The end of America's war in Vietnam saw a US military in crisis- its morale all but
depleted and its combat expertise watered down by massive conscription.
In the years that followed the Pentagon focused on restoring America's military by returning
to an all-volunteer force and addressing the problems of systemic drug abuse and a weak
officer and non-commissioned officer corp.
But just how well would America's military fare in a new conflict after years of neglect
and waste?
Twenty years after Vietnam, the world would get to find out as America's forces were immediately
thrown into the last of the greatest tank battles of the 20th century.
Hello and welcome to another episode of The Infographics Show- today we're taking a look
at the Battle of 73 Easting, and how America proved once more it was a force to be reckoned
with.
The First Gulf War, or Operation Desert Shield and later, Desert Storm, was the last major
war of the 20th century.
Fought between Iraq and a coalition of over 30 nations, it was ultimately a test not just
of America's post-Vietnam War military, but of the UN as a world peacekeeping organization.
With the potential to escalate into an all-out regional conflict between Arab states, failure
to contain Iraq's hostility would have signaled to the world that even after decades of work,
the UN was just as a lame-duck at global peacekeeping as the League of Nations before it.
But how did the war start?
Iraq's belligerence towards Kuwait started towards the end of the Iran-Iraq war, a brutal
conflict that lasted for eight years.
During the conflict, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia had backed Iraq financially, lending it billions
of dollars.
After the war Iraq complained to the Arab League that its debts should be forgiven,
as it had acted in the foreign policy interests of both Kuwait and Saudi Arabia who feared
a growth of Iranian Shia influence amongst their own Shia populations.
Iraq also raised concerns that both nations were producing more oil than agreed-upon OPEC
production limits, which was lowering the price of oil and costing Iraq billions.
Lastly, Iraq specifically leveled charges against Kuwait that it was exploiting Iraqi
natural resources by slant-drilling across its northern border into Iraq's Rumaila oil
field- in essence drilling diagonally to bypass national borders underground, if you've seen
There Will Be Blood, it's the milkshake scene.
Iraq did not like Kuwait drinking its milkshake one bit and after the Arab League refused
to act, Iraq, prompted by these and other grievances, launched a ground invasion of
Kuwait, annexing the nation as a province of Iraq.
For its part, the United States had long tried to broker a settlement in the region, but
when Iraq linked its grievances with enforcing a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,
the US refused to negotiate.
Yet the United States remained reluctant to commit to military force, and ultimately it
was Great Britain's Margaret Thatcher who reminded US President George Bush Sr. about
the consequences of inaction during Germany's hostilities prior to World War II, most famously
by telling the US President “not to go wobbly”.
Wobbly, President Bush would not go, and he immediately demanded an exit from Kuwait by
Iraq.
With Iraq poised to invade Saudi Arabia and seize control over 65% of the world's oil
producing fields, the US and other allied nations had pre-deployed several hundred thousand
troops to Saudi Arabia as part of Operation Desert Shield.
On the eve of war these troops were reinforced with detachments from many NATO and non-NATO
nations, including several Arab League nations which President Bush had insisted on joining
so the conflict would not be seen purely as West vs Arab.
When Iraq refused to withdraw from Kuwait, the US launched Operation Desert Storm on
17 January, 1991, and the Battle of 73 Easting- the “last great tank battle of the 20th
century”- soon followed.
So who were the combatants, and what weapons was each side bringing to the fight?
One the defending side was Iraq's fearsome Republican Guard.
With the best training and equipment available to the Iraqi forces, the Republican Guard
had been a force to be reckoned with during the Iran-Iraq War, responsible for some of
Iraq's greatest victories.
It was these elite soldiers who were dispatched to be the first to meet the American advance,
and American war planners had estimated that defeating the Republican Guard forces would
be a costly victory, even weakened as they were by weeks of aerial bombardment.
The Republican Guard brought the vaunted Soviet-built T-72 main battle tank to the battle.
A stalwart of Soviet design philosophy, the T-72 brought few innovations but was a solidly
built and capable tank.
With a 125mm cannon, one 7.62 mm and one 12.7 mm machine gun, the T-72 may have been nearly
two decades old, but was still a formidable threat.
Its cannon had exceptional accuracy and firing rate both, with up to 8 rounds a minute or
1-2 rounds if loaded manually, and an armor penetration of 590-630 mm at 2,000 meters.
On the defensive, a T-72's frontal armor was 200 mm thick and capable of stopping a direct
hit from an M1 Abrams from 2,000 meters away.
The T-72's greatest weakness however was its lack of thermal vision systems and very poor
night vision capabilities, which were a crippling deficiency in combat.
Supporting its T-72 tanks were mechanized infantry deployed in Soviet-built BMP-1 infantry
fighting vehicles.
Equipped with a 73 mm semi-automatic cannon and a 7.62mm coaxial machine gun, BMPs not
only protected squads of soldiers that rode inside of them, but were capable of taking
on lightly armored vehicles themselves.
Iraq's Republican Guard BMPs were also equipped with 9M14 and 9M113 Konkurs anti-tank wire-guided
missiles, making them an agile threat to American tanks.
