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| Iraq-Jordan | |
| A Wrong Turn, Chaos and a Rescue -- Marines fight heavy in Fallujah | |
| 2004-04-15 | |
| Since I think, the WaPost is a registration site, here’s the article -- Marines refuse to leave any behind, but find 50 - 100 enemy. Protrays a highly orgainzed enemy It began as a routine supply mission to the front lines, in a volatile but largely becalmed city. It ended as a fiery and chaotic rescue mission, with a small force of Marine tanks, Humvees and ground troops surrounded and attacked as they fought their way through a hostile neighborhood to save the crew of a burning armored personnel carrier. Marine officials said the three-hour battle that erupted at dusk Tuesday on the streets of Fallujah, and was recounted Wednesday by several of the key officers involved, exemplified the bravery and resourcefulness that Marines are known for, even when surprised and surrounded by a host of enemy fighters on alien urban turf. By the end of the tumultuous encounter, the charred personnel carrier had been towed to safety by a tank and most of its 17 crew members -- several of them wounded -- had been rescued from a house where they had taken shelter. But the incident also revealed some startling facts about the insurgency that the Marines are facing here, officers said. More dramatically than any armed confrontation since U.S. forces surrounded Fallujah nine days ago, it showed the tenacity, coordination, firepower and surprisingly large numbers of anti-American guerrillas who still dominate much of the city. "We definitely stumbled into a wasps’ nest. They were definitely a lot more organized than we thought," said Capt. Jason Smith, 30, commander of the company whose armored supply vehicle made a wrong turn into insurgent territory and was immediately inundated by gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades from all sides. Marine officials here said offensive operations in Fallujah would remain suspended, extending a pause that was ordered Friday to allow civilians to leave the city and let political leaders in Fallujah and Baghdad attempt to negotiate a solution to the conflict. Just before dawn Wednesday, however, AC-130 Spectre gunships launched a devastating punitive raid over a six-block area around the spot where the convoy was attacked, firing dozens of artillery shells that shook the city and lit up the sky. Marine officials said the area was virtually destroyed and that no further insurgent activity had been seen there. According to accounts by Smith and two other officers, a supply convoy of Humvees was heading toward a command post at the edge of a Marine-controlled industrial zone around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday when it came under small-arms fire. The convoy backtracked, and its cargo was shifted to two Marine amphibious assault vehicles, which resumed the mission. Those carriers were hit by rocket-propelled grenades, known as RPGs. One turned back toward friendly territory, but the other caught fire and the driver lost his way in the unfamiliar neighborhood. Suddenly, the crew encountered a large number of armed men milling in the streets. Within minutes, they were being attacked from all sides. "They started taking RPG fire and tried to get out of the area, but we lost communication with them," Smith said. "Their engine was on fire and they were heading away from our zone. . . . I saw a huge plume of smoke and I knew something was very wrong." Officers dispatched a quick-reaction squad whose members had already been in battle earlier Tuesday. While guarding the site of a helicopter crash in a marshy area southeast of the city that morning, the outfit was ambushed by insurgents. The rescue squad rushed four tanks and six Humvees to the area, where they fought their way through several blocks to reach the burning carrier. Surrounded by 25 Marine riflemen on foot, the armored vehicles advanced, firing machine guns from their turrets. Overhead, Air Force attack planes repeatedly strafed the area. Marine officials here said at least 20 insurgents were shot dead during the fighting. "Within the first 500 meters, we were shooting 360 degrees," said Lt. Joshua Glover, 25, who commanded the rescue force. "When we finally saw the [armored personnel carrier], it was a piece of burning metal." The carrier’s crew had managed to escape and had taken shelter in the nearest house, where they were pummeled with gunfire from the surrounding houses. Under covering fire from U.S. tanks and planes, Glover’s team was able to get the crew into Humvees and race off to safety. "People were tossing grenades from the houses on either side," Glover said. "I could hear small-arms fire, and I even saw people running across the street to try and enter the house." He and Smith said they saw only armed men in the area. Senior Marine officials here, who plan to seek commendations for valor for four men involved the rescue mission, said the most important aspect of the incident was the courage that the Marines displayed in battling their way through heavy fire to reach the disabled carrier and rescue its crew. "This is a story about heroes. It shows the tenacity of the Marines and their fierce loyalty to each other," said Lt. Col. Brennan Byrne, commander of the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment. "They were absolutely unwilling to leave their brother Marines behind."
