Highway of Death
Encyclopedia
The Highway of Death refers to a six-lane highway
between Kuwait
and Iraq
, officially known as Highway 80. It runs from Kuwait City
to the border town of Safwan
and then on to Basra
.
During the United Nations
coalition offensive in the Gulf War
, retreating Iraqi military personnel were attacked on Highway 80 by American
aircraft and ground forces on the night of February 26–27, 1991, resulting in the destruction of hundreds of vehicles and the deaths of many of their occupants. The scenes of devastation on the road are some of the most recognizable images of the war, and were publicly cited as a factor in President George H. W. Bush
's decision to declare a cessation of hostilities on the next day. Many Iraqi forces however succeeded in escaping across the Euphrates
river and the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency
estimated that upwards of 70,000 to 80,000 troops from defeated divisions in Kuwait may have fled into the city of Basra.
The road was repaired during the late 1990s, and was used in the initial stages of the 2003 invasion of Iraq
by U.S. and British forces. Previously it had been also used during the 1990 Invasion of Kuwait
by the Iraqi armored divisions.
(the "actual" Highway of Death) and another 400-700 on the much-less known road to Basra, the major military stronghold in southern Iraq.
aircraft blocked the road with anti-tank mines, and then bombed the rear of a massive vehicle column of mostly Iraqi Regular Army forces, effectively boxing-in the Iraqi forces in an enormous traffic jam and leaving sitting targets for many further airstrike
s. Over the next 10 hours, scores of Marine, Navy
and Air Force
pilots (many from USS Ranger (CV/CVA-61)
aircraft carrier) attacked the convoy using a variety of ordnance. Some survivors of the air attacks were later engaged by arriving coalition ground units, while the vehicles that managed to evade the traffic jam and continued to drive on the road north were often targeted individually. One portion of the road at the bottle-neck near the Mutla Ridge
police station has been reduced to a long uninterrupted line of more than 300 stuck and abandoned vehicles; this point is sometimes called the Mile of Death. The wreckage found on the highway consisted of a relatively few military vehicles (including at least 28 tanks and other armored vehicles) and many more commandeered
civilian vehicles such as cars and buses; many of these vehicles were filled with stolen Kuwaiti property.
The death toll from the attack is unknown and still remains a controversial issue. Some independent estimates go as high as 10,000 or even "tens of thousands" of casualties, but this is highly unlikely. According to a 2003 study by the Project on Defense Alternatives Research, there were probably about 7,500-10,000 people who rode in the cut-off main caravan to begin with, but once the bombing started, most of them are believed to have simply left their vehicles in panic and escaped through the desert or into the nearby swamps (where 450-500 of them were taken prisoner). The often repeated low estimate of the numbers killed in the attack is 200-300 (as reported by Michael Kelly
among others), but the actual figure was probably higher, and a minimum toll of at least 500-600 dead seems to be more plausible.
On and near Highway 8 to the east, Iraqi forces trying to either redeploy to stand and fight or simply escape, many of them belonging to the elite Iraqi Republican Guard
's 1st Armored Division "Hammurabi
", have been engaged over a much larger area in smaller groups by the U.S. ground forces consisting of nine artillery battalions and a battalion of AH-64 Apache
helicopter gunships operating under the command of General Barry McCaffrey
. Hundreds of Iraqi vehicles, predominantly military in type, were then systematically destroyed in smaller clusters of 10-15 spread along a 50-mile stretch of the highway and at scattered points across the desert.
This engagement, which wasn't even known to media and the public at all until almost two weeks later, still remains relatively obscure even as most of the graphic images of scorched corpses, commonly attributed to the Highway of Death attacks and often considered among the iconic images of the war, were actually taken on Highway 8 and not on Highway 80. The Project on Defense Alternatives Research estimated the number of these killed there to be in range of 300-400 or more, bringing the likely total number of fatalities in both incidents to at least 800-1,000. A large column of remnants of the Hammurabi Division attempting to withdraw to safety in Baghdad
were also engaged and obliterated few days later (March 2) deep inside the Iraqi territory by Gen. McCaffrey's forces in a controversial post-war "turkey shoot"-style incident known as Battle of Rumaila
.
