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| Iraq | |
| A Little Cavalry Goes a Long Way | |
| 2003-04-09 | |
| One Cavalry troop has been tearing up the Iraqi armor fleet with remarkable success. On April 4th, the 3/7 Cavalry was screening the west flank of other 3rd ID units storming the Baghdad International Airport. The US Air Force had identified 22 stationary T-72s (a battalion's worth) three or four kilometers in front of the Cavalry. "A" Troop was given the mission of taking out the enemy tanks and advanced down the six-lane highway with ten M1A1s and some M2 Bradleys. They saw the Air Force engaging one element on the North side of the road, but not a second element on the south side. This group was dug-in to hull-down positions, with barbed wire in front. Despite being outnumbered two to one, "A" Troop engaged and from 800 to 1,000 meters away, the cavalry opened fire with their Abrams tanks' 120 mm main guns, while most of the Iraqi 125mm main gun return fire fell short or flew too high. The M1s systematically destroyed the Iraqi armor. Even one of "A" Troops Bradleys destroyed three T-72s, while a second scored two T-72 kills. Interesting that the 25 mm Bradley gun can kill a T-72. I think I'll sell those T-72 futures short. Real short. One of the Iraqi main gun rounds exploded 25 meters from Troop Commander CPT Clay Lyle's tank, rattling it around some. The Iraqis also returned fire with RPGs and a few artillery shells, but none inflicted any casualties. As dusk approached, "A" Troop pulled back to allow their supporting artillery and close air support jets to pound the Iraqi positions. By 6PM, "A" Troop had destroyed 12 tanks, three antiaircraft guns and one towed howitzer. The engagement had lasted about 10 minutes. Earlier in the day, "Apache" Troop had destroyed nine tanks and killed about 350 Iraqi infantrymen (with Bradley main gunfire accounting for five of the nine destroyed tank kills). The other vehicles destroyed included an armored personnel carrier and 43 civilian-style trucks and cars being used to transport fighters to the battle. The Iraqis had simply been driving down the freeway when Apache troop attacked. Typical Iraq military formation: no scouts, no intel, no chance of knowing what's in front of them.
It was thought that "A" troop had probably run into elements of Iraq's Hammurabi Division as they shifted south into positions west of the airport. | |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #5 Bradleys have a TOW anti-tank guided missile launcher as well as the 25 mm cannon. I'd guess that is what they used to take out the T-72's. |
| Posted by: David Rourke 2003-04-09 13:37:19 |
| #4 The "funny" thing is, that during the battle, our gunnery was BETTER than it was on the range at Grafenwoehr and Hoenfels. In other words, our training was HARDER than the war, in terms of the gunnery situaions we set up. It looks like they have still kept that lesson we had drummed into us in the Regiment - sweat in training prevents blood in battle. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2003-04-09 10:34:26 |
| #3 Good shooting all, past and present. Honored to have you here, OldSpook. Your presence and comments outweigh the trollish deadwood. |
| Posted by: Ptah 2003-04-09 04:17:10 |
| #2 I have some doubts about the ability of the 25mm gun on a Bradley to kill a T-72. A Bradley also carries TOW Missiles, which are much more likely to do the job. |
| Posted by: Patrick Phillips 2003-04-09 02:45:53 |
| #1 The Cavalry did the same thing last war. (Crossposted from my comments on Command Post) FYI, fighting and winning outnumbered seems to be an Armored Cavalry tradition. Look up the Battle of 73 Easting from the last Gulf War. I was there. The 2ACR was the only US unit to fight outnumbered and almost surrounded. Despite having to fight in almost zero visibility due to dust storms and nightfall, the regiment's M2A2, M3A2 Bradleys, and M1A1 Abrams decimated the opposing elements of the Iraqi crack Tawakalna Republican Guard Division and 12th Armoured Division. By the end of its covering force mission, the Regiment had broken the defensive line of the Republican Guard's Tawakalna Division and led three heavy divisions into the fight. During the 100-hour war, the Regiment moved over 250 kilometers, captured over 2000 prisoners, and destroyed 159 enemy tanks and 260 other fighting vehicles. Its actions against the Iraqi divisions have become textbook examples of modern tank warfare." Great quote from 1991: âI started the war with 39 tanks (T72s). After 38 days of aerial bombardment, I had a total of 32. But, after 20 minutes against (one company of) the 2ACR, I had zero.â -Tank Battalion Commander, Iraqi Republican Guards, The Battle of 73 Easting Seems the 3/7 has kept the Cavalry tradition of elan, agressiveness and execution alive. Still proud to be Cav. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2003-04-09 02:38:55 |