Posted on 02/05/2016 2:02:21 PM PST by MinorityRepublican
you haven’t been paying attention to Yemen these days, have you?
Battle of Khafji (Desert Storm):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Khafji
The force was put under the command of Saudi Lieutenant Colonel Matar, who moved out by 17:00 hours. The force met up with elements of the U.S. 3rd Marine Regiment, south of Khafji, and were ordered to directly attack the city.[78] The engagement of that night was to be the first battle the Qatari Army had seen in its entire history.[79] A platoon of Iraqi T-55s attacked a Qatari tank company south of the city, leading to the destruction of three T-55s by Qatari AMX-30s, and the capture of a fourth Iraqi tank.[80] Lacking any coordinated artillery support,[79] artillery fire was provided by the 10th Marine Regiment.[80]
An initial attack on the city was called off after the Iraqi occupants opened up with heavy fire, prompting the Saudis to reinforce the 7th Battalion with two more companies from adjacent Saudi units.[81] The attempt to retake the city had been preceded by a 15-minute preparatory fire from U.S. Marine artillery. However Iraqi fire did manage to destroy one Saudi V-150 armored personnel carrier.[82]
Meanwhile, 2nd Saudi Arabian National Guard Brigade’s 5th Battalion moved north of Khafji to block Iraqi reinforcements attempting to reach the city. This unit was further bolstered by the 8th Ministry of Defense and Aviation Brigade, and heavily aided by Coalition air support. Although fear of friendly fire forced the 8th Ministry of Defense and Aviation Brigade to pull back the following morning, Coalition aircraft successfully hindered Iraqi attempts to move more soldiers down to Khafji and caused large numbers of Iraqi troops to surrender to Saudi forces.[82]
That night, two U.S. Army heavy equipment transporters entered the city of Khafji, apparently lost, and were fired upon by Iraqi troops. Although one truck managed to turn around and escape, the two drivers of the second truck were wounded and captured. This led to a rescue mission organized by 3rd Battalion 3rd Marine Regiment, which sent a force of 30 men to extract the two wounded drivers. Although encountering no major opposition, they did not find the two drivers who had, by this time, been taken prisoner. The Marines did find a burnt out Qatari AMX-30, with its dead crew.[83] That same night, a U.S. Air Force AC-130 was shot down by an Iraqi surface-to-air missile (SAM), killing the aircraft’s crew of 14.[84]
The interdiction on the part of Coalition aircraft and Saudi and Qatari ground forces was having an effect on the occupying Iraqi troops. Referring to Saddam Hussein’s naming of the ground engagement as the “mother of all battles”, Iraqi General Salah radioed in a request to withdraw, stating, “The mother was killing her children.”[85] Since the beginning of the battle, Coalition aircraft had flown at least 350 sorties against Iraqi units in the area and on the night of 30-31 January, Coalition air support also began to attack units of the Iraqi Third Corps assembled on the Saudi border.[86]
Recapture of Khafji: 31 January - 1 February
On 31 January, the effort to retake the city began anew. The attack was launched at 08:30 hours, and was met by inaccurate Iraqi fire which knocked-out two Saudi V-150 wheeled vehicles.[87] The 8th battalion of the Saudi brigade was ordered to deploy to the city by 10:00 hours, while 5th Battalion to the north engaged another column of Iraqi tanks attempting to reach the city. The latter engagement led to the destruction of around 13 Iraqi tanks and armored personnel carriers, and the capture of 6 more vehicles and 116 Iraqi soldiers, costing the Saudi battalion two dead and two wounded. The 8th Battalion engaged the city from the northeast, linking up with 7th Battalion. These units cleared the southern portion of the city, until 7th Battalion withdrew south to rest and rearm at 18:30 hours, while the 8th remained in Khafji.[88]
The 8th continued clearing buildings and by the time the 7th had withdrawn to the south, the Saudis had lost approximately 18 dead and 50 wounded, as well as seven V-150 vehicles. Coalition aircraft continued to provide heavy support throughout the day and night.[89] A veteran of the Iran-Iraq War later mentioned that Coalition airpower “imposed more damage on his brigade in half an hour than it had sustained in eight years of fighting against the Iranians.”[90] During the battle, an Iraqi amphibious force was sent to land on the coast and move into Khafji. As the boats made their way through the Persian Gulf towards Khafji, American and British aircraft caught the Iraqi boats in the open and largely destroyed the Iraqi amphibious force.[91]
The Saudi and Qatari units renewed operations the following day. Two Iraqi companies, with about 20 armored vehicles, remained in the city and had not attempted to break out during the night. While the Saudi 8th Battalion continued operations in the southern portion of the city, the 7th Battalion began to clear the northern sector of the city. Iraqi resistance was sporadic and most Iraqi soldiers surrendered on sight; as a result, the city was recaptured on 1 February 1991.[92]
Recently in Yemen. Their performance against ragged tribal types is not impressive.
Interesting!
“When was the last time Saudi ground troops fought in a conflict?”
They are fighting today in Yemen, and had a few fatalities this week (Saudi Ministry of Defense troops).
The world has changed. The old joke about Saudi Arabia going to war, was wondering who would get the contract. That is still true to a good degree, but they have changed in their willingness to commit their own citizens to fight.
The Saudis have been talking about going to war in Syria since shortly after the new King came on board.
If they did jump in, they would bring along a bunch of “allies” (essentially mercenaries pimped out by their governments), and a lot of top of the line aircraft, tanks and precision weapons. Their Bedouin National Guard units turned out to be relatively effective light infantry, by Middle Eastern standards, that exceeded expectations during the Gulf War.
If they jump into a local war and lose however, the regime could be overthrown.
Why would Saudi Arabia risk the destruction of its oil infrastructure by the Russians to throw Assad out of Syria?
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