Desert Storm - The Ground War, Day 3 - The Great Tank Battle of 73 Easting - Animated

the armored divisions of sevencore have been preparing for this moment for several months they edge eastwards peering through the sandstorm to find the republican guard who are waiting for them in the merc the largest tank battle since world war ii is about to begin this video on the great tank battle of 73 easting is brought to you by world of tanks roll out into the combat zone to do battle against 100 million players on pc completely free to play with over 550 light medium and heavy tanks destroyers and artillery there is always a new and exciting way to take on your enemies engage across open fields climb hills sneak through forests tear across deserts and pick your battles in urban and industrial zones in over 40 battle arenas authentic models and vehicle characteristics give you a feeling of historical accuracy making you feel like a real tank commander taking part in a furious armored offensive like desert storm modify and upgrade your tank and create a steel beast ready for any challenge download world of tanks today with the link in the description during the registration use the code tank mania to get a free 7 day premium account 250 000 credits the premium tier 5 tank xl seal and 3 rental tanks for 10 battles each the tier 6 tiger 131 cromwell b and t-3485m with the coalition closing in from multiple directions resistance fighters in kuwait city alert the cia that a mass exodus of iraqi troops from the capital is in motion a developmental e-8 ground surveillance aircraft rushed into theater in time for the conflict is ordered to scan the area and detects 150 tanks trucks and confiscated civilian vehicles forming into convoys and retreating north from kuwait city on a highway towards iraq coalition commanders instruct colonel hornberg commander of fourth wing to deploy his f-15 strike eagles i know you've just finished a hard night's flying but i've got a job for you i want you to put your guys back in their aircraft fly over to kuwait and stop a convoy stop it at all costs the 12 eagles along with navy a6 intruders dropped cluster bombs on the lead and rear vehicles of the convoy stopping it in place these 150 vehicles are just the first in a line of thousands retreating from kuwait over the next 48 hours hundreds of coalition bombers hammer the traffic jam the ensuing carnage on highway 80 will earn it the nickname the highway of death the commanders of the tower counter and medina republican guard divisions know that they must delay the advance of sevencore as long as they can to allow the escape of iraqi units in the area including other republican guard divisions they also know that this is very likely to be a sacrificial task they deploy in a defensive line alongside regular iraqi divisions to meet the oncoming american and british armour anyway they show courage in doing so the second armored cavalry regiment are continuing their probe eastwards with orders to find the tower counter division but not to become decisively engaged they are the lead scouting elements of sevencore the british first armored division have been holding a defensive line against iraqi counter-attack throughout the night and now advance east towards the kuwaiti border their objective is to sweep through the multiple iraqi brigades and divisions on the southern flank splitting the iraqi frontline in half and isolating the republican guard units from possible reinforcements from kuwait allowing the rest of seven core to hit them in concentration at seven am the fourth armored brigade assaults the left flank of the iraqi front line who were caught off guard in a defensive line facing south towards the border unlike other frontline divisions the iraqi 52nd armoured division puts up a spirited response firing and maneuvering with their t-55 tanks the return fire is ineffective however and throughout the morning challenger 1 tanks clear the way to their objective destroying numerous iraqi tank companies the 7th armored brigade famously named the desert rats for their role in north africa in the second world war sweep along the flank of another iraqi line formed just to the north catching the iraqi troops watching south towards the battle raging with 4th armoured a challenger tank of the royal scots dragoon guards makes the longest recorded tank kill in history at 4 700 meters a record that stands to this day the iraqis do not maintain all-round reconnaissance and a company of spartan armored personnel carriers hook around to their north and attack them from the rear with milan anti-tank missiles the division methodically continues east throughout the day clearing objective after objective without loss disaster strikes in the afternoon when a pair of american a-10s arriving on station are given a verbal description of the location of enemy tanks by a returning f-16 they approach an area 20 kilometers from their assigned tasking and spot vehicles below they don't see the inverted v markings on the side of the vehicles indicating friendly forces and mistake them for iraqi t-55 tanks they fire two maverick missiles hitting two british warrior infantry fighting vehicles unfortunately nine are killed the second armored cavalry regiment has led the us armor divisions since the beginning of the invasion an instinctively mobile unit they've had a frustrating stop start morning advancing but having to stop to wait for the heavy armor behind to catch up and organize into a line of attack they edge forward to find the republican guard where their orders are to not become engaged but to allow the first infantry division to move to the front to do the fighting when they're discovered they've already discovered and destroyed outer scout units of the tower kauna republican guard division the sandstorms are terrible and the visibility is down to a few hundred meters so they edge forward without scout helicopter support the three squadrons of second armored cavalry named cougar wolf pack and war eagle advance cougar squadron is on the regiment's left flank and is made up of four troops eagle fox ghost and hawk each approximately made up of nine abrams tanks and 13 bradleys at 3 20 pm seven core commander general franks orders second armored cavalry to lead the line forward from the 60th to the 67th easting or the 67th kilometer of longitude east of the official campaign map center line the republican guard is reported to be just kilometers away but the information is two hours old bradley commanders peer into the sandstorm with their infrared sights they roll forward slowly and deliberately the young men in the vehicles are itching for the fight they all know is about to start a pair of scouting bmps and three solitary dug-in tanks are spotted by scouts lieutenant haynes halts his bradley and lines up the first tank with his obstacle sensor he swallows a few times and fires a toe anti-tank missile into the unsuspecting tank quickly he fires a second into the second tank and 25 millimeter cannon rounds into the third scouts take fire from a cluster of secluded buildings seeing no