The Air and Ground War

The U.S. military began to set the stage for the planned all-out air and land assault on Iraq, a plan the military called Operation Iraqi Freedom. The United States and its allies positioned ground troops to the south of Iraq along the Kuwait-Iraq border, and on March 19 allied warplanes attacked Iraqi artillery pieces in this southern area because they posed a threat to U.S. and British troops stationed there. Also, the United States began a psychological operations campaign that issued instructions to Iraqi troops on how to surrender to allied forces once the war began. The messages were delivered by a radio station near the Kuwaiti-Iraqi border operated by American Special Operations forces, by an airborne radio station, and by leaflets dropped by allied aircraft. Iraqis were instructed to park their vehicles, put white flags on them, move more than half a mile away from their vehicles, and wait for further instructions. The strikes were intended to destroy Saddam Hussein’s ability to communicate with and control his forces. Targets included headquarters and facilities used by Hussein’s special armed forces, including the Republican Guard Hussein’s most elite troops, and the Special Republican Guard, an even more elite group in charge of protecting Hussein and thwarting any coup attempts. The air assault continued unabated in the following days, pounding Baghdad day and night, taking out government facilities, destroying Iraq’s air defenses, and hitting Republican Guard positions that guarded the city. In order to retain the element of surprise, however, the attack was moved up after the early strike on Saddam Hussein. In addition, Iraq had started fires in six oil fields in southern Iraq, and the United States was anxious to protect Iraqi oil.

As the war in Iraq unfolded, contrary to American predictions, Iraqis fighting for the Hussein regime appeared to be neither shocked nor awed by the American military campaign. Although the first days of fighting appeared successful for the United States and precision air strikes accurately pounded military targets in Baghdad and elsewhere, coalition ground forces quickly met fierce resistance from Iraqi fighters. The first setbacks came over the weekend of March 23, near the Iraqi cities of Basra and Nasiriya in southern Iraq, and at the seaside port of Umm Qasr, near Kuwait. Also, the column of tanks headed for Baghdad was repeatedly attacked by small bands of Iraqi guerrilla fighters, who were heavily armed and who sought to harass the allied forces’ progress. These fighters, known as the Saddam Fedayeen, or “Martyrs of Saddam,”were not part of the regular Iraqi army but were special forces loyal to Saddam Hussein trained in terrorist and guerrilla tactics.

In addition, coalition forces began to suffer casualties. An army maintenance company was captured after it took a wrong turn and became separated from the Third Infantry Division near Nasiriya. Thereafter, resistance continued as allied troops moved closer to Baghdad. Fighting continued in southern Iraq, and in a major setback for the Americans, Iraqis successfully attacked a large group of American Apache helicopters.A group of about thirty Apache helicopters was hit with a hail of antiaircraft fire and rocketlaunched grenades while on a night combat mission targeting units of the Republican Guard. Two of the Apache helicopters were forced down, and two American crew members were later captured by the Iraqis. The remaining thirty Apaches were forced to return to base, almost all of them damaged. On top of these troubles the U.S. march to Baghdad was slowed by the weather and hindered by a lack of Iraqi assistance. A huge sandstorm disrupted the American convoys, blinded night-vision goggles, and damaged equipment including guns, helicopters, and computers.

Finally, on March 24 Saddam Hussein appeared on Iraqi television to defiantly urge Iraqis to fight coalition invaders. “Strike them until they come to the conclusion that they are not in a position to commit crimes against you and your people,” said Hussein. “God has ordered you to cut their throats.”Hussein also demonstrated that he was aware of recent military events, mentioning for example that soldiers of Iraq’s Eleventh Brigade had waged a heroic battle at Umm Qasr and praising individual Iraqi commanders fighting in southern Iraq. Hussein’s message was clearly recorded earlier, but it clarified for most  observers that he had survived the earlier U.S. missile strike. As a result of the unexpected Iraqi resistance and the limited ground forces, the U.S. military planners were forced to adapt: They delayed the battle of Baghdad and focused their efforts on rooting out the pro-Hussein guerrilla groups in southern and central Iraqi cities.

In addition, although Iraq was able to launch missiles into Kuwait, the U.S. antimissile system shot down most of them, preventing any damage to Kuwait or U.S. command centers there.Most important, American forces had traveled deep into Iraq to the outskirts of Baghdad. The next phase of the campaign required U.S. troops to defeat the Republican Guard divisions that Saddam Hussein had positioned to defend the Iraqi capital and then to begin ground attacks against Baghdad itself. By April 2, U.S. Army and Marine ground troops had entered an area that military planners called the “red zone,” a circle about fifty miles outside of Baghdad that was within artillery and missile range of Republican Guard forces defending Baghdad. Thereafter, one by one,U.S. forces easily destroyed Republican Guard units such as the Medina Division, the Baghdad Division, and the Nida Division, which were expected to put up a much tougher fight. Also, to aid in the Baghdad assault, the American military captured Baghdad’s international airport for use in refuelling allied warplanes.By April 4,U.S. forces had advanced to the Baghdad city limits.

On April 9 the world witnessed the most striking image of the war: In the center of Baghdad, in a scene reminiscent of the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 (the wall that had separated East and West Germany since the end ofWorld War II), Iraqi citizens with help from U.S.Marines toppled a towering bronze statue of Saddam Hussein. As the statue came crashing to the ground, a crowd of jubilant Iraqis cheered loudly, danced for joy, and hit the statue with their shoes, a gesture of contempt in Iraq.At this moment, psychologically at least, the regime of Saddam Hussein collapsed. Brigadeer General Vincent K. Brooks summarized the victory at a briefing at U.S. command headquarters, stating, “Today the regime is in disarray. The capital city regime has lost control.”

Finally,U.S. troops made an assault on Tikrit, Saddam Hussein’s hometown, considered to be the last holdout for remnants of forces loyal to his regime. Tikrit was expected to pose a significant obstacle to coalition forces, but instead it was taken on April 14 with little opposition. Finally, on April 15, 2003, military officials at the U.S. Pentagon said the main fighting in Iraq was finished, and President Bush declared that “the regime of Saddam Hussein is no more.”

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