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Looking For Trouble |
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March 21 |
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(Published March 22) DAWN on the Iraqi border, and Captain Simonian and his Royal Engineers are preparing to become the first British ground forces to breach the border. The men of 26th armoured engineer squadron would normally normally be attached to the Black Watch, but while the Scottish Brigade waits for clearance for entrance to Iraq and on to join the attack on Basra, the US marines needed their help. The engineers have an escort of US Marines to protect them as they set about reaching the border, removing the obstacles and clearing the way for the US troops to pour through the gap. For those Iraqis waiting for the arrival of the British and US troops, it has already been a long night. Pounded by artillery, with a constant stream of B52 bombers flying overhead, sleep must have been impossible. Now, peering across to the Kuwaiti side of the border, they find themselves face to face with hundreds of US marines piled on M1 Abraham tanks and Humvee armoured personnel carriers. The exchange of fire does not last long. Small arms fire quickly overwhelmed by the sound of shells exploding as the Americans called up artillery support to finish off the opposition. By 6am the engineers have cleared the berms and thrown their bridges across the gap. Moments later, the US battalion landing team begins to cross. First across are the tanks, then the armoured infantry. The Humvees bring up the rear. For Capt Simonian it is a proud moment. We are the first British ground forces in, he says. What makes it unique is that we have been asked to support the Americans. They have a lot of capability but it was my boys that were chosen. And Capt Simonian, educated at Heriot Watt University and 31 today, cannot contain his satisfaction at the success of the mission. The most important thing for me is that my people came back with all our vehicles and all our guys. That's the thing that the boss is really chuffed about, that there were no injuries. It is a testimony to the soldiers, we are so lucky with our soldiers, they are so good. They did a brilliant job. Once the Americans were through the breach, the Royal Regiment Fusiliers followed, fighting their way forward to take up positions on the way towards Basra. The Black Watch were last night preparing to join them. Earlier, on the ground, the men of the Black Watch had been given the bad news: the Americans believed they had spotted two divisions of troops ahead of them including the Medina Brigade of Saddam Hussein's Republican Guard, committed professional soldiers who could not be expected to turn tail and run at the first sign of trouble. I hope they flatten the b******s, said Davie Irvine. Go on, give them everything you've got. It was a sentiment shared by everyone in the battle group as they prepared to join the attack. A day of leaping into slit trenches every time news came through of the launch of missile had frayed their nerves. No-one had really expected the Republican Guard to turn up so far south. For the commanders it had meant a change of plan. Orders came through to form up and be ready to move out at midnight. Gathering in the moonlight they were an awesome sight. Tank after tank rolled past, the deep grinding howl of their tracks drowning out even the sounds of the artillery barrage overhead. The huge gun barrels in the turrets swung menacingly as they traversed the desert, forming up in columns waiting for the off. In their midst, Warrior armoured cars lighter and more nimble, clattering across the sand. By the time they were all in place they stretched out as far as the eye could see, hundreds of machines, more than a thousand men. The dust kicked up by the tracks hung in the air, blurring the shapes, lending the scene an ethereal quality. To glimpse them for the first time, like huge beasts emerging from an early morning mist, was a breath-catching, terrifying moment. Men gathered round their commanders, eager to discover what their battle plans were to be. The Americans would go in first, they were told, their regimental combat teams crunching over the border through a gap cleared by the engineers, pushing west, north and east. The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers would follow, then the Black Watch. The crossing would be opposed, they were told, but how strongly no-one could yet say. It could be hard going - they might have to fight their way forward. Davie had found himself another bandolier of ammunition, 150 rounds for his rifle, and another armful of hand grenades, which he stuffed into the pockets of his webbing and into whatever spaces he could find. If I see an Iraqi they're going to get the lot and then there's always this, he says, drawing his bayonet from its sheath. The head of the column began to rumble forward, heading cross-country over the soft sand to the main road north. Spaced out, hugging the centre of the road, the columns stretch for miles. By first light they were all assembled and the waiting game began again. The artillery were still battering the Iraqi positions, jets could still be heard overhead. The Iraqis had been under attack all night, but the word was coming through that they were refusing to run. There were reports of some pockets surrendering. The Fusiliers had pushed the Iraqis back three kilometres, but the plan appeared to be faltering. The US troops were not ahead of the Fusiliers but behind them, and the promised aerial blitz had failed to materialise. Over the radio there were reports that the US advance to the west had been halted. H-hour, the moment when they should push forward over the border, was put back from 6am. The reports coming in were confused. Some US forces were