Lightning

The compelling, authoritative inside story of the famous 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) during the Gulf War. On Day One of the air war, it was the 101st - not the Air Force - that actually fired the first shots of Desert Storm when its Apache helicopters took out Iraqi radar. Then, on Day One of the ground war, it was the 101st that led the Coalition's devastating counterattack with the largest and farthest-reaching helicopter assault in history. Over 200 helicopters, almost 1,000 vehicles, and more than 6,000 highly trained soldiers penetrated deep into Iraqi territory in order to cut off the Iraqi invaders and, if necessary, destroy them in battle. The 101st's lightning strike was a coup de main of precision, power, and speed many consider unprecedented in the annals of military history.