Operation Telic (Op TELIC) was the codename under which all of the United Kingdom's military operations in Iraq were conducted between the start of the invasion 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 but around 150 troops, mainly from the Royal Navy, remained in Iraq until 22 May 2011 as part of the Iraqi Training and Advisory Mission. 46,000 troops were deployed at the onset of the invasion and the total cost of war stood at £9.24 billion in 2010.
Background
Operation Telic was the largest deployment of British forces since World War II. It was only approached in size by the 1991 Operation Granby deployment for the Gulf War and the 1956 Operation Musketeer Suez Crisis deployment. It was 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, from the Territorial Army, Royal Naval Reserve and from the Royal 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 on Operations Northern Watch and Southern Watch) was given in three separate Commons statements by Geoff Hoon Secretary of State for Defence. On 7 January, the deployment of Royal Navy and Royal Marines was announced. 20 January saw the land forces deployment announced and 6 February the Royal 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 to combat 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 deployment Operation Iraqi Freedom, the Ministry 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 a backronym for Tell Everyone Leave Is Cancelled.
Invasion of Iraq
The British contribution to the invasion of Iraq formed part of Operation Telic, the codename for British military operations in Iraq. By the beginning of the invasion, the United Kingdom had deployed approximately 46,000 personnel to the Persian Gulf region, including a substantial land force centred on 1st Armoured Division, as well as naval, air and special forces. The National Audit Office described the deployment as Britain's largest since the Second World War, involving the deployment and sustainment of 46,000 personnel and 15,000 vehicles. British forces were assigned a principal role in the coalition's southern campaign, with responsibility for securing the Al-Faw Peninsula, southern oil infrastructure, Umm Qasr and the Basra area, while the main American ground force advanced northwards towards Baghdad.
Coalition military operations began in March 2003. A limited American strike against Iraqi leadership targets in Baghdad preceded the wider air campaign, while coalition ground forces crossed into Iraq from Kuwait. The official British parliamentary chronology dates the beginning of military operations to 20 March, when simultaneous air and ground operations commenced. British forces were already involved in operations during the opening phase, and the subsequent large-scale campaign developed more rapidly than had initially been planned.
The southern campaign involved British and American forces operating alongside one another. 1st Armoured Division and the Royal Marines were assigned objectives in southern Iraq, while the United States Army's V Corps advanced towards Baghdad. British forces were therefore not simply following the American advance; they were responsible for a distinct operational area and for several objectives regarded as essential to the coalition campaign, particularly the protection of oil infrastructure and the capture of Iraq's principal southern port.
Al-Faw Peninsula
One of the first British objectives was the Al-Faw Peninsula, a strategically important area at the northern end of the Persian Gulf. Coalition planners were concerned that Iraqi forces might destroy oil facilities or attempt to obstruct maritime operations. British operations therefore aimed to secure the peninsula and prevent damage to oil installations.
On 20 and 21 March, 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines and other coalition forces conducted operations in the Al-Faw area. 42 Commando Royal Marines were deployed to a blocking position north of Al-Faw, while British naval vessels provided gunfire support. The operation formed part of a wider effort to secure the peninsula and the nearby oil infrastructure before Iraqi forces could destroy it.
British forces were also involved in securing the southern oilfields, including the Rumaila oilfields. Protecting Iraq's oil infrastructure was a major military and political objective during the opening stages of the invasion. British and American forces subsequently secured the principal southern oil facilities with far less damage than coalition planners had feared.
Umm Qasr
Umm Qasr was one of the earliest objectives of the British-led southern campaign. The port was of considerable strategic importance because coalition planners intended to use it to bring humanitarian supplies and military logistics into southern Iraq. At 04:30 on 21 March, coalition ground forces, including elements under the command of 3 Commando Brigade, began operations to seize Umm Qasr and the nearby naval base.
The capture of the town did not immediately make the port operational. Iraqi resistance continued in the surrounding area, while the waterways leading to Umm Qasr had to be cleared of mines and other hazards. The Royal Navy therefore began mine-clearance operations in the Khawr Abd Allah waterway. According to the Iraq Inquiry, the port's opening was regarded as essential for the rapid delivery of humanitarian assistance and military supplies.
