Battle for Naziriya
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The Battle of Naziriya was a military conflict between the armed forces of Iraq and the United States during the Iraq war in 2003. It was one of the largest skirmishes during the invasion, in which both sides sought control of strategically important bridges on the Euphrates and the Saddam Canal .
The fighting began on the morning of March 23rd when an American supply convoy mistakenly drove into town and was wiped out. 11 US soldiers were killed and another 6 were taken prisoner. Among them was soldier Jessica Lynch . However, some soldiers were able to hold their positions until the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade arrived to rescue them that morning. This unit began an attack on the northern part of the city under the callsign "Task Force Tarawa" and was able to take two important bridges on the so-called Ambush Alley. Eighteen US Marines died in the heavy house-to-house fighting , at least one of whom died from self-fire when an A-10 attack aircraft mistakenly attacked a column of marines near the Saddam Canal.
On the night of March 24th to 25th, the majority of the Marines of Regimental Combat Team 1 passed the city and advanced towards Baghdad. The fighting in Nasiriya lasted until April 1st.
The battle
Previous developments
At the end of March 2003, the Tarawa Task Force , consisting of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade , advanced towards Nasiriya. The right flank was secured by the 3rd US Infantry Division , the left by the 1st Marine Division . The objective of the advance was three important bridges over the Euphrates. One of these bridges was outside the city and was occupied by the 3rd Infantry Division, the other two were in the city.
The original plan was to occupy the two bridges to allow the Marines Regimental Combat Team 1 to advance north along Route 7.
The headquarters of the 3rd Iraqi Army Corps , which consisted of the 11th Infantry Division , the 51st Mechanized Infantry Division and the 6th Armored Division , was located in Nasiriya . These each had around 50 percent of their nominal strength. The 51st Division was in the south and was supposed to protect strategically important oil fields, the 6th Panzer Division was in the north near Al-Amarah. Thus only the 11th Infantry Division remained in the Nasiriya region.
Assault on US supply convoy
At 6 a.m. on March 23, a US supply convoy with 18 vehicles and 33 soldiers mistakenly drove into the city. The convoy was led by Captain Troy King, a logistics officer with no combat experience. The convoy was spotted early by Iraqi units, but they held back their attack. After the convoy passed the headquarters of the Al Quds militia , Troy realized that he had lost his way and had the convoy turned around to drive out of town again. Around 7 a.m., Iraqi troops opened fire with machine guns and anti-tank missiles. They were supported by some tanks. In the following battle 18 US soldiers were killed and several were taken prisoner. Almost all of the vehicles were destroyed by enemy fire or damaged when trying to evade.
Some vehicles were initially able to withdraw a few kilometers from the city, but were then also stopped. The soldiers built up a defensive position and tried to hold the position. Only Captain King escaped the ambush with three jeeps. At about 7.30 a.m. he met units of the 8th Tank Battalion under Major Peeple. King reported the ambush and asked for immediate assistance to the troops that remained. Peeple immediately dispatched his tank unit towards the last known position of the survivors. After heavy fighting against several infantry units and artillery positions, the tanks reached the soldiers of the supply unit with the support of AH-1 Cobra helicopters.
Ambush Alley
March 23rd was the day with the most casualties of the entire invasion for the US Marines, 18 soldiers died during the fierce fighting over the Saddam Canal. There was also an incident when a National Guard A-10 attacked several US Marines vehicles . At least one marine was killed. The Air Force Liaison Officer in charge was not aware that a company of the Marines had already advanced that far north. Two other Marines drowned while trying to cross the Saddam Canal under enemy fire.
Regimental Combat Team 1
The planned advance of Regimental Combat Team 1 through Nasiriya was delayed by fierce fighting. On the evening of March 24th, the reconnaissance elements of the RCT-1 advanced north along the Saddam Canal and led the RCT-1 through Ambush Alley. To the north of the city, the units encountered fierce resistance from a complex of buildings. Only through the use of massed firepower could this be slowly broken. At sunset, the US units were about 15 kilometers north of Nasiriya. A strong sandstorm broke out , and Iraqi units advancing south from Kut dared to attack. With the help of artillery support, this could be turned away. The attacks subsided towards morning. Around 200 to 300 Iraqis were killed in the attacks and several hundred were taken prisoner. The Marines had no casualties or injuries.
Ambush Alley was kept open by the Marines until the entire RCT-1 Nasiriya had passed on the night of March 24-25. The delay in the advance of the RCT-1 was later one of the reasons for the removal of the commander, Colonel Dowdy, from his command.
consequences
By March 27, most of the resistance in the city was broken, the focus shifted from open fighting to guerrilla actions and house searches. Small groups of militias attacked US Marines patrols, but were unsuccessful due to a lack of coordination.
On March 27, reconnaissance units discovered a sunken M1 Abrams in the Euphrates. He had been missing since the night of March 24th to 25th. Engineer units were busy with rescue work for two days.
According to an officer of the Republican Guard, the defensive successes in Nasiriya had boosted the morale of Iraqi troops across the country. Overall, more than 350 Iraqi soldiers were killed during the fighting in Nasiriya, and 29 US Marines were killed and 60 injured. Nothing is known about the number of civilian casualties.
literature
- The battle of an Nasiriyah (PDF). Marine Corps Gazette 87
- David R. Dunfee: Ambush Alley Revisited (PDF). Marine Corps Gazette 88 (3), March 2004
- Richard S. Lowry: Marines in the Garden of Eden: The Battle for An Nasiriyah . Berkley Hardcover, 2006, ISBN 0-425-20988-1 .
- Gary Livingston: To Nasiriyah: The Fight for the Bridges . Caisson Press, 2004, ISBN 1-928724-04-3 .
- Tim Pritchard: Ambush Alley: The Most Extraordinary Battle of the Iraq War . Presidio Press, 2007, ISBN 0-89141-911-X .