It's 33mm thick armor plating provided protection from 7.62 armor-piercing rounds and in a limited
degree of fire, even .50 caliber machine gun fire.
Like the T-72 however, Iraq's BMPs lacked thermal imaging capabilities or capable night
vision sights- factors which would be decisive throughout the Gulf War.
Facing off against Iraq's fearsome Republican Guard were elements of the US Army's VII Corps,
to include the 1st through 3rd Armored Divisions and the 1st Infantry Division.
Having seen no major action since the end of the Vietnam War, America's 'newly' re-minted
all-volunteer Army had some serious proving to do.
Yet the US Army had spent the last two decades drilling out its conscript force and restoring
the capabilities and expertise of its leadership at the non-commissioned and commissioned levels,
as well as engaging in routine exercises with NATO partners to stop a Soviet incursion through
the Fulda Gap.
The VII Corps brought to bear the now-legendary but as of then untested, M1A2 Abrams.
Designed in response to Soviet deployments of new main battle tanks, the M1A2 hosted
a slew of revolutionary features- most notable of all being its Chobham armor, of which it
was the first tank deployed which incorporated it.
Still a classified secret, Chobham armor is a composite armor made up of steel plates
layered with ceramic inserts and empty spaces meant to defeat anti-tank missiles and rounds
by deflecting or re-directing explosive blasts and kinetic penetrators.
It also featured layers of depleted uranium armor, making it one of the toughest fighting
vehicles ever created.
Its 120mm cannon is paired with a fire-control computer which aids a gunner by calculating
lead angle, ammunition type, and range to a target- a feature missing from Iraq's T-72s.
The M1A2 also featured thermal and night vision imaging, as well as laser range finders- all
features that would prove decisive in the deserts of Iraq.
The VII Corps infantry were supported by M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicles.
Armed with a 25mm automatic cannon with a firing rate of up to 300 rounds a minute,
and a TOW missile launcher, M2s were heads and shoulders above Iraq's BMPs in capabilities.
Its aluminum armor is reinforced with laminate belts and steel skirts capable of stopping
up to .50 caliber rounds, and even offering some protection from long-range tank fire.
M2s are equipped with both thermal and night vision imaging, once more granting them a
major advantage over Iraq's BMPs.
In total, American forces numbered at around 4,000, versus the Republican Guard's 2,500
to 3,000 personnel.
Yet with well-prepared defenses and boasting the 4th most powerful military in the world
at the time, the advantage was with Iraqi forces and American military planners expected
heavy casualties in the ensuing action.
The Battle:
On the 23rd of February American forces swept into Southern Iraq, a frontal push by armor
was coordinated with a sweeping hook meant to encircle Iraqi forces from behind and attack
from their flanks.
The initial action saw stunning American victories, with 55 Iraqi tanks and 45 armored vehicles
destroyed along with hundreds of enemy KIA and the surrender of 865 prisoners.
The next day elements of VII Corp swept into northern Kuwait to sever Iraqi lines of communication
and block the retreat of Iraqi forces.
Another 50 enemy vehicles were destroyed along with 1700 prisoners captured.
Moving to block further American advances and to secure their supply routes, Republican
Guard forces took up positions along roadways, expecting an American attack to come along
major roads as they did not think anyone would be able to navigate the featureless desert.
Unfortunately for Iraq, American forces were equipped with GPS- at the time a relatively
new feature on armored vehicles- which allowed them to surprise Iraqi forces from unexpected
avenues of attack originating deep in the desert.
On the 26th of February, VII Corps 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment was ordered to advance up
to 70 Easting- an eastward measured distance designated by GPS- and engage the Republican
Guard without becoming decisively engaged so they could retain their maneuverability.
At 1607 PM, E Troop of the 2ACR, equipped with nine Abrams, 12 Bradley Fighting vehicles,
and 2 120mm mortars made first contact with the enemy.
The main Republican Guard force had been entrenched near a village on the other side of a small
rise in the terrain in a reverse slope defense.
Unaware of American GPS and expecting an attack to come along the main road, the Iraqi commander
had dug his 40 T-72s and 16 BMPs 1,000 yards from the ridge and created two engagement
areas on the east side of the ridge and north and south of the village.
He had also deployed several minefields which included both anti-personnel and anti-tank
mines, and supported his armor with hundreds of infantry in hardened bunkers and trenches.
A reserve force of 18 T-72s and more BMPs was held near his command post about 3,000
yards east.
American forces arrived from out of the desert, not along the road as expected, catching the
Iraqis completely by surprise.
Destroying a bunker serving as an observation post by running over it, E Troop's lead Bradley
took two surrendering enemy soldiers prisoner.
A second Bradley then came under fire from Iraqi forces trying to reposition inside the
village, and nine Abrams returned fire with high explosive rounds.
Given the clear to advance, E Troop reoriented so that its Abrams would lead the charge,
with its Bradleys falling back to provide support.
Cresting the rise north of the village, the Abrams made immediate contact with the T-72s
entrenched there.
