← Section III (Peace and Conflict): Conflict in the Gulf 1980-2011
How did the 2003 invasion of Iraq unfold, and why did the rapid conventional victory not produce a stable post-war Iraq?
The course and immediate outcome of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, including the Coalition order of battle, the three-week ground campaign, the fall of Baghdad on 9 April 2003, the looting and breakdown of order, and the early occupation under the Coalition Provisional Authority
A focused answer to the HSC Modern History Conflict in the Gulf dot point on the 2003 Iraq War. The Coalition order of battle, the 20 March 2003 invasion, the V Corps drive on Baghdad, the Marine advance through Nasiriyah, the Thunder Run on 5-7 April, the fall of Baghdad on 9 April, the looting, the 1 May 2003 Mission Accomplished speech, and the Coalition Provisional Authority under Bremer.
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What this dot point is asking
NESA expects you to explain the course of the March-April 2003 invasion of Iraq and the immediate post-war transition. Strong answers integrate the Coalition order of battle, the operational plan, the campaign, the fall of Baghdad, the looting, and the disastrous early occupation decisions (CPA Orders 1 and 2).
The answer
Coalition forces and plan
Operation Iraqi Freedom involved around 175,000 Coalition troops at invasion: 148,000 US, 26,000 UK, 2,000 Australian, 200 Polish special forces. The main US ground force was V Corps under Lt Gen William Wallace (3rd Infantry Division, 101st Airborne, 82nd Airborne) and I Marine Expeditionary Force under Lt Gen James Conway (1st Marine Division, Task Force Tarawa). The British 1st Armoured Division under Major General Robin Brims handled the Basra sector. Australian forces included the SAS Regiment.
Command structure: US Central Command (CENTCOM) under General H. Norman Schwarzkopf's successor General Tommy Franks based at Doha. Saudi Prince Khalid bin Sultan commanded the Arab-Islamic contingent.
Iraqi forces nominally numbered 375,000 regular army plus 50,000 Republican Guard plus 80,000 Special Republican Guard, Fedayeen Saddam, and Baath Party militia.
The Coalition plan (the "Running Start") used roughly one-third the force of Desert Storm. Tommy Franks at CENTCOM, supported by Rumsfeld's "transformation" agenda, bet on speed and air supremacy to substitute for mass. Turkey refused passage on 1 March 2003. The 4th ID was rerouted through Kuwait, joining the campaign late.
The opening
The political ultimatum expired at 04:00 Baghdad time on 20 March 2003. The first strike came earlier than planned: at 05:34 Baghdad time on 20 March, two F-117s and 40 Tomahawk cruise missiles struck Dora Farm south of Baghdad based on CIA tips that Saddam was sleeping there. Saddam was not present.
Ground forces crossed from Kuwait into Iraq at 06:00 Baghdad time on 20 March 2003 (G+0). The 3rd ID crossed and turned northwest along the western bank of the Euphrates; the 1st Marine Division crossed and turned north along the eastern bank.
The advance
The 3rd ID under Major General Buford Blount conducted the fastest sustained armoured advance in US Army history: around 230 kilometres in 48 hours. The Republican Guard's Medina Division was engaged at Karbala (31 March-1 April).
I MEF's path was more contested. The 1st Marine Division crossed at Nasiriyah on 22-23 March. Task Force Tarawa suffered the war's worst US single-day casualties on 23 March 2003: the 507th Maintenance Company ambush (11 killed, six captured including Jessica Lynch), Marine engagements at the al-Saddam Bridge.
A sandstorm from 24-26 March stalled both columns. The 101st Airborne advanced behind 3rd ID securing supply lines through Najaf and Karbala. The 173rd Airborne Brigade parachuted into Bashur Airfield in the Kurdish north on 26 March.
The Battle of Baghdad
3rd ID reached Saddam International Airport on 3 April. The Battle for the airport on 3-4 April saw heavy Iraqi resistance. The airport was secured by 5 April.
The Thunder Runs were Major General Blount's innovation. On 5 April 2003 the 2nd Brigade Combat Team (Task Force 1-64 Armor under Lt Col Eric Schwartz) made an armoured raid through southwest Baghdad on Highway 8.
The second Thunder Run on 7 April was larger and committed. 2nd Brigade (now under Col David Perkins) drove three battalions into central Baghdad and occupied the government district. After a day of intense combat at the highway interchanges, the brigade decided to stay. Around 600 Iraqi troops and many more Fedayeen Saddam were killed; US losses were two killed and around 30 wounded.
The fall of Baghdad
By 9 April 2003 the Iraqi government had collapsed. Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf gave his last press conference before disappearing. Iraqi state television went off air. Saddam, his sons Uday and Qusay, and the senior regime figures dispersed.
The iconic image came at Firdos Square on the afternoon of 9 April. A crowd of around 200 Iraqis gathered around a 12-metre statue of Saddam. A US Marine recovery vehicle was used to topple the statue.
