First the bombardment, then the British go in

The lightning attack by 3 Commando Brigade of the Royal Marines came within an hour of a massive aerial bombardment which lit up the skies above northern Kuwait.

The Royal Marines launched an aerial and amphibious assault on a vital beach at the head of the Persian Gulf where the strategically important Al Faw peninsula meets the Shatt-al-Arab waterway and Iranian border.

Soon after the Commandos landed, a second wave of British forces was being carried to the beach on high-speed hovercrafts to advance on Basra.

40 and 42 Commandos, which include hundreds of Britain's elite marines, had taken the peninsula while 539 Assault Squadron made beach landings and cleared mines on land and at sea. The commando attack was foreshadowed by an intense artillery bombardment by four batteries of light and heavy guns across the Khawr Abd Allah, the four-mile wide river estuary separating Kuwait's Bubiyan Island from Iraq.

Marine snipers, the Brigade Reconnaissance Force and US Navy Seal teams had landed on the peninsula earlier in the day to harass Iraqi positions.

The troops gave allied forces in Kuwait City 30 minutes warning of Scud missile attacks from Basra.

The Al Faw is Saddam's oil export sea route. Its capture is key to the success of the invasion.

In the second wave of attack Scimitar light tanks of the Queen's Dragoon Guards landed, moving forward of 40 and 42 Commandos to set up a reconnaissance screen in preparation for the next phase of the invasion.

On a moonless evening, a kilometre-long column of tracked and wheeled vehicles boarded British and US hovercraft to make the 15-minute crossing to the strategic beach at speeds up to 50 knots.

Only once the Marines have secured the southern sector of Iraq will the US Marine Expeditionary Force begin its advance northwards towards Baghdad.

It will be followed by Britain's 7th Armoured Division and 16 Air Assault Brigade, who will provide assistance to the Americans and Royal Marines.

Geordie soldiers lead the charge into Iraq

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By The Evening Chronicle

Geordie soldiers were part of the hugely powerful British armoured force hammering into Iraq, as the war against Saddam's army began under cover of darkness.

Tanks, troop carriers and infantrymen from the 7th Armoured Brigade - the famous Desert Rats - poured into south eastern Iraq.

The 1st Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers (1RRF) led the way in 15 Warrior armoured personnel carriers of its Y company.

The Regiment recruits heavily from the North East and has strong links here. The Fusiliers have TA bases in Newcastle and Ashington.

They were supported by the mighty Newcastle built Challenger 2, B and C Squadrons of the Queen's Royal Lancers.

The troops breached the Iraqi border about 10 miles east of the town of Safwan and immediately came under attack from Iraqi forces. After a brief firefight the Desert Rats cleared and secured a cordon along the border allowing other elements of the brigade to crash through.

Sergeant Steve Hornsby, of Newcastle, said: "At last, we've opened our account." His Sergeant Major, Tony Hall, also from Tyneside, said: "Everywhere you look it's just one massive convoy of our armour."

Brigade's proud history

http://icnewcastle.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/iraq/page.cfm?objectid=12767012&method=full&siteid=50081

By Rob Kennedy, The Evening Chronicle

A commando unit shattered by the death of eight Royal Marines is steeped in military history and has strong links to the North East.

The crack troops killed in the Kuwaiti desert when their helicopter came down are part of a unit known as 3 Commando Brigade.

The regiment is in shock after eight Royal Marines and four US aircrew were killed when a Sea Knight helicopter crashed in the Kuwaiti desert yesterday.

Experts are still studying the wreckage, pictured on the front of today's Chronicle.

A frontline unit of this brigade is 45 Commando , which recruits heavily from the North East.

Since it was created during the Second World War, the unit has built up an enviable reputation while in action all over the world

45 Commando Royal Marines was formed in August 1943, and played its part to the full throughout the remainder of the Second World War.

They fought at the D-Day landings in Normandy, in Holland and at the crossings of the Rhine, Weser and Elbe rivers through Germany.

In peacetime they played a vital part in missions in Palestine, Suez, Malaya, Aden and Cyprus.

The unit finally returned to the UK in 1967 after 24 years operational service abroad and moved to its current base in Arbroath in 1971.

Throughout the 1970s at the height of the Cold War, the Commando honed its new mountain and cold weather warfare skills for its role to defend Norway and Nato's northern flank.

Amphibious exercises north of the Arctic Circle were combined throughout the 70s and 80s with tours of duty in Northern Ireland. In 1982, the Commando proved its amphibious landing expertise when, as part of 3 Commando Brigade, it took part in Operation Corporate, the recapture of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic.

45 Commando travelled across the island of East Falkland and successfully defeated Argentine forces in the crucial battle for Two Sisters.

In the post-Cold War era of the 1990s the unit saw no let-up in military action.

In 1991 it deployed to northern Iraq on a humanitarian assistance mission to relieve the suffering of the Kurdish people, and in 1994 it was dispatched to reinforce the Kuwaiti border against renewed Iraqi aggression.

In 1998, while exercising in the Caribbean with HMS Ocean, the Royal Navy's new helicopter carrier, the unit was on hand to provide life- saving assistance to Nicaragua and Honduras after the devastation of Hurricane Mitch.

In recognition of this action, the Wilkinson Sword of Peace was awarded jointly to the Commandos and the ship.

In 2000 the unit deployed to Belizes for jungle training, returning briefly to the UK before a six-month operational tour in support of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo.

In March 2002 the unit teamed up against with HMS Ocean and deployed into Afghanistan to conduct the war against terrorism.

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