Battle of 73 Easting
Part of the Gulf War
Bradley IFV disabled by Iraqi tank fire
Date February 26 to 27, 1991 Location Iraq Result Decisive Coalition victory.
Combatants
United States Army British Army	Iraqi Republican Guard
Commanders
Norman Schwarzkopf	Saddam Hussein
Casualties
U.S. 12 KIA and FF, 57 wounded	600 killed and wounded

The Battle of 73 Easting was a decisive tank battle fought on 26 February 1991, during the Gulf War, between United States and British armoured forces against those of the Iraqi Republican Guard. Combatants United States Saudi Arabia Egypt United Kingdom & US-led Coalition Republic of Iraq Commanders Norman Schwarzkopf Khalid bin Sultan Saddam Hussein Strength 883,863 360,000 Casualties 240 killed in action, 776 wounded, 30 taken prisoner At least 183,000 victims of the Gulf War syndrome Est. ... Image File history File links K-12. ... The M2 Bradley IFV (Infantry Fighting Vehicle) and M3 Bradley CFV (Cavalry Fighting Vehicle) are American infantry fighting vehicles manufactured by BAE Systems Land and Armaments, (formerly United Defense, originally FMC). ... The foundation of the U.N. The United Nations (UN) is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate co-operation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress and human rights issues. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_USA.svg‎ REDIRECT File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Elvis Presley Stevie Nicks Jodie Foster Janet Jackson Meryl Streep Jessica Lange Faye Dunaway Madonna (entertainer) Trent Reznor Diana Ross User:Mtiedemann... The United States Army is the largest branch of the armed forces of the United States. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Iraq,_1991-2004. ... Iraqi President Saddam Hussein talks with elite Republican Guard officers in Baghdad on March 1, 2003. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_USA.svg‎ REDIRECT File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Elvis Presley Stevie Nicks Jodie Foster Janet Jackson Meryl Streep Jessica Lange Faye Dunaway Madonna (entertainer) Trent Reznor Diana Ross User:Mtiedemann... Herbert Norman Schwarzkopf Jr. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Iraq,_1991-2004. ... Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was the fifth President of Iraq and Chairman of the Iraqi Revolutionary Command Council from 1979 until his overthrow by US forces in 2003. ... Combatants United States Saudi Arabia Egypt United Kingdom & US-led Coalition Republic of Iraq Commanders Norman Schwarzkopf Khalid bin Sultan Saddam Hussein Strength 883,863 360,000 Casualties 240 killed in action, 776 wounded, 30 taken prisoner At least 183,000 victims of the Gulf War syndrome Est. ... Combatants Saudi Arabian Army SA National Guard United States Air Force Qatar  Iraq Casualties 35 dead, 32 wounded, 2 POW 2000+, 400 POW[1] Saudi National Guard american made Tanks during the Battle The Battle of Khafji was the first major ground engagement of the Gulf War. ... The Battle of Al Busayyah was a tank battle fought on 26 February 1991, during the Gulf War, between armored forces of the United States Army and those of the Iraqi Army. ... Combatants US Army Iraqi Republican Guard Commanders Paul E. Funk Ayad Futayih Al-Rawi Casualties 2 KIAs 12 WIAs 4 Bradleys destroyed 10 Bradleys damaged Unknown number of KIAs and WIAs 6 T-72s tanks destroyed or abandoned 17 APCs destroyed The Battle of Phase Line Bullet was one of... Combatants United States Iraq Commanders Montgomery Meigs Saddam Hussein Strength 1st Armored Division 2nd Brigade of Medina Luminous Division Casualties 1 killed (friendly fire), 30 wounded, 4 tanks damaged 186 tanks destroyed, 127 AFVs destroyed Gulf War Kuwait – Khafji – 73 Easting – Al Busayyah – Phase Line Bullet – Medina Ridge – Wadi Al... Combatants US Army Iraqi Republican Guard Commanders General Norman Schwarzkopf F.General Ayad Al-Rawi Casualties Unknown Unknown Battle of Wadi Al-Batin or Battle of Ruqi Pocket or Operation Red Storm was one of the battles which happeneds before the begining of the Desert Storm operations in February 15... The Battle of Norfolk was a tank battle fought on 27 February 1991, during the Gulf War, between armored forces of the United States Army and those of the Iraqi Republican Guard. ... is the 57th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the 1991 Gregorian calendar). ... Combatants United States Saudi Arabia Egypt United Kingdom & US-led Coalition Republic of Iraq Commanders Norman Schwarzkopf Khalid bin Sultan Saddam Hussein Strength 883,863 360,000 Casualties 240 killed in action, 776 wounded, 30 taken prisoner At least 183,000 victims of the Gulf War syndrome Est. ... Republican Guard is the organization of a republic which serves to protect the President and the government. ...