The offensive action for which Highway 80 is infamous became a controversial point, with some commentators alleging that the use of force was disproportionate, as the Iraqi forces were retreating from Kuwait (and thus leaving the country in compliance with the UN Resolution 660
of August 2, 1990), and the column included Kuwaiti captives (apparently to be used as hostage
s) as well as some civilian refugees including women and children (mostly family members of pro-Iraqi Palestine Liberation Organization
militants and Kuwaiti collaborators who have fled shortly before a wholesale Palestinian expulsion from Kuwait in early March). Former United States Attorney General
Ramsey Clark
alleged that these attacks violated the Third Geneva Convention
, common article 3, which outlaws the killing of soldiers who "are out of combat." International law explicitly states that retreating military forces are legitimate targets in war to deny them regrouping and reattacking (only surrendering military forces are protected by the Hague Conventions
). It was however also alleged that the American combat vehicles opened fire on a large group of more than 350 disarmed Iraqi soldiers who had surrendered at a U.S. military checkpoint after fleeing the devastation on Highway 8 on February 27; these allegations were publicised by Seymour Hersh
.
General Norman Schwarzkopf
commented in 1995:
According to Colin Powell
, then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
and the future Secretary of State
, the "shooting gallery
" scenes carnage was the reason to end the Gulf War hostilities after the Liberation of Kuwait campaign
. He wrote later in his autobiography My American Journey that "the television coverage was starting to make it look as if we were engaged in slaughter for slaughter's sake."
According to the Foreign Policy Research Institute
, however, "appearances were deceiving":
Photojournalist Peter Turnley
published photographs of mass burials at the scene. Turnley wrote:
Time
magazine concluded:
Another, relatively minor, controversy regarded the unopposed looting of still-working Iraqi weapons after the battle, including not only by the U.S. soldiers but also by Saudi
civilians (some of whom then allegedly sold assault rifles on the black market to buyers in the broader Middle East), as there were no military police
units deployed to guard the wreckage.
Highway
A highway is any public road. In American English, the term is common and almost always designates major roads. In British English, the term designates any road open to the public. Any interconnected set of highways can be variously referred to as a "highway system", a "highway network", or a...
between Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
and Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, officially known as Highway 80. It runs from Kuwait City
Kuwait City
-Suburbs:Although the districts below are not usually recognized as suburbs, the following is a list of a few areas surrounding Kuwait city:Al-Salam ""السلام"" -Economy:...
to the border town of Safwan
Safwan
Safwan is a town in southeast Iraq on the border with Kuwait. It was the site of an Iraqi Air Force base.-Gulf War:Safwan is located in the south of Iraq at Iraqi Kuwaiti border , along the infamous Highway of Death from the Gulf War of 1991. The cease-fire negotiations between Gen...
and then on to Basra
Basra
Basra is the capital of Basra Governorate, in southern Iraq near Kuwait and Iran. It had an estimated population of two million as of 2009...
.
During the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
coalition offensive in the Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
, retreating Iraqi military personnel were attacked on Highway 80 by American
Military of the United States
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...
aircraft and ground forces on the night of February 26–27, 1991, resulting in the destruction of hundreds of vehicles and the deaths of many of their occupants. The scenes of devastation on the road are some of the most recognizable images of the war, and were publicly cited as a factor in President George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
's decision to declare a cessation of hostilities on the next day. Many Iraqi forces however succeeded in escaping across the Euphrates
Euphrates
The Euphrates is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia...
river and the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency
Defense Intelligence Agency
The Defense Intelligence Agency is a member of the Intelligence Community of the United States, and is the central producer and manager of military intelligence for the United States Department of Defense, employing over 16,500 U.S. military and civilian employees worldwide...
estimated that upwards of 70,000 to 80,000 troops from defeated divisions in Kuwait may have fled into the city of Basra.
The road was repaired during the late 1990s, and was used in the initial stages of the 2003 invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
by U.S. and British forces. Previously it had been also used during the 1990 Invasion of Kuwait
Invasion of Kuwait
The Invasion of Kuwait, also known as the Iraq-Kuwait War, was a major conflict between the Republic of Iraq and the State of Kuwait, which resulted in the seven-month long Iraqi occupation of Kuwait, which subsequently led to direct military intervention by United States-led forces in the Gulf...
by the Iraqi armored divisions.
Highway(s) of Death
U.S. attacks against the Iraqi columns were actually conducted on two different roads: about 1,400-2,000 vehicles were hit or abandoned on the main Highway 80 north of Al JahraAl Jahra
Al Jahra is a city located north-west of Kuwait City in Kuwait . Al Jahra is the capital of the Al Jahra Governorate of Kuwait as well as the surrounding Al Jahra District which is agriculturally based. Encyclopædia Britannica recorded the population in 1980 as 67,311...
