During the defence of the town hall in Karbala, Polish and Bulgarian troops repelled more terrorist forces without losing a single man. Why specified a spectacular success? The success of defending the town hall in Karbala (3-6 IV 2004) was not a substance of "luck", but a confluence of respective very circumstantial tactical, method and organisational factors.
A well-chosen and prepared position - The town hall is simply a two-storey reinforced concrete block with thick ceilings; it was surrounded by an open square and walls that formed a natural “foe” of fire. The attackers had to approach at least 70 m in front of device guns and grenade launchers without vehicles or dense explosives
Professional training and command - the defence was conducted by plutonium “sectors” with clear lines of responsibility; Captain Grzegorz Kaliciak and Colonel Tomasz Domanski from the first night introduced rotations, iron discipline of fire and immediate radio reports a tiny squad (30 Poles + 20 Bulgarians) could keep 24-h vigilance without chaos, which at night was crucial
Fire advantage and technology - WKM-B 12.7 mm device guns, Mk 19 grenade launchers and Carl-Gustaf, night vision, optical sights, 2 Bulgarian BRDM-2 with 14.5 mm plots Mahdi Army Rebels mostly had AK, RPG-7 and mortars; in clash at 100–300 m they lost firepower and precision, especially at night
PCommunication and cooperationCoalition - defenders had operational radiolines with "Lima", American TOC and QRF base; they could have called for mortar fire from Camp Juliet or support for AH-64 helicopters (a fewer raids at night 4/5 IV)
Logistics under fire - On the first night, Honkers and Star-266 delivered 25,000 cartridges and crates of grenades to the town hall; further additions were delivered to defenders after dark for 4 days with no shortage of ammunition or water, while stormers bled out in Wikipedia attacks
Errors and limitations of the opponent - attacks carried out by waves, without coordination and without attempts to bypass the square from behind; no mines, cumulative charges, ladders, militias fought bravely but tactically “under the school manual” of defence of the opposition point – there was no chance they would breach the walls without dense equipment.
End result
Defenders: No dead, 1 Bulgarian soldier somewhat wounded from mortar shrapnel
Assaulters: ~80 killed and > 200 wounded
Image: Success was only noticed after years, but present it is considered the most crucial winning, regular clash of the Polish Army since planet War II.
In short, 50 well-proven and well-armed soldiers, defending a solid building with open fields of fire, had over respective times more many but poorly coordinated militias than a qualitative advantage — in fire, in power, in communication and in logistics. That was adequate to make past without losing its own.
