2003 Invasion of Iraq (2/2) | Animated History

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The first major engagement began on March 23rd, when a maintenance convoy of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Division took a wrong turn into Nasiriyah, right into the headquarters of the Iraqi 3rd Corps. Caught in a hastily prepared ambush, 15 of the 18 vehicles were destroyed by heavy weapons fire and 18 U.S. soldiers were killed or captured. But the strategic bridges over Nasiriyah's modestly named Saddam Canal were secured later that day after men from the 2nd Marine Division stormed the city, suffering heavy casualties from the determined Iraqi defenders. As if the intense urban combat wasn't enough, 6 Marines were also killed in a friendly fire incident when an A-10 Warthog mistakenly attacked their amphibious vehicle. Finally, on the evening of March 24th, the Marines broke through and established a perimeter north of the city, which held up despite multiple counter-attacks by Iraqi forces and the Fedayeen Saddam militia, who were fanatical not only about Saddam, but apparently also about Darth Vader. Further north was the town of Najaf, which was situated close to highways leading to the important cities of Karbala and Baghdad. Due to its strategic location, coalition forces decided not to bypass Najaf and instead chose to isolate the town out of fears it could become a staging area for attacks against American supply lines. To accomplish this, the coalition needed to capture the bridges to the north and south of the town. Elements of the 1st Brigade Combat Team attacked the northern bridge, codenamed Jenkins, in the early hours of March 25th, but made slow progress until they linked up with reinforcements before dawn. The Americans eventually fought their way across the bridge, despite desperate attempts by Iraqi engineers to destroy it. Around the same time, US forces advanced on the southern bridge codenamed Objective Floyd. Resistance by both regular military and militia forces was intense at both sites. On one occasion, an Iraqi drove a city bus at full speed into an M3 Bradley CFV. On March 26th, Najaf was successfully encircled, and the attackers were relieved by the 101st Airborne. Over the next several days, the Americans swept through the town with tanks and infantry. The 101st deliberately left a single road out of the city open in the hope of using it as a kill zone for escaping troops. On April 1st, some weary Iraqi soldiers took the bait and were ambushed by snipers and helicopter gunships, and the city ultimately fell on April 4th. To the south, British forces had an unexpectedly difficult time taking Basra and its nearby port. Starting on March 27th, they whittled down the Iraqi garrison defending the valuable port over the course of two weeks. When they finally gained control of the vital waterway, only 11 Britons had died, while the Iraqis had lost some 40 to 50 times that number. When British armor finally rolled into the city, they were welcomed by jubilant locals, as predicted by US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Unfortunately however, the crowds quickly turned into mobs of looters. The final major engagement before coalition forces arrived in Baghdad was at the Battle of Karbala Gap, a roughly 25 mile or 40 kilometer long strip of land flanked by the Euphrates and Rezaza rivers. Iraqi commanders were well aware of the Gap's strategic importance and had placed two divisions of the elite Republican Guard to block the Americans' advance. However, Saddam Hussein's son, Qusay, severely weakened the defense by redirecting some of them to the north, which proved to be a fatal mistake. On April 1st, American troops broke through the Gap, reaching the Euphrates at the city of Musayib. Though several Iraqi armored divisions counterattacked on the night of April 3rd, they were driven back by aircraft and rocket fire and the coalition held on to the important bridgehead. With the path to Baghdad forced open and victory on the horizon, a last bloody struggle for the capital began. While the Iraqi army had almost completely disintegrated at this point, the Ba'athist party militias holding the city did not hesitate to utilize underhanded tactics to slow the coalition advance. After extended skirmishes with the defenders, Colonel David Perkins launched a surprise thunder run of nearly 30 tanks straight into the city on April 5th. Once behind enemy lines, the column came under intense fire from militiamen disguised as civilians, but Perkins was able to identify their defensive positions and execute a fighting withdrawal. U.S. Marines then stormed the Diyala Bridge on the eastern side of the city and advanced along the northern bank of the Euphrates. Aware that this flank was almost entirely undefended, the nervous troops fired on any car refusing to halt out of fear of suicide bombers. Amidst this carnage, Perkins led another thunder run into the heart of the capital on the 7th, and rewarded himself by spending the night in one of Saddam's opulent palaces. After a final desperate defense by the militias, the city was finally captured on April 9th. There were some initial celebrations by Iraqi civilians, including widespread vandalism of statues and portraits depicting the now-defeated Saddam. However, as in Basra, massive waves of looting soon followed and continued until U.S. forces cracked down on offenders. But Saddam himself proved elusive, and would not be captured for many months. Coalition soldiers would spend their time securing the occupation and searching for other high-value government officials that had escaped the invasion. But as the coalition searched for these officials, violence between Iraq's minority groups soon erupted and insurgents began to assemble. Nonetheless, on May 1st, 2003, off the coast of San Diego, President Bush made a dramatic appearance. Landing on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, the former Air National Guard aviator wore a flight suit for his televised address in front of a national audience. Standing in front of an enormous banner reading, Mission Accomplished, he announced the end of major combat operations in Iraq. At the time, the proclamation seemed reasonable. The Iraqi military was in shambles, and Saddam Hussein had been reduced from an autocrat to a fugitive. But despite all appearances, the troubles were just beginning. For the next eight years, the coalition was engaged in a protracted counter-insurgency and suffered heavy casualties while many thousands of civilians lost their lives. In 2003, the mission may have been accomplished, and the brief conventional phase of fighting was indeed finished. But much like in Afghanistan, the war in Iraq had only just begun. Thanks again to our sponsor, Squarespace. Click their link below to support history content.