(the "actual" Highway of Death) and another 400-700 on the much-less known road to Basra, the major military stronghold in southern Iraq.
Highway 80
On Highway 80, the U.S. MarineUnited States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
aircraft blocked the road with anti-tank mines, and then bombed the rear of a massive vehicle column of mostly Iraqi Regular Army forces, effectively boxing-in the Iraqi forces in an enormous traffic jam and leaving sitting targets for many further airstrike
Airstrike
An air strike is an attack on a specific objective by military aircraft during an offensive mission. Air strikes are commonly delivered from aircraft such as fighters, bombers, ground attack aircraft, attack helicopters, and others...
s. Over the next 10 hours, scores of Marine, Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
and Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
pilots (many from USS Ranger (CV/CVA-61)
USS Ranger (CV-61)
The seventh USS Ranger is one of four Forrestal-class supercarriers built for the US Navy in the 1950s. Commissioned in 1957, she served extensively in the Pacific, especially the Vietnam War, for which she earned 13 battle stars. Near the end of her career she also served in the Indian Ocean and...
aircraft carrier) attacked the convoy using a variety of ordnance. Some survivors of the air attacks were later engaged by arriving coalition ground units, while the vehicles that managed to evade the traffic jam and continued to drive on the road north were often targeted individually. One portion of the road at the bottle-neck near the Mutla Ridge
Mutla Ridge
The Mutla Ridge is located in the Mutla district of the Al Jahra Governoate.-History:During the Gulf War, the Iraq forces were going to launch bombs while they were on the ridge to threaten Saudi Arabia...
police station has been reduced to a long uninterrupted line of more than 300 stuck and abandoned vehicles; this point is sometimes called the Mile of Death. The wreckage found on the highway consisted of a relatively few military vehicles (including at least 28 tanks and other armored vehicles) and many more commandeered
Commandeering
Commandeering is an act of appropriation by the military or police whereby they take possession of the property of a member of the public.-External links:*"" at Straight Dope, 25 April 2006*"" at Urban Legends Reference Pages, 6 August 2001...
civilian vehicles such as cars and buses; many of these vehicles were filled with stolen Kuwaiti property.
The death toll from the attack is unknown and still remains a controversial issue. Some independent estimates go as high as 10,000 or even "tens of thousands" of casualties, but this is highly unlikely. According to a 2003 study by the Project on Defense Alternatives Research, there were probably about 7,500-10,000 people who rode in the cut-off main caravan to begin with, but once the bombing started, most of them are believed to have simply left their vehicles in panic and escaped through the desert or into the nearby swamps (where 450-500 of them were taken prisoner). The often repeated low estimate of the numbers killed in the attack is 200-300 (as reported by Michael Kelly
Michael Kelly (editor)
Michael Thomas Kelly was an American journalist, a columnist for The Washington Post, and an editor at The New Republic, National Journal, and The Atlantic. He came to prominence via his reporting on the first Gulf War, but suffered professional embarrassment for his role in the Stephen Glass...
among others), but the actual figure was probably higher, and a minimum toll of at least 500-600 dead seems to be more plausible.
Highway 8
Iraqi Republican Guard
The Iraqi Republican Guard was a branch of the Iraqi military during the presidency of Saddam Hussein. It later became the Republican Guard Corps, and then the Republican Guard Forces Command with its expansion into two corps....
's 1st Armored Division "Hammurabi
Hammurabi
Hammurabi Hammurabi Hammurabi (Akkadian from Amorite ʻAmmurāpi, "the kinsman is a healer", from ʻAmmu, "paternal kinsman", and Rāpi, "healer"; (died c...
", have been engaged over a much larger area in smaller groups by the U.S. ground forces consisting of nine artillery battalions and a battalion of AH-64 Apache
AH-64 Apache
The Boeing AH-64 Apache is a four-blade, twin-engine attack helicopter with a tailwheel-type landing gear arrangement, and a tandem cockpit for a two-man crew. The Apache was developed as Model 77 by Hughes Helicopters for the United States Army's Advanced Attack Helicopter program to replace the...
helicopter gunships operating under the command of General Barry McCaffrey
Barry McCaffrey
Barry Richard McCaffrey is a retired United States Army general, former U.S. Drug Czar, news commentator, and business consultant....
. Hundreds of Iraqi vehicles, predominantly military in type, were then systematically destroyed in smaller clusters of 10-15 spread along a 50-mile stretch of the highway and at scattered points across the desert.
