Posted on 04/06/2003 3:46:47 PM PDT by MadIvan
BASRA’S Shia population celebrated yesterday as Challenger tanks and Warrior armoured vehicles from three Desert Rats battle groups surged into the city shortly after 5.30am (2.30GMT).
Some Iraqis cheered and waved at the advancing British troops while others turned on Fedayin paramilitaries, with several of the militiamen seen being killed by lynch mobs. Chairs, tables and other possessions were looted from wrecked government and paramilitary buildings as inhabitants of the Shia slums on the outskirts of Basra flocked from their homes to capitalise on the British advance.
As night drew in, tanks and infantry from the Royal Scots were positioned at the symbolic gateway to Basra, a crossroads on the edge of the historic old town district of the city, dominated by a towering statue of Saddam Hussein until a few days ago, when it was destroyed by a British tank.
Elsewhere the Black Watch battle group had advanced to the north of the Royal Scots, taking control of another large chunk of the city. The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, supported by paratroopers of the 16th Air Assault Brigade, completed the final element of the attack by sweeping into the northernmost districts of Basra, pushing down towards the boundary of the old town.
The advance was supported by an artillery bombardment from British AS90 guns, and strikes from US Cobra attack helicopters. The initial target for the Royal Scots was to destroy a factory compound occupied by Fedayin and to secure a sprawling college in which large numbers of foreign paramilitaries, including Syrians and Palestinians, were holding out.
There was a deafening roar as the Challenger tanks of the Royal Scots’ B Squadron departed in the darkness, with Warrior vehicles from the 1st Battalion Irish Guards alongside them. Ahead, four miles away, lay the centre of Basra.
Within minutes the tanks were in action, engaging paramilitaries defending the factory complex to the north of Route Red, where the Baath party’s latest headquarters were believed to be located. As the Iraqi defenders retaliated with rocket-propelled grenades, a succession of rounds were fired by the Challengers into the complex, setting it on fire and killing many paramilitaries. Some tried to flee, but without success as civilians from the nearby Shia Flats slum poured on to the streets in support of the British attack. Some shouted and cheered, greeting the British soldiers with waves, thumbs up and smiles.
Others wrought vengeance upon the men who for years had oppressed them, surrounding and attacking the fleeing Fedayin. A crowd descended upon one paramilitary, striking furiously at him and departed leaving his lifeless body lying on the street. Gangs of looters appeared, seizing seemingly anything that was moveable from what remained of the Baath party buildings.
The Royal Scots Tribune Guards Battle Group advanced further along Route Red, which stretches from the Shatt Al Basra waterway to the east of the city, leaving the Shatt Al Arab, which forms the Western boundary of Basra. Abandoned Iraqi T55 tanks in sandbagged positions could be seen to the middle of the road.
All appeared quiet as the British tanks reached the gateway to Basra, the limit of the initial British mission, which at the start of the day had been intended as simply a brief raid.
The Challenger tanks and Warriors stood quietly for more than an hour, fanned out in defensive positions around the spot where Saddam’s statue had stood.
Observation suggested that the second target of the morning, a College of Literature, another sprawling complex, was deserted. When, however, a Challenger 2 tank commanded by Major Chris Brannigan, the Commanding Officer of the Royal Scots Tribune Guards B squadron, crashed through the gates of the complex, with Warriors manned by Irish Guards infantry in support, dozens of Feday emerged from sandbagged positions, firing rocket-propelled grenades.
Further inside the city, fierce fighting continued as tank rounds and Warrior machinegun fire were used to suppress the defenders. Some Fedayin lay on the ground, seemingly dead, before springing up in an attempt to launch rocket-propelled grenade attacks on the advancing British forces.
Captain Niall Brennan, of one company First Battalion Irish Guards, was fortunate to survive one such attack, as he explained only moments later pointing at the corpse of his assailant a few yards away. “You see that dead guy. He’s the guy that tried to kill me just there. A lot of them were playing dead, and he was playing dead, too.
“Then he got up, brought his RPG to bear on me. I couldn’t see him. The whole army net radio was screaming: ‘Get Down RPG 20 metres from you.’
“But I had no idea where he was. One of my colleagues saw him and shot him. I would have known nothing about it if I hadn’t been saved.”
The crack of machine guns and the dull thud of artillery continued throughout the afternoon as sporadic resistance continued. However, most Iraqis seemed content with waves and friendly gestures from those, mostly younger men, who were out on the streets as Saddam’s rule over the city, which had risen against him unsuccessfully in 1991, finally crumbled.
Signs of the scale of British success were everywhere, with corpses of Iraqi paramilitaries, scattered by the roadside. In one defensive position a dozen Iraqi fighters sprawled along a line of defensive positions made out of sandbags and mud.
Ammunition boxes, dozens of rocket-propelled grenades and Kalashnikovs were scattered around them.
Bank notes displaying the smiling face of Saddam fluttered beside the dead men. Guardsman Luke Waite said: “We’ve done really well. If the other Iraqis who are still fighting for him come to see what’s happened here, then they’ll all have their hands up.”
There was a similar sense of jubilation back at the Royal Scots Tribune Guard Battle Group Headquarters on the outskirts of Basra. Major Chris Brannigan, the Commanding Officer of B Squadron of the Royal Scots Tribune Guards, said: “They were a cool determined enemy. There’s no giving up.
"Every man had to be cleared out but we’ve done it very successfully. I’ve only got one hesh (tank) round left. One of the Warriors fired 3,000 rounds into one command bunker alone. It was an eight-hour battle in 38 degrees (100F) and there was a lot of fighting.” Major Ben Farrell, the Commanding Officer of two company of the First Italian Irish guard said: “The people from the Shia slums were ecstatic. We could see them cheering us and coming out to get their own back on the Fedayin.
“It was obvious that they couldn’t stand them and were delighted that they were finally on their way.”
Regards, Ivan
Free Basra Bump!
Well, it was "no quarter asked, so none given."
I think that on one of the articles that I read on this referred to the temprature in the neighborhood of 100 degrees, so revenge in this case was served up hot.
I suspect we all knew this was coming, and there is likely to be a lot more before it's all over. I can't say as I feel sorry for Saddam's murdering thugs.
Want to get it right in rehearsal so when the real thing comes along they'll be ready.
Or maybe it was one of those die-ins we've been hearing about from the protesters.
Oh man, this part MADE MY DAY! This is great! I sure hope (and have heard) that the troops are turning a blind eye to this sort of thing. I believe that A) the locals are the only ones who know who the bad guys are and B)they DESERVE to loot the government buildings. A small payback for their suffering over the years.
Keenly done!
Frankly, I wish that they wouldn't be so hasty. They really should take their time and make sure that the "paramilitary" gets the message - loud and clear - before he departs this vale of tears.
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