Battle of the Karbala Gap (2003)
Battle of the Karbala Gap | |||||||
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Part of the Lion of Babylon tank on Highway 9 south of Karbala Gap | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
United States | Iraq | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Maj. Gen. Buford Blount II |
Lt. Gen. Ra'ad al-Hamdani[2] | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
US 3rd Infantry Division | |||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
1 Killed by friendly fire; unknown number wounded[4] 1 tank damaged[5] |
680–940 Killed in action; Unknown captured/wounded Hundreds of armored vehicles destroyed[6] |
The Battle of the Karbala Gap occurred during the
Initial moves
On the night of March 19, 2003,
The Iraqi high command had originally positioned two Republican Guard divisions blocking the Karbala Gap.[3] Here these forces suffered heavy Coalition air attacks. However, the Coalition had since the beginning of March been conducting a strategic deception operation to convince the Iraqis that the US 4th Infantry Division would be mounting a major assault into northern Iraq from Turkey.[9] This deception plan worked, and on 2 April Saddam's son Qusay Hussein declared that the American invasion from the south was a feint and ordered troops to be re-deployed from the Karbala front to the north of Baghdad. Lt. Gen. Raad al-Hamdani, who was in command of the Karbala region, protested this and argued that unless reinforcements were rushed to the Karbala gap immediately to prevent a breach, the fate of Baghdad would be determined within 48 hours. His suggestions fell on deaf ears.[10]
Meanwhile, American troops were pushing through the gap and reached the
Iraqi counterattacks, 2–3 April
The 10th Armored Brigade from the Medina Division and the 22nd Armored Brigade from the Nebuchadnezzar Division, supported by artillery, launched night attacks against the American bridgehead at Musayib. The attack was savagely repulsed using tank fire and massed artillery rockets, destroying or disabling every Iraqi tank in the assault. The next morning, Coalition aircraft and helicopters counterattacked the Republican Guard units, destroying many more vehicles as well as communications infrastructure. The Republican Guard units broke under the massed firepower and lost any sense of command and cohesion. By the end of the day, the tanks of the 3rd ID had overrun Lt. Gen. Hamdani's headquarters and Hamdani and his staff fled.[10] American forces lost no men killed to Iraqi fire in this action while Iraqi losses are estimated at 230 to 300 killed.[11] Nevertheless, the Iraqi counterattacks had caused enough confusion and Captain Edward Korn was reported killed on 3 April in the Karbala Gap by friendly fire.[4]
Destruction of the Medina Division
While the fight around Musayib was raging on 3 April, other elements of the
After capturing Objective Saints on the 3rd, the 2nd Brigade pushed south and made contact with the remnants of the 10th and 2nd Brigades of the Medina Division. Despite reports that 80% of the division's vehicles had been destroyed, the Iraqis had moved their vehicles away from their prepared defenses and hidden them near buildings and in palm groves, sparing many of them from air attack. Hundreds of Iraqi tanks, IFVs and artillery were still present.
The American tanks tore into the Iraqi vehicles, destroying many of them at point blank range. Despite the survival of many of their vehicles, the Iraqi defense was un-coordinated and many troops put on civilian clothes and deserted during the fight, leaving their uniforms on the battlefield. The Medina Division ceased to exist as an effective fighting force.[1]
Aftermath
The Battle of the Karbala Gap had been a one-sided engagement in which elements of the 3rd Infantry Division annihilated the best units in the Republican Guard while suffering minimal losses. The destruction of these elite units left the door to Baghdad wide open for the 3rd ID, and the next day Col. Perkins led the first "Thunder Run", an armored strike through southern Baghdad. Baghdad would fall within days. However, four days later, the Republican Guard scored a direct hit on the Third Infantry Division, Second Brigade's Tactical Operations Center, with an Al-Samoud variant rocket, estimate 280 kg payload warhead, killing three soldiers, two foreign reporters, wounding 14 additional soldiers, and destroying 22 vehicles, mostly unarmored Humvees.[12]
References
- ^ a b "Interview with Col. David Perkins". Pbs.org. 23 February 2004. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
- ^ a b "PBS Frontline Operation Iraqi Freedom timeline -- April 2". Pbs.org. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
- ^ a b "Battle through, around Karbala Gap likely to be 'hell of a fight'". Stars and Stripes. 1 April 2003.
- ^ a b "Edward Korn was the 3rd I.D. captain killed on April 3 in the Karbala Gap while searching an Iraqi T-72 tank for possible intelligence documents." National Journal, Volume 35, Pages 1025–1336, National Journal Group Incorp., 2003
- ^ "Operation Iraqi Freedom - The Invasion Of Iraq - FRONTLINE - PBS". PBS.
- ^ "Karbala, Karbala gap, and north to Baghdad Wages of War-- Appendix 1. Survey of reported Iraqi combatant fatalities in the 2003 war - Commonwealth Institute of Cambridge". Comw.org. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
- ^ ""The Iraqi high command had positioned the Medina and Bakhtnisar Republican Guard divisions to block the Karbala Gap, but Hamdani argued for reinforcements. The Iraqi leadership ignored his appeals, however, because it feared going against President Saddam Hussein's orders and having troops cut off from the defense of Baghdad." The Encyclopedia of Middle East Wars: The United States in the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq Conflicts, Spencer C. Tucker, p. 673, ABC-CLIO, 2010
- ISBN 978-1-4728-0790-8, p.114-115
- ^ "The Euphrates - Michael Kelly". Jewish World Review. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
- ^ a b c "Interview with Lt. Gen. Raad al-Hamdani". Pbs.org. 23 February 2004. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
- ^ "Karbala, Karbala gap, and north to Baghdad Wages of War -- Appendix 1. Survey of reported Iraqi combatant fatalities in the 2003 war - Commonwealth Institute of Cambridge". Comw.org. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
- ^ John Pike. "On Point - The United States Army in Operation Iraqi Freedom". Globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
Bibliography
- Conroy, Jason (2006). Heavy Metal: A Tank Company's Battle to Baghdad. Potomac Books. ISBN 978-1574888577.
- Lacey, Jim (2007). Takedown: The 3rd Infantry Division's Twenty-One Day Assault on Baghdad. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1591144588.
- Zucchino, David (2004). Thunder Run: The Armored Strike to Capture Baghdad. Grove Press. ISBN 978-0802141798.