Replies

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THE CENTER OF THE LINE

Soon after the Tawakalna Division Commander's 18th Mechanized Brigade was engaged, the US attack spread to the center of his line. The Iraqi defense in this sector consisted of three mechanized battalions from the Tawakalna 29th Mechanized Brigade, and three armored and one mechanized from the 9th Armored Brigade. In addition, there was at least one battalion of the 46th Mechanized Brigade from the 12th Armored Division. There is also evidence that at least one T-62 tank battalion, most likely from the 10th Armored Division, was also assigned to the Tawakalna in this sector. Approximately nine Iraqi battalions, therefore, faced the attacking 3rd US Armored Division's ten heavy battalions. In a space of only 270 square kilometers, Iraqi defenders massed over 160 tanks, 117 BMPs, and hundreds of other combat vehicle, and fighting systems. Thousands of infantry men dismounted from their combat carriers. Once on the ground, they constructed their dug in company strong points and prepared to use their Saggers and RPGs to engage the attacking Americans. Finally, there were approximately a dozen field artillery batteries arrayed along the rear of the Tawakalna's operations zone in this sector. The Iraqi defenses were very thick and Major General Paul Funk, the 3rd Armored Division commander, had no soft or exposed Iraqi flanks to exploit in his attack. He attacked with his 2nd Brigade in the north, his 1st Brigade in the south, and his 3rd Brigade in the rear trailing the 1st Brigade.

The 1st US Brigade of the 3rd Armored Division moved in the south of the 3rd Armored Division's sector on a relatively narrow zone. At 5:02 pm, 26 February, it ran into a battalion of the 9th Iraqi Armored Brigade. The lead American company team, from Task Force 3-5 Cavalry, established a base of fire as two other company teams moved on line. Not inclined to assault hastily the center of this complex, the entire 3-5 Cavalry moved into firing positions and began to locate and shoot at Iraqi targets. Long-range tank and TOW fires, high explosive and DPICM rounds, and even COPPERHEAD rounds ravaged the Iraqi 9th Armored Brigade's battalion strong points. The Iraqi soldiers, however, continued to fight, preventing this American battalion from advancing any farther for the next 12 hours.

In the dark, around 7:20 pm, a scout platoon from the brigade's left-flank battalion Task Force 4-32 Armor, identified a T-72 tank covered with infantry heading towards them from the southeast. In a short and confused fight, the scouts destroyed the tank and scattered its passenger infantry. Soon, a platoon of Iraqi T-72s supported by dismounted infantry joined the fight. By 9:00 pm, Task-Force 4-32 Armor's fight in this sector came to an end. It had made little progress in its zone and had shot up one of its own Bradley scout vehicles, killing two soldiers and wounding two more. The Iraqi line continued to hold.

Iraqi soldiers surrender to allied forces after fleeing their burning APC, with a mine-plow equipped M1A1 Abrams in the background.

The US 4/7 Cavalry Squadron, a new unit working for the divison commander and acting independently from the 1st Brigade, screened the division's southern flank. Around 6:00 pm it ran into an Iraqi tank unit. Like other Iraqi defenders, the Iraqi unit, most likely a tank unit, was hastily dug in and was waiting for a fight. The 4/7 Cavalry's Bradleys were out of their element in such an engagement against Iraqi tanks. After more than an hour of fighting and making no progress, the 4/7 Cavalry began to pull back from the position where the Iraqis were dug in. In the confusion of the withdrawal, a US tank from an approaching unit fired at one of the Cavalry's Bradleys, killing the gunner. Another 4/7 Cavalry vehicle was engaged by the US 2nd Armored Cavalry in the south. In the middle of this confusion, Iraqi fire hit and damaged nine of 13 M3 Cavalry fighting vehicles in addition to the two hit by friendly fire. Two soldiers of the 4/7 Cavalry were killed and 12 were wounded in the battle. When given the opportunity, the Iraqi Army could inflict serious losses on the attacking American forces.

