Battle of Kuwait International Airport
| Battle of Kuwait International Airport | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Persian Gulf War | |||||||
 The "heel" of Kuwait |
|||||||
|
|||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 United States
|
 Iraq
|
||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Maj. Gen. J.M. Myatt Colonel Carlton W. Fulford Jr |
Major General Salah Aboud Mahmoud General Ra'ad Hamdani |
||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
|
1st Marine Division 2nd Marine Division Bravo Company, 4th Tank Battalion, 4th Marine Division 2nd Armored Division's Tiger Brigade 3-41 Infantry's Straight and Stalwart Battalion Task Force United States Army Special Forces |
3rd Armored Division 5th Mechanized Division 1st Mechanized Division 6th Armored Division 7th Infantry Division 8th Infantry Division 11th Infantry Division 14th Infantry Division 29th Infantry Division 15th Infantry Division 18th Infantry Division 19th Infantry Division 36th Infantry Division 42nd Infantry Division 449th Field Artillery Brigade Multiple Commando Units |
||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 19 killed 48 wounded 1 M1A1 tank damaged 10 M60A1 tanks destroyed/damaged |
Heavy casualties Thousands captured Hundreds of Iraqi tanks and armored personnel carriers destroyed or captured |
||||||
| 1 Boeing 747-200 destroyed | |||||||
The Battle of Kuwait International Airport occurred on February 27, 1991 during the 1st Gulf War. It was a tank battle between the United States and Ba'athist Iraq. Despite being a very large battle it is often overlooked compared to the other battles which took place during the war. No less than elements of 18 divisions total participated in this battle. U.S. Army Special Forces units and multiple Iraqi Commando units were also in theatre. In reality the battle took place over a span of three days despite the primary battle at Kuwait International Airport lasting only one day. Much of the combat actually took place en route to the airport. The battle featured the "Reveille Engagement" which went on to become the biggest and fastest tank battle in United States Marine Corp's entire history.
Both the United States Marine Corp's 1st Marine Division and 2nd Marine Division participated in this battle. The 2nd Marine Division was assisted by the U.S. Army's 2nd Armored Division's Tiger Brigade which was spearheaded by the 3-41 Infantry's Straight and Stalwart Battalion Task Force. U.S. Army Special Forces also conducted operations during this battle primarily inside of Kuwait International Airport to clear the complex of enemy snipers and any other resistance that remained. Iraq was represented by 14 divisions and a field artillery brigade. Iraq also had multiple Commando units in this theatre of operations.
Task Force Ripper under Colonel Carlton W. Fulford Jr led the 1st Marine Division straight into Kuwait City. Smashing through enemy armor and enemy delaying actions. As the Marine 1st Division edged nearer the city, commanders heard reports of two developing counterattacks by Iraqi forces. "We fired on the two gathering points and it wasn't 30 minutes before we scattered them like rabbits out of the bush," said Myatt, the division commander. "The Cobras {helicopter gunships} and the LAVs {light armored vehicles} had a field day" as a "hunter-killer package" to search out and destroy Iraqi equipment. On the way to their objective, the Kuwait International Airport, Task Force Ripper M-60A1 Patton tanks destroyed about 100 Iraqi tanks and armored personnel carriers, including about 50 top-of-the-line Soviet T-72 tanks. 1st Marine division commander Maj. Gen. J.M. Myatt said, "During the first day of combat operations 1st Platoon, D Company, 3rd Tank Battalion destroyed 15 Iraqi tanks". The Marines also destroyed 25 APCs and took 300 POWs. 1st Marine Division's Task Force Shepherd suffered 14 KIA during combat operations en route to Kuwait International Airport. Task Force Taro was also a participant in the 1st Marine Division's combat operations. Task Force Papa Bear, C and D Co, 1st Marine Division, who as the division reserve repelled a huge enemy counter-attack while defending the minefield breach. The 1st Marine Division also destroyed around 60 Iraqi tanks near the Burgan oil field without suffering any losses.
...
Wikipedia