Iraqi President Saddam Hussein talks with Republican Guard officers in Baghdad on 1 March 2003.[1] Iraqi News Agency/AP.
The Iraqi Republican Guard (Arabic: حرس العراق الجمهوري, romanized: Ḥaras al-ʿIrāq al-Jamhūrīy) was a branch of the Iraqi military from 1969 to 2003, which existed primarily during the presidencyofSaddam Hussein. It later became known as the Republican Guard Corps, and then the Republican Guard Forces Command (RGFC) with its expansion into two corps. The Republican Guard was disbanded in 2003 after the invasion of Iraq by a U.S.-led international coalition.
The Republican Guard were the elite troops of the Iraqi army directly reporting to Hussein, unlike the paramilitary force Fedayeen Saddam, and the ordinary Iraqi Army. They were better trained, disciplined, equipped, and paid than ordinary Iraqi soldiers, receiving bonuses, new cars, and subsidized housing.[2]
Formed in 1969, it was originally created to be a presidential guard. Its primary objective was to maintain the stability of the regime and provide protection against internal and external enemies. During the Iran–Iraq War, it was expanded into a large military force. It was officially dissolved in 2003, as per CPA Order 2 in the wake of the invasion of Iraq by a U.S.-led international coalition.[3]
The force's last commander was Qusay Hussein, the younger son of Saddam Hussein. Saddam Hussein was so confident about the capability of the guard that he had said: "In history when they write about Napoleon's Guard, they will arrange them next to the Republican Guard of Iraq."[4]
Because of their elite status Republican Guards received better equipment and uniforms than their regular Army counterparts, and could often be identified by distinctive markings or items of head dress. Members of the regular Republican Guards conventionally wore a scarlet-colored triangle insignia on both shoulders of their uniforms (sometimes backed with white material to form a white border around the edge of the triangle); they also wore black berets as did some Army personnel, but as a distinctive marking a scarlet ribbon was often sewn to the right of the National cap badge to distinguish bravery in combat and/or loyalty to the Hussein regime. The Special Republican Guards wore a maroon beret with the national eagle device, and a special variation of the triangle shoulder insignia in maroon with green Arabic lettering. The bright red qardoon (shoulder cord) distinguished Republican Guards as well. A similar cord with green and red bands was also worn by the Special Republican Guards.
Initially, the Guard had limited capabilities; however, during the Iran–Iraq War, it was expanded to five brigades, which was initially mostly used in counterattacks, notably in Operation Dawn-4. By 1986 the war had exhausted Iraq with both Iran and Iraq suffering heavy casualties. Iran had by then captured Al Faw Peninsula and generally pushed Iraqi forces beyond the pre-war border and captured territory inside Iraq, repulsing counterattacks by the Republican Guard. This, coupled with another defeat at the Battle of Mehran, caused the Iraqi Ba'ath Party to convene the Ba'ath Extraordinary Congress of July 1986.[5] During this Congress the Ba'ath Party decided on a new strategy to overhaul the Iraqi military and utilize Iraq's manpower capability. The government closed all colleges and universities and began a mass mobilization program to force draft dodgers into the Iraqi Popular Army. This decision allowed for the drafting of thousands of university students, who were sent to military summer camps. In addition, the military began accepting volunteers from throughout Iraq.
With this massive influx of manpower the Republican Guard expanded to over 25 brigades which were led by loyal officers drawn from the Iraqi military. This force then conducted the Tawakalna ala Allah Operations which, allowed for the eviction of the Iranians out of occupied Iraqi territory including the liberation of Al-Faw, as well as allowing for renewed major offensives into Iran.
Between the invasion of Kuwait and the Persian Gulf War ("Operation Desert Storm"), the number of Republican Guard formations was expanded and the Guard was reorganized. The Republican Guard Forces Command was also created during this period. At the beginning of the Persian Gulf War, it consisted of the following units:[7]
Republican Guard, CO Lieutenant General Iyad Futayyih Khalifah al-Rawi[8]
1st Republican Guard Corps, deployed in southern Iraq and northern Kuwait, consisted of:
The Republican Guard also included two Corps Headquarters, the Allah Akbar Republican Guard Operations Command, and the Fat'h al-Mubayyin Republican Guard Operations Command, separate artillery detachments and numerous field support units.
