Sunday, March 31 at 3 a.m. ET

Hosted by Oliver North

On March 20, 2003, nearly 170,000 American and coalition soldiers, sailors, airmen, Guardsmen and Marines were poised for battle along the borders of Iraq. Hours later when they launched into the attack, they were outnumbered nearly three to one by Saddam Hussein’s military, yet, it took U.S. troops just three weeks to liberate Baghdad. No military force in history has ever gone further, faster or with fewer casualties – and FOX News and "War Stories" were there, documenting their tenacity, skill and valor.

Despite the lightning-fast victory over the dictator’s Republican Guard and Fedayeen, the challenge of leaving Iraq better than we found it proved to be demanding and dangerous. In the half decade since Operation Iraqi Freedom began, our 'War Stories' team has spent months in the field with more than 30 U.S. combat units – covering heroic young Americans serving in the line of fire. From “shock and awe,” to the “thunder runs” to gunfights in “bloody Anbar,” to “the surge” – all are here in this awe-inspiring chronicle of courage, sacrifice and commitment: “Five Years in the Fight for Freedom.”

Staff for this episode:

Executive Producer: Pamela K. Browne

Produced and written by: Gregory M. Johnson, Ayse M. Wieting, Steven Tierney, Kelly Guernica, Greg Ebben and Andrew Stenner

Primary Field Camera: Mal James

Editors: Kristin Kilkenny and Kevin Mannino

Designer: Yong Kim