Twenty-eight years ago today, the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment fought the Battle of 73 Easting.
Two divisions of the Iraqi Republican Guard attacked the 2nd ACR, deployed on the east end of Wadi.
The America's technological edge was decisive. GPS put the 2nd ACR exactly where it wanted to be in the desert. Night vision enabled the Americans to see the Iraqis. Their SABOT shells ripped right through Iraqi armor.
The last great armored battle of the 20th century.
We chronicled the Battle of 73 Easting in A Line through the Desert.
William Stroock (as in Stroock's Books)
Showing posts with label 73 Easting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 73 Easting. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
Monday, February 26, 2018
73 Easting: A line Through the Desert
One of the gratifying things about our enrollment in the Kindle Unlimited program is the spike in readers of A Line through the Desert. That was our first novel, two years into which we dedicated every fiber of our being.
A Line through the Desert was a brutal flop. Six sales one month, four the next and then eight. Once we sold 23 copies in a month. Whohoo! After a year we sold our hundredth copy.
A Line through the Desert is about Jake Bloom, a trooper in the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment. We see his life before enlisting, in Germany, and in Deseret Storm culminating with the Battle of 73 Easting, the last great tank battle of the 20th century.
As it happens today is the 27th anniversary of the Battle of 73 Easting.
A Line through the Desert was a brutal flop. Six sales one month, four the next and then eight. Once we sold 23 copies in a month. Whohoo! After a year we sold our hundredth copy.
A Line through the Desert is about Jake Bloom, a trooper in the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment. We see his life before enlisting, in Germany, and in Deseret Storm culminating with the Battle of 73 Easting, the last great tank battle of the 20th century.
As it happens today is the 27th anniversary of the Battle of 73 Easting.
Tuesday, February 28, 2017
A Line Through the Desert
With the recent anniversary of the Battle of 73 Easting and General HR McMaster getting the NSA job, we'll be talking about A Line Through the Desert a lot this week.
It took me two years to write A Line Through the Desert. It was difficult, excruciating at times. Nothing I have done since required as much time and effort. I learned how to write during this period of my life and I learned what not to write.
I started with the initial section about Jake just graduating HS and falling in love with his next door neighbor, Patricia. It was the summer of 2003, that section was more or less complete by the end of the summer, though it came in for massive reworking later, and thank god it did. This was my first foray after all. In September of 2004, when I finished my editing of that section is when I knew I could write. It was good.
Anyway, I had to take a 3 month break from writing that fall because I was in grad school and teaching full time. I picked things up again in January of 2004. During this time I wrote the Germany section. Taking place in spring 1990, this section shows Jake as a soldier, a tanker in the elite 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment. This was always the toughest part to write. Garrison duty and Barracks life were completely foreign to me. Fortunately I made contact with an alumni group, a dozen or so gave me intricate details about things in Germany. I mean real minutiae stuff like the cost of a cab ride, what bars did they go to, could the sneak girls into the barracks (could they ever), what were the billets like, etc etc. I even showed a gunnery exercise at the Grafenwher proving ground. Honestly this scene was too technical and boring, but I wanted to prove I could do it, and it does end with news about Iraq invading Kuwait.
The waiting in the desert came next. This was mostly about killing time and was not too hard to write. neither was the next section about the actual Battle of 73 Easting. I just followed the narrative as provided by the Stars and Stripes account of the battle, A Swift Kick, I believe its called. This was 2004, and believe it or not, one still had to do archival research. I got a PDF of the article for 12 bucks after calling the paper.
Now the aftermath section didn't come till 2006 after a book doc took a look at ALTD and convinced me that I ended too abruptly. He was right, that section about Jake coming home and feeling completely alienated makes the book. The love story with Jake and Patricia happens all over again.
Glad I wrote that section too it really brought the entire narrative together. Set the stage for the sequel too.
50,000 words so far. Stay tuned.
It took me two years to write A Line Through the Desert. It was difficult, excruciating at times. Nothing I have done since required as much time and effort. I learned how to write during this period of my life and I learned what not to write.
I started with the initial section about Jake just graduating HS and falling in love with his next door neighbor, Patricia. It was the summer of 2003, that section was more or less complete by the end of the summer, though it came in for massive reworking later, and thank god it did. This was my first foray after all. In September of 2004, when I finished my editing of that section is when I knew I could write. It was good.
Anyway, I had to take a 3 month break from writing that fall because I was in grad school and teaching full time. I picked things up again in January of 2004. During this time I wrote the Germany section. Taking place in spring 1990, this section shows Jake as a soldier, a tanker in the elite 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment. This was always the toughest part to write. Garrison duty and Barracks life were completely foreign to me. Fortunately I made contact with an alumni group, a dozen or so gave me intricate details about things in Germany. I mean real minutiae stuff like the cost of a cab ride, what bars did they go to, could the sneak girls into the barracks (could they ever), what were the billets like, etc etc. I even showed a gunnery exercise at the Grafenwher proving ground. Honestly this scene was too technical and boring, but I wanted to prove I could do it, and it does end with news about Iraq invading Kuwait.
The waiting in the desert came next. This was mostly about killing time and was not too hard to write. neither was the next section about the actual Battle of 73 Easting. I just followed the narrative as provided by the Stars and Stripes account of the battle, A Swift Kick, I believe its called. This was 2004, and believe it or not, one still had to do archival research. I got a PDF of the article for 12 bucks after calling the paper.
Now the aftermath section didn't come till 2006 after a book doc took a look at ALTD and convinced me that I ended too abruptly. He was right, that section about Jake coming home and feeling completely alienated makes the book. The love story with Jake and Patricia happens all over again.
Glad I wrote that section too it really brought the entire narrative together. Set the stage for the sequel too.
50,000 words so far. Stay tuned.
