[Pukka Puck]

"Anyway let the Telegraph show a little patriotic favoritism for their marines, if I remember correctly they got unfair criticism for waiting outside Basra until it cooled down."

That would be well-deserved criticism for sitting on their asses outside of Basra, waiting for the Americans to win the war before finally going into Basra only after we had taken Baghdad. With Baghdad in our grasp, resistance collapsed in Basra, making taking the city a snap for the Brits.

If, on the other hand, the Brits had taken Basra sooner, it would have helped to undermine the resolve of the Iraqi fighters to the north and would have made the American advance easier.

The Brits moved only thirty miles and then sat and waited while the Americans did all the heavy lifting.

[mrsmith]

That was the plan.

If Franks had foolishly told them to force Basra they would have.