Abu Ghraib, Iraq - April 2, 2005: Marines at Abu Ghraib prison engage in a 2-hour battle as violent insurgents furiously descend on the compound.

Abu Ghraib has a long and bloody history. When Saddam Hussein ruled Iraq, thousands of prisoners languished in the holding cells for years, some twelve-by-twelve pens crammed with as many as 40 detainees that were routinely neglected and tortured. Thousands more were executed. Its reputation as a hostile breeding ground for corruption was boosted last year, when American soldiers faced military trials for the torment and abuse of Iraqi detainees in Abu Ghraib.

The prison complex is an enormous sprawl of internal jails and outside tents. 24 guard towers give Marines a bird's eye view of the grounds, the critical ability to oversee the movements of soldiers and the transfers of detainees throughout the vast complex. The guard towers make for superior positioning. As it turns out, they also make for exceptional enemy targets.

The attack is sudden and swift. Just after dusk, the sound of gunshots fills the air in the prison complex. Seconds later, it's the unmistakable sound of an incoming RPG, one that barely misses the Marines in the tower. They are disoriented by the choking smoke and heavy debris when a second RPG connects with the wall directly behind them. One Marine is wounded when the rocket explodes against the structure with paralyzing force. The massive impact disables radio communication capabilities, and the two Marines are under heavy fire from machine guns, grenades and more RPGs. The situation is desperate: between them, the soldiers have just a single M-16.

A second tower is targeted at the same time. Barrages of grenades fly over the tower walls; the air is peppered with small arms fire. Deafening RPGs rip upward toward Marines who sustain serious injuries in the flurry of firepower. They are stunned, wounded, trapped. And help is not on the way. A recovery unit rushes to help the hurt Marines, but a grenade is skillfully thrown in their path, multiplying the number of wounded to a total of 20 and leaving the Marines to fend for themselves.

If the Marines from the first tower don't evacuate, they will die where they stand. The only way down is by repelling a 25-foot-long rope designed to haul equipment in and out of the tower. Fully exposed, the soldiers speed down the rope, race to the perimeter wall and dive for cover in a fortified bunker. From there, they witness firsthand the massive ground assault underway.

Insurgents attack the prison gate under a torrent of AK-47 gunfire. They fire RPGs at the prison structures and propel grenades at the Marines. A suicide bomber driving a vehicle packed with explosives speeds toward the prison. It is a well-organized, widespread attack, but the rebels are no match for the US Marine Corps. Soldiers implement a punishing retaliation: It begins with destroying the vehicle-borne IED. It ends with a devastating descent upon the enemy.