Between the invasion of Kuwait and the start of the war on 17 January 1991, four more RGFC internal security divisions had been formed which remained behind in Iraq. All of these units were motorised infantry. The names of only three of them were identified: the Al-Abed, Al-Mustafa ('The Elect') and Al-Nida Divisions ('The Call'). They may have conducted operations against Kurdish forces in the north.
Invasion of Kuwait
[edit]The insignia of the Iraqi Anti Aircraft Unit of the Republican Guard.
By 1 August 1990, there were more than 100,000 Iraqi troops with up to 700 tanks on the Kuwaiti border.[11]
On 2 August 1990, the Republican Guard units commenced the invasion of Kuwait, which lasted two days.[12] The Kuwait army strength was 16,000,[13] so on paper Iraqi forces outnumbered the Kuwaitis 7 to 1. However, the actual ratio was far worse; the initial attack was so quick,[14] and the Kuwaiti units so unprepared, that many of Kuwait's armed forces were on leave and unable to report in time.[15]
The attack was conducted by eight RGFC divisions (two armoured, two mechanized, three motorised infantry and one special forces). The main thrust was conducted from the north down the main Iraq-Kuwait road, later famous as the Highway of Death, by the 1st Hammurabi Armoured Division, with the Nebuchadnezzar Infantry division following; the Tawakalna Mechanised and Al Faw Infantry Divisions advanced on the flanks. The supporting attack from the west was led by the Medina Armoured Division, followed by the Adnan Infantry Division and the Baghdad Mechanised Division. Commandos deployed by helicopters joined the attack on Kuwait City.[16]
After the invasion, the Republican Guard was withdrawn and redeployed into strategic reserve positions in northern Kuwait and southern and central Iraq.[17]
During the Persian Gulf War, the U.S. VII Corps assembled in full strength and launched an armoured attack into Iraq early Sunday, 24 February 1991, just to the west of Kuwait, taking Iraqi forces by surprise. Prior to the ground offensive, the Iraqi Republican Guard had been attacked relentlessly by US warplanes but managed to shoot down and damage a number of the attackers. On 15 February, the Iraqi Republican Guard shot down two A-10 Warthogs and damaged another, which alarmed USAF General Chuck Horner, who was forced to call off further A-10 attacks on these divisions.[18] Simultaneously, the U.S. XVIII Airborne Corps launched a sweeping "left-hook" attack across the largely undefended desert of southern Iraq, led by the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment and the 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized). Once the allies had penetrated deep into Iraqi territory, they turned eastward, launching a flank attack against the Republican Guard.
Both sides exchanged fire, but the Republican Guard divisions, worn down by weeks of aerial bombardment, proved unable to withstand the Allied advance. The Republican Guard participated in some of the largest tank battles in US history including the Battle of Medina Ridge, Battle of Norfolk, and the Battle of 73 Easting against the U.S. VII Corps.[19][20][21] During the latter battle US veterans later reported coming under heavy small-arms fire with bullets bouncing off their vehicles, having been attacked by several dismounted detachments of the Tawakalna Division.[22] Several rifle companies of the Tawakalna Division counterattacked under the cover of darkness, in an attempt to recover lost positions.[23] The US won with minimal losses while inflicting heavy losses on the Iraqi Army, but elements of the Republican Guard divisions were able to withdraw back into Iraq, shooting down three US warplanes and a rescue helicopter in the process.