The battle took place about 50 miles east of, and several hours before the Battle of Al Busayyah. 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. The Battle of Al Busayyah was a tank battle fought on 26 February 1991, during the Gulf War, between armored forces of the United States Army and those of the Iraqi Army. ... The UTM Grid The Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) coordinate system is a grid-based method of specifying locations on the surface of the Earth. ... A kilometer (Commonwealth spelling: kilometre), symbol: km is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 1,000 metres (from the Greek words χίλια (khilia) = thousand and μέτρο (metro) = count/measure). ... Over fifty GPS satellites such as this NAVSTAR have been launched since 1978. ...

The main U.S. unit in the battle was the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment (2nd ACR), mainly a reconnaissance element of VII Corps. The corps's vanguard also included the American 3rd Armored Division (3rd AD) and 1st Infantry Division (1st ID), and the British 1st Armoured Division (1 AD). The 2d Cavalry Regiment (2d ACR) is a military unit within the United States Army. ... An armored cavalry regiment (ACR) is a regiment organized for the specific purposes of reconnaissance, surveillance, and security. ... Mixed reconnaissance patrol of the Polish Home Army and the Soviet Red Army during Operation Tempest, 1944 Reconnaissance is the military term for the active gathering of information about an enemy, or other conditions, by physical observation. ... For the VII Corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War, see VII Corps (ACW). ... A corps (plural same as singular; a word that migrated from the French language, pronounced IPA: (cor), but originating in the Latin corpus, corporis meaning body) is either a large military unit or formation, an administrative grouping of troops within an army with a common function (such as artillery or... The 3rd Armored Division —nicknamed the Spearhead Division— was an armored division of the United States Army. ... The 1st Infantry Division of the United States Army —nicknamed “The Big Red One” after its shoulder patch; and also nicknamed The Fighting First—is the oldest division in the United States Army, and has seen continuous service since its organization in 1917. ... The 1st Armoured Division is the title of an armoured division of the British Army. ...

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 Republican Guard divisions near the Iraq-Kuwait border that might attack the Arab and Marine units moving into Kuwait to the south. General H Norman Schwarzkopf KCB, also known as Stormin Norman (born August 22, 1934) is a retired United States Army General who, while he served as Commander-in-Chief (now known as Combatant Commander) of U.S. Central Command, was commander of the Coalition Forces in the Gulf War of... The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is a branch of the United States military responsible for providing power projection from the sea,[1] utilizing the mobility of the U.S. Navy to rapidly deliver combined-arms task forces. ...

Initial Iraqi resistance was light and ineffective and the 2nd ACR did not see much fighting until 25 February. is the 56th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Plan

Movement of Coalition forces in theater of operations.

The 2nd ACR was to advance east, locate and engage the enemy at a distance, then allow the heavy mechanized units of the 1st ID to pass through to finish destroying the Iraqis. The 2nd ACR's limit of advance was to be 70 Easting, while the 1st ID would push on to objectives further east. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2346x1650, 561 KB) Description: Map of Troop Movements from Desert Shield/Storm Source: US-Army images Licence: Public Domain File links The following pages link to this file: Gulf War ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2346x1650, 561 KB) Description: Map of Troop Movements from Desert Shield/Storm Source: US-Army images Licence: Public Domain File links The following pages link to this file: Gulf War ... Mechanized infantry are infantry equipped with armored personnel carriers (APCs), or infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) for transport and combat (see also mechanized force). ...

