Battle of Al Faw
2003 CE.
Shown on the map at 29.975°, 48.472°.
The Battle of Al Faw began on 20 March 2003 and continued for four days, as part of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. One of the initial objectives of the Coalition was to capture every GOPLAT (gas and oil platform) in the Al-Faw Peninsula before they could be sabotaged or destroyed by the Iraqi military. Doing so would also deny Iraq the ability to cause another ecological disaster, as it had done with the Kuwait oil fires and the Persian Gulf oil spill in 1991. By seizing the country's coast, the Coalition would also ensure a quicker takeover of Iraqi oil production. The 3 Commando Brigade of the British Armed Forces would also capture Umm Qasr at the same time, so that Umm Qasr Port—the only deep water port in Iraq—could be used to bring in heavy military supplies once Khawr Abd Allah was cleared by the Mine Counter Measures Task Group. The 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit of the United States Marine Corps was placed under the command of the 3 Commando Brigade in order to provide the necessary force for capturing both targets.
Text from the Wikipedia article Battle of Al Faw (2003), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.