Posted on 03/25/2003 6:36:55 AM PST by veronica
National Post correspondent Matthew Fisher is embedded with a unit of U.S. Marines that has raced from the Kuwaiti border to north of Nasiriya, Iraq.
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After 15 hours of unopposed advance through Iraq, the boys of Bravo Company were wondering how they'd do in a firefight. Now they know.
For 45 minutes before dawn yesterday the Marines took on Iraqi forces in one of the fiercest battles of the war, a firefight so intense it ended only after air strikes by waves of British and U.S. warplanes.
The company was operating well ahead of the main U.S. force, speeding along a road intelligence had said was safe.
The attacks came at dusk, when a civilian truck thought to be carrying farmers abruptly stopped and men hopped out with guns.
Within seconds, hundreds of other Iraqis who were hiding in trenches and behind sand berms on either side of the road began firing at the convoy.
"I observed two pickups coming up towards us slowly and they seemed friendly," said Gunner Beau Mattioda from Orinda, Calif. "They dismounted and then ran from these vehicles with weapons. It seemed that the Iraqis were everywhere. Behind the berms, behind the building. It was very lucky for us we managed to dodge it this time."
Added Lieutenant Daniel Maze of Dayton, Ohio, "I saw them signalling to each other with chemical lights just before the shooting began."
One rocket-propelled grenade hit a Marine armoured vehicle but did not explode and at least two others narrowly missed their targets.
"It was a lucky night for a lot of our people out there," Lt. Maze added.
The Marines, all travelling in Canadian-built light armoured reconnaissance vehicles, fought back with their 25-mm chain guns.
"I saw at least 300 Iraqis," said Lieutenant Colonel Stacey Clardy, the Marines' commanding officer. "From where they were situated, all hell broke loose. I thought we had walked into a trap -- which we did -- but the trap was turned round on them."
For all but a handful of the Marines, it was their first taste of combat. Within seconds of the Iraqi attack, the air was full of red tracer fire and flares thrown up by the Marines. They cast an eerie glow over the scene and helped identify some of the Iraqi positions.
"The big thing I noticed among the young Marines tonight was that nobody freaked out," said Lieutenant John Voorhees from Vista, Calif., whose platoon came under heavy fire. "The trauma for them would have been far greater if this had taken place in daytime because then they would really have seen who they were killing."
At least two dozen Iraqis were killed in the clash. No Americans were killed. One Marine was shot in the back, but his flak jacket protected him from all but a superficial wound.
What the attack and others elsewhere in the past 24 hours have shown is that Saddam Hussein's army has not given up the fight, as many had suggested they might. Rather, they're staging tactical retreats toward Baghdad and fighting the Americans with limited engagements wherever they can, trying to use surprise as their chief weapon.
The fighting was so intense at times on Sunday night that massive air support was called in.
"I would say that during the time that we were the lead unit we had about 20 aircraft under my control," said Major Jerome Rizzo, a forward air locator for ground troops. "During show time, I probably was controlling about 30 aircraft at one time," he added.
"It's the biggest such ground support I have ever seen," Maj. Rizzo said. "Throughout the course of the day, I probably knew half of the pilots who were up there.
"Right in the middle of one of the battles, one of my best friends from Top Gun came up on the radio and we managed to have a little talk. From then on, he controlled the air battle and I controlled the battle within 500 metres of the vehicles.
"We allowed the air to strike within 500 metres of our position. I know that's close, but I knew the guy who was in charge up there to be a very good pilot."
After the battle, eight Iraqis believed to be plotting the path of the Americans were stopped and taken prisoner after they mistakenly drove right into a Marine position.
They were dressed as Bedouin peasants, but they did not have farm workers' hands. They were clean-shaven and well-groomed. They were also carrying large amounts of money and one had an Iraqi military ID.
Answered prayers. My daughter and I pray for our troops every morning and evening. I love to see answered prayers.
This CANNOT be an assumption!
What will happen to them?
Read this at another site, where this article was also posted:
"From what I know about the Geneva Convention, people who engage in combat while out of uniform are considered "guerillas" and are subject to execution. It is a clear violation."
"I observed two pickups coming up towards us slowly and they seemed friendly,"
This CANNOT be an assumption!
They won't make that assumption again, you can bet on it!
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