Battle of the CIMIC House
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CIMIC-House | |||||||
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Part of the occupation of Iraq (2003–2011) | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
United Kingdom | Mahdi Army | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Major Justin Featherstone Captain Charles "Charlie" Curry Maj James 'JD' Driscoll | Muqtada al-Sadr | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
106 | 500+ | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
9 killed 19 wounded | 200+ confirmed killed |
CIMIC House was the
Al Amarah was garrisoned by two troops of soldiers from A squadron, the
Incoming fire from the Mahdi Army included 595 mortar rounds from 230 different bombardments, direct hits with 57
Fighting reached a peak between 5-25 August when the intensity was such that armoured convoys were unable to reach the base to resupply the British, although none of the waves of infantry attacks by the Mahdi Army reached within 30 metres of the British defence lines. During this time, commanding officer Major Justin Featherstone was given permission to withdraw by his commanding officer if he felt events on the ground required it. Major Featherstone refused to have his men leave their posts. Captain Charlie Curry was given command for six days during this time when Major Featherstone went on R&R.
At the end of the siege, six British soldiers had been seriously injured in the battle; the only fatality on the British side was Private Chris Rayment, who died when a traffic barrier fell on his head, after the linkage was caught by a Snatch Land Rover which was entering the camp in a convoy, under heavy enemy fire.
The British estimated Mahdi Army casualties at the end of the battle to be at least 200 dead, leaving them as a seriously depleted force in Al Amarah, incapable of attacking the British in large numbers for the remainder of the coalition's occupation of the town. CIMIC House was handed over to the Iraqis at the end of August 2004, with the British consolidating their forces in Camp Abu Naji.
The defence of CIMIC House was supported by armoured infantry soldiers of B Company and C Company 1PWRR based at camp Abu Naji who were engaged in numerous pitch battles with the Mahdi Army on the streets of Al Amarah. A contingent of Territorial Army soldiers that defended the CIMIC House included one Warrior AFV from B Company, 3 SCOTS, snipers from 1st Battalion, 22nd Cheshire Regiment, and Soldiers from various different squadrons of the Royal Yeomanry regiment. Although these reservists contributed significantly to the defence of CIMIC House, their efforts were largely overshadowed by the regular Y Company, PWRR.[1][2]
References
- ^ "Troops back from long, hard combat". The Guardian. 26 October 2004.
- ^ "The weekend warriors go to war". The Guardian. 14 October 2004.
External links
- Details on the battle
- View of CIMIC-House from Google Maps
- Sniper One – Sgt Dan Mills (The blistering true story of a British battle group under siege