Battle Of 73 Easting Facts Curious Details On Gulf War Revealed

When we think of war, what comes to mind?Armored vehicles, tow missiles, and fire from tanks that attack helicopters and other tanks. The whole warzone scenario has been shown in numerous films and television series.That is exactly what happened in southern Iraq in 1991. Yes, we are talking about the Battle of 73 Easting, the infamous tank battle of the 20th century. There are many interesting ‘battle of 73 Easting facts’ that you should be aware of. Let us see what those facts are while going through the history of this great tank battle. Afterwards, also check Battle of Baltimore facts and Battle of Antietam facts.History Of Battle Of 73 EastingBattle of 73 Easting is known as the last major war of the 20th century. It was also known by other names like ‘operation desert storm’ and ‘operation desert shield.’ This is the general fact of the Battle, but what is the history of this great Battle of 73 Easting? What happened that resulted in this Battle of 73 Easting?The Battle of 73 Easting was fought between Iraq and a coalition of over 30 nations. Iraq developed hostile behavior towards Kuwait at the end of the Iran-Iraq war. The Iran-Iraq war lasted for almost eight years. During this war, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia had helped Iraq financially. After the war, Iraq demanded the Arab League to forgive their debts since the Battle had benefited them also. Iraq also criticized Kuwait for exploiting its natural resources.When the Arab league did not react to the demands made by Iraq against Kuwait, Iraq launched a ground invasion against Kuwait. The United States refused to negotiate with Iraq over a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. President Bush demanded Iraq to exit Kuwait. But Iraq was getting ready to invade Saudi Arabia and control the oil-producing fields. The US and other allied nations pre-deployed military troops to Saudi Arabia as part of operation desert shield.These troops were reinforced with detachments from NATO and non-NATO nations, including many Arab nations too. The conflict was not a pure west vs. Arab in this sense. When Iraq refused to exit from Kuwait, the US launched what is known as Operation Desert Storm. This happened on January 17, 1991. Thus began the Battle of 73 Eastings. On one side of the Battle was the republican guard of Iraq.The republican guard had the best training and equipment available and was known to be a great force to be reckoned with. The republican guard was also responsible for some of the greatest victories for Iraq. These Iraqi soldiers of the republican guard were dispatched to fight the American advance. On the other side was the US Army’s VII Corps. They included the first to third armored divisions and the 1st infantry division.The last battle fought by these military forces was the Vietnam war. So, it was very important to win this gulf war for them to prove that they were still in the best form. The American forces were around 4,000, and the republican guards were around 3,000. The Iraqi forces were very powerful at the time, so the American military force expected them to have many casualties.On February 23, 1991, the American forces went into southern Iraq. The American forces were known as eagle troops or e troops. A frontal push by armor was planned to attack the Iraqi forces from behind. The initial attack brought victory for the American forces, with 55 Iraqi tanks and 45 armored vehicles destroyed. Around 865 prisoners were captured too. The next day, some of the VII corps swept into northern Kuwait to block the retreat of Iraqi forces by destroying their lines of communication. Another 50 enemy tanks were destroyed, and 1,700 prisoners were captured.During that time, the Iraqi units tried to block the American advances by taking up positions along roadways. Unfortunately for Iraq, the American forces were equipped with GPS, which helped them give surprise attacks to Iraq regardless of the enemy positions. On 26th February, the VII Corps second armored cavalry troops were ordered to march to 73 Easting, which is an eastward distance measured by the GPS. The first contact of the American forces with the enemy happened here. The surprise attack of the American forces on the Iraqi forces put them in advance.Although the order was not to engage the enemy forces beyond the 70 Easting, the corps commander of the e-troop disobeyed the orders and attacked the Iraqi forces. E troop marched towards the 73 Easting and destroyed the Iraq armored vehicles and Iraqi units. Even though the e-troop was attacked at a point, they were able to quickly counterattack the enemy forces.While the build-up to the war was quite prolonged and involved a lot of heated exchanges but what is surprising is that when came to the battlefield, the Battle of 73 Easting is regarded amongst the shortest battles ever fought. The Battle of 73 Easting lasted for about 23 minutes only. The strong military history of Iraqi security forces was shattered by the American forces through this gulf war. This defeat of the mighty Iraqi army played a considerable role in changing the political dynamics in the region and also established America as the superpower in the region.Battle Of 73 Easting SignificanceThere is much significance assigned to the 73 battle of Easting. The primary one was that it was not a gulf war that was purely west vs. Arab. The American forces of the gulf war were also supported by Arab nations. This is the significance of this gulf war.Apart from that, the Battle of 73 Easting also had other significance as a battle. From the beginning to the end of the Battle of 73 Easting, the Iraqi tanks and forces were considered powerful. It was thought that they would win this Battle. But what happened was the opposite. The victory of the e-troop teaches us certain lessons.The flexibility of the military force of the American security forces is what played a crucial role in their victory against the enemy security forces. The corps commander of the e-troop at the most crucial stage of the battle changed the action and went against the order that was given to them. The American force values flexibility in military decisions and promotes the soldiers in taking action in crucial moments. But the enemy commander did not have this capability. The Iraqi forces were led to take orders and not change them whatever happens, which is why at the most important part of the battle, they were not able to do anything.The surprise attack of the American troops certainly took them by surprise. Another significant milestone of the Battle of 73 Easting was the American forces retaining their military history. The military forces were stagnant for a while after the Vietnam war, and the victory against the Iraq forces was very important for them to show that the military force was still powerful. The Battle of 73 Easting also taught us to never underestimate