In early April 1991, Colonel Montgomery Meigs, the commander of the 2nd Brigade of the 1st Armoured Division, paid his respects to his former enemy's Medina Division reporting that, "These guys stayed and fought."[24] The Medina Division shot down an A-10 Thunderbolt II in the fighting for Medina Ridge on 27 February 1991, and other Republican Guard units were responsible for the destruction of a US Marine Corps Harrier, a USAF F-16 and a US Army UH-60 Blackhawk that day.[25][26][27]
All the eight Republican Guard divisions involved in fighting during the Gulf War and the "Tawakalna" Division were disbanded due to losses. The remaining formations led the suppression of the 1991 uprisings in northern and southern Iraq - the Kurdish insurgency in the north and the Shi'ite uprising in the east. During these times, there were numerous accusations of the use of poison gas, rape and torture. The Hammurabi and Medina divisions surrounded Karbala with tanks and artillery and shelled the city for one week killing thousands and destroying entire neighborhoods.
Though it was reduced to a strength of seven or eight divisions, the RGFC was reconstituted, taking equipment from Army heavy divisions. Journalist Sean Boyle wrote a number of articles for Jane's Intelligence Review, including on the Republican Guard, during the 1990s. In September 1997 he wrote that the Northern Corps had four divisions - Adnan Mechanised Division (Headquarters (HQ) Mosul) with the 11, 12, 21 Brigades; Baghdad Infantry Division (HQ Maqloob Maontin, Mosul Governate) 4, 5, 6 Brigades; Al Madina Al Munawara Armoured Division (Al Rashedia Camp/Al Taji Camp) 2, 10, 14, 17 Brigades; and the Al Abed Infantry Division (Khaled Camp, Kirkuk) with the 38, 39, and 40 Brigades.[28] The Southern Corps had three divisions including the Hammurabi Division.
The Republican Guard was subordinate to the "Special Security Apparatus of the State" and not to the Ministry of Defence as was the regular Iraqi Army. It was split into two Corps, one for the defense and control of northern Iraq, called "Allah Akbar Operations Command", composed of infantry and armoured units, and the "Fat'h al-Mubayyin Operations Command" composed primarily of mechanized units, which was located in the southern part of the country. In 2002, it was reported that the Republican Guard and the Fedayeen Saddam were both training in urban warfare and in guerrilla warfare.
The Republican Guard then consisted of between 50,000 and 60,000 men (although some sources indicate up to 80,000), all volunteers, and some 750 Soviet T-72 and Asad Babil tanks and scores of T-55 and T-62 tanks, along with other mechanized vehicles. A further 90-100 T-72 tanks were operated by the Special Republican Guard. These forces were intentionally away from the capital to avert a possible rebellion against the regime. The members of this body of the army were better paid, equipped, armed and trained. They formed a special corps that were given the ability to buy houses and given other privileges to ensure loyalty to the regime.
Nevertheless, the 2nd Al Medina Armored Division and 6th Nebuchadnezzer Mechanized Division tasked with defending the Karbala Gap fought well, 23 March 2003, disrupting a strong attack conducted by the 11th Aviation Group ("11th Attack Helicopter Regiment"), damaging thirty Apaches and shooting down one[29] and capturing the crew, David Williams and Ronald Young, both chief warrant officers.[30] It was an important Iraqi success for the Apache unit was taken out of the frontline for a month while undergoing repairs.[31] At least 2 Apaches of the helicopter regiment were damaged beyond repair.[32][33] On 2 April 2003, the Iraqi units positioned around Karbala shot down a U.S. Army Sikorsky H-60 Black Hawk helicopter, killing seven soldiers and wounding four others.[34] Iraqi forces also shot down an FA-18 Hornet near Karbala around 8.45 AM local time.[35][36]
On 7 April 2003, an Iraqi Special Republican Guard FROG-7 rocket or an Ababil-100 SSM missile exploded among the parked vehicles of the headquarters of 2nd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, killing two soldiers (Private 1st Class Anthony Miller and Staff Sergeant Lincoln Hollinsaid) and two embedded journalists (Julio Parrado and Christian Liebig), wounding 15 others and destroying 17 military vehicles.[37] On 8 April 2003, some 500 Iraqis (including Special Republican Guard[38]) mounted a fierce counterattack across the Jumhuriya Bridge in Baghdad, forcing part of the U.S. forces on the western side of Baghdad to initially abandon their positions, but the Iraqis reportedly lost 50 killed in the fighting that included the use of A-10 Warthogs on the part of the US forces.[39] An A-10 attack plane was shot down in combating the counterattack by an Iraqi surface-to-air missile.[40][41]
Lt. General Mohan al-Furayji, former Republican Guard officer, as a commander of the new Iraqi Army on 5 August 2008.
