Battle of Al Faw (2003)

Battle of Al Faw
Part of the invasion of Iraq
Al-Faw Peninsula, Iraq
Date 20–24 March 2003 Location Al Faw, Iraq Result Coalition tactical victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom  United States  Poland  Australia	Iraq
Strength
~3,500	1,000+
Casualties and losses
19 killed (15 UK, 4 US)	150+ dead, 440 captured

The Battle of Al Faw was one of the first battles of the Iraq War. One of the initial objectives of the Coalition campaign in Iraq was to capture the Gas and Oil Platforms ("GOPLATs") in the Al-Faw Peninsula intact before it could be sabotaged or destroyed by the Iraqi military. This would prevent an ecological disaster similar to the 1991 Gulf War and enable a quicker resumption of oil exports which was vital to the rebuilding of Iraq after the war.

The British Royal Marines' 3 Commando Brigade would also capture Umm Qasr at the same time so that its port, the only deep water port in Iraq, could be used to bring in humanitarian supplies once the Khawr Abd Allah waterway was cleared by the Mine Counter Measures Task group. The United States Marine Corps placed 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit under the command of 3 Commando Brigade so that the Brigade had the necessary force to capture both targets.

Coalition forces

The main objective for the coalition was to capture the Khawr Abd Allah waterway, situated on the al-Faw peninsula, this had to be secured and occupied quickly so that it was open for relief vessels to deliver emergency aid and equipment. During the Gulf War, the Iraqi's had mined the waterway and the northern Gulf, coalition commanders suspected they would do the same again, so the coalition despatched minesweepers to clear the areas of mines. The eastern side of the waterway was part of the al-Faw peninsula and Iraqi-occupied, the mine-sweepers were not heavily armed or armoured and would be vulnerable to the Iraqi defenses on both the bank and from the rest of the al-Faw peninsula, the waterway was shallow and its canal's were dry so large warships could not provide an effective defence for the mine-sweepers. So it became necessary to the coalition commanders that the eastern bank of the Khawr Abd Allah waterway and the al-Faw peninsula had to be secured; additionally, the docks at Umm Qasr could only be used safely if the al-Faw peninsula was secured.

Another important objective on the al-Faw peninsula was the Iraqi oil infrastructure, coalition analysis of the major Iraqi southern oilfields, the routes of the pipelines and locations of the pumping-stations revealed that they all culminated in the al-Faw peninsula where 90% of Iraq's oil was exported through the peninsula via two gas and oil platforms just a few miles off the al-faw coast.

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