the enemy. The Iraqi force was under the assumption that e troop would attack from the roadways since they could not possibly navigate through the desert. But this was where they made a mistake. They weren’t aware of the GPS system that the military troops of American forces had.The e-troop was able to navigate through the desert by this. The mistake is assuming that the enemy is weak made Iraq take weak defensive positions, which in the end caused their failure. The introduction of GPS in military forces was a significant milestone achieved through this gulf war. The operation desert storm indeed took the enemy by a desert storm attack. Another significant part of the gulf war is the well-planned attack of American forces. Their well-developed strategy, along with the well-armored vehicles, played a major part in attaining the victory.The whole idea of a surprise attack gave them an upper hand against the enemy forces. The attack was not based on assumptions; it was a practical plan that would work really well. The Battle of 73 Easting is considered a great tank battle, and we would not disagree with this statement considering the great achievement made through this battle.Did you know that the second Armored Cavalry Regiment (2nd ACR) was comprised of three ground squadrons, an aviation squadron, and a support squadron?This great tank Battle of 73 Easting is regarded by many experts as a watershed moment in history as it broke the myth around the mighty army of Iraq. By defeating this mighty army, America was able to consolidate its presence in the middle-east region.What was the last major tank battle?Why is it called the last great tank battle? What do we know about the armored vehicles that not the American and Iraqi forces used during this Battle? By going into detail, we can understand why this Battle was known as the last great tank battle.The Iraqi army was known as the fourth largest army in the world. They had a massive, armored vehicle force. The majority of the Battle was filled with airstrikes. The major US unit involved in the Battle was the second armored cavalry troops. These cavalry troops consisted of three ground squadrons, an aviation squadron, and a support squadron.In each squadron, there were three cavalry troops, a tank company, a self-propelled howitzer battery, and a headquarters troop. The cavalry fighting vehicles were M3 Bradley tanks and M1A1 Abrams battle tanks. The Iraq armored vehicles were greater in number compared to the e-troop. But the technological advantage of the e-troop tanks over the Iraqi tanks was greater. The gunners seen at the confines of the crewmembers’ space had an advanced thermal targeting acquisition system.At the same time, the majority of Iraq armored vehicles were soviet- era type ones. The primary Iraqi tanks were the T-55, T-62, T-72 models. The BMP-1 was the main battle troop carrier. Compared to the enemy vehicles, Iraqi tanks had a manual form of targeting. This means that the enemy fire would be faster in operation. The tanks of the American forces also had night vision technologies, so it gave them the advantage to engage in Battle during the nighttime. The cannons of the Abrams high caliber round, which is superior to the Iraqi tanks.Desert storm had the first extensive use of depleted uranium high explosives and armor-piercing rounds. The Iraqi tanks stood no chance against it. The two cavalry fighting vehicles of both the enemies were totally different from each other, and it’s safe to say that American forces had a far superior advantage. The powerful defensive positions of the great army of Iraq were neutralized by the superior technology and well-trained tactics of the eagle troop. The armored combat of tanks was found to be the last great tank battle of the 20th century.Because, since the tank battles in World War II, this was the first time where the world witnessed two mighty armies attacking each other in fully mechanized warfare. The stunning performance of American forces and their battle tanks with superior technology is what made this great military victory more historic. No one had any doubt regarding the superiority of the American military force after the amazing victory that they had from the Battle of 73 Easting. The great tank battle also teaches us some great lessons too.Why was the Battle of 73 Easting important?The Battle of 73 Easting is very important. By far, this is a fact that we are sure of. There are a few things to keep in mind about this Persian Gulf war. The first one is that the Iraq force itself was a highly feared army in the world. The victory of American forces against this force is very important in the military history of America.The Battle of 73 Easting took only 23 minutes for the American eagle troop to be victorious. Americans suffered six killed in action and 19 wounded infantry occupied bunkers clearing operations, and they also lost one Bradley infantry fighting vehicle. But the losses of Iraq were greater. They had almost 600- 1000 killed in action and wounded in action. There were 1,300 prisoners taken by the American forces. They also lost 160 of their tanks, 180 personal carriers, 12 heavy artillery pieces, and many anti-aircraft artilleries.The Battle undoubtedly proved the superior tank design of the eagle troop tanks. The Chobham Armor of the American tanks was not used in combat before. The effectiveness of this armor was proved through this Persian Gulf war. Even though the American tanks got hit by the Iraqi tanks, none of the American Abram tanks were damaged to the point where they were inoperable. No major damage was done to the tanks. Another importance of the 73 Easting battle is that it proved the effectiveness of the battle systems that were not checked up until then.Some examples are the military GPS and the new generation thermal and night vision equipment. The mandatory feature of all tanks having thermal and night vision equipment was made possible after this Battle. This technological advancement in the military tanks was a result of the experiment by American forces during this gulf war. The quick thinking and change in tactics of the eagle troop proved to be the best step in the Battle as it prevented the Iraqi forces from reorganizing. The defensive positions of the Iraqi forces could not have survived the surprise attack, and the quick thinking of the American force helped in ending the war in 23 min.If the orders were followed by the eagle troop, then the Iraqi force would have had the time to reorganize and attack the American forces, which would have resulted in many casualties among the American forces.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for Battle Of 73 Easting facts: curious details on gulf war revealed! then why not take a look at butterfly meaning in the Bible: interesting symbolism facts revealed, or interesting mushroom facts for kids: where do Morel mushrooms grow?

When we think of war, what comes to mind?