cmh_70-117-1

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go in on their left and right. A marine amphibious feint would tie Iraqiunits into coastal defenses, while an air assault deep into Iraq wouldisolate the KTO from the Iraqi core around Baghdad. The main attackwould be that of the VII Corps, consisting of five heavy divisions, fourseparate field artillery brigades, an armored cavalry regiment, and aseparate aviation brigade. This massive armored thrust would envelopthe Iraqi line at its far-west end before turning east to annihilate theRepublican Guard and then sweep across the northern half of Kuwait.The four-division XVIII Airborne Corps would ride the VII Corps’ leftflank and continue to isolate the KTO from the west while assisting inclosing the trap to the east. With the phased arrival of the VII Corps andthe maturation of the plan of attack, the stage was set for Desert Shieldto become Desert Storm. (Map 3)Operation Desert StormOperation Desert Storm, the liberation of Kuwait, began on 17January 1991 with massive air strikes and missile bombardmentsthroughout Iraq. The coalition readily achieved air supremacy, and Iraqicommand and control does in fact seem to have been virtually paralyzedby the time the ground war began. Logistical degradation wore unevenly,with Iraqi units closest to the border being the most disadvantaged. Inpart, this was because of the greater distances, every kilometer of whichexposed units and their supply lines to coalition attack. This was alsobecause of the lower priority of the line infantry units on the border andan absence of stockpiles of supplies in them comparable to those builtup to support mechanized units to their rear as well as the RepublicanGuard. Overall, the coalition air campaign was a great success; but it didfar less well against dug-in equipment than against command and controlnodes and logistical assets. This situation changed radically when groundfighting forced theretofore hidden Iraqi equipment into movement. Thenthe synergy achieved by employing ground and air assets in concertdemonstrated itself with devastating effect.One limit on the operational success of the air campaign was thedistraction caused by an urgent diversion of air assets to a campaignagainst Iraqi Scud missiles. Although the Iraqis launched only eighty-sixScuds, these relatively primitive missiles had an impact well beyond theirnumber. Their range enabled them to reach, albeit inaccurately, soft andunprepared targets. Indeed, for Americans the bloodiest single incidentof the war occurred when a Scud missile slammed into a barracks inthe Dhahran suburb of Al Khobar on 25 February, killing twenty-eightand wounding ninety-seven—almost half from a single unit, the Army29
RafḩāXVIII ABN CORPSFAAI R A QW ā d ī a l B ā ţ i nK U W A I TAl JahrahCHARLIE25 JanAl AVII CORPSFAA17 FebECHOḨafar al BāținM S R D O D G EKing Khalid Military City14 FebALPHABRAVOV I I C O RT A AQibaM S R S U L T A NAl ArțāwīyahBuraydahDELTAM S R S U L T A NS A U D I A R A B I ARIYADHMap 3
Page 1 and 2: War in the Persian GulfOperations D
Page 3 and 4: Cover: On Guard at Sunset by Peter
Page 5 and 6: No.Page5. Ground War: Situation 25
Page 7 and 8: enjoy this short account of a confl
Page 9 and 10: BAGHDADDESERT SHIELD/DESERT STORMAR
Page 11 and 12: and withdrawal of Soviet armies int
Page 13 and 14: over 120,000 troops, 700 tanks,1,40
Page 15 and 16: had assumed command of thecorps in
Page 17 and 18: a Patriot missile battery of the 11
Page 19 and 20: demands quickly took a physicaltoll
Page 21 and 22: formal contracting process. “We w
Page 23 and 24: RafḩāI R A QW ā d ī a l B ā
Page 25 and 26: Tapline RoadDespite the confusion e
Page 27 and 28: established, the Army could conside
Page 29 and 30: In the only change made to the reco
Page 31 and 32: VII Corps assembly area in Saudi Ar
Page 33 and 34: supported the Persian Gulf operatio
Page 35 and 36: with a twelve-day continuous exerci
Page 37: Troops training in trenchesturning
Page 41 and 42: Reserve 14th Quartermaster Detachme
Page 43 and 44: y the M1 tank-equipped Tiger Brigad
Page 45 and 46: Euphrates RiverAs SamāwahAsh Shaba
Page 47 and 48: coalition air attacks and psycholog
Page 49 and 50: M1A1 Abrams tankIn their movement a
Page 51 and 52: On 24 February, the 1st Cavalry Div
Page 53 and 54: epositioned to continue the advance
Page 55 and 56: 1 CAs SamāwahEuphrates RiverX3 101
Page 57 and 58: coordinated close air support strik
Page 59 and 60: windstorm) in the objective area ki
Page 61 and 62: As SamāwahX3 101Ash ShabakahTALLIL
Page 63 and 64: Armoured Division, with over seven
Page 65 and 66: The brigade advanced at 1200 with t
Page 67 and 68: As SamāwahX3 101197Ash ShabakahTAL
Page 69 and 70: The 1st Brigade took the division l
Page 71 and 72: destruction of the Republican Guard
Page 73 and 74: the U.S. military and its allies ha
Page 75 and 76: noncommissioned officers. These wer
Page 77 and 78: expanding sealift, airlift, and the
Page 79 and 80: the active and reserve components w
Page 82: Map SymbolsX XI I IXX XX XXAirborne
Page 87: PIN : 909253-000

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