Operation (or Op) TELIC is the codename under which all British operations of the 2003 Invasion of Iraq and after are being conducted. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The 2003 invasion of Iraq, from March 20 to May 1 2003 was spearheaded by the United States, backed by British forces and smaller contingents from Australia A total of 46,000 troops of all the British Services were committed to the operation at its start. At the peak of the campaign, some 26,000 British Army soldiers, 4,000 Royal Marines, 5,000 Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary sailors and 8,100 Royal Air Force personnel were in action. The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. The Royal Marines ( RM) are the marine corps and amphibious Infantry of the United Kingdom and along with the Royal Navy The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore known as the Senior Service) The Royal Fleet Auxiliary ( RFA) is a component of the Naval Service that keeps the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom running around the world
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Background
Operation Telic is one of the largest deployments of British forces since WWII. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including It is only approached in size by the 1991 Operation Granby deployment for the Gulf War and the 1956 Operation Musketeer Suez Crisis deployment. Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar. Operation Granby was the name given to the British military operations during the Gulf War in 1991 Year 1956 ( MCMLVI) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Suez Crisis, also referred to as the Tripartite Aggression, (أزمة السويس - العدوان الثلاثي Crise du canal de Suez מבצע קדש Kadesh It is considerably larger than the 1982 Operation Corporate in the Falklands War, which saw around 30,000 personnel deployed and the Korean War, which saw fewer than 20,000 personnel deployed. Year 1982 ( MCMLXXXII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar) See also Falklands War Operation Corporate was the codename given to the 1982 British military involvement in the Falkland Islands The Falklands War (Guerra de las Malvinas/Guerra del Atlántico Sur also called the Falklands Conflict/Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the The Korean War refers to a period of military conflict between North Korean and South Korean regimes with major hostilities lasting from June 25 1950 until the
Some 9,500 of the British servicemen and women who deployed on Operation Telic for the invasion and its aftermath were reservists, the vast majority of them from the Territorial Army. The Territorial Army ( TA) is the principal and Volunteer reserve force of the British Army, the land armed forces branch of the United Kingdom
Notice that British forces were deploying to the region was given in three separate Commons statements by Geoff Hoon Secretary of State for Defence. The House of Commons' is the Lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords Geoffrey 'Geoff' William Hoon (born 6 December 1953 is a British Politician. The Secretary of State for Defence is the senior United Kingdom government minister in charge of the Ministry of Defence. On 7 January, the deployment of the naval forces was announced, along with the Royal Marines component. Events 1325 - Alfonso IV becomes King of Portugal. 1558 - France takes Calais, the last continental The Royal Marines ( RM) are the marine corps and amphibious Infantry of the United Kingdom and along with the Royal Navy 20 January saw the land forces deployment announced and 6 February the air forces. Events 250 - Emperor Decius begins a widespread persecution of Christians in Rome. Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar defeats the combined army of Pompeian followers and Numidians under Metellus Scipio They were ready in time for hostilities to start on 19 March. Events 1279 - A Mongolian victory in the Battle of Yamen ends the Song Dynasty in China. When compared with the deployment of forces prior to the Gulf War things proceeded a great deal faster, with the slowest deploying elements taking 10 weeks to get from base to combat readiness in the theatre. The ComBat was an Aluminium Cricket bat and the subject of an incident that occurred at the WACA cricket ground in Perth in December 1979.
The deployment used 64 British and foreign flagged merchant vessels.
Telic means a purposeful or defined action, but unlike the United States who called their equivalent military deployment Operation Iraqi Freedom, the Ministry of Defence uses a computer to generate its names so that they carry no overtly political connotations. The Iraq War, also known as the Second Gulf War, the Occupation of Iraq, or the War in Iraq, is an ongoing Military campaign The Ministry of Defence ( MoD) is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters As initial planning took place over the Christmas 2002 period, personnel jokingly referred to TELIC as standing for Tell Everyone Leave Is Cancelled.
Command structure
The force was commanded by a three-star tri-service headquarters. An officer of 3 star rank is a very senior commander in many of the armed services holding a rank described by the NATO code of OF-8. The commander of the operation was Air Marshal Brian Burridge, with Major General Peter Wall acting as his Chief of Staff. This article is about the air force rank Air marshal (or Sky marshal) is also the term given to federal security agents who travel undercover aboard commercial Air Chief Marshal Sir Brian Kevin Burridge KCB, CBE, ADC, FCMI, FRAeS (b Major General or Major-General is a Military rank used in many countries The headquarters was situated at CENTCOM headquarters in Qatar. The United States Central Command ( USCENTCOM) is a theater -level Unified Combatant Command unit of the U Qatar ( قطر; ˈqɑtˁɑr local pronunciation giṭar officially the State of Qatar (Arabic دولة قطر transliterated The three services each had two-star commanders leading operations.
