TF 3-15 INF defends the crossroads

Infantry Magazine,  May-June, 2004  by Arthur A. Durante

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I developed the following article from notes taken during a series of personal interviews conducted in Baghdad. I have done my best to make this account as historically accurate as possible, but there may be minor discrepancies. Such is the nature of war with all its fog, emotions, and confusion. It is my intention to tell the story of the incredible dedication, the hardships, the courage, and the professionalism of the American Soldiers in this battle. Unfortunately, my writing can't do them justice. I have left out much, but I have their story in my notes, in my head, and in my heart. I was never in my life more proud of the American Soldier than I was of those on that battlefield. I stand humbled before these men--Art Durante, 23 May 2003, Baghdad.

The first week of April 2003 found the U.S. units in Iraq locked in mortal combat against the forces of Saddam Hussein. By 6 April 2003, the 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized) had consolidated its positions around the Baghdad airport which it had seized on the night of 3 April.

A day after the 1st Brigade Combat Team (BCT) moved against the airport, Colonel David Perkins, commander of the 2nd BCT, had driven his powerful formation against the Iraqi forces south of the city in the vicinity of Objective Saints. This was the intersection of Highway 8 from the south and Highway 1 running east and west. After hard fighting, the 2nd BCT secured Objective Saints, and on 5 April, had launched Task Force 1-64 Armor on a spectacular "Thunder Run" deep into the center of Baghdad and then hack out west to airport.

Major General Buford C. Blount III. commander of the 3rd Infantry Division, wanted to increase the pressure on the regime even more, and to do that he again chose the 2nd BCT. He and COL Perkins developed a plan to attack out of Objective Saints against the heart of Saddam's government. The commander's intent was to demonstrate his ability to operate large-scale armored and mechanized forces deep within the capital city, thereby disproving the claim that U.S. forces were unable to penetrate Baghdad and to put unbearable pressure on the regime.

Two armored task forces made up the main effort. Task Forces 1-64 Armor and 4-64 Armor were to attack into the city and seize the presidential palace district. Task Force 3-15 Infantry, also known as Task Force China, was the supporting effort. Its mission was to seize and retain a series of east-west road junctions north of Objective Saints along Highway 8, and to secure Objective Saints itself from the Iraqi forces still active south of the city.

Intelligence reports had indicated that after the 2rid BCT's initial reconnaissance-in-force run through the city on 5 April, Iraqi forces had established roadblocks at major intersections and built other obstacles to block movement into the city. They had also laid a surface minefield along Highway 8 north of Objective Saints.

At first light on 7 April, the 2nd BCT crossed the line of departure along the northern perimeter of Objective Saints, moved through the Iraqi minefield that its engineers had breached in the hours before dawn, and thundered north on Highway 8. Task Force 1-64 Armor took the lead. It moved to seize objectives deep in the center of the city, the Tomb of the Unknowns and the adjoining park. Task Force 4-64 Armor followed with the objective of seizing two of Saddam Hussein's palaces along the Tigris River.

Task Force 3-15 Infantry fell into its assigned position at the rear of the brigade column and followed the two leading armor task forces. Task Force China was organized to drop company-sized combined arms teams at each of the three major road intersections along the line of communication into the city. These teams would hold the intersections, dominate the terrain around them, and thereby facilitate the resupply of the forces in the city.

The 2nd BCT immediately encountered several obstacles and met heavy enemy resistance as it fought its way northward to its objectives. Within hours, both the armor task forces had seized their objectives, but fierce fighting continued all the way from the perimeter of Objective Saints, north along the axis of attack and up to both objectives. Iraqi regular army units, groups of Saddam Fedayeen, and militia forces continued to counterattack the 2nd BCT at multiple points.

The leading armor task force made heavy contact with Iraqi infantry armed with rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) and small arms. The tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles (BFVs) bypassed several obstacles and engaged a large number of Iraqis in bunkers and along the sides of the highway. The enemy was trying to block the road with anything they could find, including construction equipment. This was a clear indicator that although the 3rd Division had caught the enemy by surprise with its Thunder Run on 5 April, the Iraqis had recovered and were determined to stop this attack.

Once they had fought their way through the hard crust of the Iraqi defense, the lead U.S. task forces found fewer enemy forces protecting the route into downtown. Soon, the leading task force, TF 1-64 Armor, was in the city center and linked up with special operations forces (SOF) elements there. Iraqi resistance flared up and at times was especially fierce, but the 2nd BCT forces in the city were able to defeat every counterattack thrown at them.