Royal Marines storm Basra suburb
telegraph.co.uk
Triumphant Royal Marine commandos yesterday mopped up the final traces of resistance in the south of Basra after the success of the first urban infantry assault of the war by British troops.
Under cover from smoke shells fired by British gunners, troops from Delta Company of 40 Commando renewed the assault at first light, attacking two enemy positions, known by military planners using the operation's James Bond theme as Pussy and Galore.
Attempts by Iraqi troops to flee from the British advance over the Shatt Al-Arab waterway were confounded when two boats crammed with soldiers were attacked by mortars and helicopter-borne missiles.
By midday some sort of normality had returned to the riverside suburb of Abu Al Khasib and Royal Marine foot patrols were already deployed Northern Ireland-style, looking for Saddam loyalists.
They received a warm welcome from the members of the 30,000-strong population, with children and adults giving the thumbs-up, smiling and shouting "Mister, mister, England good".
One surprised Royal Marine said: "We were meant to be giving them food but they keep coming up to us and giving us stuff."
The success of Operation James may now embolden senior commanders to order a full advance on the heart of Basra, a city believed to be controlled by a desperate pro-Saddam minority.
While there were some Royal Marine casualties from accidents in the battle for Abu Al Khasib, none was caused by enemy fire. Looking at the devastation around the town, that seemed astonishing.
Under plumes of black smoke from two burning oil tankers, more than 10 destroyed Iraqi tanks could be seen in one stretch of road alone.
Each had been stopped in its tracks, its thick steel armour peeled open. There did not appear to be any Iraqi dead inside, but plenty of hastily removed uniforms were strewn here and there.
"It looks like the crews got out before the tanks were actually engaged," Brig Jim Dutton, the commander of 3 Commando Brigade, said.
"That says something I suppose about the level of commitment from the enemy we face."
Reinforced trenches and earthworks had been built to the south of the town where it faces the salty, marsh flats of the Faw peninsula.
But no matter how elaborate the Iraqi tank positions, nothing could stop 600 Royal Marines from 40 Commando advancing on foot in the early hours of Sunday supported by tanks, artillery and air power.
The 105mm light guns of 29 Commando Regiment, Royal Artillery, had fired an unprecedented barrage ahead of the Royal Marines. Each of the eight guns from 8 Commando Battery fired more than 100 rounds, and their gun pits out on the flats were each surrounded by a small mountain of burnt brass shell cases.
On the roads within the town there were heaps of British spent ammunition cases, each one telling part of the story of the 14-hour battle for Abu Al Khasib. An Iraqi anti-aircraft gun lay destroyed next to a bridge and mortar impact splashes pockmarked the roads.
The Challenger 2 tanks from C Squadron the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards were crucial to the battle. "Plenty of rocket-propelled grenades were fired at our call signs but they simply bounced off the armour," said Capt Fraser McLeman, 26, from Stratford-upon-Avon, the leader of one of the tank troops.
After the battle, there was a buzz of excitement among the Royal Marines as groups exchanged stories. A physical training instructor sergeant was generally acclaimed after he was hit on his bullet-proof vest by enemy fire. The shot shattered the heavy ceramic plate in his vest but the sergeant continued to fight and even killed his attacker.
One British armoured vehicle was attacked by 70 rocket-propelled grenades but it was not destroyed and its occupants were unhurt.
A Royal Marine told of a grenade glancing off his helmet and another told of how an Iraqi colonel driving a car with a briefcase full of cash refused to stop and was shot dead. "I didn't know what to do with the money so I gave it to the kids, bundles of the stuff," the Royal Marine said.
For the Iraqis the arrival of the British also appeared to be welcome news. British troops discovered evidence of the brutality of the regime in a police station in the suburb where they found what appeared to be a torture chamber.
"If any proof was needed of the nature of Saddam Hussein's regime then things like this give it," Lt-Col Gordon Messenger, the commanding officer of 40 Commando, said.
Local people were not yet in any mood to discuss the past, but life appeared to be returning to some sort of normality yesterday.
Shops opened, selling bags of spices and nuts, and at least one bakery was producing fresh, unleavened bread in a wood-fired oven.
The Royal Marines now patrolling the streets of the town reported good relations with the local population, who tipped them off on Sunday about an ambush being prepared by Saddam loyalists. Using this information, the British soldiers surprised their ambushers, killing three of them.
For Col Messenger yesterday, there was only a residual sense of pride in the performance of his men. "To the layman the achievements in Abu Al Khasib of these men might sound strange but I know them well and it came as no surprise to me," he said. "Quite simply, they were magnificent." |
