Battle of Wadi Al-Batin

Battle of Wadi Al-Batin
Part of the Persian Gulf War
Soviet made T-12 Rapira antitank gun, the main weapon used by the Iraqis during the battle
Date 15 – 20 February 1991 (5 days) Location Iraq Result Iraqi victory Successful American feint attack
Belligerents
United States United Kingdom	Iraq
Commanders and leaders
Gen.Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr. Gen. Fred Franks	Yaiyd Khalel Zaki
Units involved
1st Cavalry Division 1st Squadron, 5th Cavalry Battery B, 1st Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery 3rd Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery	Iraqi Mechanized Infantry Reconnaissance Platoon 52nd Armored Division 103rd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division 72nd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division 109th Brigade, 31st Infantry Division
Casualties and losses
3 dead 9 wounded 1 M163 Vulcan Air Defense System vehicle destroyed 1 Bradley destroyed 1 Bradley damaged 1 Abrams tank damaged	7 captured 5 tanks destroyed 20 artillery pieces destroyed

The Battle of Wadi Al-Batin or Battle of Ruqi Pocket took place before the beginning of the Desert Storm operations on 16 February 1991. This is not to be confused with the "Battle of Wadi Al-Batin" which was fought later in the four-day ground war between elements of the U.S. 3rd Armored Division and the Iraqi Republican Guard.

Iraqis thought that Coalition forces were prepping the Wadi Al-Batin for the main attack. The desired effect was that the Iraqis would think that the main coalition ground attack would come up the Wadi Al Batin, a natural invasion route, and they would therefore reinforce their forces there, at the expense of the Western flank, where VII Corps would conduct the main attack.

As American forces secretly redeployed from the southern Kuwaiti border to the northwest, "deception cells" were left in the south. These units built a computer-generated electronic network which simulated an intense VHF-UHF wireless traffic. When the Iraqi intelligence caught these "radio calls" -some of them only static hiss- they immediately concluded that the bulk of American forces were still entrenched south of the border. Another master piece of military dupery was the building of fake bunkers and the shuttling of bogus vehicle convoys, only intended to churn up great clouds of dust. Decoy tanks added to the deception of the unsuspecting Iraqi army.

By mid February, General Franks ordered U.S. 1st Cavalry Division to conduct a thrust along the border between Iraq and Kuwait. This misdirection would allow the coalition forces to perform the famous "Hail Mary" to the West as the Iraqis focused on the Wadi.

On 15 February, TF 1-32, supported by the divisions 8th Engineers, breached the defensive berm built by the Iraqis on the frontier. The 155 mm howitzers of the Division's 3-82nd Field Artillery Regiment kept the Iraqi positions under fire in the course of this operation, pounding seven pre established targets. The Iraqis retaliated with sporadic mortar fire.

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Wikipedia