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Battle of 73 Easting
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Battle of 73 Easting
Part of the Persian Gulf War
Destroyed Iraqi Type 69 tank
Date
26–27 February 1991
Location
southeastern Iraq
29°32′41″N 46°37′33″E
Coordinates: 29°32′41″N 46°37′33″E
Result
Decisive Coalition victory
Belligerents
United States
United Kingdom
Iraq
Commanders and leaders
Gen.Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr.
Gen.Frederick M. Franks, Jr.
Maj. Gen Thomas G. Rhame
Capt. H.R. McMaster (E Troop)
Joseph Sartiano (G)
Dan Miller (I)
Ashley Haszard (K)
Maj. Gen Rupert Smith[1]:43
Salah Aboud Mahmoud
Brig. Gen Saheb Mohammed Alaw
General Ayad Futayyih Al-Rawi[1]:247
Brig Gen. Bassil Omar Al-Shalham[1]:164
Units involved
2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment
3rd Armored Division
1st Infantry Division
1st Squadron, 4th Armored Cavalry Regiment
1st Armored Division
British 1st Armoured Division
2nd Armored Division (Forward)
210th Field Artillery Brigade[1]:331
Tawakalna Republican Guard Division
10th Armored Division
12th Armored Division
52nd Armored Division
25th Infantry Division
26th Infantry Division
31st Infantry Division
48th Infantry Division[1]:134, 144, 377
Casualties and losses
1 Bradley from enemy fire.
1 Bradley from friendly fire. [2]
600–1,000 killed and wounded
1,300+ prisoners[3]
160 tanks
180 personnel carriers
12 artillery pieces
80 wheeled vehicles
several anti-aircraft artillery systems[4]
[show]
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Gulf War
The Battle of 73 Easting was fought on 26 February 1991, during the Persian Gulf War, between United States armored forces of the VII Corps and those of the Iraqi Republican Guard and its Tawakalna Division. It was named for a UTM north-south coordinate line (an "Easting", measured in kilometers and readable on GPS receivers) in the featureless desert that was used as a phase line to measure progress of the offensive as they were going through what the Iraqis thought was trackless desert. The battle was later described in a documentary of the battle as "the last great tank battle of the 20th century." This battle took place several hours after another key tank battle known as the Battle of Al Busayyah.
The main U.S. unit in the battle was the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment (2nd ACR), a 4,500 man reconnaissance and security element assigned to VII Corps. It consisted of three ground squadrons (1st, 2nd and 3rd), an aviation (attack helicopter) squadron (4th), and a support squadron. Each ground squadron was made up of three cavalry troops, a tank company, a self-propelled howitzer battery, and a headquarters troop. Each troop comprised 120 soldiers, 12–13 M3 Bradley fighting vehicles and nine M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks.[5] Task Force 1-41 Infantry breached the berm on the borders between Saudi Arabia and Iraq which was the initial Iraqi defensive positions and performed reconnaissance and counter reconnaissance missions prior to the 2nd ACR's actions.[6] This generally includes destroying or repelling the Iraqi's reconnaissance elements and denying their commander any observation of friendly forces. The corps' main body consisted of the American 3rd Armored Division (3rd AD) and 1st Infantry Division (1st ID) and 2nd Armored Division (Forward) and 1st Armored Division (1st AD), and the British 1st Armoured Division (1 AD).
The job of the 2nd ACR was to cross the border and advance east as a forward scouting element, led by cavalry scouts in lightly armored M3A1 Bradleys with highly advanced thermals to detect enemy positions. Following closely behind were M1A1 Abrams tanks covering them from the rear, ready at a moment's notice to move forward and engage the enemy. Originally advancing ahead of the 3rd Armored Division until late on February 25th, they would shift to the east and be ahead of the advancing 1st Infantry Division as it moved north from its initial objectives. The Regiment's mission was to strip away enemy security forces, clear the way of significant defenses and locate the Republican Guard's defensive positions so they could be engaged by the full weight of the armored forces and artillery of the 1st Infantry Division.[7]
On the night of 23/24 February, in accordance with General Norman Schwarzkopf's plan for the ground assault called "Operation Desert Sabre", VII Corps raced east from Saudi Arabia into Iraq in a maneuver later nicknamed the "Hail Mary." The Corps had two goals: to cut off Iraqi retreat from Kuwait, and to destroy five elite Republican Guard divisions near the Iraq–Kuwait border that might attack the Arab and Marine units moving into Kuwait to the south. Initial Iraqi resistance was light and scattered after the breach, and the 2nd ACR fought only minor engagements until 25 February.
The primary battle was conducted by 2nd ACR's three squadrons of about 4,000 soldiers, along with the 1st Infantry Division's two leading brigades (2nd Armored Division (FWD)),[8] who attacked and destroyed the Iraqi 18th Mechanized Brigade and 37th Armored Brigade of the Tawakalna Division, each consisting of between 2,500 and 3,000 personnel.[5]