The Iraqi 9th Armored Brigade had stopped the advance of the US 1st Brigade of the 3rd Armored Division. In 12 hours and despite overwhelming fire power, this American brigade had moved forward only four kilometers. That minor tactical success, however, had little effect on the battle's overall outcome. Before 9:00 pm, Major General Funk determined that his main effort was in the northern portion of his sector of operations, and prepared a deliberate attack to destroy the Iraqi units in the 2d Brigade's zone of operations.

Funk's main effort was in the northern portion of his sector where the 2nd Brigade attacked. Waiting less than ten kilometers behind the 2nd Brigade, was the 3rd Brigade. Its four battalions were eager to get into the fight at the first opportunity. Until 5:20 pm the 2nd Brigade moved in a wedge formation-with Task Force 4-8 Cavalry in the lead, Task Force 4-18 Infantry on the left and TF 3-8 Cavalry on the right-slowly through the Iraqi 29th Mechanized Brigade's security zone, constantly fighting isolated Iraqi vehicles. Like its counterparts in the adjacent sector, this brigade of Iraqis prepared its defenses according to doctrine. Bunkers, dug in vehicles, and pre-planned fires, backed by determined soldiers, made a formidable defense.

Funk now ordered his divisional artillery to pound the Iraqi positions with all the indirect fire he had available. Almost five battalions of artillery fired at identified and suspected targets in a nine square kilometer box. Then Funk ordered the launching of the 2-27 Attack Helicopter Battalion across the forward line of US troops and into the depths of the Iraqi operations zone. At 10:00 pm the 2nd brigade's three battalions and supporting artillery undertook a coordinated combined arms attack. For the next four hours disciplined 2d Brigade tank and Bradley crews moved through the 29th Mechanized Brigade's operations zone.

US tank companies bounded forward by platoons, using their thermal sights and stand-off range to engage Iraqi vehicles on their own terms. Out-ranged and unable to locate the source of the accurate fire they were receiving, the Republican Guard soldiers returned fire without any noticeable effect. Attack helicopters and multiple rocket launchers destroyed Iraqi artillery almost as soon as they fired. As the brigade line moved forward, Iraqi infantry forces emerged from their hiding places and tried to engage US tanks and infantry fighting vehicles from close range. These Iraqi soldiers had little chance of success as a line of infantry fighting vehicles, moving just behind the tanks, killed them with machine-gun fire.

The Iraqi 29th Brigade commander continued to resist the American advance. He directed several counter-attacks by armored and mechanized platoons and companies. Many of those were effectively targeted against the 2nd Brigade's left flank, but concentrated tank, Bradley, and artillery fire stopped these attacks before they could interfere with the 2nd Brigade's progress. It was a confusing mèlée, with rounds flying in all directions. By 2:00 am, 27 February, the 2nd Brigade had fought through the 29th Iraqi Brigade's first defensive echelon. The situation was now right for Funk to order the 3rd Brigade forward. That morning it passed through the 2nd Brigade's front line and started the 3rd Armored Division's attack at the rear of the Tawakalna Division, and beyond.

The 3rd Armored Division's battle against the Tawakalna illustrates that good tactics are just as important as good technology. Had Funk chosen to attack the Iraqi defenses without evaluating the enemy, deciding on a main effort, massing his forces and using his tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, attack helicopters and field artillery as they were designed, the outcome might have been different. At the same time that American units were overwhelming the Tawakalna's left and center, another heavy division assaulted its exposed right flank.

Today's Educational Sources and suggestions for further reading:
www.ciar.org/~ttk/mbt/mbt/mbt.at-desert-storm.bourque.html
The FReeper Foxhole Remembers The Battle of 73 EASTING - 1991 - Mar. 10th, 2003

............

