The Battle of Basra lasted from 21 March to 6 April 2003 and was one of the first battles of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The British 7 Armoured Brigade fought their way into Iraq's second-largest city, Basra, on 6 April coming under constant attack by the Iraqi Army 51st Division and Fedayeen Saddam,"The city was heavily populated with troops, regulars and an estimated 1,000 irregular Fedayeen or security forces. They were units of the Iraqi 51st Division, which had maintained a presence in Basra since crushing the Shia rebellion there after the 1991 Gulf War." Desert Rats, John Parker, p. ? Hachette, 2013 while elements of the British Parachute Regiment cleared the 'old quarter' of the city that was inaccessible to vehicles. Entering Basra had only been achieved after two weeks of conflict, which included the biggest tank battle of the war by British forces when the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards destroyed 14 abandoned Iraqi tanks on the 27 March.

Background Basra is a city of more than one million people, located in Southern Iraq. To military and economic planners, it represents a strategic objective because it sits near a port that provides access from inland Iraq to the Persian Gulf. The area around Basra itself produces much of Iraq's oil, which is processed at a local refinery. To the south-east is Rumaila oil field, which by itself contains billions of barrels worth of crude oil—14% of the world supply.Jonathan Finer, "Key oil field falls to Marines", The Age, 23 March 2003. To the north-east is the West Qurna Field, the second-largest oil field in the world.

Britain captured Basra from the Ottoman Empire in 1914. In 1932, Iraq became nominally independent of Britain and British troops left a few years later. During the Second World War, the brief Anglo-Iraqi War broke out during 1941. British forces, unopposed, seized the city and surrounding area as a base for an advance towards Baghdad although the war came to an end before that occurred.

The city was a major target during the Iran–Iraq War of the 1980s and was bombed by the US during the 1991 Gulf War.

Basra was the site of a 1991 uprising to overthrow Saddam Hussein after the US had driven the Iraqi Army from Kuwait. Residents became embittered when support promised by the US did not materialize. Basra then suffered from years of sanctions and bombing, as well as bad treatment from Hussein. An Iraqi living in exile said in 2001: "Iraqis think Saddam is America's man. These people are not going to forget what has happened to them. In their eyes, it is genocide. And people do not forget genocide."Chuck Sudetic, "The Betrayal of Basra ", Mother Jones, November/December 2001.

The population of Basra saw a dramatic increase in birth defects and childhood cancer during the 1990s; these illnesses and others were blamed on US depleted uranium munitions used in 1991. Sanctions compounded the problem by blocking access to medical equipment and increasing the price of supplies.Robert Hirschfield, " An Arab-American Priest, Depleted Uranium, and Iraq", Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, November 2005.

The United States bombed Basra routinely throughout the 1990s and leading up to the Iraq War.Jeremy Scahill, " Report from Basra: Iraq's Oil Belt Prepares for War", Iraq Journal, 3 November 2002.

2003 Invasion of Iraq

Basrans learned of the planned invasion in late 2002 began to prepare for an attack—forming militias and building fortifications.

Regular bombings of Basra continued during this period." US warplanes bomb Iraq's Basra airport ", Press Trust of India, 27 September 2002.

Targeting The US declared Basra as one of its first targets of the war.Paul McGeough, "In the way of the war ", Sydney Morning Herald, 1 March 2003.

Spokespeople for the US military told the media that Basra's Shi'ite population would welcome the invading forces and rise up against Saddam Hussein. This claim played a role in the public relations campaign conducted by the US and UK governments to win public support for the war.Kevin Canfield and Tara Weiss, "Quick Taking of Basra May Also Help War Image", Hartford Courant, 19 March 2003.Brendan O'Neill, "Military disengagement ", Spiked, 18 March 2003.

Among Iraqi cities, Basra "would be one that would fall quickly and would yield immediate photogenic results," said US military historian Raymond Callahan.

"Basra is a prime target. It would give a clear message to the regime—we have got your oil and commercial centre," said Colonel Christopher Langton of the International Institute of Strategic Studies.Richard Norton-Taylor, Ewen MacAskill, Terry Macalister and Rory McCarthy, "British elite troops push towards Basra", The Guardian, 20 March 2003.

Approach

US and UK forces entered Iraq from Kuwait on 19 March (20 March UTC), approaching Basra on the road that had become notorious as the "Highway of Death" during the Gulf War."The battle for Basra", Scotsman, 22 March 2003. The invading army reportedly moved slowly down the highway, having created a traffic jam of military vehicles."Allied forces take Basra airport, bridge ", WIST (AP), 20 March 2003.

The first fighting of the declared invasion took place on the oilfields and coastline near Basra.Robert Fox, "The war has started ", London Evening Standard, 19 March 2003.

Some fires had already been started at the oil fields. Three fires were visible from across the border in Kuwait."Flames light up sky above Basra", IOL News, 20 March 2003. US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld blamed Hussein and said: "It is a crime for that regime to be destroying the riches of the Iraqi people."

The immediate objective for the Coalition forces was to control Basra and the nearby Rumaila oil field. By the 22 March, US Marines had gained control of the oil field.Ellen Knickmyer & Ranjan Roy, "(b)loomin' battleFIELDS", Economic Times, 23 March 2003.

