Liberating them against their will.

[tw]

Originally posted by Tobiasly
I will be a little east of Karbala, but I don't know how that corresponds to exactly where Babylon was. I am hoping to see some interesting sights and take some pictures if I get the chance.

East of Karbala would be the province of Babil and probably on the banks of the Eurphrates River. Maybe in An Hindiyah? I vaguely recall some serious bridge combat in that town maybe involving the 7th Cav. Somewhere in that area is a major pipeline that feed the Persian Gulf. Babylon would be due south maybe 10 to 20 klicks near a town now called An Hillah.

Another interesting local geography would be what was called the Karbala gap - west of Karbala. Apparently a wonderfully executed manuever by the 3rd ID between Karbala and a large lake. Even today, details remain sketchy. How the terrain contributed to the plan would be interesting. This was the manuever that broke the Iraqi's last line of defense with virtually no American losses.