evidence of civilians in the cluster captain mcmaster commander of eagle troop warms his tank crews up to the coming fight by ordering a short burst of fire on the buildings the small arms fire stops suddenly a tank shall explode just short of a bradley the vehicle commander lieutenant gauthier yells driver stop gunner missile tank he finds the tower counter republican guard division t72 tank that's just fired on him barely visible at 800 meters in front he and a nearby bradley rapidly return fire with toes and the t-72's turret explodes in a fireball mcmaster senses that a major combat engagement is imminent and calls over the radio eagle troop battle stations go to tank's lead we're going to tank's lead the abrams tanks in his troop move to the front in a wedge formation at 4 18 pm cougar squadron is ordered to advance to the 70th easting in a bradley belonging to ghost troop lieutenant john hillen radio acknowledges the receipt of the advance order and fearing tank mines in the area moves to sit on two kevlar flak vests staff sergeant burns asks him why he's sitting on the vests i want to be able to make more helens when this thing is over is the response at 4 18 the great tank battle that they've been preparing for for several months begins through the clearing weather mcmaster spots the enemy contact five armored vehicles direct front three more off to the left the enemy tanks are traversing their turrets towards eagle troop he pushes the button on his abram's laser rangefinder 1420 yards fire sabot he yelled the first round hits a t-72 rapidly reloading the second shot is away on the second enemy tank within three seconds a ferocious volley of enemy fire lands amongst eagle troop his vehicles are just cresting a hill and to his horror mcmaster sees a mass of enemy tanks waiting for them on the other side eagle troop aggressively charges forwards with all abrams and bradleys now furiously returning fire at the enemy there is little choice but to take the fight to the enemy ignoring their regimental order not to become decisively engaged their troop of nine abrams and 13 bradleys are going head-to-head with 39 iraqi tanks 54 armored vehicles and 200 infantrymen marauding into the enemy lines mcmasters tanks have already destroyed 15 t-72s and the closing range is only making the engagement more violent a nearby scout platoon of bradley's race over to reinforce eagle troop a deadly zsu-23 anti-aircraft gun opens fire on them and they calmly destroy it with a tow missile the bradleys open up on the entranced infantry with 20 millimeter cannon fire while eagle troop are taking hits no vehicles are destroyed the infrared sights on the american vehicles are far superior to the optics in the iraqi tanks whose commanders are relying on the regular lens site to spot the marauding tanks through the storm eagle troop violently bashes through the outer line of tanks and spots a circle formation of 17 t-72s to their left supposedly a reserve that would react to attempts at penetration or encirclement they never get the chance within seconds the entire formation is obliterated the rest of the second armored cavalry regiment and the first and third armored divisions are now making first contact with the republican guard and the remains of the iraqi 52nd armored division fleeing into the area from the british advancing in the south eagle troop have found by far the largest defensive concentration ghost troop are moving parallel to eagle troop just north in a fight of their own seeing the carnage that eagles abrams are inflicting to their south ghosts desperately try to keep a safe distance to prevent a friendly fire incident in doing so one bradley accidentally drives into a minefield and over an anti-tank mine miraculously the vehicle survives in a nearby bradley the crew congratulate vehicle commander lieutenant hillen on his foresight before frantically repositioning onto kevlar vests of their own at 6 40 p.m just 22 minutes after the first shots were fired eagle troop arrives at the 73 easting and the shooting wanes mcmaster calls for a status report and is astounded to find that eagle troop has not lost a single vehicle nor a single weapon system disabled eagle alone has destroyed an entire republican guard battalion of approximately 47 tanks 34 armored vehicles and numerous trucks with many bunkers destroyed and scores of infantrymen killed the destruction along the front line is similarly conclusive american gunnery and firepower is superior and the advantage of having infrared optics in the storm is decisive other engaged units don't need to perform the aggressive charge that eagle troop were forced into after cresting the hill and finding the enemy at short range they're able to use superior range of the abrams over the t-72 to keep the enemy at arm's length while destroying them [Music] at 5 pm ghost troop of 2nd armored cavalry are also at the 73 eastern holding a defensive line with eagle troop a counter-attacking formation of iraqi armor approaches and ghost troop requests artillery support their toes hit the first bmp as the artillery falls the artillery shells used are dual purpose improved conventional munitions dpicm the shell detonates close to the target and showers it with armor-piercing cluster bomblets the 14 attacking vehicles are wiped out over the next 15 minutes over the next three hours two similar counter attacks are attempted but with the weather clearing up the troops of second armored cavalry are able to begin calling in a10 airstrikes on the approaching armor now that they're holding the 73 easting they can bring their artillery to bear into a killing zone to their front after many exhausting hours of repelling piecemeal iraqi attacks at 2 am the second armoured cavalry regiment is finally relieved on the front line by the first infantry division their work has been herculean the regiment as a whole has destroyed two whole brigades of the tarakawana republican guard division for the loss of only six men accounting for 159 enemy tanks and 260 armored vehicles by comparison the entire first and third armored divisions combined have destroyed a further 76 tanks and 84 armored vehicles seven corps continues to press east through the night continuing the fight with the republican guard the british first armor division moves north east to join the rest of the corps at an area of land known as objective norfolk where the final showdown with the tower counter division will take place in the early hours of day four the us first armor division sets its sights on the medina republican guard division further north encamped and waiting on a hill the u.s troops would later call medina ridge in kuwait the coalition divisions continue their methodical advance north there are reports of atrocities and prisoner snatching by the retreating iraqi forces in the city so the coalition advances with haste to liberate kuwait city the two u.s marine divisions approach kuwait international airport their objective in day four will be to capture it and then to move into kuwait city with their arab allies including three kuwaiti forces you

