Battle of Medina Ridge

Battle of Medina Ridge
Part of the Persian Gulf War
M1 Abrams tanks moving in formation during the Persian Gulf War
Date February 27, 1991 Location Southwest of Basra, Iraq 30°10′27″N 46°56′6″E / 30.17417°N 46.93500°E / 30.17417; 46.93500Coordinates: 30°10′27″N 46°56′6″E / 30.17417°N 46.93500°E / 30.17417; 46.93500 Result American victory
Belligerents
United States	Iraq
Commanders and leaders
Gen.Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr. Gen.Frederick M. Franks, Jr. Ron Griffith Montgomery Meigs Edward Dyer Colonel Hatch Colonel James Riley Lt. Col. John Ward	General Ayad Futayyih Al-Rawi
Units involved
1st Armored Division 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division 75th Field Artillery Brigade Battery B, 25th Field Artillery 3rd Battalion, 1st Aviation 2nd Battalion, 1st Aviation	2nd Brigade of Medina Luminous Division Adnan Motorized Division Tawakalna Republican Guard Division 52nd Armored Division 17th Infantry Division
Casualties and losses
Light casualties 2 killed 33 wounded 4 tanks destroyed/damaged 2 Bradley IFVs 1 ambulance 1 HEMTT fueler 2 Apache helicopters shot down 4 Humvees destroyed 1 A-10 aircraft shot down	Heavy casualties 839 soldiers captured 186 tanks destroyed 127 IFVs destroyed 72 artillery pieces destroyed 118 trucks destroyed 5 air defense systems destroyed

The Battle of Medina Ridge was a tank battle fought on February 27, 1991, during the Gulf War, between the U.S. 1st Armored Division and the 2nd Brigade of the Iraqi Republican Guard Medina Luminous Division outside Basra, Iraq. The U.S. 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division was also a major contributor. Iraq's Adnan Motorized Division was also a participant. Iraq's Medina Ridge is the name American troops gave to a low rise, approximately seven miles (11 km) long.

The battle, which was waged over approximately two hours, was considered by some sources the largest tank battle of the war and the largest tank battle in American history. Other sources list it as the fifth largest in U.S. history and the 2nd largest tank battle of the Gulf war behind the Battle of Norfolk. It took place west of Phase Line Kiwi, east of Phase Line Smash, and north of Phase Line Grape. Phase lines are map references occurring every few kilometers used to measure progress of an offensive operation.

The 1st Armored Division, commanded by Major General Ron Griffith, consisted of some 3,000 vehicles including 348 M1A1 Abrams tanks. The 1st Armored Division's Cavalry Squadron—1-1 Cavalry—made contact with the Medina Division and informed the Division Commander of the location of the enemy forces. 1st Armored Division's 2nd Brigade (Comprising three battalions TF 4-70th Armor, TF 2-70th Armor and TF 1-35th Armor) saw major action in this battle and was commanded by Colonel Montgomery Meigs (a descendant of General Montgomery C. Meigs of Civil War fame) 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, commanded by Colonel James Riley replaced 1st Armored Division's 1st Brigade for the duration of the war and was also heavily involved in the battle.

Medina Ridge was one of the few battles during Desert Storm in which American forces encountered significant Iraqi resistance and found it extremely difficult to advance. The Iraqi forces were well-deployed such that they could not be seen by American forces advancing until after they had cleared the top of the ridgeline. This defilade (aka reverse slope) position was intended to give the Iraqis protection from the powerful long-range direct fire of the M1 Abrams tanks and the M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles.

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Wikipedia