Certain Victory
Washington, DC: U. S. Government Printing Office, 1993. Reprint Edition. Wraps. xiii, [3], 435, [5] pages. Illustrations (most in color). Maps (including fold-out). Chronology of Events. Selected Bibliography. Glossary. Index. Some wear and soiling to covers. Bookplate. The official U.S. Army account of the war in the Gulf. This book reveals and examines details about the conduct of the war and includes accounts by Iraqi soldiers. Robert Hinds "Bob" Scales Jr. (born August 5, 1944) is a retired United States Army major general and former commandant of the United States Army War College. He was awarded the Silver Star for his actions in Vietnam on June 14, 1969, when nearly a hundred North Vietnamese soldiers overran his base in a predawn assault. Despite explosions all around him, he rotated among his gun crews, firing at the enemy, helping his men, and radioing instructions to helicopter gunships. He was the Director of the Desert Storm Study Project. He now works as a military analyst, news commentator, and author. bookplate, some wear and soiling to covers. Certain Victory is a unique report of the Army's performance during Desert Shield and Desert Storm It was researched and written by a group o eight officers drawn from many different combat specialties and background. Most were veterans of the Gulf War. The instructions from the Army leadership were to uncover what soldiers terms 'ground truth.' Certain Victory is the first depiction of the war built exclusively on combat interviews and reports from units returning from the theater. The frankness and candor, as well as the color, derived from these sources have been carefully preserved. In order to reach the widest possible audience, the study group went to extraordinary lengths to declassify intelligence and after-action reports as well as operations orders and overhead photography. The focus of Certain Victory is the operational and tactical level of war. General Scales and his team wrote Certain Victory to provide both the public and the military a clear picture of the Army's role in the Gulf War. The breadth and speed of Desert Storm operations left many participants unaware of the larger context in which they acted. This book is for them. To capture their story, General Scales essentially interweaves three distinct themes, each of which stands apart. First, Certain Victory tells the story of the young men and women who, in the heat and blowing sand of Iraq and Kuwait, took the fight to the enemy and won a compelling victory. Second, that victory vindicates the tireless and often unheralded work of a generation of Army leaders who forged a new Army from the dispirited institution that emerged from Vietnam. Third, Certain Victory provides a window on the future as well as a chronicle of the past. The reader, reflecting on the overarching sinews that General Scales extracts from the story, will gain insight into how future American wars might be fought. Condition: Good.
Keywords: Operation Desert Shield, Operation Desert Storm, Gary Luck, Persian Gulf, Norman Schwarzkopf, Wadi al-Batin, JSTARS, US Army, Persian Gulf War, Big Red One, CENTCOM, Coalition Warfare, Frederick Franks, VII Corps, McCaffrey, Republican Guard, John Ye
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