100 Miles from Baghdad
by James J. Cooke
Category: History

This is the first personal account of a division in combat during Operation Desert Storm. It is an inside view of the French Division Daguet, which had the task of defeating a dug-in Iraqi Regular Division, taking a critical airfield and road junction, and protecting the entire left flank of the 18th Airborne Corp during the allied sweep to the left. The Daguet, made up of hard-hitting Foreign Legion and Marine units, achieved all of their objectives. General Norman Schwartzkopf described their actions as superb. This memoir tells the story of the Division Daguet and concludes that the French, like the Americans, had much to overcome--major defeats and national crises of confidence. The French had suffered defeats in Indochina (1946-1954) and Algeria (1954-1962); the U.S. had Vietnam. Both countries, fighting together, did much to wipe out those memories. Military historians, military professionals, and those interested in the Gulf War will find this personal, but highly informed, account fascinating. Cooke won a Bronze Star for his services in the Gulf.