Channel: The Operations Room

Views: 546,682

Rating: 4.9392571 out of 5

Keywords: Time-Lapse, History, Documentary, aircraft, time lapse, animated, war, desert storm, operation desert storm, gulf war, iraq, kuwait, usaf, us air force, saddam hussein, abrams, abrams tank, challenger tank, us army, us marines, artillery, howitzer, a10 warthog, a10 thunderbolt, a10, republican guard, battle of 73 easting, tank battle

Id: 72XLTfmcaAw

Length: 16min 14sec (974 seconds)

Published: Fri Feb 26 2021

Reddit Comments

[u/StopDropppingIt]

As someone who was there, it was some scary shit to roll up and see so many Iraqi tanks start shooting at you. Toujours Pret!

[u/asdaaaaaaaa]

Love me some operations room.

[u/Professor-Kaos]

This has to be one the last large scale head-to-head battles like this, right? Advances in both offensive and surveillance drones moves us toward more hit and run and guerilla style conflicts, even with major powers.

[u/AboveAndBelowTheLine]

My biggest fear would always be friendly fire.

[u/RoseannaBolte]

Nice, my breakfast entertainment.

[u/Meeple_person]

Tank battle or turkey shoot?

[u/One_pop_each]

I deployed to Al Jaber Air Base a few years ago in Kuwait.

The HAS’s (Hardened Aircraft Shelters) had giant holes in them because we dropped bunker busters in them during Desert Storm. Iraq had the base and we took it back. It was really damn cool to see. Eventually got old bc deployments fucking suck and are boring as shit.

We had a jet nosedive off the runway and the entire intake scooped up some earth. I was in the hangar when they were clearing out the dirt so they could get damage assessment and a Major pulled out a piece of metal. Said it was shrapnel from a bomb, probably from the war.

https://i.imgur.com/OVaD7Ps.jpg

[u/Psykopatik]

Lol that's not a battle, that's utter annihiliation

[u/[deleted]]

This battle made the careers of many a US Army soldier. It was an incredibly well-fought battle and one of the most intense tank battles in history.