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| Iraq |
| Republican Guard division attacked by helicopters near Baghdad |
| 2003-03-24 |
| I'm not sure about the reliability of this source. It has a CNN source but the link on their website did not work. U.S. Apache helicopters moved within 10 kilometres of Baghdad and attacked the armoured Medina division of the Republican Guard early Monday. The battle follows a series of tough firefights to the south. According to CNN, the helicopters attacked the Medina division, which protects Baghdad. U.S. forces encountered heavy anti-aircraft fire as they tried to take out Iraqi tanks on the ground. Many of the choppers came back damaged. Late Sunday, there were reports of a battle near Karbala and Al Hillah, where coalition troops engaged the Republican Guard. That battle would be the closest fighting yet to Baghdad. The battle near Karbala lasted three hours and ended in the early morning hours. |
| Posted by:Kerry |
| #13 I guess this armor: The coalition strategy is to establish a front line stretching eastwards from the Shia holy city of Karbala across the two main highways into the capital. The line will remain fixed while waves of air and ground-launched missiles pound the Republican Guard while the heavy artillery and tanks of V Corps rumble up for an eventual land assault. By the time that is launched the coalition aims to have 60,000 combat troops, 400 Abrams M1 and 100 Apache attack helicopters massed on the front. The three Republican Guard divisions have 500 tanks. |
| Posted by: anon 2003-03-24 19:27:18 |
| #12 What armor? My understanding is that we do not have much armor in Iraq by GWI standards, especially given that the 4th ID is at sea and some of its gear might be sitting in Turkey. As a civilian, looking at the map scares the hell out of me: long supply chains, 6 RG divisions vs. what must be the exhausted 3rd ID and a Marine division. I will pray for our people regardless, but am I missing something here? |
| Posted by: anon 2003-03-24 17:52:28 |
| #11 The lesson odf Somalia: Wait for the goddam armor. |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-03-24 17:25:29 |
| #10 This morning around 2am I was listening to a CNN reporter in Kuwait reporting that some Apaches came under surprising fire from all directions somewhere south of Baghdad, forcing them to return. Aparently all of them returned, one Apache with one engine, another almost didn't make it. I was thinking at that time, that they better re-think their strategy of using helicopters in front-line action, with so many RPGs and small arms fire still around on the field, or else they will take heavy losses of helicopters. Helicopters need stand-off distance. At the very least they should not send in anymore Apaches until they reduce the numbers of RPGs on the ground. Sure enough, this morning I wake up and hear of 2 missing Apaches. I know what you're gonna say, but haven't we learned anything from Somalia??? |
| Posted by: RW 2003-03-24 15:25:50 |
| #9 does anyone have a link to todays Tariq aziz speech - i got a quick look at one of the cable channel's crawls, and it said he declared that all senior leaders were safe, except for one "martyr in al najaf" The online sites only mention that he said that senior leaders were safe - what did he mean? Is "chemical" ali dead??? |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2003-03-24 13:43:23 |
| #8 According to the Times, this engagement was a disaster for US. It says our helicopters had to return to base and that all were damaged. It implies they were unable to engage the RG tanks, though it is not clear Consider the source. |
| Posted by: Parabellum 2003-03-24 12:03:13 |
| #7 According to the Times, this engagement was a disaster for US. It says our helicopters had to return to base and that all were damaged. It implies they were unable to engage the RG tanks, though it is not clear. |
| Posted by: JAB 2003-03-24 11:15:00 |
| #6 Aren't Cobras generally attached to Marine units and the Army units use mostly Apaches, or am I over-generalizing here? |
| Posted by: Dar Steckelberg 2003-03-24 09:04:25 |
| #5 There's been a lot of talk about Cobras, but this is the first time (assuming it's true) I've heard any mention of Apaches. Is this the first time they've engaged the enemy in numbers? Is it because the Cobras are being coordinated with ground forces? |
| Posted by: matt 2003-03-24 08:29:20 |
| #4 BTW, the high level of damage done to the Apaches, although worrisome, is significant: This very likely means that the vast majority of the really nasty Iraqui War material was SCAVANGED and FORWARDED to the Republican Guard for use around Baghdad. Leaving the rockets in the south made sense, since they wouldn't be useful if their range exceeds the diameter of the battlelines around Baghdad (I.e. shoot a rocket and it overshoots the enemy lines by tens of miles.) I think they dedicated their heavy transports to moving stuff appropriate to close-in battle to make sure the Republican guard is armed to the teeth. This is good: this means they left the remainder of the country relatively disarmed of the really nasty stuff. Relatively: hand guns, machine guns, grenades, and the man-carried rockets were probably cached for later use by "surrendering" Iraqui fifth-columnists, who would pull the stuff out and attack from the rear once past the front lines. Whatcha bet the Iraqui soldiers who ran instead of surrendering were aware of this? Let's hope they took their weapons home and have them ready for Second Amendment-like use when, Viet-cong-like, the Baathists try to use terror to deprive us of the support of the freed populace. THANK YOU TURKEY! Instead of the 4ID being in the north, they'll be in good position to sweep out the remainders as they head north. |
| Posted by: Ptah 2003-03-24 07:08:28 |
| #3 Kill the bastards and come home safe! |
| Posted by: Ptah 2003-03-24 06:45:16 |
| #1 The lesson odf Somalia: Wait for the goddam armor. |
| Posted by: Anonymous 3/24/2003 5:25:29 PM |