(NORTH) RIGHT FLANK

While most of the Tawakalna Division commander's attention was focused to his division's front, its right flank was about to be attacked by a fourth American unit, the 1st Armored Division. Major General Ron Griffith's primary military target had been the Medina Division about thirty kilometers father east, but one battalion of the Tawakalna's 29th Mechanized Brigade occupied positions in Griffith's 1st Armored Division's zone of operations. That Iraqi battalion lay directly in the path of Colonel Dan Zanini's (one of Griffith's three maneuver brigades) 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored Division.

Colonel Zanini synchronized the fight to maximize his fire power and minimize battlefield confusion. Artillery, Apache attack helicopters and mechanized infantry fired their weapons at the Iraqi defenders in order to prevent them from returning accurate fire as one of his tank battalions (Task Force 1-37 Armor) began moving in the dark towards the Iraqi defenses. This battalion's forty-five M1A1 tanks moved abreast towards the Iraqis at less than ten kilometers per hour. About 1,000 meters behind the tanks moved the battalion's infantry company mounted on its Bradleys, to help destroy any threat to their rear. As the tanks moved forward, the overwatching infantry battalion began firing illumination rounds from its mortar platoon. The brigade commander then turned the fight over to the battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel Ed Dyer.

As was the case with the entire Tawakalna division, the Iraqi soldiers fought hard. Many Iraqi tanks kept their engines off in order to defeat the American thermal sights. Those vehicles were often located because of the strange white spots, the tank commander's head, seemingly suspended in thin air. The Iraqi tanks that were not hit were able to turn their turrets and attack the M1s in their flanks and rear. Iraqi infantry moved in three to five second rushes in order to get close to attacking vehicles. Burning vehicles and explosions "washed out" the thermal sights and made it difficult for US forces to locate Iraqi tanks. In that confusion, the 29th Iraqi Armored Brigade knocked out four M1 tanks, wounding six US soldiers.

The Iraqi brigade, however, never had a chance. It was attacked by Task Force 1/37 Armor, the tank battalion with the best gunnery skills in the entire US Army.60 When TF 1/37 had completed its assault, the Iraqi unit was in shambles. Because of luck, training, and the effectiveness of the Abrams' enhanced armor, there were no American fatalities. In the sector swept by the 1st Brigade, two Iraqi tank companies and one mechanized infantry company (approximately 24 T-72 tanks and 14 BMP infantry fighting vehicles) had become burning hulks.

THE DEEP BATTLE

At the same time the American ground forces were demolishing the front line of the Tawakalna, US attack helicopters, jet aircraft, and artillery were simultaneously attacking the Iraqi division throughout the depth of its defensive zone. The primary targets included artillery batteries, command posts and supply depots.

Iraqi soldiers with their T62 tanks anxiously await a U.S. officer, to discuss a site for official surrender talks.

As soon as the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment made contact with the Tawakalna Division around 4:30 pm, 26 February, the battle began. Artillery from the Regiment's field artillery batteries and the 210 Field Artillery Brigade pounded the second line of Iraqi troops. Those missions destroyed troops and supply installations and interfered with the Tawakalna's command and control. The 2/1 Attack Helicopter Battalion, working for the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, struck at artillery and support areas to the rear of the Iraqi lines. It destroyed at least two artillery batteries and dozens of vehicles and support installations along the IPSA Pipeline road.

This assault continued until the 1st US Infantry Division passed through the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment. The 1/1 Attack Helicopter Battalion then attacked the 18th Iraqi Mechanized and 9th Iraqi Armored Brigade's second line of troops at 9:00 pm, on 26 February. The attack prevented the Iraqi artillery from interfering with the 1st Infantry's passage of lines. From the time the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment made contact, on the night of 26 February, until the following morning when the 1st Infantry Division cleared Objective Norfolk, the Iraqi soldiers of the 18th and 37th Brigades received no respite from constant ground, artillery, and air attack.

British troops guard captured Iraqi armor and weapons in the Kuwaiti desert.

