British involvement in the Iraq War
Operation Telic | |||||
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Takbīr). | |||||
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Belligerents | |||||
United Kingdom | Iraq | ||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||
Tony Blair Brian Burridge | Saddam Hussein |
Operation Telic (Op TELIC) was the codename under which all of the United Kingdom's military operations in Iraq were conducted between the start of the invasion of Iraq on 19 March 2003 and the withdrawal of the last remaining British forces on 22 May 2011. The bulk of the mission ended on 30 April 2009[1][2] but around 150 troops, mainly from the Royal Navy, remained in Iraq until 22 May 2011 as part of the Iraqi Training and Advisory Mission.[3][4] 46,000 troops were deployed at the onset of the invasion and the total cost of war stood at £9.24 billion in 2010.[5]
Background
Operation telic was the largest deployment of British forces since
Some 9,500 of the British servicemen and women who deployed on Operation Telic for the invasion and its aftermath were reservists, from the
Notice that additional British forces were deploying to the region (large numbers of RAF personnel were already deployed in Kuwait, Turkey and elsewhere in the region on
The deployment used 64 British and foreign flagged merchant vessels.
Command structure
The force was commanded by a
The
The
The
Post-invasion
On 11 July 2003, 1st Armoured Division handed control over south-east Iraq to
After the end of major operations, the main components of the British forces changed greatly.
A further rotation of ground troops occurred in November 2003, with 19 Mechanised Brigade relieved by
In May 2005, 4 Armoured Brigade was replaced by
In May 2006 7th Armoured Brigade, the
October 2006 saw 19 Light Brigade take over[9] from 20th Armoured Brigade.[10]
1 Mechanised Brigade provided HQ and troops for Op TELIC 10, deploying to Iraq in June 2007. During that tour, both the PJCC and Basra Palace were handed back to Iraqi control. They handed over to 4th Mechanised Brigade on 1 December 2007.
Equipment
The conflict saw over 100 fixed-wing aircraft and over 100 rotary-wing aircraft of virtually every type in the British inventory deployed. It also saw a 33 ship fleet, which was the largest taskforce deployed by the UK since the Falklands War. Some 120 Challenger 2 main battle tanks, 150 Warrior infantry fighting vehicles, 32 L131 self-propelled 155 mm howitzers and 36 L118 105 mm towed howitzers were deployed with the land forces, with reconnaissance vehicles and everything else that makes a modern mechanised and armoured force function.
During the post invasion phase, and following a number of British casualties blamed on inadequate equipment, a great deal of new equipment was purchased to help deal with the threats posed by insurgents. These included 166 armoured
Casualties
A total of 179
In theatre both military and civilian casualties were treated by British Field Hospitals (FH), 22 FH in Kuwait and 34 FH in Iraq. 34 Field Hospital was made up of regular troops from their base in Strensall just outside York and members for volunteer reserve units from all over the country. A small 25 bedded hospital was sent across the Kuwait Iraq border in the early days of the war. On arrival at Shaibah the hospital was set up and ready to take casualties within six and a half hours. Everything that you would expect in a modern hospital was present with an Emergency Department, X-ray, Labs, Surgical Theatres x 2, ITU and a hospital ward.
In effect the hospital was based on the front line of the British area of responsibility and was the furthest forward medical unit in recent history. Casualties would often miss out the regimental aid posts and dressing stations and go straight to the hospital. Staff at the hospital worked 12 hour shifts without days off until more staff began to arrive around a month later. The 25 bedded unit kept working despite some nearby mortar fire while elements of a bigger hospital were bought in and a 200 bedded hospital was eventually built and staff moved over and supplemented.[citation needed]
The hospital took over 3500 casualties of which more than 350 were major trauma cases, and around 70 paediatric trauma cases. Injuries included blunt trauma, gun shot wounds, shrapnel injuries and severe burns.
In fiction
The British television film The Mark of Cain depicted service of a fictional British Army unit, the 1st Battalion Northdale Rifles in Operation Telic, just after the end of combat operations and in the first stages of the occupation.
Black Watch, drawing on experiences of Black Watch soldiers during the war, was performed to much acclaim throughout Scotland in 2006.[citation needed]
See also
- List of British gallantry awards for the Iraq War
- List of United Kingdom Military installations used during Operation Telic
- Iraq Inquiry
References
- ^ "UK combat operations end in Iraq". Retrieved 25 March 2011 "BBC"
- ^ "British campaign in Iraq comes to official end". Retrieved 11 May 2011 "Daily Telegraph"
- ^ "Iraqi Training and Advisory Mission". Royal Navy Website. Archived from the original on 16 March 2011.
- ^ "Royal Navy ends Operation Telic mission in Iraq". BBC News. 22 May 2011. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
- ^ "Iraq war in figures". BBC News. 29 August 2010. Retrieved 25 March 2011.
- ISBN 9780297860013.
- ^ "BBC NEWS - Middle East - Basra is a 'safe zone' no more". 6 May 2006. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
- ^ "BBC NEWS - Middle East - Basra is a 'safe zone' no more". 6 May 2006. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
- ^ "BBC NEWS - UK - Iraq death soldier named by MoD". 7 November 2006. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
- ^ "20 Brigade welcomed home from Iraq". MoD. 6 November 2006. Archived from the original on 7 November 2006.
- ^ "Operations in Iraq". MoD.
- ^ "Op Telic casualty and fatality tables" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 July 2007. Retrieved 23 April 2007.
- ^ "British troops in Iraq face risk of mental illness". The Telegraph. 11 March 2007. Archived from the original on 23 December 2007. Retrieved 26 December 2014.