Douglas A. Macgregor

If you want a well-written, exciting account of a tank battle, then look no further than Warrior's Rage. I got this book after seeing a few interviews with Col. Macgregor and was interested in his view of the 1991 Gulf War. In a very personal account of the Battle of 73 Easting, Macgregor recalls the role of Cougar Squadron of the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment and their fight to destroy the Iraqi Republican Guard Corps.

In Macgregor's view, the timidity and lack of solid leadership from the General's in higher command allowed the Republican Guard Corps to escape and Saddam Hussein to remain in power. Throughout the book, Macgregor details his frustrations with higher command and feels that victory in 1991 was called preemptively and that it ultimately rang hollow.

Throughout the book, Macgregor provides a scathing critique of the ineptitude of the leaders above him. If you can put up with that (or at least empathize with him) then you'll probably enjoy this book. Before this, I had only read war memoirs about infantry battles, never about armor. I was pulled into the setting of rumbling along in a formation of dozens of tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles moving through a flat-open desert. When Macgregor describes the violence that occurred, I swear, it was better than watching an action film. You really get a sense of the large scale of what is going on and that these soldiers are riding on top of some serious firepower. Macgregor aptly describes the carnage that occurred during the battle as enemy tanks are reduced to flaming hulks of twisted metal in a matter of seconds and as enemy infantry are gruesomely cut down by machine gun fire. It's a horrific, yet powerful scene which he describes.

In short, I felt like I was with the author in the desert, blasting away at Iraqi T-72s. If you want a thrilling account of armored warfare on a tactical level with a good dose of leadership thrown in, read this book.… (altro)