The Bravo Company knows who to thank:
The Iraqis were using light machine guns, heavier 25 mm machine guns and mortars. The Marines responded with 25 mm fire of their own and with wire-guided anti-tank missiles, which destroyed several houses where the Iraqis were hiding. The tanks also eliminated several of the houses.
At the height of the battle there was a tremendous amount of noise, with the Marines' small guns thumping, the tanks' guns and the artillery thudding, and the missile rounds shrieking through the air toward their target.
After a brief pause late last week to let supplies catch up to the main elements of the Marine attack force, the Marines now expect to be in action more frequently as they take the final steps on the road toward Baghdad.
After three firefights with the Iraqis, Bravo Company believes it is blessed. There have been no deaths and only three casualties that required soldiers to be removed to the rear and hospitals in Germany.
Several members of the predominantly Catholic unit say it was their rosaries that saved them in battle. An artillery gunner credited Saint Barbara, the artillery's patron saint, with providing divine assistance during the fight.