"No. 2 Company, 1st Battalion Irish Guards on Objective ELYSIUM, Basra"

by David Rowlands

Giclee Print Size 58 x 38 cm

6 April 2003: On 6th April the Irish Guards Battlegroup attacked Objective ELYSIUM (Basrah College of Literature). Enemy defensive positions were destroyed by B Squadron of The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, and No. 2 Company. As B Squadron Leader's tank broke down the gates to the College, dozens of Fedayeen emerged firing rocket-propelled grenades, and the infantry companies of the Irish Guards deployed from their Warriors to engage the enemy. Large numbers of the enemy were cleared from bunkers and trenches.

On the dual carriageway I have depicted the Challenger 2 tank of the Commanding Officer of The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (call sign 11B), a Lion Rampant painted on its turret and a yellow pennant flying from an antenna. Smoke rises from burning piles of refuse, a common sight in Basra. Later, with some Irish Guardsmen, I walked over this ground, which was littered with empty cartridge cases and the odd green canvas bag (for carrying RPGs).