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| Iraq |
| U.S. Forces Iraq to Shore Up Elite Guard |
| 2003-03-31 |
| Long article, edited for topic: Iraqi commanders are pulling troops out of the north of the country to back up Republican Guard units crippled by days of U.S. attacks in the south, defense officials said Monday. And American forces are doing what one senior Pentagon official called "aggressive armed reconnaissance" in a number of areas rimming the southern approaches to Baghdad in what could be a prelude to the battle for the capital. A number of units have been sent on probing missions forward of fighting positions to assess Iraqi troop strength and cut Iraqi forces off where they can, two Defense Department officials said. Officials discussed this only on condition of anonymity. A week of heavy bombing has left some of Iraq's Republican Guard units surrounding Baghdad at less than half strength, with the Medina and Baghdad divisions the most severely degraded, Pentagon officials said. The military also was tracking five Guard brigades, including two infantry, seen on the move last week. It was not exactly clear how they were repositioning themselves, though some Iraqis captured south of Baghdad were reported wearing the arm patches of the Nebuchadnezzar Division, which was supposed to have been guarding cities in the north. This has led defense officials to believe reinforcements have been sent from the north to bolster the degraded southern Guard units. Officials said other Iraqi units have been seen pulling back, closer to Baghdad. That's right, Sammy. (or should I say, to whom it may concern) We're running out of supplies, we don't have enough troops, we're stalled in place. Just keep feeding those troops into the meatgrinder, er, front, and you'll win. Heh, heh. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #7 Supply our own troops? Hell I'd say we've got the Dvd's,surrond sound and the crunch-n-munch up there by now. |
| Posted by: Brew 2003-03-31 23:59:51 |
| #6 Well, we may be depleted in some supplies, but that does not apply to depleted uranium ammo, heh heh......... |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-03-31 16:08:57 |
| #5 How much pounding do they have to take until the media stops using that confounded "elite" adjective? How about the "depleted" Republican Guard? z |
| Posted by: ziphius 2003-03-31 15:54:10 |
| #4 This is great news. I wouldn't want to be an Iraqi general right about now. The options available to them have dwindled. Iraq's forces in the north are being steadily degraded by airpower and are being cannibalized to meet the immediate threat in the south. All the while we are building a larger presence in the north. North or south, if they stay in place, they will suffer constant bombardment until there is nothing of value left to hit. If they move, they will be obliterated. My guess is that they will take an incredible pounding for a short while before concluding that they must go on the offensive or risk being turned into non-mechanized infantry divisions with no heavy weapons at all. At this point, in their already degraded state, they will attempt to take the initiative, perhaps at night, with a bold and suicidal counter-offensive that will ultimately evaporate under coalition firepower. They really have zero decent options at this point. Stay in place, get atritted to nothing. counterattack, die. Let's see how it plays out. |
| Posted by: Jonesy 2003-03-31 14:55:52 |
| #3 Supply problems always develop in warfare, especially when the frontline gets pushed deep into enemy territory at an incredible rate. Patton experienced the same basic sort of situation in WW2 as his units advanced faster than their supply could keep up. This is essentially no different. You have massive traffic jams, enemy guerilla activity, fighting still occurring in the southern areas where the supply lines have to go through - and a frontline being pushed forward faster than at any other time in history (250+ miles in under 6 days; that's gotta' be a record). Of course there are going to be supply problems. Let's just hope that the Medina, Nebudkhednezzar, and Hammurabbi divisions are suffering worse problems (like massive casualties, inability to move without revealing themselves for more casualty-inflicting, inability to coordinate or contact frontline units for sitreps, etc., and inability to supply their troops with the basics of combat like ammo, food, and water; I doubt the Iraqi's are having a real good "day" the last week or two themselves). |
| Posted by: FOTSGreg 2003-03-31 12:53:25 |
| #2 I hope they keep sending them in to "reinforce" depleted units. Weakens the north (just where do you think the 101 is going to end up once the 4th ID takes its place in the center - and look where the H1 airfield is for a clue), and essentially send his most loyal and capable troops into the kill box thats grinding up the other divisions, where they will be tactically fixed into place by coalition ground forces, operationally frozen by interdiciton, and degraded by airpower. This is the best news yet. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2003-03-31 12:36:21 |
| #1 Running out of supplies, jeesh, after what we did for Berlin and they think we can't supply our own troops? |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-03-31 12:13:56 |