Operation Telic
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2008-06-18T14:46:18Z
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'''Operation''' (or Op) '''TELIC''' is the codename under which all [[United Kingdom|British]] operations of the 2003 [[2003 invasion of Iraq|Invasion of Iraq]] and after are being conducted. 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.
==Background==
Operation Telic is one of the largest deployments of British forces since [[World War II|WWII]]. It is only approached in size by the [[1991]] [[Operation Granby]] deployment for the [[Gulf War]] and the [[1956]] [[Operation Musketeer]] [[Suez Crisis]] deployment. 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.
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]].
Notice that British forces were deploying to the region was given in three separate [[British House of Commons|Commons]] statements by [[Geoff Hoon]] [[Secretary of State for Defence]]. On [[7 January]], the deployment of the [[naval]] forces was announced, along with the [[Royal Marines]] component. [[20 January]] saw the land forces deployment announced and [[6 February]] the air forces. They were ready in time for hostilities to start on [[19 March]]. 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 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 (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Defence]] uses a computer to generate its names so that they carry no overtly political connotations. As initial planning took place over the Christmas 2002 period, personnel jokingly referred to TELIC as standing for '''T'''ell '''E'''veryone '''L'''eave '''I'''s '''C'''ancelled.
==Command structure==
The force was commanded by a [[3 star rank|three-star]] tri-service headquarters. The commander of the operation was [[Air Chief Marshal]] [[Brian Burridge]], with [[Major General]] Peter Wall acting as his Chief of Staff. The headquarters was situated at [[CENTCOM]] headquarters in [[Qatar]]. 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 afloat Royal Navy commander was [[Commodore (RN)|Commodore]] [[Jamie Miller (RN)|Jamie Miller]], who had the [[aircraft carrier]] [[HMS Ark Royal (R07)|HMS ''Ark Royal'']] as his flagship.
The [[British 1st Armoured Division]] was commanded by Major General [[Robin Brims]]. Three army [[brigade]]s were assigned to the division. [[British 16 Air Assault Brigade|16 Air Assault Brigade]] was commanded by [[Brigadier]] 'Jacko' Page, [[British 7 Armoured Brigade|7 Armoured Brigade]] by Brigadier [[Graham Binns]] and [[British 102 Logistics Brigade|102 Logistics Brigade]] by Brigadier [[Shaun Cowlam]]. The Royal Marines [[British 3 Commando Brigade|3 Commando Brigade]] was also under the operational command of the division and was commanded by Brigadier [[Jim Dutton]].
The [[Royal Air Force]] commander was [[Air Vice Marshal]] [[Glenn Torpy]]. Major General Wall took over command of 1st Armoured Division on [[1 May]] [[2003]]. 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]].
==Post-invasion==
On [[11 July]] [[2003]], 1st Armoured Division handed control over south-east Iraq to [[British 3rd Infantry Division|3rd Mechanised Division]], Major General Wall was succeeded by Major General [[Graeme Lamb]] as commander of British ground forces in Iraq. 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 [[Italy|Italian]], [[Netherlands|Dutch]], [[Denmark|Danish]], [[Czech Republic|Czech]], Lithuanian, [[Norway|Norwegian]] and [[New Zealand]] forces. 3rd Division handed over a new composite divisional headquarters on [[28 December]] [[2003]]. Major General [[Andrew Stewart (British 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. [[7 Armoured Brigade]] remained until relieved by 19 Mechanised Brigade at the same time as 3rd Division took over from 1st Division. [[102nd Logistics Brigade (United Kingdom)|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 [[19th Infantry Brigade|19 Light Brigade]] relieved by [[20th Armoured Brigade (United Kingdom)|20th Armoured Brigade]]; 20th Armoured Brigade in its turn being relieved by [[1st Infantry Brigade (Guards)|1 Mechanised Brigade]]. 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. By July [[2004]] the British area saw its fifth commander when Major General Bill Rollo took over. At the end of [[2004]] General Rollo was succeeded by Major General Jonathan Riley and in November of that year [[4th Mechanised Brigade (United Kingdom)|4 Armoured Brigade]] rotated to replace 1 Mechanised Brigade.
In May [[2005]] 4 Armoured Brigade was replaced by [[12th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)|12 Mechanised Brigade]] with the handover of responsibility taking place on [[30 May]].
