Republican Guard forces to the north and the Fedeyeen opposition to the Division's effort along

Highway 1. The Division would not hunker down and offer a target for the paramilitaries, it

would stay on the hunt.

TF Inchon Sustains the Momentum

The lessons learned in An Nasiriyah resulted in the tactics that the Inchon Marines would

invoke for the remainder of the fight to Al Kut. To counter the urban ambushes used by the

paramilitary forces, RCT-1 employed the 'strongpoint tactics' proven in An Nasiriyah to pass the

RCT through, thus continuing the momentum all the way up Route 7. Any area that fit the

template for a Fedeyeen ambush was attacked with a robust force of armor, mechanized infantry,

or light armored vehicles. Once this area was secure, the attacking infantry would remain in

position as a guard force, allowing the remainder of the RCT to quickly pass through unimpeded.

On 26 March, using the strong point concept, 2d LAR and a platoon from Alpha company, 1st

Tank Battalion continued their movement north in advance of the RCT. The RCT's mechanized

infantry followed in trace, with 1/4 reinforced by Alpha tanks as the designated strongpoint force

for the city of Ash Shattrah. This town had been a hotbed of Regime activity in the past days,

and was expected to provide a challenge. The enemy had adjusted his own tactics, and now

allowed the LAVs and Tanks to pass before opening up on the softer vehicles to the rear.

Captain Paul Gomez's Bravo Company and a platoon from Alpha tanks picketed along the route.

Captain Brian Collins' Charlie Company and Captain Dave Banning's Alpha Tanks headquarters

section blocked the town proper.

Captain Griffin's Alpha Company

and a platoon from Alpha tanks

guarded the approaches to the town

from the south. As 1/4 entered Ash

Shattrah they immediately began

taking fire. The battalion moved to

suppress the enemy fires, and

quickly gained control of the

situation. The battalion's forward

command group drew small arms

fire and several RPGs from

paramilitary fighters located in the

built up area. The battalion's

assistant operations chief, Gunnery

Sergeant Andre Askew, led the

supply Marines, cooks, and scout Convoys often had to compete with local shepherds and their

flocks for road space. sniper team that comprised the

command group's security detail in

quickly silencing the regime

loyalists. Every Marine was a rifleman. As Alpha Company was eliminating final pockets of

resistance, the ADC, General Kelly, approached the company commander and asked for an

update to the situation. Captain Griffin stated that all enemy positions had been effectively

suppressed with the exception of the southernmost building from which the company was

212
receiving sporadic sniper fire. "Well, we can't let that hold up the entire regiment. What are we

going to do about it?" inquired the general. Only moments before, the company commander had

directed the assault section to employ a thermobaric rocket to silence the sniper. "Sir, if you wait

just a minute, you'll see a thermobaric rocket shot that should eliminate the problem," the

company commander replied. Seconds later, a devastating explosion rocked the target building,

blowing large pieces of concrete in the air. It was a spectacular display from the first

employment of a thermobaric round during the war. No further resistance came from the

building.

Inc/ion maintains the momentum, pushing north and branching out alongHigh way 7.

During this encounter, the Marines also observed the enemy fighters using 'human shields'.

The Baghdad Fedeyeen would grab local women and children, and force them to stand between

the Marines and themselves. The superb fire discipline and tactical skill of 1/4 allowed them to

213
destroy the enemy fighters, while causing no known casualties among the innocent civilians.

First Battalion, 4th Marines had one of the highest percentages of recent Boot Camp graduates in

the Division, and their actions were a testimonial to the skill and discipline of these young

Marines. They held the door open for the rest of the RCT, and took their place at the end of the

column once the rest had safely passed.

RCT-1 continued to use strongpoint tactics to clear Highway 7, and began to refer to their

progress as the '100-mile running gunfight'. At the town of An Nasr, 2/23 held the door open

while engaging enemy mortars and RPGs in the town. The Reconnaissance Battalion took its

turn in Ar Rifa, followed by 3/1 in Qalat Sukkar. By this method, the RCT successfully

leapfrogged its way up the route, eliminating resistance along the way. Inchon reached its limit

of advance just south of the junction of Routes 7 and 17, having fought skirmishes with

Fedeyeen units all day along the route.