Mosul fell on 10 April to Kurdish Peshmerga and US Special Forces. Kirkuk had fallen on 10 April. Tikrit fell to the 1st Marine Division on 14 April.
The looting
In the absence of organised Coalition civil control, Baghdad and other cities were extensively looted from 9 to 21 April. Government ministries (except the Oil Ministry), the National Museum (around 15,000 items stolen), the National Library, universities, hospitals, ammunition dumps, and Saddam's palaces were stripped.
Rumsfeld's 11 April 2003 response, "stuff happens... freedom's untidy", became infamous. The failure to prevent looting was the first major occupation failure.
Mission Accomplished
President Bush flew an S-3B Viking aircraft to the carrier USS Abraham Lincoln on 1 May 2003. He addressed the nation from the carrier deck under a "Mission Accomplished" banner:
"Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed."
The Coalition Provisional Authority
Lt Gen Jay Garner had run the Office for Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance from 21 April 2003. Bush replaced Garner with L. Paul "Jerry" Bremer III on 6 May 2003. Bremer arrived in Baghdad on 13 May. The CPA was the legally recognised occupying power (under UNSCR 1483 of 22 May 2003).
CPA Order Number 1 (16 May 2003), De-Baathification. Excluded the top four ranks of the Baath Party (around 30,000 senior members) from any government, military, or educational position. Removed the country's professional class.
CPA Order Number 2 (23 May 2003), Dissolution of Entities. Disbanded the Iraqi army (around 400,000), the air force, the Republican Guard, the Special Republican Guard, the Ministry of Information, and seven other regime bodies. Around 500,000 Iraqis lost employment overnight.
The CPA orders are universally regarded as catastrophic mistakes. They converted a one-time conventional victory into an eight-year insurgency.
Saddam captured
Uday and Qusay Hussein were killed in a firefight at a Mosul villa on 22 July 2003. Saddam himself was captured on 13 December 2003 at Dawr near Tikrit, hidden in a six-foot underground "spider hole" by Task Force 121 and the 4th Infantry Division.
Timeline
| Date | Event | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Mar 2003 05:34 | Dora Farm strike | War begins |
| 22-23 Mar 2003 | Nasiriyah | Marine ambush |
| 31 Mar - 4 Apr 2003 | Karbala Gap and airport | Baghdad approach |
| 5 Apr 2003 | First Thunder Run | Reconnaissance |
| 7 Apr 2003 | Second Thunder Run | Baghdad held |
| 9 Apr 2003 | Firdos Square | Regime falls |
| 14 Apr 2003 | Tikrit falls | Major combat ends |
| 1 May 2003 | Mission Accomplished | Political peak |
| 13 May 2003 | Bremer arrives | CPA begins |
| 16 May 2003 | CPA Order 1 | De-Baathification |
| 23 May 2003 | CPA Order 2 | Army disbanded |
| 22 Jul 2003 | Uday and Qusay killed | Sons gone |
| 13 Dec 2003 | Saddam captured | Regime ended |
Historiography
Michael Gordon and Bernard Trainor (Cobra II, 2006) is the standard operational history.
Thomas Ricks (Fiasco, 2006; The Gamble, 2009) is the leading critical military history.
George Packer (The Assassins' Gate, 2005) is the major reflective journalism on the occupation.
Rajiv Chandrasekaran (Imperial Life in the Emerald City, 2006) is the standard CPA insider account.
L. Paul Bremer (My Year in Iraq, 2006) is the administrator's self-defence.
How to read a source on this topic
Sources commonly include CNN's 20 March 2003 opening night coverage, the Firdos Square statue toppling, the Bush Mission Accomplished address, and CPA Orders 1 and 2 in their original text.
First, distinguish the military and political narratives. The military operation succeeded brilliantly. The political-administrative phase failed catastrophically.
Second, weigh the Firdos Square imagery. The crowd was small, the toppling US-assisted, and the moment heavily mediated.
Common exam traps
Treating the war as won on 1 May 2003. Major combat was over; the longer war had not begun.
Forgetting the looting. The three weeks of looting caused more damage than the war.
Misreading the Iraqi resistance. The regular army melted; Fedayeen and Sunni irregulars provided the determined urban resistance.
In one sentence
The 2003 Iraq War opened on 20 March 2003 with cruise-missile strikes and a Coalition invasion from Kuwait, drove on Baghdad through V Corps and I MEF advances against the Republican Guard, took Baghdad through the 5-7 April Thunder Runs and the symbolic fall of the Firdos Square statue on 9 April 2003, ended major combat with Bush's "Mission Accomplished" speech on 1 May, but lost the post-war peace through the looting of 9-21 April and Paul Bremer's catastrophic CPA Orders 1 (de-Baathification, 16 May 2003) and 2 (dissolution of the Iraqi army, 23 May 2003) that converted the three-week conventional victory into an eight-year insurgency.
Past exam questions, worked
Real questions from past NESA papers on this dot point, with our answer explainer.