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| Posted by:Sherry |
| #12 Old Spook, do you notice the impossibility of the 600-killed count? What I think we are doing is allowing the jihadis to throw themselves against our wall of steel. One of the problems with previous sweep tactics is that the bad guess can act like good guys while the sweep goes through the area. If they really looked at what they were losing, they would pull back. The mujahadim mentality is being used against the enemy in a way that I have not seen before. The have become lemming like victims to their own stupidity. I'm sure Caesar has used this tactic. Why would you manufacture suicide belts to attack dug in marines? It's like the charge of the light-on-brains brigade. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-04-15 10:53:52 PM |
| #11 Yeah, Zenster. I like urban renewal by kinetic energy tools. The people of Fallujah need to tell us where the bad guys are, or we will have to take the place apart. I hope that they allow the Marines to systematically take care of business and we will be rid of alot of bad guys after this operation is completed. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2004-04-15 6:29:22 PM |
| #10 Just before dawn Wednesday, however, AC-130 Spectre gunships launched a devastating punitive raid over a six-block area around the spot where the convoy was attacked, firing dozens of artillery shells that shook the city and lit up the sky. Marine officials said the area was virtually destroyed and that no further insurgent activity had been seen there. This part has a really nice ring to it. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2004-04-15 6:22:39 PM |
| #9 Let's see . . . our guys get ambushed . . . and the quick-reation force sent to rescue them fights its way there through a second ambush . . . and everyone on our side gets out alive. Damn! These boys are good! |
| Posted by: Mike 2004-04-15 4:17:00 PM |
| #8 BAR -- the moment they saw the "ambulance" pick up weapons, that "ambulance" lost its protection. It SHOULD have been shot to hell, then any survivors inside interrogated to within an inch of their lives. (Oh, and it's not just the TARGET that loses its Geneva protections; it's also THE PEOPLE INVOLVED. The only way the "insurgents" can avoid that is to prosecute those who violate the laws of war; I think that's as likely as my being selected as People's "Sexiest Man in the World".) |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2004-04-15 3:53:41 PM |
| #7 Why does Fallujah still exist??? |
| Posted by: Rafael 2004-04-15 3:41:31 PM |
| #6 On Monday alone, U.S. troops in Fallujah uncovered anti-aircraft guns buried in a load of humanitarian aid and saw an ambulance pull up to two shot insurgents and take away their weapons — leaving the casualties lying there. This is reason enough to shoot out the tires of that "ambulance" and grab the people inside; someone not doing their obvious job is a good indicator that they likely are not who they appear to be. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-04-15 2:33:15 PM |
| #5 "Sunni insurgents are smuggling weapons and fighters into Fallujah in aid convoys and ambulances, making it difficult for U.S. troops to stem the flow of weapons, Marines said Monday. On Monday alone, U.S. troops in Fallujah uncovered anti-aircraft guns buried in a load of humanitarian aid and saw an ambulance pull up to two shot insurgents and take away their weapons — leaving the casualties lying there." http://rantburg.com/popArticle.asp?ID=30371 |
| Posted by: WUZZALIB 2004-04-15 1:38:47 PM |
| #4 You mean like reported in the Terrorists Use Humanitarian Convoys posting in Rantburg today? |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2004-04-15 1:11:48 PM |
| #3 TomAnon -- I did read somewhere yesterday about this! |
| Posted by: Sherry 2004-04-15 12:56:48 PM |
| #2 "In the past several days, Marines have also recovered hundreds of weapons, including rocket launchers, machine guns, sniper rifles and explosive belts for suicide bombers, while searching the deserted industrial zone. Many of the weapons were wrapped in plastic and buried under sand piles or other debris, suggesting they had been hidden some time ago for use in battle." I heard an interview on the Sean Hannity show a few days ago with a Marine Major in this area. He, the Major, said they had intercepted humanitarian aid convoys in Red Crescent vans and trucks that where stocked with munitions, RPGs, mortars etc. Anyone seen any reference to this? |
| Posted by: TomAnon 2004-04-15 12:55:07 PM |
| #1 "They’ve been preparing for this the whole time." Is this comment about the Marines or the jihadis? |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2004-04-15 12:33:15 PM |