“Both BCT’s are pulling out of that rats nest in Ramadi and we are Oscar Mike at 20:00, no ifs, ands or buts. When Recon gets to that canal, we halt for a sitrep, as I’ll need to hear from the 101st. We may have to send 2 BCT south into Habbaniyah, but Division has tasked 1st BCT up here on Highway-1 all the way to Fallujah. Intel has it that elements of the Al Medina Republican Guard Division are in that city, a much tougher lot than the troops we faced here. Whether we get an order to take the city remains to be seen, but 1st Armored Division will be right behind our 2nd BCT, we may keep moving east along this road here, strait as an arrow south of this lateral canal, right into Taji north of Baghdad. If we get in there in force, we cut off anything they have in Baghdad and stop a withdrawal north on this side of the Tigris River. But gentlemen, Al Taji is an old haunt of Qusay Hussein, and we’ve also learned that at least one brigade of his personal division is assigned there. So we may have a fight on our hands, and a big one. That’s the plan, because if we break these guys now, the rest is done with mirrors. Let’s get to it.”
The sheer weight of force at Ramadi had decided the issue by midnight on the 20th of January. There were simply too many US brigades in the long line coming up Highway-1 for any resistance there to be sustained. The two BCT’s of 1st Cav pulled out and reformed on Highway-1 north of the Euphrates, and 3rd I.D. moved into the city to clear out any pockets of resistance or would be jihadis. They had been surprised to find men that had entered Iraq from Syria weeks earlier, veterans of the long civil war there looking for a new war to fight the heathens of the West.
The plan for the next day was for 3rd ID to continue to push east south of the Euphrates, while 1st Cav and 1st Armored did the same to the north. When these ground forces drew near Fallujah, the 101st would move a brigade in by helicopter to attack that airfield they wanted.
Meanwhile, far to the south, beneath the big Razzazah Lake, the European contingent had finally reached the vicinity of Karbala. That city was famous for the Shrine Imam Husayn, which was burial site of Husayn ibn Ali, the third Imam of Shia Islam. Its two golden minarets and great onion dome could be seen from all over the city, and it was one of the holiest sites in all of Iraq.
The question of what to do if the Iraqis chose to defend the site came up in the planning, and it was determined that a parley should be called. The Iraqis would be told that if they deployed troops there, the Shrine could be destroyed, but if they withdrew to fight elsewhere, Coalition forces promised they would not enter the site unless fired upon from those facilities. The Iraqis were wise enough to agree, making the site a demilitarized zone for both sides, though faithful Fadayeen would remain in those high minarets, reporting movements of British troops in the city when they entered.
Karbala was defended by a territorial brigade as in Ramadi, augmented by Iranian irregulars that had gone there specifically two see to the wellbeing of that shrine. With strong and well equipped European brigades attacking, the defense would not hold for more than a day once the fighting got started.
Brigadier Wilson and the British Brigade deployed on the left, closest to the city, with Berg’s 21st Panzer on his right, and then the French 7th Armored under General Lemont. The Italian Ariete Brigade was the general reserve of this contingent, which would be tasked with taking Karbala, and Hillah, another 40 kilometers to the southeast. That accomplished, they were to converge on Alexandria, about 50 kilometers south of Baghdad, but the Brigadiers were aware they might have a tough fight on this flank. The Hammurabi Division of the Republican Guard was reported to be at Alexandria.
Chapter 14
When the three troops of the Light Squadron reached the Habbaniyah Canal, they found it occupied by the 3rd Mech Battalion of the Al Medina Division. The Iraqis had old Chinese wheeled AFV’s that were east targets when the rest of the battalion came up. This time, they were content to let the Strykers, Bradleys and Abrams tanks sit and pick those vehicles off at range. There were no enemy tanks present, and the Recon Squadron soon commanded the canal bridge.
“Hey Sarge,” said Sanchez. “Why the hell aren’t they blowing these bridges? Don’t they have any demolitions?”
“Maybe not,” said the King. “Suits me just fine. Are you getting enough photos, Mr. Weasel?”
The reporter had been a quiet observer, taking notes on a pad device and lots of photos. “Getting it all,” he said.
“But nuthin’ classified,” said the Sergeant. “No shots of these interior screens and such.”
“Scout’s honor,” said Todd, though he had warmed to the men calling him the Weasel, and almost preferred it to his real name, which was never uttered. “Will there be a big fight for Habbaniyah?”
“Not after the 101st swooped down and stormed the Al Taqaddum airfield. Habbaniyah is surrounded on three sides by water, which means anyone trying to defend it hasn’t got anywhere to displace when they get hit hard—and they will. So my guess is that if the Iraqis can read a map, they’ll fall back east of the Euphrates, and make their stand in Fallujah.”
“We going there?”
“That’s up to the Raven. Harrier says we were to take this canal and sit tight. 101 is mopping up at that airfield, and 3rd I.D. is coming up from Ramadi south of the river. 1st Armored is behind us, and I heard they sent a Stryker Brigade up to get the Tharthar Dam. That’s what controls the flow of water in this canal. Hoowee, if the Hajis blow that, they could flood this place so bad we’d have to sit here for weeks. The only problem is that if they do that, they’ll flood out all the sewer rat Fedayeen in Fallujah too. But I wouldn’t put it past the mothers.
Before sunrise, 1/7th Cav went north on Highway-23, well north of Al Taji. They had been relieved of their positions on the canal and ordered to scout the way, and now they were the northernmost unit in the Army, deep inside Bad Guy country. The route took them along the Tharthar Canal, and without any enemy contact for almost twenty kilometers. Reporter Todd Resel managed to doze off for some much needed sleep until he heard Sergeant King’s voice.
“Slow down here, Sanchez. There’s another canal on our right—Ishaki Canal.”
“Gee, Sarge. I didn’t know any Japanese were here in Iraq.”
“It ain’t Japanese, Sanchez. But there’s supposed to be a checkpoint up here where the two canals run close. We need to stay frosty. Duran, get ready on big fifty.”
“Roger that, Sarge.”
The two canals were now creating a bottleneck ahead, the dry ground between them compressing to as little as 80 feet. Sergeant King didn’t like it. If they continued, they would be unable to maneuver, stuck in that narrow corridor for nearly ten kilometers.
“We stop here,” he said. “No way we’re going into that rats tunnel.”
At that point, they started taking incoming fire, the red tracers zipping past the vehicles. There was a hard chink, and they knew they had been hit.
“Duran, get some suppressive fire going. Sanchez, turn around!”