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Title: The Fires of Babylon

Subtitle: Eagle Troop and the Battle of 73 Easting

Author: Mike Guardia

Narrator: Johnny Heller

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 hrs and 51 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-04-17

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 9 votes

Genres: History, 20th Century

Publisher's Summary:

On the morning of August 2, 1990, Iraqi armored divisions invaded the tiny emirate of Kuwait. The Iraqi Army, after its long war with Iran, had more combat experience than the US Army. The Kuwaitis had collapsed easily enough, but the invasion drew fierce condemnation from the United Nations, which demanded Hussein's withdrawal. Undeterred by the rhetoric, the Iraqi dictator massed his forces along the Saudi Arabian border and dared the world to stop him. In response, the United States led the world community in a coalition of 34 nations in what became known as Operation Desert Storm. Leading this charge into Iraq were the men of Eagle Troop in the US Army's Second Armored Cavalry Regiment. Commanded by then-Captain H. R. McMaster - who would go on to serve as National Security Advisor in the Trump administration - Eagle Troop was the lead element of the US VII Corps' advance into Iraq. On February 26, 1991, Eagle Troop encountered the Tawakalna Brigade of Iraq's elite Republican Guard. By any calculation, the 12 American tanks didn't stand a chance. Yet within a mere 23 minutes, the M1A1 tanks of Eagle Troop destroyed more than 50 enemy vehicles and plowed a hole through the Iraqi front. History would call it the Battle of 73 Easting.

Critic Reviews:

"Guardia's writing does justice to the exciting story.... This is a no-holds-barred account, told as truthfully as possible.... it's gripping stuff." (

History of War)

Members Reviews:

A Compelling Story of the Soldiers of Desert Storm

âThe Fires of Babylonâ for a civilian like me truly helped me understand Operation Desert Storm of 1991 and modern warfare. The book tells the story of the U.S. ground war against the Iraqi troops led by Saddam Hussein. Mike Guardia, formerly an Army Armor officer, leads the reader through the transition of the American Army in the Vietnam era into the 1990s, by telling the story of the officers and soldiers of Eagle Troop in the U.S. Armyâs 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment. He gives us the story of their training in the U.S. and Germany which included everything from acclimation to the desert, preparations for chemical warfare, to the writing of their wills and last testaments and having pre-deployment photos taken in case they did not return. Their wills were written after Thanksgiving, and on December 4th they flew to Saudi Arabia. Once there, each soldier had to drink three bottles of water per day to survive in the desert and learn to battle the abrasiveness of the sand, which prompted many to repair their boots with duct tape. Then there were unexpected roadblocks like when they were being bussed to their battle stations by Arab drivers. There was an unexplained stop when all the drivers left their buses. The soldier told our author he thought to himself, âWhy are we stopping the war for a prayer call? Weâre already here in the desert, letâs get moving!â Finally on February 22nd the Eagle Troop drove their tanks into Iraq. After a month long air campaign against the Iraqi Army, the ground battle that lasted 100 hours began on February 23rd and was described in great detail, battling a sandstorm as well as the Iraqi tanks. The story of this battle and victory in the desert brought me a much better appreciation of what the U.S. soldier endured then and have endured for centuries.