The scout platoon remained to process many of the surrendering Iraqis bypassed by the task force.Īlpha Company, 4-70 Armor, commanded by Captain Phil Thieler moved, on the left flank, encountered two T-55 tanks and many other tracked vehicles, and a platoon of dismounted Iraqi soldiers. The TF 2-70 scout platoon laid suppressive fire on the town and Iraqis returned small arms fire from within the town but it was ineffective. Many Iraqi soldiers surrendered almost immediately as Task Force (TF) 2-70 forces approached Al Busayyah. In crossing the four kilometers to Al Busayyah, American mortar fire dropped smoke rounds on top of the forward Iraqi positions. At 7:40 a.m., the task force reached Phase Line Smash. Bn cleared two mine fields leading to the approach to the town. Phase lines are map references occurring every few kilometres used to measure progress of an offensive operation. On the evening of the 25 February 1991 and into the early morning of the 26 February 1991, 2-1 FA pounded Iraqi targets with DPICM and HE rounds.Īt dawn, 06:30am, on the 26 February 1991, the task force moved towards Phase Line Smash on the outskirts of Al Busayyah. The 2nd Brigade's 2-70 Armor, now TF 2-70 or Task Force 2-70, was to move north in formation and seize the town of Al Busayyah with TF 4-70 Armor on its right flank, and then with the rest of the brigade proceed to attack 'Position Python', where it would strike Saddam Hussein's elite Republican Guard north of Kuwait. Trenchlines stretched fifteen hundred meters south of town, radiating out to perimeter strong points.Ĭharged with taking the town of Al Busayyah was the 2nd Brigade, known as the 'Iron Brigade,' of the 1st Armored Division (1AD), part of VII Corps, commanded by General Frederick M. Twelve Iraqi tanks and twelve other armored fighting vehicles were dug-in deeply at strategic positions in, and around, the town. The town was heavily fortified with machine gun nests and fighting positions.

It was defended by a battalion-sized Iraqi infantry unit reinforced by T-55 tanks, armored personnel carriers, and elements of an Iraqi commando battalion. The town consisted of forty to fifty buildings, most located along one main north–south road. The battle is named after the Iraqi town of Al Busayyah, which sat at a critical crossroads and was an Iraqi Army stronghold.

The Battle of Al Busayyah was a tank battle fought in the pre-dawn darkness on February 26, 1991, during the Persian Gulf War, between armoured forces of the United States Army and those of the Iraqi Army. Islamic State insurgency in Iraq (2017–present).

Tank battles of the gulf war