Seizure of Qalat Sikar Airfield

The 1st Reconnaissance Battalion was assigned the task of strongpointing the town of Ar

Rifa. Like the other battalions, Recon entered the town on the heels of the LAR/Tank force, and

pushed out to the flanks of the Highway to the limits of visibility. The towns to the north of Ash

Shattrah had become progressively more benign, and the battalion encountered little resistance in

Ar Rifa. As they waited for the rest of the RCT column to make its way up to their position,

however, the battalion received a Warning Order to conduct a reconnaissance of the Qalat Sikar

airfield. As the Battalion prepared to depart, they found themselves waiting for their relief in the

town. Recon Battalion was still responsible for securing the route through Ar Rifa, but part of

the column had been delayed as they refueled to the south. Finally, near sunset, Colonel Dowdy

gave Lieutenant Colonel Ferrando the word: "Go now, Steve." The Battalion began to make its

way the 25 km toward the airfield through terrain as bad as any they had encountered previously.

This night was the darkest the Marines had seen. The Recon Marines found themselves picking

their way across this miserable terrain in blacked out conditions, with zero illumination. Even

NVGs were not effective. One officer recalls his driver changing out the batteries in his PVS-14

NVGs only to find out that they had been working all along. Progress was slow. Inevitably, one

of the battalion's vehicles slid off the narrow path and was mired beyond recovery. The

battalion decided to abandon the vehicle to continue their forward momentum. Around

midnight, the battalion arrived at the base of the access road that led to the airfield. They

dismounted several teams to immediately move to a position to observe any activity on the

airfield, but even this foot-mobile movement was difficult.

The driving force behind this reconnaissance was a planned air assault on the airfield by the

1st UK Division's 16th Air Assault Brigade. Lieutenant Colonel Steve Ferrando understood the

importance of the mission and tried to hurry his reconnaissance efforts along. At about this time,

the Battalion received a disturbing report from a passing aircraft that several armored vehicles

had been spotted on the airfield. This complicated the problem significantly. Pressed by the

terrain, a potential change to the enemy situation, and time pressure to get this mission

accomplished, Lieutenant Colonel Ferrando was in a tight spot indeed. Only one thing could add

to the pressure now. The Iridium phone rang. It was Chaos. "Steve, I've really got to know

what's on that airfield. We want to support our UK allies here, and we really need this," the CG

214
said. Sensing the urgency of providing this critical reconnaissance in support of the Division's

Coalition allies, Lieutenant Colonel Ferrando huddled his Alpha and Bravo Company

commanders and they crafted a plan. They would have to take a higher degree of risk to

accomplish this mission. They would assault the airfield with two companies, using speed and

surprise to cover their assault. After a tense two hours of waiting for dawn to break, the two

companies attacked online onto the airfield, finding it deserted. The Recon Battalion spent the

next two days securing the airfield and blocking Highway 17 to the east, protecting the flank of

the Division from any sortie the lO Armor Division might decide to make. As fate would have

it, the UK air assault never took place, as the 16th Air Assault Brigade was assigned to another

mission.

27 March

Demonstration to Hantush

At 0321Z, 27 March, RCT-5 resumed the

attack up Route 1 as the Division's main effort

with a mission to seize Hantush Airstrip.