Aircraft dropped leaflets on Basra urging Iraqi soldiers to surrender; some did.David Willis, "Applause as Marines enter Basra ", BBC, 22 March 2003.

On the 23 March, two soldiers of the Royal Engineers, 33 Engineer Regiment (Sapper Luke Allsopp and Staff Sergeant Simon Cullingworth) were captured in an ambush by Fedayeen fighters on the outskirts of Basra; both were later murdered.

On the 24 March, Lance Corporal Barry Stephen from the 1st Battalion, Black Watch Regiment was killed when a rocket-propelled grenade exploded near his armoured vehicle in an action at Al-Zubayr, near Basra.Scotland says goodbye to fallen Black Watch heroRoll Of Honour For UK's Fallen

On the 25 March, a Challenger 2 tank was hit by 'friendly fire' from another British tank outside Basra, killing two British soldiers (Corporal Stephen John Allbutt and Trooper Jeffrey Clarke).

On the 27 March 12 Challenger 2 tanks of C squadron, Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, supporting 40 Commandos advance from al-Faw to Basra, engaged and destroyed 14 Iraqi T-55 tanks, members of 40 Commando also fought brief firefights with Fedayeen fighters and came under fire from Iranian border guards.Rossiter, Mike, Target Basra , Corgi, 2009 , p.253-55

Siege Coalition forces met with unexpected resistance in Basra and environs. After a few days of combat, most of the invading American troops moved northwards, leaving Basra under a multi-week siege led by the British—considered better suited because of their past experiences in Iraq and Northern Ireland.Keith B. Richburg, "Basra standoff raises concern about Baghdad ", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 30 March 2003.Richard Sanders, "The myth of 'shock and awe': why the Iraqi invasion was a disaster ", The Telegraph (UK), 19 March 2013. A few members of D Squadron, British SAS, were deployed to southern Iraq to support the coalition advance on Basra, the team infiltrated the city and brought in strikes on the Ba'athist loyalist leadership.

Humanitarian crisis Water and electricity became scarce after most of Basra's electrical infrastructure was destroyed on 21 March. On the 24 March, the International Committee of the Red Cross announced that 60% of Basra's population had been cut off from clean water, and warned of a coming "humanitarian crisis".David Batty, " Iraqi city suffers water shortage", The Guardian, 24 March 2003.Karen MacPherson, "Residents in Basra could die of thirst without relief supplies ", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 28 March 2003.Shaoni Bhattacharya, "Catastrophe looms as Basra remains without water", New Scientist, 25 March 2003. Al Jazeera reported on the 27 March that Anglo-American forces had blocked the city's supply of drinking water, and were preventing the Red Cross from restoring access."US, UK shell Nasiriyah homes, obstruct Basra water – Al-Jazeera", BBC Monitoring Newsfile, 27 March 2003; , 7 June 2013.

US Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz said on the 31 March:Hisham Melhem, "Wolfowitz Interview with Al Arabiya ", Al Arabiya, 31 March 2003; reproduced at Scoop.co.nz.

There seems to be a water problem in Basra but it should be very clear it's not because of anything we did. There's been no bombing of Basra. It seems to be something the regime did. The Red Cross has been in there and we're told that 70 percent of the water supply has been restored. The Kuwaitis are laying a pipe up to the border with water and we're going to pipe it on up to the city.

Many actions were undertaken and the Red cross and British Royal Engineers co-operated in ensuring supplies were maintained even if they were reduced for a period of time.

A Center for Economic and Social Rights report claimed that the "Anglo-American blockade deprived one million residents of access to safe drinking water for almost two weeks". Meanwhile, UNICEF officials warned that "there are 100,000 children in Basra at risk for severe fever and death because one water treatment plant stopped functioning."Center for Economic and Social Rights, " US/UK Military Forces Risk Committing War Crimes by Depriving Civilians of Safe WaterSpecial Report: Water Under Siege in Iraq: US/UK Military Forces Risk Committing War Crimes by Depriving Civilians of Safe Water ", 6 April 2003.

Spokespeople for the Coalition forces said that humanitarian aid shipments were nearby and available, but it was not yet possible to transport or distribute them to the city.Ewen MacAskill, " Crisis in Basra as troops fail to create corridor for aid", The Guardian 25 March 2003.

British engineers attributed the shortages to plundering and long-term decay of infrastructure.Andrew Taylor, "'Looting and neglect' cut Basra's power and water", Financial Times, 30 April 2003; , 8 June 2013.

Aerial bombing The invading forces (including the Royal Australian Air Force) used bombing and psychological warfare during the siege.James Dao, "British seek revolution in Basra ", Sydney Morning Herald, 31 March 2003.

On the 5 April, US bombers targeted the residential al-Tuwaisi area of downtown Basra—reportedly attempting to kill Ali Hassan al-Majid (a.k.a. "Chemical Ali"). Al-Majid was not present, but 17 civilians were killed by one of two 500-pound laser-guided bombs dropped by US planes.Docherty & Garlasco, "Off Target" (2003), pp. 28–33 .

Cluster bombs