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The Thunder Runs In The Vietnam War

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The armored strike to capture Baghdad was one of the most unorthodox fights for an armored division, and changed the way we now fight wars. Prior to April of 2003, the state of mind that all leaders had was that tanks had no place in tight urban warfare. They believed tanks belonged on the outskirts of cities providing fire support, while infantry and mechanized units fought inside the complex urban environment. This paper will explain how one Commander, Colonel Perkins, changed that perception for the entire U.S. military command. For this war, the Generals in command used a military tactic called a “Thunder Run”. U.S. troops first used Thunder Runs in the Vietnam War. Convoys of vehicles would ride down a road or trail in line. The first vehicle would have their guns oriented forward, while each subsequent vehicle would have their weapons oriented left or right, alternating down the line of vehicles to the end. These “Thunder Runs” relied heavily on speed and violence of action. The point was to move fast and not engage in an actual face-to-face combat with the enemy, then return to home base safely. It was a type of guerrilla warfare. …show more content…

V Corp (USEUCOM) would be comprised of 3rd Infantry Division (mechanized), 101st Airborne Division, and the 82nd Airborne Division. Attacking from Kuwait and pushing to the south west of Baghdad by crossing the Euphrates River. 1st Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF), comprised of the 1st Marine Division, and the British 1st Armored Division, were to attack from Kuwait as well, and push more towards Iran and attack Baghdad from the south east, crossing the Tigris River. 1st MEF was also responsible for securing the Umm Qasr port and as many oil fields as they could before the retreating Iraqi forces set the oil fields on

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