The situation was the same in the US 3rd Armored Division zone of operations. Its constant pounding of Iraqi combat and combat service support units made Iraqi counterattacks, resupply or reinforcement almost impossible. Those incessant attacks destroyed Iraqi artillery, broke up units assembling for counter-attacks, and thoroughly disrupted Iraqi command and control. When the 3rd Brigade passed through at dawn on 27 February, there were no more Iraqi strong points to slow the attack. The Iraqi commander had no way of countering the effects of these deep attacks. He had no choice but to stand and fight or surrender. Most of the soldiers in this proud division, like its commander, fought and died.

On This Day In history

Birthdates which occurred on January 22:
1440 Ivan III the Great, Russian czar (1462-1505)/conquered Lithuania
1561 Francis Bacon England, statesman/essayist (Novum Organum)
1592 Pierre Gassendi Champtercier Provence, scientist/philosopher
1788 Lord [George Gordon Noel] Byron England, romantic poet/ deadbeat (Don Juan)
1802 Richard Upjohn US, gothic architect (Trinity Chapel, New York)
1826 [Merriwether] Jeff Thompson Partisan (Confederate Army), died in 1876
1858 Betrice Potter Webb England, economist
1875 DW Griffith movie producer/director (Birth of a Nation)
1890 Fred M Vinson Kentucky, 13th Chief Justice of US Supreme Court (1946-53)
1899 Guido Kisch Czech/German/US historian (Jews in medieval Germany)
1906 Robert E[rvin] Howard US, sci-fi author (Conan the Conqueror)
1909 Ann Sothern [Harriette Lake], North Dakota, actress (Lady in a Cage, My Mother the Car)
1909 [Sithu] U Thant Burma, 3rd UN Secretary-General (1962-72)
1923 Diana Douglas Devonshire Bermuda, actress (The Cowboys)
1924 J J Johnson composer/jazz trombonist
1924 Margaret Whiting big band singer
1928 Birch Bayh (Senator-D-IN)
1929 Rita Gillespie TV director
1931 Sam Cooke Clarksdale MS, gospel & blues singer (You Send Me, Another Saturday Night, Twisting The Night Away)
1934 Bill Bixby San Francisco CA, actor (The Courtship of Eddie's Father, Incredible Hulk, My Favorite Martian)
1934 Graham Kerr chef (Galloping Gourmet)
1935 Pierre S Du Pont IV (Governor-DE)
1937 Joseph Wambaugh East Pittsburgh PA, police writer (Onion Fields)
1940 John Hurt England, actor (Elephant Man, Alien, Midnight Express)
1949 Steve Perry Hanford CA, vocalist (Journey-Open Arms, Oh Sherry)
1955 Thomas David Jones Baltimore MD, PhD/Astronaut (STS 59, 68, 80, sk 98)
1957 Mike Bossy NHL forward (New York Islanders)
1959 Linda Blair St Louis MO, actress (Exorcist, Chained Heat, Savage St)
1973 Deon Minor Paris Texas, 400m runner
1979 Melanie Winiger Miss Switzerland-Universe (1997)
1982 Kevin Sheridan actor (Soul Man)
2179 Hikaru Walter Sulu San Francisco CA.

Deaths which occurred on January 22:
1336 Louis III last Earl of Loon, dies
1552 Edward Seymour Duke of Somerset, beheaded for treason
1640 Erasmus Quellinus I Flemish wood carver, dies at about 55
1798 Lewis Morris US farmer (signed Declaration of Independence), dies at 71
1850 Vincenzo Pallotti Italian saint, dies at 54
1901 Victoria [Alexandrine], Britain's Queen (1837-1901), dies at 81
1922 Benedictus XV [Giacomo Markies D Chiesa], pope (1914-22), dies at 67
1950 Alan Hale Sr actor (The Seahawk, Yellowstone), dies at 57
1968 Duke Kahanamoku Hawaii, 100m swimmer (Olympics-gold-1912, 20, 24), dies at 77
1969 Judy Garland singer/actress (Wizard of Oz), dies at 48 of an overdose
1973 Lyndon B Johnson President (1963-69), dies at his Texas ranch at 64
1979 Ali Hassan Salameh [Abu Hassan], killed by car bomb; believed to have helped mastermind massacre of 1972 Munich Olympics athletes
1981 Fannie Thomas US, dies at 113
1992 Ali Amini PM of Iran (1961-62), dies
1994 Irving B Kahn inventor (teleprompter), dies at 76
1994 Telly Savalas actor (Kojak), dies of prostate cancer at 70
1995 Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy mother of President John F Kennedy, dies at 104
1996 Edward Thomas historian/intelligence expert, dies at 77
1997 Irwin Levine composer (Tie a Yellow Ribbon), dies at 58

Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1966 FORMAN WILLIAM S.---PIPESTONE MN.
1966 FRENYEA EDMUND M.---UKIAH CA.
[LOST AT SEA]
1966 GRISSETT EDWIN R.---SAN JUAN TX.
[REMAINS RETURNED 06/89]
1966 SENNETT ROBERT R.---MAR VISTA CA.
1966 TEMPLIN ERWIN B. JR.---HOUSTON TX.
1969 ROSS DOUGLAS A.---TEMPLE CITY CA.
[REMAINS RETURNED IDENTIFIED 03/06/98]

POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by
the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.

On this day...
0871 Battle at Basing Danish invasion army beats Ethelred of Wessex
1371 King Robert II Stuart of Scotland crowned
1510 Jews are expelled from Colmar Germany
1517 Turks conquer Cairo
1528 England & France declare war on Emperor Charles V
1575 English queen Elizabeth I grants Thomas Tallis & William Byrd music press monopoly
1584 Parts of Switzerland adopt Gregorian calendar (& parts in 1812)
1588 Pope Sixtus V decrees "Immense aeterni" (Reformed curia)
1673 Postal service between New York & Boston inaugurated
1689 Lord Halifax becomes Speaker of English House of Lords
1690 Iroquois tribes renew allegiance to British against French
1758 Russian troops occupy Königsberg, East Prussia
1760 Battle at Wandewash India British troops beat French (of course they did..EVERYBODY beats the French)
1771 Spain cedes the Falkland Islands to Britain
1775 Marshal Oscar von Lubomirski expels Jews from Warsaw Poland
1813 Americans capture Frenchtown, Canada
1814 1st Knights Templar grand encampment in US held, New York City NY
1816 Lord Byron completes "Parisina" & "The Siege of Corinth"
1837 Earthquake in southern Syria kills thousands
1850 Alta California becomes a daily paper, 1st such in California
1857 National Association of Baseball Players founded, NY
1859 Brahms' 1st piano concerto (in D minor) premieres, Hanover
1862 Confederate government raises premium for volunteers from $10 to $20
1863 Union General Burnside's "Mud March"
1879 James Shields (D) elected US senator from Missouri after previously serving as US senator from Illinois & Minnesota
1879 Zulus attack British Army camp in Isandhlwana South Africa
1881 Ancient Egyptian obelisk "Cleopatra's Needle" erected in Central Park
1890 José Marti forms La Liga (Union of Cuban exiles) in New York City NY
1895 National Association of Manufacturers organized in Cincinnati OH
1901 After 63 years England stops sale of Queen Victoria postage stamps series & begins King Edward VII series
1905 "Bloody Sunday"; Russian demonstrators fired on by tsarist troops
1924 KGO-AM in San Francisco CA begins radio transmissions
1924 Baldwin government resigns in England
1930 -35ºF Mount Carroll IL (state record)
1932 British Anglicans & Old-Catholic church merge
1934 Dmitri Shostakovich's opera "Lady MacBeth" premieres in Leningrad
1936 French Laval government falls
1938 "Our Town", Thornton Wilder's Pulitzer-winner of small-town life in Grover's Corners NH, performed publicly for 1st time (New Jersey)
1939 Uranium atom 1st split, Columbia University
1941 1st mass killing of Jews in Romania
1941 British/Australian troops capture Tobruk from Italians
1943 Temperature rises 49ºF (9ºC) in 2 minutes in Spearfish SD
1944 Battle of Anzio (Italy); Allies stopped on the beach
1945 Burma highway reopens
1946 US President sets up CIA, Central Intelligence Agency
1947 KTLA TV channel 5 in Los Angeles CA (IND) begins broadcasting (1st commercial TV station west of Mississippi)
1951 Fidel Castro ejected from a Winter League game after beaning batter
1953 Arthur Miller's "Crucible" premieres in New York City NY
1957 Israeli forces withdraw from the Sinai Penisula
1957 Mad Bomber (George P Metesky) accused of 30 explosions, arrested
1959 USAF concludes less than 1% of UFO's are unknown objects
1960 Paul Pender beats Sugar Ray Robinson for middleweight boxing title
1964 World's largest cheese (15,723 kg) manufactured, Wisconsin
1965 US launches TIROS 9 weather satellite
1968 "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" premieres on NBC(Sock it too me)
1968 Apollo 5 launched to Moon; unmanned lunar module tests made
1969 Orbiting Solar Observatory 5 launched into earth orbit
1969 Roy Campanella & Stan Musial elected to baseball Hall of Fame
1970 1st commercial Boeing 747 flight (Pan Am), New York to London in 6½ hours
1972 "Emergency" with Robert Fuller premieres on NBC TV
1973 George Foreman TKOs Joe Frazier in 2 for heavyweight boxing title

