| Operation Telic | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part ofIraq War | |||||
 Operation Telic Campaign Medal for Service in Iraq. The medal is made ofcupro-nickel and bears on the obverse the crowned image of the Queen. The reverse shows an ancient AssyrianLamassu sculpture above the word Iraq. The 1.5 inches (38 mm) wide ribbon is a sand colour with three central stripes of black, white and red, the three main colours of the Iraqi flag (minus the green of theTakbīr). | |||||
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| Belligerents | |||||
 United Kingdom |  Ba'athist IraqIraqi Insurgents | ||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||
| Tony BlairBrian Burridge | Saddam Hussein | ||||
Operation Telic (Op TELIC) was the codename under which all of theUnited Kingdom's military operations in Iraq were conducted between the start of theinvasion of Iraq on 19 March 2003 and the withdrawal of the last remaining British forces on 22 May 2011. The bulk of the mission ended on 30 April 2009[1][2] but around 150 troops, mainly from theRoyal Navy, remained in Iraq until 22 May 2011 as part of the Iraqi Training and Advisory Mission.[3][4] 46,000 troops were deployed at the onset of the invasion and the total cost of war stood at £9.24 billion in 2010.[5]
Operation Telic was the largest deployment of British forces sinceWorld War II. It was only approached in size by the 1991Operation Granby deployment for theGulf War and the 1956Operation MusketeerSuez Crisis deployment. It was considerably larger than the 1982Operation Corporate in theFalklands War, which saw around 30,000 personnel deployed and theKorean 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, from theTerritorial Army, Royal Naval Reserve and from theRoyal Auxiliary Air Force Regiment.
Notice that additional British forces were deploying to the region (large numbers of RAF personnel were already deployed in Kuwait, Turkey and elsewhere in the region onOperations Northern Watch andSouthern Watch) was given in three separateCommons statements byGeoff HoonSecretary of State for Defence. On 7 January, the deployment ofRoyal Navy andRoyal Marines was announced. 20 January saw the land forces deployment announced and 6 February theRoyal Air Force. 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 tocombat readiness in the theatre.
The deployment used 64 British and foreign flagged merchant vessels.
Telic means a purposeful or defined action (from Greek τέλος,telos). Unlike the United States who called their equivalent military deploymentOperation Iraqi Freedom, theMinistry of Defence uses a computer to generate its names so that they carry no overtly political connotations. The meaning was initially unknown but as initial planning took place over the Christmas 2002 period, the term became jokingly known amongst personnel as abackronym forTellEveryoneLeaveIsCancelled.[6]
On 11 July 2003, 1st Armoured Division handed control over south-east Iraq to3rd Mechanised Division, Major General Wall was succeeded by Major GeneralGraeme 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 commandedItalian,Dutch,Danish,Czech,Lithuanian,Norwegian, andNew Zealand forces. 3rd Division handed over a new composite divisional headquarters on 28 December 2003. Major GeneralAndrew 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 of infantry battalions.7 Armoured Brigade remained until relieved by 19 Mechanised Brigade at the same time as 3rd Division took over from 1st Division.102 Logistics Brigade was relieved by101 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 19 Mechanised Brigade relieved by20th Armoured Brigade; 20th Armoured Brigade in its turn being relieved by1 Mechanised Brigade. In April 2004, 20th Armoured Brigade turned over its responsibilities to 1 Mechanised Brigade and Lieutenant GeneralJohn 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 year4 Armoured Brigade rotated to replace 1 Mechanised Brigade.
In May 2005, 4 Armoured Brigade was replaced by12 Mechanised Brigade with the handover of responsibility taking place on 30 May.
In May 2006 7th Armoured Brigade, theDesert Rats were relieved by 20th Armoured Brigade[7] under the command of BrigadierJames Everard.[8]
October 2006 saw 19 Light Brigade take over[9] from 20th Armoured Brigade.[10]
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 on 1 December 2007.
The force was commanded by athree-star tri-service headquarters. The commander of the operation wasAir MarshalBrian Burridge, withMajor GeneralPeter Wall acting as his chief of staff. The headquarters was situated atCENTCOM headquarters inQatar. The three services each had two-star commanders leading operations. Major General Wall took over command of 1st Armoured Division on 1 May 2003. He was replaced as Chief of Staff by Major GeneralBarney White-Spunner.
TheRoyal Navy commander wasRear AdmiralDavid Snelson who had his headquarters ashore in Bahrain. The afloat Royal Navy commander wasCommodore Jamie Miller, who had theaircraft carrierHMSArk Royal as his flagship. Rear Admiral Snelson was succeeded by Major GeneralTony Milton,Commandant General Royal Marines as maritime forces commander on 16 April 2003.
The1st Armoured Division was commanded by Major GeneralRobin Brims. Three armybrigades were assigned to the division.16 Air Assault Brigade was commanded byBrigadier 'Jacko' Page,7th Armoured Brigade by BrigadierGraham Binns and102nd Logistic Brigade by Brigadier Shaun Cowlam.3 Commando Brigade was under the operational command of the division and was commanded by BrigadierJim Dutton.
TheRoyal Air Force commander wasAir Vice-MarshalGlenn Torpy.
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 120Challenger 2main battle tanks, 150Warriorinfantry fighting vehicles, 32L131 self-propelled 155 mm howitzers, and 36L118 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.
During the post invasion phase, and following a number of British casualties blamed on inadequate equipment, a great deal of new equipment was purchased to help deal with the threats posed by insurgents. These included 166 armouredPinzgauer Vector PPVs, 108Mastiff PPVs, 145 enhancedFV430 Mk3 Bulldogs,Lockheed Martin Desert Hawk UAVs, and 8Britten-Norman DefenderISTAR aircraft.
A total of 179[11] British Armed Forces personnel died serving on Operation Telic between the start of the campaign in March 2003 and the end of operations in July 2009; 136 in hostile incidents and the remaining 43 under non-hostile circumstances. Full non-fatal casualty records are currently only available for the period after 1 January 2006. From that date, 3,598 British personnel were wounded, injured or fell ill (315 wounded in action); 1,971 of whom required aeromedical evacuation.[12] By 11 March 2007, more than 2,100.[13]
In theatre both military and civilian casualties were treated by British Field Hospitals (FH), 22 FH in Kuwait and 34 FH in Iraq. 34 Field Hospital was made up of regular troops from their base in Strensall just outside York and members for volunteer reserve units from all over the country. A small 25 bedded hospital was sent across the Kuwait Iraq border in the early days of the war. On arrival at Shaibah the hospital was set up and ready to take casualties within six and a half hours. Everything that you would expect in a modern hospital was present with an Emergency Department, X-ray, Labs, Surgical Theatres x 2, ITU and a hospital ward.
In effect the hospital was based on the front line of the British area of responsibility and was the furthest forward medical unit in recent history. Casualties would often miss out the regimental aid posts and dressing stations and go straight to the hospital. Staff at the hospital worked 12 hour shifts without days off until more staff began to arrive around a month later.
The hospital took over 3500 casualties of which more than 350 were major trauma cases, and around 70 paediatric trauma cases. Injuries included blunt trauma, gun shot wounds, shrapnel injuries and severe burns.
The British television filmThe Mark of Cain depicted service of a fictional 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.
