The Road to Safwan: The 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry in the 1991 ...

The Breach 119
even in an age of sophisticated equipment, are usually wrong. 10
As the squadron continued its zone recon it ran across various
small enemy units. TF 2-34 to the east also encountered
scattered mounted reconnaissance elements as they attacked
north. In every case the Iraqi units rapidly fell back in the direction
of their main defenses. Things were strangely silent. The
squadron expected the enemy to call artillery upon the lead elements
but they did not. The cavalry did run across a few signs
of the enemy in places where CPT Seelinger, the S2, had initially
predicted their location. This was the case throughout the division
zone of advance. As the squadron closed in on the Iraqi
main defensive belt it began to encounter more of the Iraqis
who wanted to give up. In general, they surrendered in groups
of ten to twenty soldiers. Other 1st Brigade units began capturing
Iraqi soldiers as early as 0730 hours in the morning as they
closed in on PL Minnesota, which was about fifteen kilometers
from the expected main enemy defensive positions.
By 1000 hours, the entire brigade was arrayed about four
kilometers south of the Iraqi positions (PL Wisconsin). On the
front line, cavalry scouts set up on a low ridgeline and watched
the Iraqi soldiers across a shallow valley a little less than two
kilometers away. The troopers sensed that the defenders
seemed a bit surprised to be located across from American
forces. At this point, the squadron (and the remainder of the
brigade) was almost nine hours ahead of the schedule laid out
in the 1st Brigade’s operations order timeline. 11
While the combat units consolidated their positions, the
squadron’s command post and combat trains moved across the
berm and close to the front line. The command post stopped approximately
1500 meters behind ground units and the combat
trains another 1200 meters farther to the rear. These elements
were now in position to support the attack that would take
place during phase two. 12 CPT Morrison, who had been following
closely behind the combat trains, had been waiting for the
opportunity to bring the squadron fuel vehicles forward. Fuel
was always a serious concern in units like the Quarter Horse.
Tanks needed it first, and they normally had to refuel every six
to eight hours of operation. Next came the Bradleys, which
could operate for a whole day without refueling. The proce-