1973 Roe vs Wade US Supreme Court legalizes some abortions

1973 US, North & South Vietnam & Vietcong sign boundary accord
1975 Landsat 2, an Earth Resources Technology Satellite, launched
1976 Bank robbery in Beirut nets $20-50 million (record)
1980 Dissidents Andrei Sacharov & Jelena Bonner banished to Gorki
1982 75% of North America is covered by snow (more proof of global warming)
1985 -30ºF , Mountain Lake Bio Station, Virginia (state record)
1985 Cold wave damages 90% of Florida's citrus crop
1985 Kelly Hu, 16, of Hawaii, crowned 3rd Miss Teen USA
1988 Mike Tyson TKOs Larry Holmes in 4 for heavyweight boxing title
1989 Super Bowl XXIII San Francisco 49ers beat Cincinnati Bengals, 20-16 in Miami; Super Bowl MVP Jerry Rice, San Francisco, Wide Receiver
1992 Space Shuttle STS-42 (Discovery 15) launches into space
1992 Princess Sarah Ferguson wears paper bag over her head on airline ride (good)
1995 Palestinian bomb attack in Beit Lid Israel, 21-22 killed
1998 NHL's Minnesota franchise selects the nickname Wild
(You remember professional hockey? Sure you do.)

Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"

Ukraine : Ukrainian Day (1918)
US : Answer Your Cat's Question Day
US : National Popcorn Day
National Yours, Mine and Ours Month

Religious Observances
Roman Catholic, Anglican : Memorial of St Vincent, martyr/patron of wine growers
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St Anastasius, martyr
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St Vincent Pallotti, Italian priest, founder

Religious History
1522 German Reformer Martin Luther wrote in a letter: 'Love cares for the problems of others as if they were one's own.'
1843 Birth of Friedrich Wilhelm Blass, German biblical philologist. His 1896 "Grammar of New Testament Greek" became a foundational work in New Testament studies, and is still in print.
1855 Birth of Carrie Ellis Breck, American Presbyterian poet. Several of her verses later became hymns, including "Help Somebody Today" and "Face to Face with Christ My Savior."
1882 The Fifth Street Presbyterian Church of Troy, New York, became the first church in America to be illuminated by electric lighting.
1963 Swiss Reformed theologian Karl Barth wrote in a letter: 'In Jesus Christ, God and man...are already at peace Ä not as enemies but as true companions. In Him salvation is already present and at work.'

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

Thought for the day :
"Music is the greatest good that mortals know,
And all of heaven we have below."