They faced Iraq's heavily armored Tawakalna Division, which occupied well-constructed defensive emplacements. They had also prepared alternate positions which enabled them to reorient to the west to face VII Corps’s attack. Despite extensive aerial and artillery bombardment by U.S. forces, most elements of the Tawakalna Division remained effective.

67 Easting

The battle was conducted in very bad weather. The day began with heavy ground fog, which later lifted amid winds gusting to 42 knots. Heavy rain, and later, blowing sand often reduced visibility to less than 100 meters. The ceiling was generally too low for Army aviation or Air Force close air support aircraft to fly during the opening rounds of the battle.

At 13:00, one of 2nd ACR's cavalry units, G- (“Ghost”) Troop, destroyed several Iraqi armored personnel carriers and, about 15:30, three enemy tanks.

By 16:10, further south near the east-west UTM coordinate line 00 Northing, 2nd ACR's E- (“Eagle”) Troop received fire from an Iraqi dismounted outpost, a dug-in Iraqi ZU-23 and several occupied buildings in an Iraqi village. The American scouts returned fire with their tanks and Bradleys, silenced the Iraqi guns, took prisoners, and continued east. They advanced three more kilometers east to the 70 Easting line. More enemy fire came in and was immediately returned. The UTM Grid The Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) coordinate system is a grid-based method of specifying locations on the surface of the Earth. ... A ZU-23-2 towed anti-aircraft gun. ...

73 Easting

Reaching 70 Easting at 16:22, 2nd Squadron knocked out a screen of eight Iraqi T-72 tanks. Three kilometers beyond, T-72s could be seen in prepared positions at 73 Easting. This was the Iraqi Brigade Assembly Area. Fearing the loss of surprise, E-Troop's commander, Captain H.R. McMaster, decided not to wait for heavier units to come forward and engage the Iraqis. McMaster ordered E-Troop to advance and engage the Iraqi tanks in a hasty attack. The T-72, a Soviet main battle tank entered production in 1971. ... The commanding officer (CO) is the officer in command of a military unit. ... Please see Captain for other uses of the term Captain is a military rank used in nearly every army and navy of the world. ... Col. ... Hasty attack is a specific form of attack identified within United States military doctrine, in which upon contact with an enemy that is unprepared a unit decides to conduct an attack with limited planning and coordination and with rapid preparation and execution to exploit an enemies weakness. ...

E-Troop consisted of 10 M1 Abrams tanks, 13 M3 Bradleys, two M106 mortar carriers, one M577 command track and a M981 FIST-V. The M1 Abrams main battle tank is the principal combat tank of the United States Army. ... The M2 Bradley IFV (Infantry Fighting Vehicle) and M3 Bradley CFV (Cavalry Fighting Vehicle) are American infantry fighting vehicles manufactured by BAE Systems Land and Armaments, (formerly United Defense, originally FMC). ... The M113 during the Vietnam War See also Mercedes-Benz M113 engine The M113 is an armored personnel carrier family of vehicles. ... The M981 FISTV (Fire Support Team Vehicle) is a United States Army armored vehicle designed to house an Artillery observer team in mechanized units. ...

Armored battles in the open desert are generally decided very quickly; 73 Easting was no exception. The 2nd ACR surprised the enemy and penetrated the Iraqi positions so quickly that they were unable to recover. Superior American night vision equipment turned the poor weather into a U.S. advantage. Experimental night vision goggles. ...

McMaster's unit charged and destroyed the Iraqi tanks at 73 Easting at close range. Unlike previous engagements, the destruction of the first Iraqi tanks did not result in the wholesale surrender of Iraqi soldiers. The Iraqis stood their ground while their tanks and armored personnel carriers of the Tawakalna Division attempted to maneuver and fight. E-Troop destroyed more than 20 tanks and other armored vehicles, a number of trucks and bunkers, and took a large numbers prisoners with no losses to themselves. In 20 minutes, E-Troop had advanced in constant heavy contact with Iraqi armor from 67 Easting to 74 Easting.

