Sky news is reporting on the two columns of suspected Republican Guard, one of which has come under fire from the Royal Air Force and the U.S. Navy. The other, 1,000 vehicles and up to 5,000 men strong, is headed to certain destruction:
A second group of around 1,000 Republican Guard vehicles containing up to 5,000 troops are heading south from Baghdad towards US Marines, American media reported.
US military intelligence claims their route avoids advancing US Army forces and leads them directly toward the Marines, who have been worn down from intense fighting around Nasiriya.
The Washington Post reported on the condition of the Marines on the 23rd:
As the Marines prepare to sprint toward Baghdad, the biggest speedbump along the way could be their own ability to keep their men fed, their ammunition stocked, and their vehicles full of fuel.
Marine commanders knew that the ambitious plan for a rapid-fire ground invasion of Iraq would require them to move men and machines an unprecedented distance overland, testing their logistical capabilities as never before. Now, with the Army's 3rd infantry division more than halfway to the Iraqi capital, the Marines are hustling to make up ground as quickly as possible.
"The operations guys would go the Baghdad today if we could," said Capt. John Wiener, 35, of Cherry Hill, N.J., the logistics officer for the 1st battalion, 7th Marine regiment. "Tactically, it makes sense for us to be up by where the Army is. Right now, our limiting factor isn't enemy forces, it's fuel."
So, the Republican Guard is solving the fuel problem for the Marines. We have heard a lot about the Iraqi Republican Guards, and their elite status in the Iraqi military. Well, the I Marine Expeditionary Force is composed of some storied units. The First Marine Divison is there, who fought at the Chosin Reservoir, where that division of Marines smashed seven Chinese divisions. The Seventh Marine Regiment has had more Medal of Honor winners than any other regiment of Marines. If Iraq has decided to send their best, they'll have a chance to see what ours looks like.
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