From Jane's, nice to read a story written by a professional.
UK and US aircraft are conducting intensive air strikes against a first echelon defence line of the Republican Guard Force Command (RGFC) south of Baghdad.
Allied intelligence has identified the Medina and Al Nida Armoured Divisions south of the Iraqi capital, along with the Baghdad Mechanised Division, preparing to meet units of the US Army's V Corps advancing northwards from Najaf. Other RGFC divisions are believed to be south of Baghdad preparing defensive positions. Early on 24 March, 35-40 AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopters from the V Corps' 11th Aviation Brigade launched the first deep-strike mission of the war against an 'engagement zone' containing Republican Guard forces. One Apache was lost after the force met intense Iraqi anti-aircraft fire. It was forced to land and the two-man crew was captured and later shown on Iraqi television.
| Yeah. We were just grumbling about that earlier... |
Since then fixed-wing aircraft, including US Air Force (USAF) A-10 Thunderbolt IIs and Royal Air Force (RAF) Harrier GR7s, have been pounding Iraqi positions in a series of strikes. The Medina Division has been the focus of Coalition air strikes today, but more targets are emerging and being struck, according to US officers in Qatar.
| That's more like it. Ask some of those B52 drivers if they want to stop by, too... |
Coalition planners have identified the Republican Guard, the best-trained and equipped component of Saddam's armed forces, as Iraq's 'centre of gravity' and are seeking to defeat it as quickly possible. The 'main effort' in coalition operational plans focused on defeating the Republican Guard rests largely with the US Army's 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanised). Once the RGFC is defeated coalition planners believe that less well-motivated army units will collapse, meaning that costly battles to clear Basra and smaller centres of resistance can be avoided.
| "Ummm... How many opposing divisions?" he asked, turning pale... |
The first phase of the US battle plan has gone relatively well, with the armoured columns of the 3rd Infantry Division advancing rapidly across 300km of desert from Kuwait. This advance has been relatively unopposed. A major effort has been underway in recent days to 'prepare the battlefield' ahead of the advancing US armoured columns in what military doctrine describes as the 'deep battle'. The Apaches of the 11th Aviation Brigade have been in action, trying to find and destroy Republican Guard tanks in the towns and villages south of Baghdad. Once these efforts to 'find' the main Republican Guard positions have been successful, reconnaissance forces, including attack helicopters, will be sent into action to 'fix' them in their positions while the 3rd Infantry Division's three armoured brigades position themselves to strike.
| Where's the part about pounding them to flinders with B52s? I thought that was supposed to come before the helis? |
The 'find and fix' phase of the battle is the most crucial for US commanders because they have a numerically inferior force to the Iraqis and have very exposed flanks and supply lines. If US reconnaissance forces and surveillance assets fail to find the Iraqis or misidentify the main Iraqi defensive positions then the US armoured brigades could be committed in the wrong place, exposing them to counter-attack while refuelling or re-arming.
| This is known in the trade as being "in deep, deep shit." |
The US Army's Apaches will play a key role in hitting 'depth targets' at the same time as the heavy armoured brigades engage the Republican Guard in the 'close battle'. The US aim is to overwhelm their opponents with simultaneous, multiple attacks on the ground, from the front and flanks and in the rear from the air. This unrelenting onslaught is intended to smash through the southern Republican Guard in a matter of a few hours, a day at the longest.
The strategy of Gen Tommy Franks, Commander US Central Command, is clearly daring and carries high risks. Every kilometre coalition forces advance into Iraq extends the depth of the 'rear battle area' and the distance that must be covered by combat service support units to replenish combat units with vital fuel, water, ammunition and rations. The rear battle area extends from behind the advancing combat forces to the ports and airfields in Kuwait through which reinforcements and every manner of supplies enter the theatre of operations. |