Other 2nd ACR Troops, I- (“Iron”), K- (“Killer”), and G- (“Ghost”), joined the fighting at 73 Easting. By 16:40, G-Troop had assumed a fixed position on a ridge overlooking a wadi at and parallel to the 73 Easting phase line, north of E-Troop's battle. During the fight, the Republican Guards' Tawakalna Division's 18th Brigade had gotten tangled up with the their own 12th Armored Division, and both enemy units were trying to retreat through the same narrow piece of terrain, a shallow valley between two ridgelines, leading straight into G-Troop. At 18:30, the first of several waves of Iraqi T-72 and T-55 tanks advanced into the wadi in a bid to escape, directly into G-Troop. The fighting was fierce, as wave after wave of tanks and infantry charged G-Troop. The other troops and tank companies were fighting largely against dug-in soldiers and stationary tanks, not the armored charges faced by G-Troop that night. The fighting was so intense that, more than once, only the calling in of artillery and helicopter gunships saved G-Troop. During the six-hour battle, the G-Troop fire support team called in 720 howitzer rounds. By 21:00, G-Troop was desperately short on ammunition and a tank company, “Hawk,” was sent in to relieve them. G-Troop lost one M3 Bradley to Iraqi IFV fire and one soldier, Sergeant Nels A. Moller, the gunner of the Bradley, was killed. Reportedly, the Bradley had depleted its supply of TOW missiles and was laying fire with its 25 mm cannon when it was hit by 73 mm cannon fire from an Iraqi BMP-1.^[1] Wadi alMujib, Jordan A wadi (Arabic: ) is traditionally a valley. ... In mathematics, a phase line is a diagram which shows the behaviour of an autonomous ordinary differential equation. ... The T-72, a Soviet main battle tank entered production in 1971. ... The T-54 and T-55 tank series was the Soviet Unions front-line main battle tank from 1947 until 1962, and remains in service throughout the world to this day, especially by former client states of the Soviet Union. ... A trench is a long narrow ditch. ... 19th century 12 pounder (5 kg) mountain howitzer displayed by the National Park Service at Fort Laramie in Wyoming, USA A howitzer is a type of artillery piece that is characterized by a relatively short barrel and the use of comparatively small explosive charges to propel projectiles at trajectories with... An M2 Bradley Infantry fighting vehicle. ... A TOW missile being fired from a Jeep. ... Caliber: 25 mm NATO Firearm action: Chain gun Manufactured by: ATK Barrel Length: 85. ... The BMP-1 is a Soviet infantry fighting vehicle which was first introduced in the early 1960s. ...

74 Easting and beyond

By 22:30, the 2nd ACR's front at 74 Easting was quiet as the 1st Infantry Division began its forward passage of lines. The 1st Infantry Division passed through the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment's line and continued to advance on Objective Norfolk, an area encompassing the intersection of the IPSA Pipeline Road, several desert trails, and a large Iraqi supply depot. Now, instead of three armored cavalry squadrons, the Iraqi 18th and 37th Armored Brigades faced six heavy battalions of American tanks and infantry fighting vehicles and another six battalions of 155 mm field artillery. Again, the Iraqis did not run or surrender, but manned their vehicles and weapons to face the advancing Americans. In the ensuing battle, many American units advanced past Iraqi tanks and crews, who were in shelters or had not yet turned on their engines and so did not appear to be threats in the American crew's thermal sights. Some confusion resulted, with enemy tanks and anti-tank infantry crews operating in the rear of the American lead units, and several friendly fire incidents occurred. The brigade commander, Colonel David Weisman, decided to pull the battalions back, consolidate, and use his artillery to destroy the aggressive Iraqi infantry. An M2 Bradley Infantry fighting vehicle. ... Friendly fire or non-hostile fire, a term originally adopted by the United States military, is fire from allied or friendly forces, as opposed to fire coming from enemy forces or enemy fire. ... This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone and/or spelling. ...