Confronting irregular enemy forces along the

route, 2/5 engaged and destroyed an enemy

company-sized unit with armor and mechanized

vehicles on the objective. The enemy used

scores of RPGs, mortars and heavy machine

guns. Supporting the attack, 1 Marines had

three battalions along Highway 1 in support of

the Division's attack, and provided a crushing

fires capability. RCT-5 seized the Hantush

Airstrip at 0620Z, following a brief but potent

The cloverleaf intersection of Highways 1 and 17 firefight. During this action, Gunnery Sergeant

was key terrain, and fought over repeatedly during Joseph Menusa of the 1st Combat Engineer

the campaign. Battalion was killed by enemy fire. As his

engineer platoon was attacking up Highway 1 to

seize the Hantush Airstrip (supporting 2/5), it

was subjected to machinegun fire and attacked

by RPGs. Aware of the danger, Gunnery

Sergeant Menusa chose to replace a junior

Marine in an exposed security position atop his

AAV. In doing so, he gave the Marine needed

relief and put himself in a better position to

observe and help control his platoon. Shortly

after, Gunnery Sergeant Menusa's AAV and the

two M9 Armored Combat Excavators behind

him came under withering small arms fire.

More concerned with the mission and his

Marines than for his own safety, Gunnery

Artillery fires on Fedeyeen positions as Marines Sergeant Menusa chose to stay on top of his

approach the Hantush airstrip, vehicle to direct the suppressive fires of his

215
Marines, protecting the unarmed bulldozers behind him. While in this exposed position, he was

mortally wounded. Because of the training and mentorship he had provided, the Marines of his

platoon were able to quickly collect themselves after this devastating loss and continue on to

accomplish the mission of seizing

Hantush Airstrip.

While 2/5 was seizing the Hantush

Airstrip, 3/5 had the task of holding the

door open at the 'cloverleaf', an

interchange at the junction of Highways

1 and 17 just to the east of Ad

Diwaniyah. The Fedeyeen continued to

be concentrated in the Ad Diwaniyah

area, and the Division's movement to

the north had drawn several hundred of

them out of the city to positions from

which they could interdict the Marines'

movement. Lieutenant Colonel Mark

Toal, the regimental Operations

Marines advanced on Huntush with Cobra escorts. Cobras Officer, recounts that while 2/5 was

provided both CAS and intelligence on enemy threats up pushing north, 3/5 was in 'one hell of a

the road, fight' at the cloverleaf.

While watching 2/5 and the other

lead elements of RCT-5 push toward

Hantush Airstrip, 3/5 observed several

small bands of enemy soldiers

approaching from Ad Diwaniyah. These

soldiers were taken under fire by Lima

Company and its attached CAAT

section. Tanks from the attached tank

platoon moved forward from the

cloverleaf toward Ad Diwaniyah and

destroyed two T-62 tanks located in deep

revetments. Concurrently, Kilo

Company, back at the original defensive

Third Battalion, 5" Marines holds the door open at the position providing security for the

Hantush cloverleaf as the Division takes Hwy 27. Battalion's Main CP and field trains,

saw two BMPs and a pair of anti-aircraft

guns located approximately 2 km to the

west. The Company Fire Support Team (FiST) quickly worked up a combined arms package of

artillery and close air support to destroy the equipment. This package did the job, as Marines

throughout the battalion witnessed the secondary explosions that erupted after the air strike.

Soon afterward, however, the Battalion CP, field trains, and Kilo Company began receiving

accurate enemy mortar fire. The rear elements of 3/5 quickly moved forward, out of the

216
incoming fire, using Kilo Company as

convoy security. Nearing the cloverleaf,

Kilo tripped another ambush when a

bypassed company-sized unit opened up

with a high volume of direct fire on the

AAVs. Quickly dismounting, Kilo Marines

moved into the assault, returning fire and

killing several Iraqi soldiers. As large

numbers of Iraqis retreated into a series of

mud huts and houses nearby, Captain Mike

Miller pulled his men back and began to

rock each target with a steady combination Iraqi life goes on as Marines advance along

of rotary and fixed wing aviation. The Highway 1. Many of the civilians in the south showed

little concern for the war occurring around them. battalion cleared at least 100 enemy troops

in the trench lines lining both sides of the road, utilizing both air and surface fire missions to

attack and defeat the enemy. The actions at the cloverleaf would continue for most of the day.

