The Battle of Baghdad now beginning

[MKSheppard]

http://www.iht.com/articles/90828.htm

Battle for 'Red Zone' around Baghdad gets under way

Michael R. Gordon/NYT The New York Times
March 24, 2003

5th CORPS ASSAULT COMMAND POST, near NAJAF, Iraq

American forces have begun the battle for the ‘‘Red Zone,’’ the area around Baghdad that is defended by Iraq’s Republican Guard and one of the most treacherous regions of the country for the invading troops. The strikes Sunday night by U.S. Army attack helicopters and army surface-to-surface missiles represented the first U.S. ground attacks on Iraq’s Republican Guards. The aim was to soften up the Medina Division, one of the three Republican Guard divisions that man the approaches to Baghdad. The U.S. barrage was intense, but American forces did not emerge unscathed. One pilot was wounded by small arms fire but managed to fly back to base. The assault underscored the risks of a war that began with lightning speed and is now approaching its most critical phase. Optimistic statements may have created expectations in Washington and elsewhere that this war would be swift and relatively casualty free.

Certainly, American forces had covered considerable ground and thrust deep into Iraq.

Now that the military had reached central Iraq, American forces were girding for real battle.

‘‘This is going to be a fight, not a one-day campaign,’’ a senior military officer said.

There were dangers to the rear too. American forces had been attacked by the fedayeen, militia that are under the command of Saddam Hussein’s son Uday, which have begun to harass the Americans from the south in an attempt to slow the advancing U.S. troops and supply columns.

The first few days were intense, but they were perhaps the easiest part of a complex war. Many of the Iraqi soldiers the invaders confronted were ill-motivated and ill-trained. Some surrendered, and many simply vanished.

Even so, some of the celebrated capitulations turned out to be less significant than advertised. U.S. officials were quick to announce the surrender of the commander of the 51st Division. On Sunday, they discovered that the ‘‘commander’’ was actually a junior officer masquerading as a higher-up in an attempt to win better treatment.

The thunderous air strikes on Baghdad no doubt took a toll on the Iraqi military, but they did not destroy its ability to direct its forces, according to senior American military officials. Before these latest attacks, the three Republican Guard divisions surrounding the capital were close to full strength.

The command and control of the Special Republican Guard, charged with defending the interior of the capital, was still intact, according to U.S. military officials.

Special Republican Guard forces were defending key sites in the city, including command centers and Baghdad’s airport. To shield themselves from air strikes they were taking refuge in schools, mosques and other structures off-limits to air attack.

Iraq still retained the ability to fire and guide mobile surface-to-air missiles, according to U.S. Air Force officials. Much of the Iraqi anti-aircraft artillery was still active. Despite all the Pentagon’s boasts about its ability to use air power to shock its adversary and perhaps encourage surrender, the air defenses in and around Baghdad were still functional, though diminished.

Lieutenant General David McKiernan, the land war commander, helicoptered deep in Iraq to confer about the upcoming assault on the Republican Guard with Lieutenant General William Wallace, the commander of the army’s 5th Corps and the general who will lead the attack on Baghdad.

As McKiernan flew into Iraq, long convoys of trucks, armored vehicles and Humvees were seen from the air. The columns kicked up a swirl of dust as the American forces pushed north past the palm groves, irrigation canals, barren desert and small towns that are characteristic of southern Iraq.

Troops have occasionally been snarled in traffic jams that can stop traffic for hours as the supplies for the final assault on Baghdad are pushed north.

The American forces have been moving so fast that it took a bit of doing to find Wallace’s command post, a tracked C-2 command vehicle filled with electronic gear. After the helicopter touched down, the two American commanders huddled in the cramped vehicle.

There are six Republican Guard divisions in and around Baghdad.

Early Monday, American planes focused on the Medina Division, attacking its command posts, armor and artillery. American commanders wanted to stop the Republican Guard forces from moving inside Baghdad, where they could engage in urban warfare or from moving south toward American troops. Attacks on artillery were a high priority, in part, because they can used to fire the chemical shells that Iraq was still believed to possess.

The initial assault on the Medina Division was carried out by several squad rons of Apache attack helicopters from the U.S. Army’s 11th Attack Helicopter Regiment. More than 30 of the devastating surface-to-surface missiles, called Atacms, were also unleashed.

‘‘We have to shape the fight,’’ Wallace said, his voice so hoarse it was barely audible, before the attack began.

American commanders call this ‘‘shaping fires,’’ an effort to weaken the enemy so he can be destroyed in follow-up attacks. It was just the first step of a combined arms offensive intended to deal the Medina Division a decisive defeat. The hope is that a firm blow against that division will help persuade other Republican Guard units not to resist.

The attack served another purpose as well. American officials are trying to regain the initiative during a day in which they were surprised by attacks by the fedayeen militia on advancing troops and supply columns.

Thousands of fedayeen fighters who wear black uniforms or civilian clothes, were in the southern zone, according to American estimates, and produced the largest American casualties so far. Their fervor and determination to fight outside Baghdad caught American forces by surprise and appeared to be part of a calculated effort to attack vulnerable American supply convoys as they head north.

[Sea Skimmer]

I'm wondering if America forces would be better off skirting the population centers north of the Euphrates in favor of sweeping out into the desert. The difference in distance is minimal, but it's not good to hold only one side of a river.

[NecronLord]

I thought Uday was dead?

[Raptor 597]

Ah, the Medina Division. The same force in 1991 that lost it's whole tank at the Battle of Medina Ridge. How many Republican Guard Divisions
are in Ikrit. And I believe Uday was seriously injured. There are conflicting stories. His Headquarters was blown out.

[Stormbringer]

I thought Uday was dead?

Not as far as I know. I haven't seen anything that says he's been killed. I believe it's been mentioned that he might have been in the bunker when we hit it.

[Jason von Evil]

Welcome to flavor country.

[Enforcer Talen]

its going to get bloody. here's hoping its over soon.

[Montcalm]

Well since the republican guards will use the Iraqi civilians as human shields,maybe we should send the anti-war peacenicks there as human shields for the American soldiers

[Enforcer Talen]

human sheild: what? I could get hurt? let me take my first class flight out of here!