On 2 April 2003, U.S. Army Brigadier General Vincent K. Brooks said that the Baghdad Division of the Iraqi Republican Guard had been "destroyed". Iraq information minister Muhammed Saeed al-Sahaf responded that this was another U.S. "lie".[43][44]
In early 2004, British journalist Sean Langan confirmed that one of the local commanders of the guerrilla stronghold of Ramadi was a former Republican Guard officer.[46]
In late April 2004, a Pentagon report claimed that members of the Special Republican Guard had regrouped in the guerrilla stronghold of Fallujah.[47]
In the television show Lost, one of the main characters - Sayid Jarrah - served in the Republican Guard during the 1991 Persian Gulf War. During his service, he was a soldier, a communications officer and an interrogator. The majority of his background story revolves around the guilt he has felt towards people he's tortured in the past.
The video game BlackSite: Area 51 features the Iraqi Republican Guard as the main enemies in the first episode, Iraq.
In the Tom Clancy video game Splinter Cell: Conviction, the Republican Guard is the enemy force in the level Diwaniya, Iraq. This level is a flashback to when the series protagonist, Sam Fisher, was captured by the Iraqi Republican Guard on the Highway of Death during the 1991 Gulf War.[49]
In the 2021 video game House of Ashes, one of the main protagonists is a Republican Guard officer in the 2003 war - Lt. Salim Othman (voiced by Nick Tarabay);[50][51] being the first playable Republican Guard soldier in a video game. Salim takes part in an ambush against US troops (mainly U.S. Marines) alongside his non-playable superior, Captain Dar Basri (voiced by Nabeel El Khafif). Lieutenant Salim is presented as a sympathetic character, while Dar is an unrepenting antagonist of the Americans.
^Woods, Kevin; Michael R. Pease; Mark E. Stout; Williamson Murray; James G. Lacey (2006). The Iraqi Perspective Report. Naval Institute Press. p. 39. ISBN1-59114-457-4.
^"On 15 February, when the Republican Guard shot down two A-1Os and damaged another, Horner pulled the Warthogs off the Republican Guard." Airpower advantage: planning the Gulf War air campaign, 1989-1991, Diane Therese Putney, p. 253, Air Force History and Museums Program, U.S. Air Force, 2004
^"At 73 Easting, for example, 2nd ACR crews reported large volumes of small arms fire rattling off their vehicles during the assault, which means that Iraqi troops stayed at their weapons, returning fire, even as U.S. tanks passed within a few hundred meters of their positions (i.e., within small-arms range). In fact, some Republican Guard infantry are known to have remained at their posts, concealed, until U.S. attackers had actually driven through their positions, only then emerging to fire short range antitank rockets at the vehicles from behind. Heavy weapons fire was also received. Although large-caliber hits were rare, multiple Iraqi tank gun rounds were observed falling near U.S. vehicles." Victory Misunderstood
^"Perhaps most important, the Tawakalna division not only defended itself when attacked, but also counterattacked the 2nd ACR after being driven from its positions. After nightfall the Iraqis struck the northernmost of the three U.S. cavalry troops engaged, attacking in multiple, reinforced company-strength waves, and supported by dismounted infantry." Victory Misunderstood
^"The Iraqis had skillfully dug in and camouflaged their firing line and placed a formidable protective ring of antiaircraft guns around it. One ZSU-23-4 managed to shoot down an American A-10 aircraft." Certain Victory: The U.S. Army in the Gulf War, Robert H. Scales, p. 298, Potomac Books, Inc, 1998
