Danger Close

8. A Tale of Two Bridges

The assertion that -’s seizure of the bridge at Kifl “shouldn’t be a big deal” turned out to be overly optimistic. After running into unexpectedly fierce resistance in An Nasiriyah and As Samawah, especially from the Fedayeen, rd ID decided to isolate An Najaf from outside reinforcement and resupply. This was easy enough, relatively speaking, on the west side of the Euphrates, because with the victory on the escarpment the Americans had driven Iraqi forces from that side of the river. The problem was that all rd ID’s forces were on the west side of the river, and two bridges across the Euphrates, the Kifl Bridge to the northeast and the Abu Sukhayr Bridge to the southeast, linked the city to the most densely populated—and most heavily defended—part of Iraq. Trying to capture a city still linked to the nation’s heartland sounded too much like a Stalingrad scenario, so rd ID opted to send forces across those two bridges and cut off An Najaf from the east as well. Those two bridges would become the scene of some of the most desperate fighting in the entire invasion of Iraq. The biggest problem hanging over these two operations, though, was the weather. By the time lead elements moved against the first bridge, a sandstorm was in full force. This storm severely curtailed air operations since it engulfed nearby air bases from which most aircraft launched, but it also crippled several other elements of America’s firepower advantage. Artillery and mortars could be used, but like direct-fire weapons were only effective as far as one could see. Essentially, the dust storm seemed to be evening the odds. But American forces still held a few aces up their sleeve. Tasked with capturing the Abu Sukhayr Bridge south of An Najaf was - CAV and they began doing so on  March. After seizing the bridge they were to isolate the city from the south and east, and afterward conduct a feint by driving north through the area between Iraq’s two most famous rivers. All they would have to do is ensure they held the bridge while An Najaf was being cleared, then they could begin their charge 8. A Tale of Two Bridges 154 Danger Close northward. Technical Sergeant Keehan, from his vantage point with the commander, gives a good overview of the unfolding operation: Bone Crusher [B Troop] secured the bridge early that morning with some resistance. [The Iraqis] had wired the bridge for explosives, but failed to act. Apache [A Troop] was the first in order of battle to pass through, followed by us and the TAC. My guys with both troops had armored vehicles with .50-cal. automatic machine guns aboard. Crazy [Charlie Troop] would follow us in the rear. . . . The daylight had turned into an almost indescribable orange hue. This was something none of us had ever experienced, something you might read in a Ray Bradbury book or [see in] a sci-fi movie. Visibility was fifty feet at best with heavy winds, everything was orange, and there were enemy soldiers out there set up to kill us as we drove through their city—“the OK Corral on Mars.” As Bradford and I made our way across the bridge, huge explosions rocked off to our left flank. We had no idea what they were or how close, but it was close enough for me. We drove another nine hundred meters and took a left to the north at a four-way intersection ; the same one Crazy would later defend. [Apache’s TACP] radioed from ahead and let us know what we had to go through, a lot of small arms fire, multiple vehicles with heavy machine guns, older tanks. He was shooting away with his .50-cal. Bradford was taking pictures as he drove of burning vehicles that we could see through the dust, when we started taking heavy small arms fire from both sides of the road. We both already had our GAU-5 automatic rifles [M-16 variant used by TACPs] poised out of the windows of the Hummer and we both started shooting at whatever white muzzle flashes we could identify shooting at us. Total chaos. . . . The enemy seemed to be everywhere on the sides of the road masked by this freaky orange dust storm. Maybe that saved us as well. We halted about thirty meters up the road while [an army officer] opened up his 25-mm on a blue...