The Battle of 73 Easting was fought on 26 February 1991, during the Gulf War, between Coalition armored forces (US VII Corps and UK 1st Armoured Division) and Iraqi armored forces (Republican Guard and Tawakalna Division). It was named for a UTM north–south coordinate line (an "Easting", measured in kilometers and readable on GPS receivers) that was used as a phase line by Coalition forces to measure their progress through the desert. The battle was later described by Lt. John Mecca, a participant, as "the last great tank battle of the 20th century." This battle took place several hours after another, smaller, tank battle at 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 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. Task Force 1-41 Infantry breached the berm on the borders between Saudi Arabia and Iraq which was the initial Iraqi defensive position and performed reconnaissance and counter reconnaissance missions prior to the 2nd ACR's actions. This generally included destroying or repelling the Iraqis' reconnaissance elements and denying their commander any observation of friendly forces. The corps' main body consisted of the American 2nd Armored Division (Forward), 1st Armored Division (1st AD), 3rd Armored Division (3rd AD), 1st Infantry Division (1st ID), 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 to move forward and engage the enemy. Originally advancing ahead of the 3rd Armored Division until late on 25 February, they shifted to the east and 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.
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 wide, sweeping maneuver later described by Schwarzkopf as a "Hail Mary."Schwarzkopf's StrategyOperation Desert Sabre 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), which 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.
Plan 2nd ACR was to advance east, locate and engage the enemy, determine his dispositions, and then allow the mechanized brigades of 1st ID to pass through to finish destroying the Iraqis. 2nd ACR's limit of advance changed during the operation. VII Corps Fragmentary Order Seven, issued during the night of 25–26 February, made 60 Easting 2nd ACR's initial limit of advance. After 2nd ACR made contact with the Republican Guard's security zone, Corps changed the limit to 70 Easting. Along that line, 1st ID would pass through 2nd ACR and push on to objectives further east. VII Corps commander Lieutenant General Frederick M. Franks Jr. ordered 2nd ACR commander Colonel Don Holder to locate the enemy but avoid becoming decisively engaged.Atkinson, Rick (1993). Crusade: The Untold Story of the Persian Gulf War. Houghton Mifflin Company.
2nd ACR's three armored cavalry squadrons deployed in line, with Second Squadron in the north, Third Squadron in the center, and First Squadron in the south. Fourth Squadron (the combat aviation squadron) flew reconnaissance and attack missions chiefly in the northern and central zones. Weather restricted flight operations severely, however, and kept Fourth Squadron grounded for about half of the daylight hours. Unusually for a corps covering force, 2nd ACR lacked a reserve tank or mechanized infantry battalion.
Moving through the Republican Guards' security area on the morning of the 26th undetected, 2nd ACR encountered the Tawakalna DivisionTawakalna Division and 12th Iraqi Armored Division (12th AD) in a line facing them with Tawakalna in the north and 12th AD in the center and south. All Iraqi units occupied well-constructed defensive emplacements and had prepared alternate positions which enabled them to reorient to the west to face VII Corps's attack. 12th AD's assignment to the Republican Guard was not known at the time of the engagement.Michael D. Krause, "The Battle of 73 Easting, 26 February 1991", A Joint Center of Military History and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Project, 24 May 1991
Despite extensive aerial and artillery bombardment by U.S. forces, most Iraqi units defending along 70 Easting remained effective. 2nd ACR employed M270 MLRS artillery fire from the supporting 27th Field Artillery Regiment, as well as air strikes, and attack helicopters (both AH-64 Apaches of 2-1 Aviation and AH-1 Cobras of Fourth Squadron) against the Republican Guard units as the armored cavalry squadrons moved east through the security zone. Sandstorms slowed this movement throughout the day, restricting visibility to as little as .
