What role did Danish, Polish, Spanish, Australian troops play in the invasion of Iraq

[TravelingHomeless]

Several sights i have checked out state different roles. I believe both the Polish and Aussies sent in SF and the Danes sent a submarine with SF. But what did the Spanish do during the initial invasion? And did the Italians send troops as well? I believe their government at the time supported the cause for war and later sent a brigade during the coalition control but did they play a part in the invasion? And of the Dutch? Some reports claim their SF served under the Danes but is that BS or has some truth? Any other coalition troops served in the invasion beside those above and the US/UK?

[BorisBC]

Aussies also had a flight of F-18's, plus the frigate HMAS ANZAC on the gunline in the NAG providing fire support missions. Clearance Divers were also used in clearing heaps of UXO in that area. Plus of course we've had AP-3C Orions doing ISR stuff, as well as Hercs doing a tonne of moving stuff/people around, but they've been there for a bit. The SF stuff we had were SAS plus some 4RAR Commandos. Kicking ass and capturing air bases, as ya do. At one point, an SAS vehicle patrol was attacked, by among other things, a mortar. One of the lads took out the mortar crew by putting a .50cal rifle round into the mortar tube while a round was in there! That's pretty cool.

[TravelingHomeless]

Aussies also had a flight of F-18's, plus the frigate HMAS ANZAC on the gunline in the NAG providing fire support missions. Clearance Divers were also used in clearing heaps of UXO in that area. Plus of course we've had AP-3C Orions doing ISR stuff, as well as Hercs doing a tonne of moving stuff/people around, but they've been there for a bit. The SF stuff we had were SAS plus some 4RAR Commandos. Kicking ass and capturing air bases, as ya do. At one point, an SAS vehicle patrol was attacked, by among other things, a mortar. One of the lads took out the mortar crew by putting a .50cal rifle round into the mortar tube while a round was in there! That's pretty cool.


I believe wikipedia listed a 500 strong battlegroup led by a SAS squandron.

Were the Danes and Poles and more involved in combat?

[the_penguin]

For a long time was the official view that Danish SF's only was in Iraq at the end of the war, in order to survey the area where the danish battalion later would deploy. However Dutch jounalists has made claims that Dutch SF's operated as part of a Danish led Special Force group right from the start of the war (March 20, 2003), the Danish Goverment hasnt denied this, but only said that any rumuor about Danish SF's operating in Iraq, before March 2003 is baseless.

The danish Military is as usually, very tightliped about what their SF's does or doesnt do, so we may never exactly know what the Danish SF's has been doing in Iraq or in what numbers they were deployed.

[shadowsrider]

From Polish side GROM special force unit was involved in initial combat.
It included joint operations with Seals just before invasion and during invasion there are known following actions:
sizing KAAOT (Khawar Al. Amaya Offshore Terminal) oil platform with 1.8 million barrels of oil, participation in Umm Kasr port fights, Tigr river patrolling, and storm of Mukarain electroplant and dame, this last action was performed together with Seals.

[zapatero]

Yupp. The most famous pic of GROM unit in the sand box with some Seals operators

[zapatero]

And one more in refference to the Um-Qassr operation

[shadowsrider]

Yupp. The most famous pic of GROM unit in the sand box with some Seals operators

Isn't this picture manipulated? I can remember that there was US flag in the middle and this was the cause of media affair in Poland that Polish troops are photographing with American flag instead of ours.

[Holycrusader]

double post

[Holycrusader]

Isn't this picture manipulated? I can remember that there was US flag in the middle and this was the cause of media affair in Poland that Polish troops are photographing with American flag instead of ours.
true, true

Grom in Iraq
http://www.irak.pl/Stop/GROM-USA.jpg

Zapatero posted photoshoped pic

[zapatero]

my bad, hoped you wouldn't notice it guys:)

[Holycrusader]

my bad, hoped you wouldn't notice it guys:)

Not in this case...

This pic have symbol meaning.

[RSone]

Several sights i have checked out state different roles. I believe both the Polish and Aussies sent in SF and the Danes sent a submarine with SF. But what did the Spanish do during the initial invasion? And did the Italians send troops as well? I believe their government at the time supported the cause for war and later sent a brigade during the coalition control but did they play a part in the invasion? And of the Dutch? Some reports claim their SF served under the Danes but is that BS or has some truth? Any other coalition troops served in the invasion beside those above and the US/UK?