reporting little opposition, but others were said to have been pushed back. It looked like there were two Iraqi mechanised Infantry Battalions ahead of the Black Watch and maybe a brigade of Infantry. The Fusiliers had pushed up to an area known as Sioux Falls but the Americans were nowhere to be seen. US artillery was failing to hit its targets and British batteries had been called in to lay down a fresh barrage. In the command post, the senior officers gathered around maps spread out on camping tables. The battle group commander, Lieutenant Colonel Mark Riddell-Webster gave them the latest update. The original plan was for the first US Marine Division made up of three RCT teams, the Ist, Vth and VIIth, to go over the border first, the Vth securing the gas oil separation plants to the west, the VIIth advancing to take on the Iraqi 51st Division ahead, at Az Zubayr and the VIIth moving ahead of the Fusiliers to the east. There was some doubts whether the Medina Division really had moved south, British and American intelligence officers disagreeing about the nature of the threat, he said, and nothing was clear. The Fusiliers had gone through the breach and had encountered sporadic opposition. They had a bit of a punch-up with limited elements, he explained. The battle group was halfway through the breach, but had come to a halt. The Iraqis were resisting on a tactical level, he said, and the Fusiliers had destroyed a couple of bunkers, but there was still armour in the area and the fighting continued. For the moment, the Black Watch had to wait for its turn to push through into Iraq to join the fighting. Reports from the front suggested that 80 per cent of the southern oilfields had now been secured, without significant fighting or prisoners of war. Intelligence officers were still trying to establish whether there had been mass desertions or whether Iraqi troops had regrouped inside Basra. During the day one battalion abandoned all of its tanks and ran off towards Basra. An artillery battery was destroyed although another one was located the city, posing a threat to the British and US troops. A pumping station and gas oil separation plant was taken intact. Pipelines on fire and smoke from that fire was obscuring some movement. But, for the Black Watch, the road to Basra, Iraq's second city, and the battle for it lay ahead.
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(Original copy) Dawn on the Iraqi border and captain Simonian and his Royal Engineers are preparing to become the first British ground forces to breach the Iraqi border. The men of 26th armoured engineer squadron would normally be attached to the Black Watch but while the Scottish brigade waits for clearance for entrance into Iraq and on to join the attack on Basra, the US marines needed their help. It is 11.30pm and the engineers have an escort of US Marines to protect them as they set about reaching the border, removing the obstacles and clearing the way for the US troops to pour through the gap. For those Iraqi's waiting for the arrival of the British and US troops, it has already been a long night. Pounded by artillery, with a constant stream of B52 bombers flying overhead, sleep must have been im-possible. Now, peering across on to the Kuwaiti side of the border, they find themselves face to face with hundreds of US marines piled on M1 Abraham tanks and Humvee armoured personnel carriers. The exchange of fire does not last long. Small arms fire quickly overwhelmed by the sound of shells ex-ploding as the Americans called up artillery support to finish off the opposition. It is 6am and the engineers have cleared the berms and thrown their bridges across the gap. Moments later, the US battalion landing team begins to cross. First across are the tanks, then the armoured infantry. The Humvee's bring up the rear. For captain Simonian it is a proud moment. "We are the first British ground forces in," he says. "What makes it unique is that we have been asked to support the Americans. They have a lot of capability but it was my boys that were chosen." And captain Simonian, educated at Heriot Watt University and 31 today, cannot contain his satisfaction at the success of the mission. "The most important thing for me is that my people came back with all our vehicles and all our guys. "That's the thing that the boss is really chuffed about, that there were no injuries. "It is a testimony to the soldiers, we are so lucky with our soldiers, they are so good. They did a brilliant job." Once the Americans were through the breach, the British Royal Regiment Fusiliers followed, fighting their way forward to take up positions on the way towards Basra. The Black Watch were last night preparing to join them. Reports from the front suggested that 80 per cent of the southern oil-fields had now been secured, without significant fighting or prisoners of war. Intelligence officers are still trying to establish whether there have been mass desertions or whether Iraqi troops have regrouped inside Basra. During the day one battalion abandoned all of its tanks and ran off towards Basra. An artillery battery was destroyed although another one was located near Basra posing a threat to the British and US troops. A pumping station and gas oil separation plant was taken intact. Pipelines were on fire and smoke from that fire was obscuring some movement. Military commanders believe that the Iraqis may have decided to offer a limited defence of the south of the country while hoping to offer a much stiffer fight around Baghdad. There are reports of conscripts deserting or fighting for only a short period before running away. However, some pockets had put up a fight and the belief is that they will continue to fight on because of their loyalty to Saddam Hussein or because they hate the west so much.
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