Approach to the 70 Easting During the period of 23 February 1991 the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, with its attached operational control, attacked into Southern Iraq in the lead of VII Corps with such audacity that the Dragoon Battle Group quickly overwhelmed superior enemy forces, demoralizing them and taking hundreds of enemy prisoners. The 2nd and 3rd Squadrons of the regiment destroyed two brigades of the Iraqi Republican Guards Tawakalna Division. The 2nd Squadron, 2nd ACR alone contributed 55 Iraqi tanks destroyed, 45 other armored vehicles, an equal number of trucks, hundreds of Iraqi infantry KIA, and 865 Iraqi soldiers taken prisoner.Guardia p.71 As part of the 1st Infantry Division (Mechanized) and VII Corps main effort, Task Force 3-37th Armor breached the Iraqi defense on 24 February 1991, clearing four passage lanes and expanding the gap under direct enemy fire. The Task Force then attacked 300 kilometers across southern Iraq into northern Kuwait, severing Iraqi lines of communication, and then drove north once again into Iraq to assist in the seizure of the City of Safwan and the securing of the Safwan Air Base for the Coalition Forces–Iraqi cease-fire negotiations. During the operation, over 50 enemy combat vehicles were destroyed and over 1,700 prisoners were captured.
2nd ACR began the 26th of February on the VII Corps Objective still oriented to the northeast. In the early morning hours, Lt. Colonel Scott Marcy's Third Squadron fought companies of the Iraqi 50th Armored Brigade, which had moved into the regiment's southern area to confirm reports that allied units were in the vicinity.
At 05:22 the regiment received Corps Frag Plan Seven, which adjusted its zone and objective and directed all Corps units to move east to attack units of the Republican Guard. The order adjusted the boundary between 2nd ACR and the 1st UK Armoured Division to the south and the early movements of the day involved re-orienting the regiment's squadrons and coordinating with 1st UK Armored Division along the new boundary, the 80 Northing."Extract of the Second Armored Cavalry Regiment's Operations Log", Second Armored Cavalry, ca. April 1991
The aviation squadron led by Lt. Colonel Don Olson established a screen along the 50 Easting by 7 am, and by 8 am the armored cavalry squadrons had moved into their new zones. Third Squadron, operating in the center, destroyed a T-72 tank before 8 am, establishing the first ground contact with the Iraqi Republican Guard's Tawakalna Division. All three squadrons were in contact with security forces by 9 am but a violent sandstorm blew into the area and movement to the regiment's limit of advance, the 60 Easting, took until 11 am.
Air cavalry operations ceased just after 9 a.m. and would not resume until afternoon. Lt. Colonel Tony Isaac's First Squadron meanwhile encountered scattered enemy positions in the south and by noon had reported destroying 23 T-55 tanks, 25 armored personnel carriers, six artillery pieces and numerous trucks.Houlahan, Thomas (1999). Gulf War: The Complete History. Schrenker Military Publishing, p 325. Lt. Colonel Mike Kobbe's Second Squadron troops all reported resistance from small Tawakalna Division security outposts while Third Squadron destroyed similar outposts in the Regimental center. Lt. Gen. Franks visited the regiment's main command post just before 1 p.m. There, the regimental executive officer, Lt. Colonel Roger Jones, and the S2, Major Steve Campbell, briefed him on the situation and informed him that sensors were reporting movement of tracked vehicles to the north out of the regiment's zone.
By 3 p.m. Third Armored Division had reached the 50 Easting and begun to move abreast of the regiment to the north. 1st Infantry Division's movement to join the fight was taking longer than expected, however. Lt. General Franks therefore directed the Second Armored Cavalry to continue its attack as far as the 70 Easting and to make contact with the Republican Guard's main defenses and prevent their movement. At the same time, he ordered the regiment to avoid becoming decisively engaged (meaning to refrain from committing all its maneuver forces and thereby losing freedom of action).
Colonel Holder issued a Fragmentary Order at 3:20 to comply with the Corps Commander's directive and by 3:45 Second Squadron's E and G Troops were in contact with well-organized defenses of the Tawakalna Division. At the same time the Third and First squadrons in the center and south moved to clear their zones, encountering T-72s in Third Squadron's north and T-62 and T-55 tanks of the Iraqi 12th Armored Division further south.
Fourth Squadron's air scouts rejoined the operation as the weather cleared around 3 p.m. Air scouts identified enemy defenses to the front of Second and Third Squadrons and attack helicopters struck several of the security outposts.
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 ZSU-23-4 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.
73 Easting