Free Republic

<p>MARINE COMBAT HEADQUARTERS, Iraq - A battle Friday for a crucial crossroads 12 miles southeast of Baghdad involved the heaviest combat Marines had undertaken so far in Iraq, commanders said, as members of the Republican Guard put up what one commander called "a coordinated defense."</p>

Challengers wipe out column of Iraqi T55s after chance encounter in Basra desert THE morning sun was up, the fog of war had briefly lifted. In the distance, a moving cloud of dust betrayed a column of armour on the move. Twenty miles southeast of Basra, 14 Challenger 2 tanks of C Squadron, Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, were on their way to reinforce 3 Commando Brigade, Royal Marines on al-Faw peninsula. They were not expecting tanks from the north; they had another mission in mind. But they had reached the position they were in only because of some speedy and...