Shock, awe, death, joy and looting: how the Guardian covered the outbreak of the Iraq war

"The ground war began in Iraq last night as British and American marines stormed beaches on the Gulf coast in an assault on the south-eastern city of Basra, while explosions lit up Baghdad under a heavy bombardment by cruise missiles. The first British fatalities came shortly afterwards when a US helicopter crashed in Kuwait, killing all on board. Suzanne Goldenberg's front-page report from Baghdad revealed that only two hours after the decapitation effort, Saddam Hussein himself had made a defiant appearance on television."

"A Guardian leader stated that the plain fact was this first surgical strike had missed its mark. Even had it reached its target, it would have been difficult to applaud. State-ordered assassination sets an abominable precedent that encourages unwelcome emulation The US must tread carefully for the legal and moral grounds for this war are already very shaky. By then, events had moved on."

"The headline on the Saturday 4am edition read: Full-blooded onslaught is launched on Baghdad. Julian Borger, Richard Norton-Taylor and Rory McCarthy contributed to the report, describing the successive waves of aerial attacks on centres and symbols of Saddam Hussein's power in an attempt to break the nerve of his regime. The presidential complex on the west bank of the Tigris River was razed in little more than 10 minutes."

The allied attack on Iraq began on 20 March 2003 with combined land, sea and air operations. British and American marines stormed Gulf coast beaches targeting Basra while cruise missiles heavily bombarded Baghdad. A US helicopter crash in Kuwait caused the first British fatalities. Saddam Hussein made a defiant television appearance only two hours after a decapitation strike. A state-ordered assassination attempt was criticized as legally and morally precarious. The shock-and-awe bombardment targeted regime infrastructure and symbols of power. Successive aerial waves aimed to break the regime's nerve; the presidential complex on the Tigris was razed in little more than ten minutes.

Read at www.theguardian.com