Iraq:Italian Lessons LearnedRiccardo Cappelli

CLASHES DURING the spring of 2004 put3,000 Italian officers and soldiers to a hardtest in Dhi Qhar Province in southern Iraq duringOperation Antica Babilonia. The most importantbattles occurred in Nasiriyah near three bridges onthe Euphrates River. The enemy was 600 Shiite ir-regulars, most of whom were members of the para-military Mahdi Army led by firebrand cleric Muqtadaal-Sadr.1

The Mahdi Army was equipped with AK-47 rifles,Dragunov precision rifles, 60-millimeter (mm) mor-tars, machineguns, rocket-propelled grenade (RPG)launchers and a large stock of ammunition. Accord-ing to U.S. sources, Al-Sadr could count on approxi-mately 10,000 combatants with a hard core of 3,000militiamen.2

Between 800 and 1,200 Sadrists received militarytraining in three camps in southern Iran. Membersof Iranian secret services infiltrated Iraq by open-ing 18 “foundations of charity,” officially for worksof beneficence, but in reality, active centers of re-cruitment.3 Although Iran initially favored the Anglo-American military intervention in Iraq (witness thecase of Amhad Chalabi), it nonetheless prepared astrategy to create a post-Saddam Iraq favorable toits national interests.

The First Battle of NasiriyahA climate of tension preceded the first battle of Nas-iriyah that limited normal operations by Italian units.On 5 April 2004, the Sadrists (led by the young sheikAws al-Khafaji) seized unguarded bridges with anunopposed, surprise attack, entrenched themselves,constructed improvised barricades, and created sev-eral fire centers inside buildings and on rooftops.As the revolt spread, British command gave theorder to free the bridges and restore free movementto and from the city. The Italian Government thengave the green light for Operation Porta Pia to helpfree the bridges. The operation involved three com-panies from the 11th Bersaglieri Regiment, a marinecompany from the San Marco Regiment, a cavalrysquadron from the Savoia Regiment, elements ofthe Carabinieri GIS (Special Interventions Group),and parachutists from the Tuscania Regiment. In all,

58the military force included about 600 solidiers.A mechanized column of 60 vehicles of severaltypes and 8 Centauro armored reconnaissance ve-hicles (the contingent’s heaviest armored vehicle)began to move at 0300 and arrived in the southernzone of Nasiriyah at 0600. Once the column arrivedin sight of the Euphrates River, the Sadrists beganan intense barrage of light arms and RPG fire. Atleast 400 RPGs were fired during the battle. The irreg-ular army also fired several mortar rounds from thenorth side of the river. The Italians replied by firingall their weapons, including the Centauro’s 105-mmcannons, destroying a building used by Iraqi snipers.After clashing with a group of 40 insurgents, 90San Marco marines in two mechanized and motor-ized platoons retook the first bridge to the east andestablished themselves on the opposite side of theEuphrates. With his force under constant fire, theSan Marco Regiment marine commander asked forand received reinforcements—six sharpshootersmounted on a VM-90P soft-skinned vehicle. TwoRPGs hit the VM-90P as it crossed the bridge. Onedid not explode, but the other did, wounding threesoldiers.The fight for the second bridge was more dif-ficult. An advancing Bersaglieri platoon, whichwas receiving strong resistance from tactically well-positioned Sadrists, needed reinforcement to main-tain its position on the north side of the bridge. Dur-ing this clash, Mahdi Army RPGs hit two VCCs (anItalian version of the M-113 light-tracked armoredfighting vehicle), but in at least one case, the gre-nade did not explode.Poor military preparation and maintenance wasprobably the main reason for the Mahdi Army’s rela-tively ineffective use of RPGs. The Sadrists oftenfired their RPG launchers from too short of a dis-tance, which they did not have enough time to prop-erly arm the grenades. Had all the grenades deto-nated during their attacks, Italian losses would havebeen quite serious.While Italian forces marched toward the third andlast bridge, the enemy constantly received reinforce-ments and ammunition and even used city hospitalambulances for transportation. As the firefight grewMarch-April 2005zMILITARYREVIEW