The Iraqis had halted the 1st Infantry Division's initial push into their sector only temporarily. By 00:30, 27 February, the two attacking brigades of the 1st Infantry Division were positioned along the 75 Easting, 2,000 meters east of 73 Easting. In what has since been dubbed the Battle of Norfolk, they crossed the remaining ten kilometers to their objective, Objective Norfolk, over the next three hours. By dawn, the 1st ID had taken Objective Norfolk and the fight shifted away from the 73 Easting area to 1st Armored Division's attack to the north, started at 20:00 on 26 February, and the 3rd Armored Division attack just to the south of the 1st Division. The Battle of Norfolk was a tank battle fought on 27 February 1991, during the Gulf War, between armored forces of the United States Army and those of the Iraqi Republican Guard. ...

After midnight, the British 1st Armored Division’s 2nd Brigade engaged a brigade of the Iraqi Adnan Infantry Division —a light infantry Republican Guard unit— which was moving into its sector. Farther east, two brigades of the Iraqi Medina Division were trying to set up a defense line around what had been designated Phase Line Lime. The 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored Division engaged the Tawakalna Division, while the rest of 1st Armored Division continued after the Adnan Infantry Division in conjunction with continuous artillery and helicopter attacks. There was some ground contact, but most of the destruction was visited upon the Adnan ID by artillery and Apaches. Objective Bonn, containing the Medinah division and a major Republican Guard logistics base, was attacked by helicopter and air force strikes. Pilots reported large massings of enemy forces there: Medina was reinforced by elements of the 17th, 12th, 10th and 52nd Armored Divisions, which had been retreating north. The Medina Division retained about three quarters of its tanks and was attempting to maneuver against 1st AD. The British responded decisively with MLRS fire, cannon artillery, and air strikes. This was the start of nearly two days of continuous combat for the British, some of the toughest fighting of the war. In the largest of this series of running battles, the British destroyed 40 enemy tanks and captured an Iraqi division commander. Traditionally light infantry (or skirmishers) were soldiers whose job was to provide a skirmishing screen ahead of the main body of infantry, harassing and delaying the enemy advance. ... The AH-64 Apache is the United States Armys principal attack helicopter, and is the successor to the AH-1 Cobra. ... A Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) is a form of rocket artillery that can be reused. ...

The significance of the Battle of 73 Easting

The 2nd ACR, which advanced between the Iraqi 12th Armored Division and the Tawakalna Division, was the only American ground unit to find itself decisively outnumbered and out-gunned. Nonetheless, the 2nd ACR's three squadrons, along with the 1st Infantry Division's two leading brigades, destroyed two Iraqi brigades (18th Mechanized Brigade and 37th Armored Brigade) of the Tawakalna Division. The 2nd ACR alone destroyed about 85 tanks, 40 personnel carriers and more than 30 wheeled vehicles, along with several anti-aircraft artillery systems during the battle. The equivalent of an Iraqi brigade was destroyed at 73 Easting; it was the first ground defeat of the Republican Guards. Within 24 hours, most of the other Iraqi brigades were gone.

Notes

1. ^ See the following official damage report:
   • www.gulflink.mil

References

• "Ghost Troop, Battle at 73 Easting." Crawley, Vince, Armor, May-June 1991, VOL C, #3.

• "The 2nd ACR at the Battle of 73 Easting." Davis, 1LT Daniel L., Field Artillery Journal, PB 6-92-2, Apr 92, Pg 48.

• "A Swift Kick, 2nd ACR's Taming of the Guard." Army Times, Aug 5, 1991.

• "Dragon's Roar: 1-37 Armor in the Battle of 73 Easting." Armor, May-June 1992, VOL CI, #3.

• Draft Report The Battle of 73 Easting, 26 February 1991, a historical introduction to a simulation. Krause, Col Michael, US Army Center of Military History, 2 May 1991.

is the 57th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the 1991 Gregorian calendar). ... May 2 is the 122nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (123rd in leap years). ... Year 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the 1991 Gregorian calendar). ...

External links

• Victory Misunderstood: What the Gulf War Tells Us About the Future of Conflict, by Stephen Biddle. From International Security, Vol. 21, No. 2 (Fall 1996)
• The FReeper Foxhole Revisits The Battle of 73 EASTING - 1991 -Jan. 22, 2005 at the Free Republic website.
• An account of Ghost Troop's fight, by Stars and Stripes