There are rumours that were started by Argos(A radio station, or website or something like that) that Dutch SF, uknown which SF outfit, presumably KCT, did indeed participate in ops leading up to and during the initial invasion. There are no official sources regarding this, and the Govt is very,very tightlipped about any SF/CT operation, wether it be KCT,DSI/UIM, ML or 7th NL SBS (AMFVERKPEL) or the more obscure special teams of the ministry of justice and MOD. So no one knows if it is actually true, or wether the KCT/ whatever unit was under Danish command or seperate.

It's publicly known that Dutch CT/SF was active in the Balkan, The Adriatic, the UIM(then BBE) recently in the Laakkwartier siege in The Hague, and most recently in Afghanistan.
The public knows practically nothing about 7th NL SBS, although it is known that they often work in conjunction with the British SBS, but if that means they go on ops with them, who knows?

[kahn267]

I like what the Aussies have done
they've given little to no media information about any of their operations
and in return it has kept Australia out of the lime-light of Islamic fundamentalists calling for revenge

[BorisBC]

I like what the Aussies have done
they've given little to no media information about any of their operations
and in return it has kept Australia out of the lime-light of Islamic fundamentalists calling for revenge

Mate, you could not be further from the truth! On both accounts. While Dept of Defence was initially quite closed off about ops, there's been plenty of info come out from them about what our lads have been up to in both Iraq and Afganistan.

As for being a target, you may or may not know about the Bali bombs in 2002 that killed 200 people, including 88 Australians. Not to mention the next attacks in 2004 and 2005 in Bali that left another 29 dead. The 2004 attack was a truck bomb against the Australian embassy in Jarkata. Plus we've had a couple of close calls with locals here that have planned stuff but it's been stopped in time.

[Cobber15-08]

Is not the HMAS ANZAC and their gunfire from the Naval Gunline in Iraq, the first shots fired in anger by Royal Australian Navy since the war in Vietnam?

Aussie SASR and 4RAR Commando were like thousands of other Coalition SF's in Iraq, entering the country (apparently) before wars outbreak to be in position to do their deeds.

The radical Islamic calls for the destruction or whatever of Australia have been made however the calls for other nations destruction, has taken up more of the media limelight.
As Borisbc says most of the attacks in Bali were directed at Aussies in particular and westeners in general.

[Ios]

Id be hesitant to describe Muslim refugees Australia has given free houses, welfare to etc, the people who were planning multiple attacks on us, as "locals".

[kahn267]

Mate, you could not be further from the truth! On both accounts. While Dept of Defence was initially quite closed off about ops, there's been plenty of info come out from them about what our lads have been up to in both Iraq and Afganistan.

As for being a target, you may or may not know about the Bali bombs in 2002 that killed 200 people, including 88 Australians. Not to mention the next attacks in 2004 and 2005 in Bali that left another 29 dead. The 2004 attack was a truck bomb against the Australian embassy in Jarkata. Plus we've had a couple of close calls with locals here that have planned stuff but it's been stopped in time.


Perhaps but nowhere on the frquency of Britain or the US plus it wasn't on Australian shores, despite one being prevented. But I guess only the future can tell.

[sp2c]

There are rumours that were started by Argos(A radio station, or website or something like that) that Dutch SF, uknown which SF outfit, presumably KCT, did indeed participate in ops leading up to and during the initial invasion. There are no official sources regarding this, and the Govt is very,very tightlipped about any SF/CT operation, wether it be KCT,DSI/UIM, ML or 7th NL SBS (AMFVERKPEL) or the more obscure special teams of the ministry of justice and MOD. So no one knows if it is actually true, or wether the KCT/ whatever unit was under Danish command or seperate.

not in this case, successive governments have repeatedly said Argos was wrong and in no unclear terms either which is unusual in itself :D
Argos is a radioshow btw and though I wouldn't be surprised something happened, I don't think Argos found it, they wrote a whole story over a single line in an unofficial, nonspecific and leaked out NATO report (an organisation that wasn't involved in the war) and then went out looking for sources to confirm it no matter how obscure they were (including gems like "a source close to the SAS") and then they presented the whole thing as fact

but (to answer the original question) at this point, no there was no Dutch involvement in Operation Iraqi Freedom just some common ground with operation Enduring Freedom (the submarine for instance)

Supposedly royal Netherlands F16's even flew combat sorties over Iraq from Manas, Kyrchistan
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