This engagement, which wasn't even known to media and the public at all until almost two weeks later, still remains relatively obscure even as most of the graphic images of scorched corpses, commonly attributed to the Highway of Death attacks and often considered among the iconic images of the war, were actually taken on Highway 8 and not on Highway 80. The Project on Defense Alternatives Research estimated the number of these killed there to be in range of 300-400 or more, bringing the likely total number of fatalities in both incidents to at least 800-1,000. A large column of remnants of the Hammurabi Division attempting to withdraw to safety in Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
were also engaged and obliterated few days later (March 2) deep inside the Iraqi territory by Gen. McCaffrey's forces in a controversial post-war "turkey shoot"-style incident known as Battle of Rumaila
Battle of Rumaila
The Battle of Rumaila, also known as the Battle of the Causeway or the Battle of the Junkyard, was a controversial engagement that took place on March 2, 1991, near the Rumaila oil field in the Euphrates Valley of southern Iraq, when the U.S. 24th Infantry Division under Maj. Gen...
.
Controversies
United Nations Security Council Resolution 660
United Nations Security Council Resolution 660, adopted on August 2, 1990, after noting its alarm of the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq, the Council condemned the invasion and demanded Iraq withdraw immediately and unconditionally to positions as they were on August 1, 1990.Yemen called upon Iraq and...
of August 2, 1990), and the column included Kuwaiti captives (apparently to be used as hostage
Hostage
A hostage is a person or entity which is held by a captor. The original definition meant that this was handed over by one of two belligerent parties to the other or seized as security for the carrying out of an agreement, or as a preventive measure against certain acts of war...
s) as well as some civilian refugees including women and children (mostly family members of pro-Iraqi Palestine Liberation Organization
Palestine Liberation Organization
The Palestine Liberation Organization is a political and paramilitary organization which was created in 1964. It is recognized as the "sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people" by the United Nations and over 100 states with which it holds diplomatic relations, and has enjoyed...
militants and Kuwaiti collaborators who have fled shortly before a wholesale Palestinian expulsion from Kuwait in early March). Former United States Attorney General
United States Attorney General
The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. The attorney general is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government...
Ramsey Clark
Ramsey Clark
William Ramsey Clark is an American lawyer, activist and former public official. He worked for the U.S. Department of Justice, which included service as United States Attorney General from 1967 to 1969, under President Lyndon B. Johnson...
alleged that these attacks violated the Third Geneva Convention
Third Geneva Convention
The Third Geneva Convention, relative to the treatment of prisoners of war, is one of the four treaties of the Geneva Conventions. It was first adopted in 1929, but was significantly updated in 1949...
, common article 3, which outlaws the killing of soldiers who "are out of combat." International law explicitly states that retreating military forces are legitimate targets in war to deny them regrouping and reattacking (only surrendering military forces are protected by the Hague Conventions
Hague Conventions (1899 and 1907)
The Hague Conventions were two international treaties negotiated at international peace conferences at The Hague in the Netherlands: The First Hague Conference in 1899 and the Second Hague Conference in 1907...
). It was however also alleged that the American combat vehicles opened fire on a large group of more than 350 disarmed Iraqi soldiers who had surrendered at a U.S. military checkpoint after fleeing the devastation on Highway 8 on February 27; these allegations were publicised by Seymour Hersh
Seymour Hersh
Seymour Myron Hersh is an American Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist and author based in Washington, D.C. He is a regular contributor to The New Yorker magazine on military and security matters...
.
General Norman Schwarzkopf
Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr.
General Herbert Norman Schwarzkopf KCB , also known as "Stormin' Norman" and "The Bear", is a retired United States Army General who, while he served as Commander of U.S. Central Command, was commander of the Coalition Forces in the Gulf War of 1991.-Early life:Schwarzkopf was born in Trenton, New...
commented in 1995:
According to Colin Powell
Colin Powell
Colin Luther Powell is an American statesman and a retired four-star general in the United States Army. He was the 65th United States Secretary of State, serving under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African American to serve in that position. During his military...
, then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is by law the highest ranking military officer in the United States Armed Forces, and is the principal military adviser to the President of the United States, the National Security Council, the Homeland Security Council and the Secretary of Defense...
and the future Secretary of State
Secretary of State
Secretary of State or State Secretary is a commonly used title for a senior or mid-level post in governments around the world. The role varies between countries, and in some cases there are multiple Secretaries of State in the Government....