At 0900Z, the Division received the order to abandon Hantush and withdraw to the south.

RCT-5 began to withdraw back to more defensible terrain in the vicinity of the Ad Diwaniyah

crossroads. After the terrible weather, the tragic loss of life along the way, and now the

successful attack and gain of positive momentum, this ordered withdrawal was a hard pill to

swallow for many of the Marines. The Division had its sights set on Baghdad, and any delay in

getting there was not suffered gladly. The Marines from RCT-5 had a proud legacy from World

War I and the actions of their forefathers in Belleau Wood, and the withdrawal drew many

comments of the 'Retreat hell, we just got here' variety.

Later in the day, after the Division had pulled back to the vicinity of the Cloverleaf, the

situation was clarified for the Division Marines. After the attack had been launched, the CFLCC

and MEF Commanders had notified the Division that the main effort had shifted to establishing a

better security environment in the rear prior to resuming the attack. The Division's rapid

advance had knocked the enemy off-balance, but had left its own re-supply routes vulnerable as

long as the An Nasiriyah and Al

Basrah urban areas still harbored

significant enemy forces. The

additional battlespace taken by the

move on Hantush was considered an

untenable position should the Iraqis

counterattack, and the Division had

been ordered to withdraw back to the

Diwaniyah area. During planning, the

Division and CSSG had foreseen and

accepted the risks to extended supply

lines, but the Division was now

ordered to reduce the risk by tactical

action. The Division had a philosophy Cobras provide supporting fires near the cloverleaf regarding orders from higher

217
headquarters: 'Just Do It.' The Division completed its withdrawal and resumed its aggressive

hunt for remaining Regime paramilitaries in zone.

1/? After the misery of the last three days, the sun emerged with clear skies on the 27 . The

Marines were excited about the opportunity to be back in the offensive, and you could feel it.

The Division Forward had joined the column in trace of RCT-5. There was sporadic

resistance from defenders fi ring from defensive prepared positions and bunkers alongside the

highway. Ahead of us there was a lot of air and artillery being called against targets in a

cement plant and a chicken farm. The lead elements of the convoy scattered these guys, and

as we passed, the citizens of the local area had taken to the streets and were waving to us.

North of Diwaniyah, the terrain began to look more like what I thought Iraq would look like.

Water buffalo grazed in muddy pools at the base of Palm groves. Green fields surrounded

small mud-brick villages that could have been drawn from a history book Boys and women

herded cattle, sheep, and goats alongside the roads. But the terrain was terrible. There was

mud and standing water everywhere, and cross-country mobility was next to nothing. We

were pretty fired-up when the airfield was secured, but then we started to see vehicles coming

back the other way. While we sat along side the road, we watched in disbelief as the whole

attack force came rumbling back south. When the entire tank battalion and an infantry

battalion were observed heading south, we knew something was up. It was frustrating as hell

to see that dominating combat force turning around and running back south. I was qfraid we

were losing our advantages of momentum and surprise.

- Captain Steve Dunn III

Actions in Ad Diwaniyah

The Fedeyeen presence in Ad Diwaniyah was reportedly extensive. The local people

reported that these Regime enforcers were brought down from Baghdad and were allegedly

terrorizing the populace, ruiming around in their black pajamas and hoods through the streets of

the town. Because of its central location, and the fact that American forces had not yet cleared it,

Ad Diwaniyah became a transit point for Regime fighters brought in from elsewhere. The

fighters that were bussed or trucked into town included Fedeyeen, deserters threatened back into

service, conscripts, and foreigners. Allegedly, there was a cadre of Republican Guard officers

who were organizing, training, and equipping these forces as they arrived in town, then sending

them out for missions against the US Army to the west, or the US Marines to the east. The local

populace was terrified of these fighters, and wanted them to go away. The civilians were, of

course, powerless to do anything about it.