In May [[2006]] [[7 Armoured Brigade|7th Armoured Brigade]], the [[Desert Rats]] were relieved by [[20th Armoured Brigade (United Kingdom)|20th Armoured Brigade]]<ref>BBC News 6/05/2006 - Basra is a 'safe zone' no more [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4980686.stm]</ref> under the command of Brigadier [[James Everard]].<ref>BBC News 18/07/2006 - British troops seize Iraq weapons [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4980686.stm]</ref>
October 2006 saw [[19th Infantry Brigade|19 Light Brigade]] take over<ref>BBC News 7/11/2006 - Iraq death soldier named by MoD[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6123842.stm]</ref> from 20th Armoured Brigade.<ref>MOD Defence News 06/11/2006 - 20 Brigade welcomed home from Iraq [http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/MilitaryOperations/20BrigadeWelcomedHomeFromIraq.htm]</ref>
[[1st Infantry Brigade (Guards)|1 Mechanised Brigade]] provided HQ and troops for Op TELIC 10, deploying to Iraq in June 2007. During that tour, both the PJCC and Basra Palace were handed back to Iraqi control. They handed over to [[4th Mechanised Brigade (United Kingdom)|4th Mechanised Brigade]] on [[December 1]], [[2007]].
==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. It also saw a 33 ship fleet, which was the largest taskforce deployed by the UK since the Falklands War. Some 120 [[Challenger 2 tank|Challenger 2]] [[main battle tank]]s, 150 [[Warrior IFV|Warrior]] [[infantry fighting vehicle]]s, 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.
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 High Mobility All-Terrain Vehicle|Pinzgauer Vectors]] PPV, 108 [[Cougar (vehicle)|Mastiff PPV]], 900 enhanced [[FV430 series|FV430 MkIII "Bulldogs"]], Desert Hawk [[Unmanned aerial vehicle|UAV]] and 4 additional [[Britten-Norman Defender]] observation aircraft.
The MoD is currently in the process of purchasing [[Counter-RAM|C-RAM]] systems (based on the [[Phalanx CIWS]]) from Raytheon, [[Hermes 450]] tactical UAVs (ahead of the future [[Watchkeeper WK450|Watchkeeper UAV]] program), [[Predator B]] UAVs, 180 MPPV (Medium Protected Patrol Vehicles), and King Air 350ER special mission aircraft. 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.[http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?F=2768983&C=europe]
==Casualties==
{{Further|[[British Fatalities During Operation Telic (Iraq)]]}}
As of [[31 May]] [[2008]], a total of 176<ref> MOD 21/11/07 - Operations In Iraq: British Fatalaties [http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/FactSheets/OperationsFactsheets/OperationsInIraqBritishFatalities.htm]</ref> 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. Full non-fatal casualty records are currently only available for the period after [[1 January]] [[2006]]. Since that date, 2,943 British personnel have been wounded, injured or fallen ill (314 wounded in action); 1,485 of whom required aeromedical evacuation[http://www.mod.uk/NR/rdonlyres/CE1302FF-C47C-4F83-B616-2FF9645A2FB2/0/OpTelicCasualtyTables.pdf]. 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<ref>Daily Telegraph [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/03/11/wirq111.xml]</ref> soldiers have returned from Iraq since 2003 suffering from some form of mental illness, including [[PTSD]].
==In fiction==
The British television film ''[[The Mark of Cain (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. A stage production based on the Scottish [[Black Watch Regiment]] was also created, drawing on experiences of veterans of the war. It was played out to much acclaim throughout Scotland in 2006.
==References==
{{reflist}}
==See also==
*[[List of British gallantry awards for the Iraq War]]
==External links==
*[http://www.operations.mod.uk/telic/campaign_medal.htm Campaign Medal for Operation Telic]
*[http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/FactSheets/OperationsFactsheets/OperationsInIraqBritishFatalities.htm British Fatalities in Iraq (MoD)]
*[http://www.army.mod.uk/20bde/gallery/telic8_1.htm Gallery of images from 20th Armoured Brigade's tour of Iraq during Op TELIC 8 (MoD)]
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[[Category:Military operations of the 2003 Iraq conflict]]
[[Category:2003 in Iraq]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 2003]]
[[Category:British Armed Forces deployments]]
[[Category:Wars involving the United Kingdom]]