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epositioned to continue the advance north, with regiments on the rightand in the center and the Tiger Brigade on the left tying in with thecoalition forces.Moving ahead a short distance to a major east-west highway by theend of the day, the 2d Marine Division captured intact the Iraqi 9th TankBattalion with thirty-five T–55 tanks and more than five thousand men.Already, on the first day of ground operations, the number of captiveshad become a problem in the marine sector. After a fight for Al JaberAirfield, during which the 1st Marine Division destroyed twenty-onetanks, another three thousand prisoners were seized. By the end of theday, the I Marine Expeditionary Force had worked its way about twentymiles into Kuwait and taken nearly ten thousand Iraqi prisoners.Day Two: 25 February 1991On 25 February, XVIII Airborne Corps units continued their driveinto Iraq. The 82d Airborne Division began its first sustained movementof the war; although, to the disappointment of General Johnson and histroops, the division had to stay on the ground and rode to its objectivesin trucks. The 82d followed the French 6th Light Armored Divisionnorth to As Salman. Meanwhile, the 101st Airborne Division sent its 3dBrigade out of objective Cobra on an air-assault jump north to occupyan observation and blocking position on the south bank of the EuphratesRiver just west of the town of An Nasinyah. (Map 5)In the early morning darkness of the same day, General McCaffreyput his 24th Infantry Division in motion toward its first major objective.Following close air support and artillery fires, the division’s 197thBrigade attacked at 0300 toward Objective Brown in the western partof the division sector. Instead of determined opposition, the brigadefound only a handful of hungry Iraqis dazed by the heavy artillerypreparation. By 0700, the 197th had cleared the area around Brown andestablished blocking positions to the east and west along a trail, whichwas then being improved to serve as the Corps main supply route. Sixhours later, the division’s 2d Brigade followed its own artillery fires andattacked Objective Grey on the right, encountering no enemy fire andtaking three hundred prisoners. After clearing the area, the brigade setblocking positions to the east.At 1450, with the 2d Brigade on Objective Grey, the 1st Brigademoved northwest into the center of the division sector and then angledto the division right, attacking Objective Red directly north of Grey.Seven hours later, the brigade had cleared the Red area, set blockingpositions to the east and north, and processed two hundred captives.44