^"The Allied air campaign suffered its most disastrous day of the war. Lieutenant Olson was killed when his A-10 was shot down over Medina Ridge. Marine Captain Reginald Underwood also lost his life when his Harrier was shot down; and Air Force Captain William Andrews was also shot down over Republican Guard positions." The Gulf War Chronicles: A Military History of the First War with Iraq, Richard Lowry, p. 199, iUniverse, 2008
^"On 23 March 2003, three days after the onset of the Iraq war, 31 Apache helicopters of the 11th Attack Helicopter Regiment (some organic, some attached) set out to deplete the armour and air defenses of the Iraqi Medina Division near Karbala. As was doctrine, they flew low in packs toward their objective. However, en route they became ensnared in 'flak traps' - storms of small arms fire, rocket-propelled grenades, and man-portable missiles, originating from rooftops. This ad hoc air defense effort, which was reminiscent of Somali tactics ten years earlier, had probably been triggered by Iraqi pickets equipped with either cell phones or low-power radios. The fire brought down one of the Apaches and damaged all the others sufficiently to compel their return to base. The experience dampened command interest in attempting helicopter deep attack thereafter." Military Intervention and Common Sense: Focus on Land Forces, Lutz Unterseher, Carl Conetta, pp. 94-95, Commonwealth Institute, 2009
^"With visibility down to zero, the heavily damaged machines made their finals on instruments, some crash-landing and being written off, others undergoing weeks of repair." Asia Pacific Defence Reporter, p. 124, Asia-Pacific Defence Publications, 2004
^"On 2 April 2003, a U.S. Army Sikorsky H-60 Black Hawk helicopter was shot down near Karbala, killing seven soldiers and wounding four others. This event appeared to indicate a significant enemy presence in the city. The Encyclopedia of Middle East Wars: The United States in the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq Conflicts, Spencer C. Tucker, p. 672, ABC-CLIO, 2010
^"On 2 April a navy FA-18 was shot down west of Karbala, Iraq." Leave No Man Behind: The Saga of Combat Search and Rescue, George Galdorisi, Thomas Phillips, p. 519, Zenith Imprint, 2008
^"The plane from the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk in the Persian Gulf went down just before midnight Wednesday while on a bombing mission near Karbala, a city 50 miles south of Baghdad where fighting raged between U.S. forces and the Republican Guard. A search team was immediately launched. Other aircraft reported seeing surface-to-air missiles and anti-aircraft fire in the area where the plane disappeared, said Lt. Brook DeWalt, a spokesman for the Kitty Hawk ... Iraqi television broadcast pictures Thursday of what it said was the wreckage and Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed Al-Sahaf claimed the aircraft was shot down by the Saddam Fedayeen, Iraq's paramilitary force." Two Aircraft Down Over Iraq
^"A-10 aircraft strafed both sides of the main road leading to the bridge and one aircraft was lost to a shoulder-launched missile." Cradle of Conflict: Iraq and the Birth of Modern U.S. Military Power, Michael Knights, p.326, Naval Institute Press, 2005
^"A Pentagon intelligence report has concluded that many bombings against Americans and their allies in Iraq, and the more sophisticated of the guerrilla attacks in Fallujah, are organized and often carried out by members of Saddam Hussein's secret service ... in Fallujah, which is currently encircled by U.S. Marines, an estimated 1,500 to 2,000 hard-core insurgents, including members of the Iraqi Special Republican Guard who melted away under the U.S.-led offensive, are receiving tactical guidance and inspiration from these former intelligence operatives." Saddam agents blamed for plots
Watson, Bruce, Military Lessons of the Gulf War, Greenhill Books, London, 1993.(paperback)
Jane's Intelligence Review: January 2002 (IAF/IAAC), February 1999(regional commands), January 1999 (SRG), September 1997 (Army/RG), February 1995, and March 1993