, the "shooting gallery
Carnival game
A carnival game is a game of chance or skill that can be seen at a traveling carnival, charity fund raiser, amusement park, or on a state and county fair midway....
" scenes carnage was the reason to end the Gulf War hostilities after the Liberation of Kuwait campaign
Liberation of Kuwait campaign
The Liberation of Kuwait was the campaign to retake Kuwait from Iraq after the massive air campaign, between 24–28 February 1991. U.S. troops and the Coalition entered to find the Iraqis surrendering en masse; however, pockets of resistance existed, particularly at Kuwait International Airport...
. He wrote later in his autobiography My American Journey that "the television coverage was starting to make it look as if we were engaged in slaughter for slaughter's sake."
According to the Foreign Policy Research Institute
Foreign Policy Research Institute
The Foreign Policy Research Institute is an American neoconservative think tank based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is "devoted to bringing the insights of scholarship to bear on the development of policies that advance U.S...
, however, "appearances were deceiving":
Photojournalist Peter Turnley
Peter Turnley
Peter Turnley is a photojournalist known for documenting the human condition and current events. Over the past two decades, he has traveled to eighty-five countries and covered nearly every major news event of international significance. His photographs have been featured on the cover of Newsweek...
published photographs of mass burials at the scene. Turnley wrote:
Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine concluded:
Another, relatively minor, controversy regarded the unopposed looting of still-working Iraqi weapons after the battle, including not only by the U.S. soldiers but also by Saudi
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
civilians (some of whom then allegedly sold assault rifles on the black market to buyers in the broader Middle East), as there were no military police
Military police
Military police are police organisations connected with, or part of, the military of a state. The word can have different meanings in different countries, and may refer to:...
units deployed to guard the wreckage.
In popular culture
- In 1991, British newspaper The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
commissioned British anti-war poet Tony HarrisonTony HarrisonTony Harrison is an English poet and playwright. He is noted for controversial works such as the poem V and Fram, as well as his versions of ancient Greek tragedies, including the Oresteia and Hecuba...
to commemorate the war, and in particular the Highway of Death. His poem, A Cold Coming, began with an ekphrasic representation of a grotesque and graphic photograph taken on Highway 8 by photojournalist Kenneth Jarecke. - The 1992 film BarakaBaraka (film)Baraka is a 1992 non-narrative film directed by Ron Fricke. The title Baraka is a word that means blessing in a multitude of languages....
features a brief bird's eye shot of the Highway. - Stock footage of destruction at the Highway is featured in the music video of Iron MaidenIron MaidenIron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...
's "Afraid to Shoot Strangers" from their 1992 album Fear of the Dark. - The 2005 film JarheadJarhead (film)Jarhead is a 2005 biographical drama war film based on U.S. Marine Anthony Swofford's 1991 Gulf War memoir of the same name, directed by Sam Mendes, starring Jake Gyllenhaal as Swofford with co-stars Jamie Foxx, Peter Sarsgaard, and Chris Cooper. The title comes from the slang term used to refer to...
, based on the 2003 bookJarhead (book)Jarhead is a Gulf War memoir by author Anthony Swofford. After leaving military service, the author went on to college and earned a Masters Degree in Fine Arts at the University of Iowa.- Synopsis :...
, contains a scene of the Highway of Death. - In the 2010 video game Splinter Cell: Conviction, a flashback mission reveals that Sam Fisher, the leader of a four-man SEALUnited States Navy SEALsThe United States Navy's Sea, Air and Land Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's principal special operations force and a part of the Naval Special Warfare Command as well as the maritime component of the United States Special Operations Command.The acronym is derived from their...
team at the time, was captured while on a patrol during an operation on the Highway of Death following an Iraqi ambush. The player, as Fisher's SEAL teammate Victor Coste, follows a portion of the highway to an enemy military outpost, where he rescues Sam from being tortured by his captors.
See also
- Anglo-Iraqi WarAnglo-Iraqi WarThe Anglo-Iraqi War was the name of the British campaign against the rebel government of Rashid Ali in the Kingdom of Iraq during the Second World War. The war lasted from 2 May to 31 May 1941. The campaign resulted in the re-occupation of Iraq by British armed forces and the return to power of the...
- Hell's Highway
- Raate Road
- Road of DeathFalaise pocketThe battle of the Falaise Pocket, fought during the Second World War from 12 to 21 August 1944, was the decisive engagement of the Battle of Normandy...