Now, it was 1st Marine Division's turn to deal with these thugs. The Division had been

operating to the east of Ad Diwaniyah for several days. By the time the attack elements of RCT5 had made their way back to the Cloverleaf just outside of town, 3/5 was busily engaged with

Fedeyeen fighters on both sides of the highway. They had been fighting most of the day, and

were coordinating fixed wing and rotary wing support as the columns went by. Using (by now)

standard enemy tactics, the paramilitary fighters would wave white flags and signal surrender

whenever helicopters appeared overhead, then would pull them down and resume firing as soon

218
as the helicopters went off-station. The battalion kept the heat on the enemy, however, and

destroyed several hundred Fedeyeen fighters over the course of the day.

Putting fires on the Fedeyeen in Ad Diwaniyah proved to be an exercise in patience, as again

the seam between the Army and the Marine Corps had to be traversed. One example of the staff

gymnastics that were required happened later that day. In the morning, Lieutenant Nate Boaz,

and his HUMINT Exploitation Team Three (HET 3) were working with the local populace near

Ad Diwaniyah in support of RCT-5. The team was advised by a fearful local citizen that the

Fedeyeen had been using the Ad Diwaniyah stadium as their rally point, and that there were

hundreds of fighters at this location at any given time. This information was reported up to the

G-2, who quickly vectored the Pioneer from VMU-2 over the site, confirming the reported

activity. Since this was not in the Division's battlespace, the request for fires on the target went

to I MEF. I MEF coordinated with the CFLCC, and passed the target over to V Corps for

prosecution. The Army then flew their own Hunter UAV over the stadium and confirmed the

validity of the target before turning it over to joint air for prosecution. The Air Force then

attacked the target, reportedly killing dozens of Fedeyeen and destroying some antiaircraft guns

in the process. Such a process was painfully slow, and effective only against large stationary

targets such as a troop concentration in a stadium. Fortunately, these cross-service, crossboundary engagements were rare.

'Throwing elbows' along the Highway 1 corridor. First Marine Division maintained

momentum by destroying pockets of Fed eyeen fighters remaining in the vicinity of

Highway 1 while the 3d US Infantry Division continued to move to the west.

The destruction of the Fedeyeen rallying point, and the continuous fires brought to bear

against any identified troop concentrations by the Division took a toll on the Regime

219
organization in Ad Diwaniyah. The Division was not quite done with this town, however, and

revisited the city with the Pioneer that night. The operators discovered a large equipment storage

and repair facility housing dozens of T-55 tanks and self-propelled artillery pieces. Observing

and adjusting fires with the Pioneer, the Division again demonstrated the powerful effects that

could be achieved with an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle under the direct control of a Division

targeteer. This had only been possible because of the superb supporting relationship the VMU

squadrons had established with the Division. Because they had been placed in direct support,

there was no intervening bureaucracy between the supported intelligence section and the crew

operating the UAV. Both VMU-1 and VMU-2 aggressively attacked their mission, providing

responsive support to the Division throughout the campaign. The VMU commanders and staff

could frequently be found inside the Division CP, ensuring the effectiveness of their support.

The tanks were destroyed, the concept of a directly supporting/organic UAV within the Division

was proven, and the Iraqis paid the bill.

The time spent on hunter-killer operations along Highway 1 and in Ad Diwaniyah would pay

off handsomely in the days and weeks ahead, but was not without cost. On 27 March, Lance

Corporal Suarez del Solar, an infantryman with 1st LAR Battalion, was killed during a foot patrol

conducted to find and eliminate the threat posed by remaining Fedeyeen fighters. As dusk

approached, his squad was assigned the task of conducting a reconnaissance patrol in front of the

screen line established by the LAVs of his platoon. Within a few minutes of beginning the

patrol, an enemy mine detonated, rocking the members of the squad and mortally wounding

Lance Corporal Suarez del Solar. The corpsmen of his platoon rushed to render aid, but it was

too late to save his life. Because of the dedication and aggressiveness of the Marines (like Lance

Corporal Suarez del Solar) clearing along Highway 1, the Division was later able to move

against Baghdad with significantly reduced enemy threat against the lengthening supply lines.