The Royal Navy commander was Rear Admiral David Snelson who had his headquarters ashore in Bahrain. The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore known as the Senior Service) Rear admiral is a Naval Commissioned officer rank above that of a Commodore and Captain, and below that of a Vice Admiral. The afloat Royal Navy commander was Commodore Jamie Miller, who had the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal as his flagship. Please see Commodore (rank for other versions of this rank Commodore is a rank of the Royal Navy above Captain and An aircraft carrier is a Warship designed with Construction Her keel was laid by Swan Hunter at Wallsend on 7 December 1978
The British 1st Armoured Division was commanded by Major General Robin Brims. The 1st Armoured Division is an armoured division of the British Army. Lieutenant General Robin Vaughan Brims CB, CBE, DSO was Commander of the Field Army at Land Command from 2005 to 2007 Three army brigades were assigned to the division. A brigade is a Military unit Echelon: is 16 Air Assault Brigade was commanded by Brigadier 'Jacko' Page, 7 Armoured Brigade by Brigadier Graham Binns and 102 Logistics Brigade by Brigadier Shaun Cowlam. This article refers to the military rank For the Doctor Who character known as the Brigadier see Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. The 7th Armoured Brigade is a formation of the British Army. The Brigade is also known as the 'Desert Rats' a nickname formerly held by the 7th Armoured The Royal Marines 3 Commando Brigade was also under the operational command of the division and was commanded by Brigadier Jim Dutton. 3 Commando Brigade is a commando formation of the British Armed Forces and the main manoeuvre formation of the Royal Marines. James Patrick Dutton Jr ( 20 November 1968, Eugene Oregon) is a NASA Astronaut pilot of the Class of 2004 (NASA Group 19
The Royal Air Force commander was Air Vice Marshal Glenn Torpy. Air Vice-Marshal ( AVM) is an Air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. Air Chief Marshal Sir Glenn Lester Torpy GCB, CBE, DSO, ADC, RAF (born 1953 is the current Chief of the Air Major General Wall took over command of 1st Armoured Division on 1 May 2003. Events 305 - Diocletian and Maximian retire from the office of Roman Emperor. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. He was replaced as Chief of Staff by Major General Barney White-Spunner. Rear Admiral Snelson was succeeded by Major General Tony Milton, Commandant General Royal Marines as maritime forces commander on 16 April 2003. The Commandant General Royal Marines is the professional head of the Royal Marines. Events 1178 BC - A Solar eclipse may have marked the return of Odysseus, legendary King of Ithaca, to his kingdom Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar.
Post-invasion
On 11 July 2003, 1st Armoured Division handed control over south-east Iraq to 3rd Mechanised Division, Major General Wall was succeeded by Major General Graeme Lamb as commander of British ground forces in Iraq. Events 911 - Signing of the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte between Charles the Simple and Rollo of Normandy. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. The British 3rd Infantry Division, known at various times as the Iron Division, 3rd (Iron Division or as Iron Sides, was originally formed in 1809 Lieutenant-General Graeme Cameron Maxwell Lamb CMG, DSO, OBE (b Unlike the invasion period, by then there was a substantial presence from many nations other than America, Britain, Australia and Poland. In addition to British troops, 3rd Division now commanded Italian, Dutch, Danish, Czech, Lithuanian, Norwegian and New Zealand forces. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe The Czech Republic ( ˈt͡ʃɛskaː ˈrɛpuˌblɪka short form in Česko ˈt͡ʃɛskɔ also called Czechia, Norway ( Norwegian: Norge ( Bokmål) or Noreg ( Nynorsk) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Constitutional New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island 3rd Division handed over a new composite divisional headquarters on 28 December 2003. Events 1065 - Westminster Abbey is Consecrated. 1308 - The reign of Emperor Hanazono, Emperor of Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. Major General Andrew Stewart took over from General Lamb as commander of British forces.