British naval forces played a major role in this operation. The Royal Navy contributed mine counter-measures vessels, amphibious shipping, escorts and submarine-launched Tomahawk cruise missiles to Operation Telic. Its role in clearing the approaches to Umm Qasr was particularly significant, since the port could not be used until safe access had been established.
Invasion of Basra
While operations continued around Umm Qasr and Al-Faw, British forces advanced towards Basra, Iraq's second-largest city. By 24 March, according to the Iraq Inquiry, British forces controlled Basra Airport and were positioned around the outskirts of the city. The question of when and how to enter Basra became one of the principal operational decisions facing the British command.
The British did not immediately launch a full-scale assault into the centre of Basra. Instead, the city was surrounded and isolated while British forces engaged Iraqi military positions and attempted to weaken the regime's control over the area. Iraqi regular forces, Ba'ath Party loyalists and Fedayeen Saddam fighters continued to resist. The presence of irregular and paramilitary forces complicated British operations, as resistance was not confined to conventional defensive positions.
During this period, British forces conducted raids and armoured attacks against Iraqi positions around the city. The campaign was supported by artillery and coalition air power. British troops gradually increased their freedom of movement around Basra, while Iraqi forces suffered from deteriorating command, control and morale.
The final British assault on Basra began on 6 April. Elements of 7th Armoured Brigade, supported by other British units, entered the city after nearly two weeks of operations around its outskirts. Challenger 2 tanks, Warrior infantry fighting vehicles and Royal Marines took part in the advance. British forces attacked and occupied important regime positions, including the Ba'ath Party headquarters.
The fighting was more limited than a full-scale urban battle, although British forces encountered pockets of resistance. Three British soldiers were killed during the operation. Contemporary reports from the battle recorded British troops encountering Iraqi fighters armed with small arms and rocket-propelled grenades, particularly around the College of Literature and other defended positions.
By the end of 6 April, the Iraqi regime's organised control of the city had largely collapsed. British commanders nevertheless continued to warn that this did not mean Basra was completely secure. While British armoured units were able to move through much of the city, Ba'ath Party loyalists, Fedayeen fighters and other armed groups remained capable of resistance.
British forces subsequently consolidated control of Basra. The fall of the city was the culmination of Britain's principal conventional ground operation of the invasion and established the British military presence that would remain in southern Iraq after the collapse of Saddam Hussein's government.
Air and naval operations
British participation in the invasion was not limited to the land campaign. The Royal Air Force contributed aircraft to the coalition air campaign, conducting offensive and support operations against Iraqi military targets. RAF Tornado aircraft were among the British aircraft used during Operation Telic, while the wider British air contribution included reconnaissance, transport and air-to-air refuelling.
The Royal Navy also made a substantial contribution. Approximately 9,000 naval personnel participated in the campaign. British amphibious forces transported and supported 3 Commando Brigade, while Royal Navy vessels provided naval gunfire support during the opening operations in southern Iraq. British submarines also launched Tomahawk cruise missiles against targets in Iraq.
Mine warfare was another major naval responsibility. The clearance of the Khawr Abd Allah waterway enabled access to Umm Qasr, allowing the port to become a major logistical and humanitarian entry point. The naval campaign therefore combined strike operations, amphibious warfare, mine clearance and the protection of coalition maritime forces and supply routes.
End of the conventional campaign
By early April, British forces had achieved their principal objectives in southern Iraq. Umm Qasr and its port had been secured, the Al-Faw Peninsula and major oil infrastructure were under coalition control, and Basra had fallen to British forces. The rapid collapse of Saddam Hussein's government elsewhere in Iraq brought the main conventional phase of the invasion to an end. Baghdad fell to American forces on 8 and 9 April, and Tikrit fell on 13 April. Major combat operations were formally declared over on 1 May 2003.
The end of conventional warfare did not end Britain's military involvement. British forces remained in southern Iraq and assumed responsibility for security in an area centred on Basra. The British role consequently shifted from conventional combat operations towards occupation, security, and stabilisation. This transition proved considerably more difficult than coalition planning had anticipated and eventually developed into a prolonged counter-insurgency and peace-support campaign.
Post-invasion
On 11 July 2003, 1st Armoured Division handed control over south-east Iraq to 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 Italian, Dutch, Danish, Czech, Lithuanian, Norwegian, and New Zealand forces. 3rd Division handed over a new composite divisional headquarters on 28 December 2003. Major General Andrew Stewart took over from General Lamb as commander of British forces.