Sunday, February 26, 2017
Will's Good Idea for 2-26-17: The First One
In March of 2003 I was sitting in The Daily Grind a fabulous coffee shop in Bedminster, NJ, enjoying a medium coffee and reading Nick Hornby's High Fidelity. It was there that I finished the book, put it down, opened up my computer and began writing.
The result was A Line Through the Desert. The idea for the book had been kicking around my head for about a year. Basically a young man defies his family and joins the army and he ends up at the Battle of 73 Easting. Also he's madly in love with the girl next door.
It just so happens that 73 Easting was fought 26 years ago today. It also just so happens that the commander of Eagle Troop at that battle, HR McMaster, is going to be President Trump's National Security Adviser.
By the time I began writing McMaster was already fairly well known. He'd published a book, Dereliction of Duty, and his exploits with Eagle Troop were well documented in Tom Clancy's Armored Cav.
For these reasons, A Line Through the Desert focused on a different aspect of 73 Easting: Ghost Troop's fight to the north. I wanted to break some new ground.
This week we'll be talking about various aspects of writing and researching ALTD, a lot of process talk. I think its interesting and might benefit fans who want to write themselves. And it might just sell a few books.
The result was A Line Through the Desert. The idea for the book had been kicking around my head for about a year. Basically a young man defies his family and joins the army and he ends up at the Battle of 73 Easting. Also he's madly in love with the girl next door.
It just so happens that 73 Easting was fought 26 years ago today. It also just so happens that the commander of Eagle Troop at that battle, HR McMaster, is going to be President Trump's National Security Adviser.
By the time I began writing McMaster was already fairly well known. He'd published a book, Dereliction of Duty, and his exploits with Eagle Troop were well documented in Tom Clancy's Armored Cav.
For these reasons, A Line Through the Desert focused on a different aspect of 73 Easting: Ghost Troop's fight to the north. I wanted to break some new ground.
This week we'll be talking about various aspects of writing and researching ALTD, a lot of process talk. I think its interesting and might benefit fans who want to write themselves. And it might just sell a few books.
Tuesday, February 21, 2017
Nac Sec Ad, HR Mac
General H.R. McMaster has a long and varied military career that includes commanding the Tigres-Euphrates Campaign in Anbar in 2004-2005.
He is now going to be President Trump's National Security Adviser.
McMaster also commanded Eagle Troop at the Battle of 73 Easting. This is of course the climatic battle in my book, A Line through the Desert.
Jut saying.
If you like tank battles, and lord knows I do [you don't say?-ed] 73 Easting is for you.
Basically, the elite 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment repelled multiple attacks by two Iraqi divisions, one of the a Republican Guard division. It was an all night slug fest fought in a raging sand storm. Over the course of the battle the cavalrymen made mincemeat of the Iraqis.
An excerpt:
He is now going to be President Trump's National Security Adviser.
McMaster also commanded Eagle Troop at the Battle of 73 Easting. This is of course the climatic battle in my book, A Line through the Desert.
Jut saying.
If you like tank battles, and lord knows I do [you don't say?-ed] 73 Easting is for you.
Basically, the elite 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment repelled multiple attacks by two Iraqi divisions, one of the a Republican Guard division. It was an all night slug fest fought in a raging sand storm. Over the course of the battle the cavalrymen made mincemeat of the Iraqis.
An excerpt:
“How’s the fight south going, L-T?” Jake asked.“We’re kicking ass” replied Lt. Drew “And now Eagle is…wait one…”While Jake was waiting for Lt. Drew to resume, Dan spoke. “Hey what do you make of this?”Jake dropped back inside the turret and asked, “What do I make of what?”He scanned the horizon with his TIS and saw a series of undefined splotches and right angles. He’d never seen anything quite like them before. Jake switched the resolution from white on black to black on white, but with the storm he still couldn’t make out any clear hotspots. He used his TC override to line up and laser the nearest target. Jake got back up in the cupola and peered through the storm but still saw nothing.Just as Jake was about to ask Lt. Drew what he thought, 1st Platoon opened up with a barrage of TOW missiles.Lt. Drew shouted over the net, “Contact forward! Contact forward! Engage! Engage!”Jake dropped into the turret. “Fire Dan!” he shouted.“On the way!”Jake got his eyes on his site just in time to see the target explode and a turret flip through the air.“Engaged and destroyed!” he reported.Lt. Drew barked in Jake’s ear. “What did you take out, Bloom?”“I don’t know. A tank, I think.”“What do you mean, you think?”“Can’t see shit out there L-T.”Jake scanned the target area. “I found one!” He lased the target, “1300 meters!”“What the hell is it?!” Dan asked.“I can’t fucking tell!” He peered further. “Ahh, shit. Veras, Sabot!”Veras took a Sabot round from the ready rack and slammed it into the breach. “Up!”“Blast it!”“On the way!”Jake waited for a report but saw nothing. He reached down and slapped Dan on the back the head. “You missed! Re-engage!” he shouted.“Veras gimmie another Sabot.”Veras opened the ready rack took a round and slammed it home. “Up!”“Fire!” Jake ordered.Dan didn’t miss this time. The round penetrated an Iraqi tank with unimaginable kinetic energy, vaporizing the crew and exploding its ammunition. The turret spiraled through the air and landed 50 meters away.“Holy Shit, it’s like flipping God dam tiddlywinks out there!” shouted Jake.Jake tried to select another target, but every time he identified one it went up in a ball of flame. Ghost Troop fired and rolled forward against sporadic and ineffective Iraqi return fire delivered from the reverse slope of a wadi. By the time they came upon the edge of the wadi, Ghost Troop blasted the Iraqis right out their positions, reducing the Iraqi battle line to a hellish wreckage of flaming metal and flesh.
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