Over the next several days, the Fedeyeen presence in Ad Diwaniyah dramatically declined, as

they were no longer able to find refuge there. In a pattern that would repeat itself across the

newly liberated Iraqi cities and towns, the people took to the streets on the heels of the retreating

Regime fighters, and welcomed the Marines with smiles and waves.

Actions on Highway 7

While the Division was making its demonstration attack against the Hantush Airstrip in the

west, the enemy continued to reinforce the Highway 7 corridor in the east with all manner of

fighters. As in Ad Diwaniyah, the Regime had reportedly been bussing loads of deserters,

foreign fighters, and conscripts down the Highway 7 corridor and leaving them in the smaller

towns. The Regime was clearly desperate to slow the US advance, and was taking extreme (if

uncoordinated) measures. The Regime was off balance, and would be vulnerable to a rapid

attack if conducted now. The seam in the enemy's defenses remained uncovered, but the enemy

was bound to wake up to that vulnerability if the Division were not allowed to continue their

attack soon.

RCT- 1 Marines went into motion, with the mission of clearing Highway 17 near the junction

with Highway 7, and continuing the pressure to the north. Second Battalion, 23d Marines (2/23)

pushed a small distance west on Route 17, while 1/4 cleared to the east towards 15t Recon

220
Battalion at Qalat Sikar Airfield. The

'Thundering Third' of 3/1, supported by 7d

LAR, attacked north to draw the attention

of the Baghdad RG Division.

Later that night, a US Air Force tankkilling A-1O errantly attacked RCT-l's

Alpha Command group. The pilot had

received the mission request and grid

coordinates from RCT-5 Marines engaged

in an intense fight. Unfortunately,

somewhere in the process, an error crept in

to the fire mission coordinates. The grid

zone designator passed to the pilot was off

by one character. That one letter Marines of RCT-1 provide cover for forces advancing on

Highway 7. difference equated to 100 kilometers on

the ground, and the A-b subsequently

rolled in on what appeared to him to be the enemy. The A-10 pilot strafed RCT-1 with his 30

mm tank-killing gun and returned for another attack with high explosive bombs. The unit that

requested the air support was engaged in fighting exactly 100 kilometers directly to the west.

Alpha Command was at the exact grid location of the requested air support, but one grid zone

designator further to the east. The aircraft was successfully called off before any Marines were

injured. Shaken and considerably stirred by the A-10's actions, RCT-l's Alpha Command

pressed on with their attack.

This type of friendly fire incident was rare. The Marines of RCT- 1 were no strangers to

some awesome, on target, rotary wing air support throughout the campaign. The 'Stingers' from

HMLA-267 provided superb rotary wing air support around the clock. The Marines of the RCT

also noted the support of the 'Purple Foxes' of HMM-364 with considerable enthusiasm. At no

time did a battle casualty from RCT- 1 die while awaiting evacuation due to their rapid response

times and willingness to go into harm's way to help their fellow Marines. This squadron (with

one of the greatest mottos in the Marine Corps) proved themselves repeatedly.

Shaping The Al Kut Battlefield

In a final action of 27 March, the Al Kut defenders received some shaping of their own by air

fires. Although the pause in the attack along Highway 1 had given the enemy a respite on the

ground, this was offset by an increase in air shaping fires, permitting the MEF to remain on the

offensive and to turn the heat up on the enemy. Because of the rapid execution and uncertain

timing of the initial attacks into Iraq, there had been only limited shaping fires. Bad weather had

interfered with flight operations and targeting in subsequent days during the storm. Now, the

skies opened up and aviation assets from across the Coalition were brought to bear against the

Baghdad RG Division. The Baghdad RG Division would receive hundreds of sorties over the

next few days; most of it focused on artillery, tanks, and ammunition storage points. The Al Kut

defenders had the bad fortune of being within a single fuel tank range of a variety of strike

aircraft operating from Kuwait and the Arabian Gulf. Without the requirement for external

221