Battle of Phase Line Bullet

Iraqi Asad Babil abandoned to advancing 3AD forces

Date	February 26, 1991
Location	Southern Iraq
Result	Iraqi tactical victory

Belligerents

United States

Iraq

Commanders and leaders

Gen.Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr.
Gen.Frederick M. Franks, Jr.
Paul E. Funk

Saddam Hussein

Ayad Futayyih Al-Rawi

Strength

1st Armored Division
3rd Armored Division
1st Infantry Division
2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment

9th Mechanized Brigade, Tawakalna Republican Guard Division

Casualties and losses

4 Bradley IFVs destroyed and 10 damaged
2 killed
12 wounded

6 T-72 tanks and 18 APCs destroyed or abandoned

The Battle of Phase Line Bullet was one of the clashes which led to the destruction of the Tawakalna Iraqi Republican Guard Division, on February 26, 1991, by a simultaneous attack of two U.S. armored divisions (the 1st and 3rd), an Infantry Division (the 1st) and the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment.

The battle was one of the rare examples of an American armored force repulsed by a screen of Iraqi entrenched infantry, APCs, and Iraqi T-72 tanks during Desert Storm. The incident involved American friendly fire casualties.

The initial skirmishes between American and Iraqi Republican Guards units took place earlier that day around pre-established line 73 Easting, some 30 miles west of Wadi al Batin, where the 2 ACR managed to destroy two Iraqi armored brigades. The skirmishes in this sector were still going on when the 3rd Armored Division, positioned north, made the first contact with a brigade of the Tawakalna Armored Division around 3:30 PM.

Weather conditions were extremely poor, hampering visibility and identification of targets.

As the usual practice for armored reconnaissance, a troop of M3 Bradleys (Alpha Troop), belonging to the 4th Squadron of the 7th Cavalry Regiment, was scouting ahead of the main tank force. The flank screen maneuver took place along the southern boundaries between the 2 ACR and 3rd Armored Division operational areas. Task Forces 4-34 and 4-32 were advancing from the rear. The general movement of the US forces followed an eastward direction. The fumes from hundreds of oil wells set on fire by the Iraqis, combined with an intense shamal, forced the US vehicles to use thermal sights.

...
Wikipedia