Now For The Big Assault

US ground troops set Baghdad
raid 'in 48 hours': reports
Posted: 11:24 AM (Manila Time) | Apr. 02, 2003
Agence France-Presse

LONDON - US-led forces are poised for an "imminent" attack on Baghdad which according to senior military sources at US Central Command in Qatar is likely to begin "within 48 hours," the British press said Wednesday.

The "big push" for Baghdad would begin "within 48 hours" with an intensive artillery bombardment supported by close air cover before the main body of troops stepped forward, said The Times.


The assault is likely to start to the southwest of Baghdad with an initial strike to breach Iraq's elite Medina division's lines north of Karbala and head on to the capital, it said.

The reports came as a senior US defense official in Washington said US troops had fought Iraq's elite Republican Guard near Karbala, 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of Baghdad.

The battle marked the first time "ground forces have been fully engaged against Republican Guards," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"Intensive air strikes on the front lines of Republican Guard units had approximately halved their capability, setting the stage for a frontal ground attack within 48 hours," said The Financial Times.

The attack followed days of intensive bombing of the Medina, Baghdad, Hammurabi and Al Nida divisions of the Republican Guard, Iraq's best trained, best armed and most loyal forces.

General Richard Myers, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, earlier said attacks from the air and ground had reduced the combat capability of two Republican Guard divisions by more than half.

Reports of the major ground offensive appeared in several other British newspapers with some quoting senior military officials saying the action would begin within hours.

"This is the start of the push. We are advancing," said a senior military official in Qatar, according to The Daily Express tabloid.

"How much of a fight we get will depend on how much opposition we meet. We are heading north. Sooner or later we will meet someone. Then you will see the upper cut. It is imminent," the source said.

Advancing troops set to cross the so-called "red-line" around Baghdad were on alert in case their offensive triggers the use of Saddam Hussein's alleged chemical arsenal, the newspaper said.

The land battle will be spearheaded by 200 Abrams tanks from the US army's 3rd infantry Division, the Financial Times said, adding that before the air attacks by British and US aircraft Iraqi divisions numbered about 10,000 to 12,000 men equipped with 400 T-72 tanks.

The largely American offensive will be supported with air cover from RAF Harriers and Tornados and the US air force's F15 "Strike Eagles," A10 "Tankbusters" and Apache attack helicopters, The Times said.

The Guardian, under the headline "The battle for Baghdad looms", also quoted a senior military source in Qatar saying that battle for the Iraqi capital was "imminent."

"The next four days will be critical," the source said.
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