Killing 3 Enemy Tanks in 10 Seconds | HR McMaster | Army General & National Security Advisor | Battle of 73 Easting

Combat Story

Ryan Fugit

History

4.8 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 1 February 2025

⏱️ 76 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Today is an amazing Combat Story as we sit down with the legendary retired three star General HR McMaster whose 34 years of service included everything from spearheading the last great tank-on-tank engagement in the famous Battle of 73 Easting to serving as President Trump’s National Security Advisor.

McMaster has been a dream interview for our program for years and it does not disappoint. We cover so much in this episode from exactly what it felt like in the tanks on that fateful day taking on and destroying the Tawalkana Division of the Iraqi Republican Guard in minutes to leading a Cavalry Regiment that successfully and overwhelmingly destroyed Al Qaida in Tal Afar in Iraq in 2006 (it’s an amazing description of combined arms warfare) to chance encounters with world leaders like Henry Kissinger.

We spend some time discussing the General’s most recent book, At War With Ourselves about his time in Trump’s White House. It’s an amazing look inside what the West Wing is really like and the decisions that have to be made and personalities that need to be managed. Fans of this show will love this book.

We get McMaster’s perspective from the Battle of 73 Easting but if you want an even more detailed description of that battle, check out our interview with McMaster’s Platoon Leader Tim Gauthier who was a part of that fight https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O10yS95ak5M

I sincerely hope you enjoy this glimpse into one of our country’s greatest and most selfless leaders as much as I did.

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Show Notes:

00:00 Introduction
00:42 Introduction to Combat Story
01:01 Interview with General H. R. McMaster Begins
02:34 Discussing Competitiveness and Sports
05:25 McMaster's Military Background and Family Influence
07:02 Love for History and Reading Habits
11:20 Training and Leadership in the Military
23:03 Path to Becoming an Armor Officer
30:15 Preparation for the Battle of 73 Easting
36:22 Frustration and Anticipation on the Battlefield
37:22 Encountering the Enemy: First Skirmishes
38:18 Rain, Fog, and Sandstorm: The Challenges of Movement
39:59 Engaging the Enemy: The Battle Begins
40:49 Tactical Maneuvers and Repairs
42:19 The Heat of Battle: Tank Engagements
49:24 Operation Restoring Rights: A New Challenge
51:23 The Strategy and Execution of Operation Restoring Rights
01:03:19 Reflecting on Leadership and Service
01:13:57 Closing Thoughts and Reflections

Transcript

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0:00.0	I come over the rise and then I'm up out of the hatch.
0:05.0	I immediately see AT 72s.
0:07.0	They're part of a much larger force of, you know, maybe 60 tanks or so,
0:12.0	other armored vehicles and more tanks in depth.
0:14.0	My gunner says tanks direct front, I see him.
0:16.0	And I said, fire, fire Sabo and adjust.
0:20.0	We have a high explosive tank round in the breach.
0:23.6	We fired that at the first tank.
0:25.6	I have a very vivid memory of this tank.
0:27.6	It was a very close range.
0:29.6	The high-sposive run goes into the tank,
0:32.6	detonates the ammunition in the tank,
0:34.6	and the tank commander is ejected out of that tank into the air, and he's on fire.
0:41.7	Welcome to Combat Story. I'm Ryan Fugent, and I serve Warzone tours as an Army attack helicopter
0:46.6	pilot and CIA officer over a 15-year career. I'm fascinated by the experiences of the elite
0:52.2	in combat. On this show, I interview some of the best to understand what combat felt like on their
0:57.7	front lines.
0:58.9	This is combat story.
1:01.6	Today we have an amazing combat story as we sit down with the legendary retired three-star
1:05.4	general, H.R. McMaster, whose 34 years of service included everything from spearheading
1:10.7	the last great tank on tank engagement in the famous battle of 73 Easting to serving as President Trump's national security advisor.
1:17.6	McMaster has been a dream interview for our program for years, and it does not disappoint.
	...

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