Much of what happens in the film's version of the battle did not happen during the actual event.
At around the 18:00 shows the 507th Maintenance having a stand off with a road block, forcing Captain King to take a side road. In truth, the 507th went clear through the city, turned left onto Highway 16, and proceeded for a distance before one of their trucks ran out of fuel. Forced to stop and refuel, the convoy made a U-turn and went back down Highway 16 to retrace their steps by going back through the city. However, they were now taking fire. Captain King ordered the convoy to speed up. This made them miss their turn. Going a short distance down the highway, the convoy made a second U-turn. It was during this part that two of the convoy's vehicles, which included a utility truck towing a disabled Humvee, broke down. These vehicles were abandoned and the convoy made its run back through the city.
At 21:55 a Deuce and a Half (2 1/2 ton) truck, towing a water buffalo, attempts to ram an Iraqi roadblock and is knocked onto its side when hit by a rocket propelled grenade (RPG). This is wrong for two reasons, the 507th was using the larger 5-ton trucks and not the older and smaller Deuce and a Half truck. Secondly, no '5-ton truck' in the 507th group was towing a water buffalo. Only a single 10-ton Wrecker Truck was, driven by PFC Miller and Sgt. Walters, and that was abandoned early in the fight on the outskirts of the city.
At 23:00 a soldier says his M-16A2 rifle is jammed and PFC Lynch hands him her rifle. This is also incorrect for two reasons, the two soldiers Lynch's Humvee picked up were Sgt. George Buggs and Pfc. Edward Anguiano and each had a M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW), a light machine gun that fired 5.56mm rounds, not M-16s. Secondly, Lynch's rifle was jammed throughout the entire battle. A fate that befell many of her comrades from the harsh desert environment and lack of cleaning.
23:11 shows Sgt. Riley and PFC Miller attempting to ram a roadblock in a 2 1/2 ton truck. As stated earlier, they were in a Wrecker with a water buffalo and not in a 2 1/2 ton truck.
There was no high-speed chase with Lynch's Humvee and a Fedayeen Technical (gun truck).
At around the 18:00 shows the 507th Maintenance having a stand off with a road block, forcing Captain King to take a side road. In truth, the 507th went clear through the city, turned left onto Highway 16, and proceeded for a distance before one of their trucks ran out of fuel. Forced to stop and refuel, the convoy made a U-turn and went back down Highway 16 to retrace their steps by going back through the city. However, they were now taking fire. Captain King ordered the convoy to speed up. This made them miss their turn. Going a short distance down the highway, the convoy made a second U-turn. It was during this part that two of the convoy's vehicles, which included a utility truck towing a disabled Humvee, broke down. These vehicles were abandoned and the convoy made its run back through the city.
At 21:55 a Deuce and a Half (2 1/2 ton) truck, towing a water buffalo, attempts to ram an Iraqi roadblock and is knocked onto its side when hit by a rocket propelled grenade (RPG). This is wrong for two reasons, the 507th was using the larger 5-ton trucks and not the older and smaller Deuce and a Half truck. Secondly, no '5-ton truck' in the 507th group was towing a water buffalo. Only a single 10-ton Wrecker Truck was, driven by PFC Miller and Sgt. Walters, and that was abandoned early in the fight on the outskirts of the city.
At 23:00 a soldier says his M-16A2 rifle is jammed and PFC Lynch hands him her rifle. This is also incorrect for two reasons, the two soldiers Lynch's Humvee picked up were Sgt. George Buggs and Pfc. Edward Anguiano and each had a M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW), a light machine gun that fired 5.56mm rounds, not M-16s. Secondly, Lynch's rifle was jammed throughout the entire battle. A fate that befell many of her comrades from the harsh desert environment and lack of cleaning.
23:11 shows Sgt. Riley and PFC Miller attempting to ram a roadblock in a 2 1/2 ton truck. As stated earlier, they were in a Wrecker with a water buffalo and not in a 2 1/2 ton truck.
There was no high-speed chase with Lynch's Humvee and a Fedayeen Technical (gun truck).
The M-16s used by the 507th in the ambush resemble M-16A2s with their ribbed, tubular barrel hand guards, but such rifles do not fire at full auto as shown in the film. That's because these rifles are older, M-16A1s that were around during the Vietnam War and could fire at full auto. A real M-16A2 could only fire single shot or three round bursts.
PFC Miller's stand is not properly captured on film. When Sgt. Riley, Johnson, and Miller reached Lynch's Humvee, they thought all the occupants were dead. Enemy fire forced Sgt. Riley and Johnson to take shelter under the truck that Lynch's Humvee struck. PFC Miller's rifle could only fire one manually loaded shot at a time. He shot seven Iraqis attempting to fire a mortar at his position. He also shot a Fedayeen advancing on him using two women as a shield. Firing his rifle over their heads, Miller caused the women to run and he shot the Fedayeen fighter.
It was only when Sgt. Riley told him to surrender that PFC Miller gave up and that came after he broke down and scattered the pieces of his rifle to deny its use to the enemy and then he was jumped by several Fedayeen.
It was only when Sgt. Riley told him to surrender that PFC Miller gave up and that came after he broke down and scattered the pieces of his rifle to deny its use to the enemy and then he was jumped by several Fedayeen.
Sgt Riley is shown panicking, throwing his weapon aside, and ordering his comrades to surrender. When approached by the Fedayeen, he still panicking and fearful. In actuality, Sgt. Riley did not behave in such fashion. He, Shoshana Johnson, and Miller resisted as long as he could. Riley's rifle jammed and he took Johnson's rifle, that was also jammed. Miller's rifle only worked by manually loading and firing a single shot at a time. When their rifles were disabled, Johnson was shot through her ankles, and they were surrounded, Sgt. Riley reluctantly gave the order to surrender.
When the convoy is driving through Nasiriyah just before they are attacked, Reunion Tower (a major feature of Dallas' downtown skyline) is clearly visible in the background.
At the beginning of the film, as the convoy snakes its way up the dirt roads, some mountains are seen on the horizon. Such mountains do not exist in southern Iraq. The mountains are found in the northern areas of the country, near the border of Syria and Turkey.