After the end of major operations, the main components of the British forces changed greatly. 3 Commando Brigade was withdrawn in early May and 16 Air Assault Brigade left later in the same month apart from a couple infantry battalions. 3 Commando Brigade is a commando formation of the British Armed Forces and the main manoeuvre formation of the Royal Marines. 7 Armoured Brigade remained until relieved by 19 Mechanised Brigade at the same time as 3rd Division took over from 1st Division. The 7th Armoured Brigade is a formation of the British Army. The Brigade is also known as the 'Desert Rats' a nickname formerly held by the 7th Armoured 102 Logistics Brigade was relieved by 101 Logistic Brigade in late May Most of the RAF aircraft left the area with a few retained for patrols over Iraq and support of ground forces. British naval forces also returned to more usual levels, with two surface combatants, a tanker and a repair ship present in early July.
A further rotation of ground troops occurred in November 2003, with 19 Light Brigade relieved by 20th Armoured Brigade; 20th Armoured Brigade in its turn being relieved by 1 Mechanised Brigade. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. 19th Infantry Brigade is a formation of the British Army. History World War I The 19th Infantry Brigade crossed to France as an independent brigade The British Army 's 20th Armoured Brigade (The Iron Fist is an armoured formation currently based in Paderborn northern Germany as part of the 1st (UK Armoured Division The 1st Infantry Brigade is a British Army formation with a long history including service during the First and Second World Wars. In April 2004, 20th Armoured Brigade turned over its responsibilities to 1 Mechanised Brigade and Lieutenant General John McColl was appointed deputy commander of occupation ground forces. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " General Sir John Chalmers McColl KCB, CBE, DSO (b 17 April 1952) is Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe. By July 2004 the British area saw its fifth commander when Major General Bill Rollo took over. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " At the end of 2004 General Rollo was succeeded by Major General Jonathan Riley and in November of that year 4 Armoured Brigade rotated to replace 1 Mechanised Brigade. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " The 4th Mechanized Brigade is a British Army brigade formed during the Second World War, it is currently based in Osnabrück, Germany.
In May 2005 4 Armoured Brigade was replaced by 12 Mechanised Brigade with the handover of responsibility taking place on 30 May. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1416 - The Council of Constance, called by the Emperor Sigismund a supporter of Antipope John XXIII burns Jerome of Prague following
In May 2006 7th Armoured Brigade, the Desert Rats were relieved by 20th Armoured Brigade[1] under the command of Brigadier James Everard. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The 7th Armoured Brigade is a formation of the British Army. The Brigade is also known as the 'Desert Rats' a nickname formerly held by the 7th Armoured Desert Rats redirects here For other meanings see Desert rat. The British Army 's 20th Armoured Brigade (The Iron Fist is an armoured formation currently based in Paderborn northern Germany as part of the 1st (UK Armoured Division [2]
October 2006 saw 19 Light Brigade take over[3] from 20th Armoured Brigade. 19th Infantry Brigade is a formation of the British Army. History World War I The 19th Infantry Brigade crossed to France as an independent brigade [4]
1 Mechanised Brigade provided HQ and troops for Op TELIC 10, deploying to Iraq in June 2007. The 1st Infantry Brigade is a British Army formation with a long history including service during the First and Second World Wars. During that tour, both the PJCC and Basra Palace were handed back to Iraqi control. They handed over to 4th Mechanised Brigade on December 1, 2007. The 4th Mechanized Brigade is a British Army brigade formed during the Second World War, it is currently based in Osnabrück, Germany. Events 800 - Charlemagne judges the accusations against Pope Leo III in the Vatican Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century.
Equipment
For full details about the UK's contribution, please see the Operation Telic order of battle
The conflict saw over 100 fixed-wing aircraft and over 100 rotary-wing aircraft of virtually every type in the British inventory deployed. This is the Operation Telic order of battle, which lists the British forces that took part in Operation Telic, including the 2003 Invasion of Iraq It also saw a 33 ship fleet, which was the largest taskforce deployed by the UK since the Falklands War. Some 120 Challenger 2 main battle tanks, 150 Warrior infantry fighting vehicles, 32 AS-90 self propelled 155 mm howitzers and 36 105 mm towed howitzers were deployed with the land forces, with reconnaissance vehicles and everything else that makes a modern mechanised and armoured force function. FV4034 Challenger 2 is a Main battle tank (MBT currently in service with the armies of the United Kingdom and Oman. Tank classification is a Taxonomy of identifying either the intended role or weight class of Tanks The classification by role was used primarily during The FV510 Warrior tracked vehicle family are a series of British armoured vehicles originally developed to replace the older FV430 series of armoured An infantry fighting vehicle ( IFV, also known as (mechanized infantry combat vehicle, (MICV) is a type of Armoured fighting vehicle (AFV The AS-90 (Artillery System for the 1990s is a lightly-armoured self-propelled artillery piece used by the British Army.