Weather had been poor all day and visibility was very low, yet the Abrams were able to
clearly see and target their T-72 opponents via their thermal sights, and with superior
fire control and precision, eliminated all eight T-72s they encountered in under a minute.
Advancing past the wrecked tanks, E Troop immediately came under fire from more tanks,
BMPs, and hundreds of infantry all trying to reposition to meet the American attack.
It was at this point though that E Troop had reached their limit of advance, 70 Easting,
which they had been ordered not to exceed, with further orders to not become decisively
engaged.
This point in the battle, perhaps more so than the superior performance of American
vehicles, proved to be decisive, as the commander of E Troop, then-Captain (today National Security
Advisor) H.R. McMaster disobeyed orders and commanded his troops to press the attack.
This may seem like a court-martial worthy offense, and certainly in many of the world's
militaries it would be- except the US military has for a long time embraced a doctrine of
flexibility which not only allows, but encourages its junior officers to execute orders as they
see fit.
Recognizing the high speed pace of modern war and acknowledging the often superior situational
awareness of junior commanders who are often on the front lines, the US military encourages
its junior officers to take the initiative.
This makes US forces extremely flexible, and is often a deciding factor in modern combat.
Iraqi forces on the other hand operated under a heavy-handed, top-down command structure
that severely limited individual officer's abilities to react to quickly changing situations.
This soviet-style command structure was most notably evident during the coalition's air
war, during which US-led airstrikes severed communication links in Iraqs extremely robust
air defense forces and rendered them extremely ineffective.
At 70 Easting that day this difference between command styles and military doctrines would
prove to be as decisive a force as the mighty Abrams.
E Troop continued its advance towards the next ridgeline at the 73 Easting, on which
were positioned the reserve force of 18 T-72 tanks.
Still waiting for orders from their commander, the T-72s were caught completely unprepared
and the first of their numbers were destroyed from a range of about 1,000 yards.
The rest of the vehicles attempted to mobilize and exit the staging area, but American Abrams
quickly crested the ridge and destroyed all of them at close range.
Now occupying the high ground that the Iraqi forces had planned on using to dominate the
Americans, E Troop consolidated its position but came under attack by a company sized force
of T-72s and BMPs.
The Abrams backed up by Bradleys firing TOW missiles made quick work of the enemy force
before they could close, eliminating the entire counter-attack from long range.
Meanwhile E Troop's mortars suppressed enemy infantry trying to mass further east, while
artillery fire support rained down on other enemy positions.
The Battle of 73 Easting lasted just over 23 minutes and resulted in an absolutely lopsided
victory for American forces.
Americans suffered 6 KIA and 19 wounded in bunker clearing operations by their infantry,
and 1 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle.
Iraqi forces suffered between 600 to 1,000 KIA and WIA, 1,300 prisoners taken, lost 160
tanks, 180 personnel carriers, 12 heavy artillery pieces, and several anti-aircraft artillery
repositioned to serve as ground fire support.
The battle proved the superiority of the Abrams tank design, and the effectiveness of its
classified Chobham armor which had not seen combat yet.
Despite taking numerous direct hits from T-72s, not a single American Abrams was rendered
inoperable or required major repairs- in fact the only Abrams to be lost during the entire
Gulf War would be to friendly fire.
The battle also proved the effectiveness of other as-of-yet un-battle tested systems such
as military GPS and new generation thermal and night vision equipment.
It proved the technological edge of American forces and ensured that all tanks built worldwide
would include thermal and night vision equipment as a mandatory feature.
The Battle of 73 Easting also proved the superiority of American military doctrine over Soviet
doctrine- E Troop's quick thinking and disobeying of previous orders had seized the advantage
and prevented Iraqi forces from reorganizing and mounting an effective counter attack.
Catching the Iraqis deployed to fight along the wrong axis of battle had given American
forces an insurmountable advantage- Iraqi positions simply could not have defeated the
surprise attack deployed defensively as they were.
But had E Troop obeyed orders and not advanced past the 70 Easting, those same forces could
have repositioned and regrouped, presenting a much more formidable challenge that could
have seen them inflict more serious casualties on the Americans.
The Battle of 73 Easting would have major repercussions around the world, with more
militaries adopting a less centralized command structure, though traditionally conservative
nations such as Russia and China still struggle to lend their junior officers the flexibility
that is so obviously critical to success on the fast-paced modern battlefield.
The battle and the stunning outcome of American advances against Iraqi forces- who at the
time were the world's 4th most formidable military- along with the results achieved
by American weapons and equipment, also led Soviet observers at the time to declare that
the only way to stop an American armored advance would be to use tactical nuclear weapons.
It also proved that the decay of America's military brought on by the Vietnam War had
been fully reversed, and that it now fielded a professional and competent military that
persists to this day.
Do you think the Republican Guard forces could have stood a chance if they hadn't been surprised
by the Americans?
What was the real reason for America's stunning victory- superior vehicles, command doctrine,
or luck?
Let us know in the comments.
Also, be sure to check out our other video USA vs The World - Who Would Win?.
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