Target Basra

by Mike Rossiter (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  2009

  $3.27

  In the dead of night on 20 March 2003, Royal Navy Marines from 40 and 42 Commando board a fleet of twenty helicopters. With faces blackened and mouths dry at the thought of what lies ahead, they have been given the job of capturing the oil pipelines and pumping stations through which 90 per cent of Iraq's oil is exported, to seal off the whole of the Faw peninsula and hold it against any counter-attack by the Iraqi Army. They will be the first troops on the ground in Iraq, literally kicking the door down. They will also suffer the first allied casualties in the war to overthrow Saddam Hussein. Operation Telic was a bold and audacious break with military doctrine, a night-time airborne assault against heavily defended positions. With the Commandos lightly armed and isolated, the night-time landing was just the beginning. They were engaged in a series of fast-moving and hard-fought battles as they moved rapidly north until they reached the outskirts of Basra. Finally, after a two-day battle that broke the back of the Iraqi resistance, and eighteen days after their first contact with the enemy, Royal Marine Commandos entered the presidential palace in Basra. Told from the perspective, and with the cooperation of officers and men in the Royal Navy and the Royal Marines, Target Basra is a story of courage, fortitude and the harsh realities of modern war, fought in the context of the turmoil of the Middle East.

• Used

  Paperback
  2008

  $5.90

  March 2003: while the terrible 'shock and awe' was going on in Baghdad, Royal Navy Marines from HMS Ark Royal and HMS Ocean were given the job of 'kicking the door down'. At zero hour on March 19 members of 40 Commando, steaming a few miles off the Iraqi coastline, boarded helicopters, their faces blackened and their throats dry at the thought of what lay ahead. They were to be the first troops on the ground in Iraq and were tasked with forcing an entry into the country, to storm the Al Faw peninsula, secure the crucial oil terminals and open a gateway for ground troops in the advance on the city of Basra. It was the first British amphibious landing since the recovery of the Falkland Islands. Within minutes of landing contact was made with the enemy and the darkness was split by gun flashes and explosions.40 Commando won a swift and early victory taking over 200 soldiers prisoner. But now it was essential that the British Marines were reinforced against an Iraqi counteroffensive. Plans to fly in 42 Commando by the US Marine Corps were abandoned when a huge sandstorm brought down a helicopter. There was to be no reinforcements for 40 Commando that night. Tanks were observed setting out from Basra and ship-born Lynx helicopters were sent to attack them. With a foothold now in the country the fight was on to capture the port of Umm Qasr, guarded by the elite Republican Guard, so that humanitarian supplies and reinforcements could reach the land forces now crossing the border from Kuwait.What followed was some of the fiercest fighting of the conflict that lead the British Marines to the city limits of Basra. Written with the co-operation of Rear Admiral David Snelson and the Marines of 40 Commando, Target Basra , is the definitive and action-packed account of one of the most dramatic, and militarily significant actions of the recent Iraq War.

• Used

  Hardcover
  2008

  $3.27

  In the dead of night on 20 March 2003, Royal Navy Marines from 40 and 42 Commando board a fleet of twenty helicopters. With faces blackened and mouths dry at the thought of what lies ahead, they have been given the job of capturing the oil pipelines and pumping stations through which 90 per cent of Iraq's oil is exported, to seal off the whole of the Faw peninsula and hold it against any counter-attack by the Iraqi Army. They will be the first troops on the ground in Iraq, literally kicking the door down. They will also suffer the first allied casualties in the war to overthrow Saddam Hussein. Operation Telic was a bold and audacious break with military doctrine, a night-time airborne assault against heavily defended positions. Lightly armed and isolated, the Commandos' only support for the first few days came from Royal Navy ships HMS Ark Royal and Ocean sailing off the coast. The night-time landing was just the beginning.The Commandos were engaged in a series of fast-moving and hard-fought battles against tanks, Ba'ath party Fedayeen and Republican Guards as they moved rapidly north up the Faw peninsula until they reached the outskirts of Basra, the second-largest city in Iraq.Finally, after a two-day battle that broke the back of the Iraqi resistance, and eighteen days after their first contact with the enemy, Royal Marine Commandos entered the presidential palace in Basra. Told from the perspective, and with the cooperation of officers and men in the Royal Navy and the Royal Marines, Target Basra is a story of courage, fortitude and the harsh realities of modern war, fought in the context of the turmoil of the Middle East.