manchesternews War In Iraq Allies bomb Iraqi artillery positions THE MOD has confirmed that Allied aircraft have attacked Southern Iraqi artillery positions that could have shelled UK and US soldiers. And American troops have entered the demilitarised zone between Kuwait and Iraq, just a few miles from the Iraqi border, it has been confirmed. Around 10 artillery units are thought to have been destroyed in the attack by Allied forces aircraft which entered the no fly zone this evening (Wednesday). All ten artillery positions were within shelling range of UK and US troops. An MOD spokesman confirmed that attacks had taken place involving UK and US aircraft, targeting weapons systems "which are a threat to our forces". The artillery systems - including the powerful Austrian made GHN-45 - were located around Basra, and reportedly more powerful than Allied equivalents. It was suggested that they could be used to fire chemical attacks on front line troops. Reports suggest that some Iraqi troops close to the southern border with Kuwait have surrendered to Allied forces ahead of any conflict. 19/03/2003
Unlike last time, we're not going to see a week or two of SEAD (Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses) before things really start kicking. We've been destroying their air defenses for 12 years... First targets before the ground components roll out will be arty. As for arty, the Iraqi army has some nice South African and Austrian arty pieces, but they are totally inept at using them. They don't know how to adjust fires very well, for one. They are apparently only capable of carrying out pre-planned artillery barrages, which are totally useless against mobile assaults such as we are about to launch... Funny story (true one) about a reporter interviewing ttroops in Kuwait in 1991 during the ground assault. The reporter and a US commander are standing on a hilltop conducting an interview when a huge artillery barrage starts landing about a half a klick away on another hilltop. The reporter immediately cringes, ducks, and runs for cover, while the US commander just stands there. When the barrage stops, the reporter comes out and asks the commander why he just stood there and didn't take cover. The commander says "Look at that hilltop", reporter looks, commander says "See that garbage can sitting in the middle of the hilltop? That's what they use to target their fires. We just avoid all garbage cans we see sitting in the middle of the desert, and we never get hit..." But still, artillery is really the only way that they could possibly hit us with chemical weapons, so all artillery will be destroyed early on...