Practice (NESA)15 marksAccount for the rapid Coalition military victory in March-April 2003 and its limited political consequences.Show worked answer →
Needs thesis, dated evidence on both military and post-war phases, judgement.
Thesis. The Coalition won the conventional war in three weeks because of overwhelming technological advantage and Iraqi command paralysis, but lost the post-war peace through inadequate occupation planning, the disbanding of the Iraqi army, and de-Baathification.
Order of battle. US 3rd Infantry Division, 1st Marine Division, 101st Airborne, 82nd Airborne; UK 1st Armoured Division; Australian SAS and clearance divers. Total around 175,000 Coalition troops (148,000 US, 26,000 UK, 2,000 Australian). Iraqi forces around 375,000 regular plus 50,000 Republican Guard.
Opening (20 March 2003). Cruise missile and stealth bomber strike on Dora Farm at 05:34. Ground crossing from Kuwait at 06:00 on 20 March (G+0).
Advance to Baghdad. V Corps (3rd ID) advanced west of the Euphrates; I MEF advanced east through Nasiriyah. Sandstorm 24-26 March; tactical pause. Karbala Gap crossed 31 March. Battle of Baghdad airport 3-4 April.
Thunder Runs. 3rd ID conducted armoured raids into Baghdad on 5 and 7 April. The second Thunder Run on 7 April held Baghdad's government district.
Fall of Baghdad (9 April 2003). Saddam regime collapsed. The Firdos Square statue was pulled down with US Marine assistance.
Looting and the Mosul-Tikrit campaign. Three weeks of widespread looting destroyed Iraqi state infrastructure. Mosul fell 10 April; Tikrit 14 April.
Mission Accomplished (1 May 2003). Bush landed on the USS Abraham Lincoln. Major combat operations declared over.
CPA (13 May 2003). Paul Bremer arrived as administrator. CPA Order Number 1 (16 May 2003) de-Baathification fired around 30,000 senior Baathists. CPA Order Number 2 (23 May 2003) disbanded the 400,000-strong Iraqi army.
Conclusion. Three-week conventional victory; eight-year insurgency aftermath.
Practice (NESA)6 marksExplain the significance of Coalition Provisional Authority Orders 1 and 2 issued by Paul Bremer in May 2003.Show worked answer →
A 6-mark "explain" needs three developed significances.
Context. Lt Gen Jay Garner had run the Office for Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance from 21 April 2003. Bush replaced him with diplomat L. Paul Bremer III, who arrived in Baghdad on 13 May 2003 as administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA).
CPA Order 1, de-Baathification (16 May 2003). Excluded the top four ranks of the Baath Party (around 30,000 people) from government, military, and educational employment. The order was much more sweeping than the South African or German precedents.
CPA Order 2, dissolution of entities (23 May 2003). Disbanded the Iraqi army, the air force, the Republican Guard, the Special Republican Guard, the Ministry of Information, and other regime bodies. Around 400,000 trained soldiers became unemployed overnight.
Consequences. The two orders eliminated the Sunni Arab professional class from the new Iraq, created a pool of unemployed armed men with grievances, and supplied the insurgency with leadership, recruits, weapons, and motivation. Most historians identify these two orders as the largest single mistakes of the occupation. Markers reward exact CPA order numbers, the date sequence, and the link to the insurgency.
Related dot points
- The role of President George W. Bush (Bush 43), including the Vulcans, the case for war, UN Resolution 1441, the Powell UN address, the absence of a second resolution, and the decision for invasion
A focused answer to the HSC Modern History Conflict in the Gulf dot point on President George W. Bush and the road to the 2003 Iraq war. The Vulcans (Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Rice), the WMD case, UN Resolution 1441 of November 2002, Powell's UN Security Council address of 5 February 2003, the failure to win a second resolution, and the 17 March 2003 ultimatum that launched the invasion.
- The course and consequences of the Iraqi insurgency and sectarian civil war 2003 to 2008, including the Sunni insurgency, al-Qaeda in Iraq, the bombing of the al-Askari shrine, the Shia militias, the 2007 Surge, and the Sons of Iraq Awakening
A focused answer to the HSC Modern History Conflict in the Gulf dot point on the Iraqi insurgency. The Sunni insurgency from 2003, al-Qaeda in Iraq under Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the al-Askari shrine bombing of 22 February 2006, the sectarian civil war 2006-2007, the Surge under General David Petraeus, the Sons of Iraq Awakening, and the violence reduction by 2008.
- The negotiation of the Status of Forces Agreement, the Obama withdrawal timeline, the final US departure on 18 December 2011, the costs of the war, and the unstable Iraq inherited by the Maliki government
A focused answer to the HSC Modern History Conflict in the Gulf dot point on the US withdrawal from Iraq. The November 2008 US-Iraq Status of Forces Agreement, the Obama February 2009 withdrawal plan, the failure of follow-on SOFA talks in 2011, the final convoy departure of 18 December 2011, the costs of the eight-year war, and the fragile state Maliki inherited.