Since the post invasion phase, and following a number of British casualties blamed on inadequate equipment, a great deal of new equipment has been purchased or is in the process of being purchased to help deal with the threats posed by insurgents. These include 166 armoured Pinzgauer Vectors PPV, 108 Mastiff PPV, 900 enhanced FV430 MkIII "Bulldogs", Desert Hawk UAV and 4 additional Britten-Norman Defender observation aircraft. The Pinzgauer is a family of high mobility all-terrain 4x4 and 6x6 military utility vehicles The Cougar is an Armored fighting vehicle designed to be resistant to anti-vehicle mines and improvised munitions. The FV430 series covers a number of Armoured fighting vehicles of the British Army, all built on the same chassis An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV is an unpiloted Aircraft. UAVs can be remote controlled or fly autonomously based on pre-programmed flight plans or more complex dynamic The Britten-Norman Defender is a multi-role utility transport aircraft manufactured by Britten-Norman of Britain.
The MoD is currently in the process of purchasing C-RAM systems (based on the Phalanx CIWS) from Raytheon, Hermes 450 tactical UAVs (ahead of the future Watchkeeper UAV program), Predator B UAVs, 180 MPPV (Medium Protected Patrol Vehicles), and King Air 350ER special mission aircraft. Counter Rocket Artillery and Mortar (C-RAM or Counter-RAM is a system used to destroyincoming Artillery, rockets and mortar rounds in the air before The Phalanx Close-In Weapon System (CIWS is an anti-missile system that was designed and manufactured by the General Dynamics Corporation, Pomona Division The Elbit Systems Hermes 450 is a medium size multi-payload Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV designed for tactical long endurance missions Watchkeeper WK450 is a £800 million contract awarded in July 2005 to Thales to provide the British Army with an Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout In addition to this the RAF will receive 6 new EH101 Merlin HC3, 8 CH-47 Chinook HC2, and will see a number of their attack aircraft equipped with Litening targeting pods. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout [7]
Casualties
- Further information: British Fatalities During Operation Telic (Iraq)
As of 30 April 2008, a total of 176[5] British Armed Forces personnel have died serving in Operation Telic since the start of the campaign in March 2003; 136 in hostile incidents and the remaining 40 under non-hostile circumstances. Since the start of operations in Iraq 176 British service personnel have died (6 of them femaleand many more have been wounded Events 313 - Roman emperor Licinius unifies the entire Eastern Roman Empire under his rule 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Full non-fatal casualty records are currently only available for the period after 1 January 2006. New Year See also New Year The Ancient Romans began their consular year on January 1st since 153 BC Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Since that date, 2,825 British personnel have been wounded, injured or fallen ill (312 wounded in action); 1,424 of whom required aeromedical evacuation[8]. However, these totals are likely to rise significantly as and when full records for 2003 to 2006 become available. As of 11 March 2007, more than 2100[6] soldiers have returned from Iraq since 2003 suffering from some form of mental illness, including PTSD. Events 1425 BC - Thutmose III, Pharaoh of Egypt, dies (according to the Low Chronology of the 18th Dynasty Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Post traumatic stress disorder It is a severe and ongoing emotional reaction to
In fiction
The British television film The Mark of Cain depicted service of a British Army unit, the 1st Battalion Northdale Rifles in Operation Telic, just after the end of combat operations and in the first stages of the occupation. This page is about the 2007 television film see Mark of Cain for other uses The Northdale Rifles is the name given to a fictional infantry regiment of the British Army that was featured in the 2007 A stage production based on the Scottish Black Watch Regiment was also created, drawing on experiences of veterans of the war. The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment was a Scottish infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 (as the Royal Highland Regiment (The Black Watch to 2006 It was played out to much acclaim throughout Scotland in 2006.
References
- ^ BBC News 6/05/2006 - Basra is a 'safe zone' no more [1]
- ^ BBC News 18/07/2006 - British troops seize Iraq weapons [2]
- ^ BBC News 7/11/2006 - Iraq death soldier named by MoD[3]
- ^ MOD Defence News 06/11/2006 - 20 Brigade welcomed home from Iraq [4]
- ^ MOD 21/11/07 - Operations In Iraq: British Fatalaties [5]
- ^ Daily Telegraph [6]
See also
External links
- Campaign Medal for Operation Telic
- British Fatalities in Iraq (MoD)
- Gallery of images from 20th Armoured Brigade's tour of Iraq during Op TELIC 8 (MoD)
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