The Battle for Al Faw

One of the first objectives of the Coalition campaign in Iraq was to capture the oil industry in the Al Faw peninsula intact before it could be sabotaged or destroyed by the Iraqi military. Both to prevent an ecological disaster similar to the 1991 Gulf War and to enable a quicker resumption of Oil exports which was vital to the rebuilding of Iraq after the war.

3 Commando brigade would also Umm Qasr at the same time so that its only deep water port in Iraq could be used to bring in Humanitarian supplies once the Khawr Abd Allah waterway was cleared by the Mine Counter Measures Task group. The United States Marine Corps placed 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit under the command of 3 Commando Brigade so that the Brigade had the necessary force to capture both targets.

The Assault
Following days of bad weather, the assault on Al Faw was set for 2200 hours(local time) on 20th March 2003. US gunships and fighter-bombers attacked the known enemy positions on the peninsula in a short bombardment prior to the operation. In a classic airborne night assault, the 40 Commando and US marines landed by helicopter, capturing over 200 prisoners for no loss at their three strategic objectives. At the same time, air and sea landings captured the gas and oil platforms out at sea.

A second assault by 42 Commando followed within an hour, the marines were preceded by USMC Cobra helicopters gunships and flown in by USMC helicopters to land just north of the town AL Faw, destroying enemy artillery which could threaten the oil infrastructure and 40 Commando's flank.

The second assault was preceded by artillery and naval bombardment, the artillery fire came from three British and one US artillery batteries positioned on Bubiyan Island, the naval component from HMS Richmond, HMS Marlborough, HMS Chatham and HMAS Anzac.

The insertion began badly with appalling visibility, worsened by fires and sand. The Headquarters of the brigade Reconnaissance Force crashed in a US CH-46 Sea Knight as the assault formation turned over the Brigade assembly area, killing everyone aboard.

The cloud base dropped even further and the insertion was aborted. A new insertion was planned, using RAF Chinook and Puma helicopters for dawn. The landings finally took place, six hours late and onto insecure landing zones, all the objectives were taken and secured.

Early that same morning, 15 MEU crossed the Iraq-Kuwaiti border, bypassing Umm Qasr and seized the port area. They then pushed north along the west bank of the Khawr Abd Allah waterway encountering stiff resistance but managed to obtain their main objectives ahead of schedule.

Plans to land armour by hovercraft were abandoned once engineers discovered extensive mining of the beaches near Al Faw which posed too great a danger to heavy USN hovercraft carrying UK Scimitars.

The Scimitars of C Squadron Queen's Dragoon Guards, which had been loaded Hovercraft aboard the USS Rushmoore for the landing were instead landing back in Kuwait and finally crossed the waterway north of Umm Qasr twenty-four hours late. They then took up their positions on the salt marshes south of Basrah.

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