more durable, diverse, and determined foe relying on the tactics of the guerilla and the terrorist.This volume focuses on that second and longer campaign of the war in Iraq, but it is not a narrative of the overall course of the conflict. Instead, it provides a soldier’s-eye view of the war in the form of detailed accounts of a handful of battles. Each one illustrates the everyday challenges that America’s soldiers face in a difficult struggle against an inventive and often elusive enemy. Weapons, doctrine, and procedures developed to fight a conventional campaign against a similar opposing force had to be adapted to fit a different type of conflict. The U.S. Army’s combat and support forces have shown both resourcefulness and resilience, while leaders and soldiers in the field have demonstrated the same courage as previous generations called upon to sacrifice in the name of freedom.”

About this title

About the Author

Jon T. Hoffman is chief of the Contemporary Studies Branch of the Histories Division at the Center of Military History. A retired Marine Corps Reserve officer, he has an M.A. in military history from Ohio State University and is the author of "Chesty: The Story of Lieutenant General Lewis B. Puller" and "Once a Legend: “Red Mike” Edson of the Marine Raiders."

Edition details

• Publisher: Defense Dept
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0160817366
• ISBN 13: 9780160817366
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 201
• Editor: Hoffman Jon T.