Battle of Baghdad (2003) - Thunder Runs

Thunder Runs

On April 5 Task Force 1–64 Armor of the U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry Division, 2nd Brigade, executed a raid, later called the "Thunder Run", to test remaining Iraqi defenses. The operation began south of Baghdad and went through main roads to the newly secured airport. The force encountered no organized resistance, and appeared to have caught Iraqi forces completely off guard. The unit was forced to abandon one tank due to two RPG-7 strikes in the rear that penetrated a fuel cell and set the engine on fire. The crew was unharmed. later, the Air Force bombed the tank to destroy it in place, and the Iraqi Information Ministry claimed credit for destroying it.

Two days later, the entire 2nd Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division was ordered to conduct another "Thunder Run", following the same route as before. This route had been fortified in the intervening period, and senior leaders feared much more substantial resistance than during the prior encounter. COL David Perkins, the brigade's commander, followed the original Thunder Run route north into Baghdad, but then veered east into the government districts instead of west towards the airport. The 2nd Brigade easily took control of what is now the "Green Zone" in one day, dramatically speeding up the end of conventional ground combat in Iraq.

This portion of the battle was described in detail in the book "Thunder Run: The Armored Strike to Capture Baghdad" by David Zucchino, published March 22, 2004. The book and battle are the subject of the movie "Thunder Run", directed by Simon West, featuring stars Sam Worthington, Gerard Butler, and Matthew McConaughey.