Desert Storm - The Ground War, Day 3 - The Great Tank Battle of 73 Easting - Animated
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26th February 1991, Desert Storm - G+2 - VII Corps finds the Republican Guard in the desert at very close range during a sandstorm. Outnumbered, Eagle Troop are thrust into the fight of their lives. The largest tank battle since World War 2 is beginning.
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Sources:
Jayhawk: The VII Corps in the Persian Gulf War - Stephen A. Bourque
Crusade: The Untold Story of the Persian Gulf War - Rick Atkinson
Desert Storm Air War: The Aerial Campaign against Saddam's Iraq in the 1991 Gulf War - Jim Corrigan
Every Man a Tiger - Tom Clancy with General Chuck Horner
XVIII Corps in Desert Storm - Charles Lane Toomey
Music: www.purple-planet.com
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wart hunder better
@@ifureadthis_urgay eh, that's subjective, in my opinion neither is better but both are mediocre in ways that cannot be compared, i'd rather play Steel Beasts PPE or play as a tank crew in an arma 3 server
@@rrenkrieg7988 Wart hunder better
You should do one on Jutland
Native were in this battle my dad says one of the native on my rez served in this war.
“Do not become decisively engaged” “Got it, kill everything” “Well I guess that also works”
I have to wonder if he got in trouble for his actions.
@@ragsriches8213 well, he was a 3 star General and Trump's National Security Advisor before he retired.
*BFG division plays in background*
@@ragsriches8213 No. The situation changed due to the short range they discovered the enemy at. While following orders, he suddenly found himself within range of Iraqi weapon systems, with every reason to believe the Iraqis were now aware of his presence. This places his troops in the "kill zone" of a near ambush. The doctrinal response is to immediately return fire and "assault through" the enemy until contact is broken. He did exactly what he was supposed to do. Western militaries tend to empower junior leaders to make command decisions when situations change. Then-Captain McMaster was awarded the Silver Star, one of the nation's highest honors for the action, and went on to become a General and National Security Adviser.
@@chrysler5thavenue822 could not have said it any better. Well done, sir
Clicking fast to see if the shipment of ONION is safe
Lol 😂
It better be
For all the good THAT will do.... Ammo ? No. Water ? No. Medical supplies ? Get real. Vegetables ? Sure, why not ?! Whoever is running the Iraqi logistics needs to be demoted immediately.
@@Amoore-vv9wx it’s referencing the first logistic convoy stopped by the 101st airborne during the start of the war. They were expecting ammo, or other such important war supplies. But all the trucks had onions.
Lmaooo
we will never know how that enormously crucial onion shipment could have turned the tides in this war.
I guess when it's close hand to hand combat and the enemy have onion-breath, it might make a difference. HAHAHAHA! Salute to our US Forces.
@@alusnvetvegas5092 no wonder everyone was wearing MOPP then
To be fair, the Iraqi soldiers were pretty much starving at the time.
Well, people shouldn't mess with onions... Ask the Austrians, they know how bad your situation get with the lack of onions.
They blew up the lettuce truck to my fob (camp stryker) twice in a row so we had a week before we had lettuce. We were used to random things not showing up usually every week and a half something didn't make it. It was legitimately inconvenient.
"Do not become engaged decisively" Eagle troop: *Doom Slayer Mode: Activated*
Rip and tear until it is done
Can't be decisively engaged if there is no enemies left to engage us, duh!
Storm winds blow across the Iraqi lines. Tension fills the air as men sit in their vehicles and bunkers with no choice but to wait. They know what's coming. Out there somewhere in the desert are the coalition forces headed their way. The silence is only broken as a single rifleman looks up. His men turn to him, wondering what it is that has their comrades attention, but non dare ask. A long moment passes and the rifleman looks to those around him and asks, "Does anyone else hear BFG Division...?"
@@skilledwarman great story telling. You should write a book.
Real peopled died to give you likes on meme comment.
just imagine what they could have done if they had become decisively engaged
Underrated comment 😂
lmao
*monke mode initiate*
Yes let's REALLY try. I mean give it our 100% attention. 😂
They would have bludgeoned them to death with their own ripped out arms or idk.
"the small arms fire stops" what a nice way of saying they killed them all.
Well, no. Artillery is more effective at demoralizing. Only 10% killed will make a unit surrender.
prepare the onions ! ( Iraqi troops running out of ammo...)
@@frankv8891 If you watched the video about Day 2, you'd know the onion convoy got captured by the 101st Airborne.
@@dx1450 yeah but they don’t know that I’m not sure comms will tell everyone about it
@@seno5530 Well said, MLRS Gunner here.. you don't have to wipe out an entire grid to get them to surrender.
Command:. Do not become decisively engaged! Mcmaster: Driver, get me closer. I want to hit the enemy with this onion!
>Be McMaster, commander of Eagle Troop >Orders are not to be decisively engaged >Rolls up to a mass of enemy tanks >Destroys an entire Republican Guard armor battalion in a single charge >Refuses to elaborate further >Leaves
I really like how clear the animation and graphics are and the seamless transition between 10,000 foot high level strategy down to ground level individual unit action. Amazing content love the work you do !
Both this channel and your channel are among my favorites
An established channel like task and purpose comments on this amazing war History channel provides arguably super immaculate information on great and much lesser known battles that deserve recognition... Comments on the great animation. The animation, really? I feel like you don't understand the amount of work that goes behind the research behind these amazing mini documentaries. And I follow both of you, and I love you not so equally! Just get it together!
Love seeing two of my fav channels in the comments.
Leave it to the commander of the spare parts army to leave a space in between the last word and the punctuation mark.
Task and purpose Love your work
Flak vest prices - up.
Next Kevlar vest prices - down.
how how how how how how
Stonks. But also donks
I just like the vests! 🚀
Will you be continuing the air war series, or is that already finished?
Normal tank crews in a minefield: "we need to carefully cross or else things might get messy" American tack crews in a minefield: *calmly sits on Kevlar vests*
Hey if it works
My long time girlfriend is pregnant. Every effort has been made to avoid it, but I believe I'm about to be decisively engaged.
Severely underrated comment
Hope you have a job and raise ya kid
Your troops couldn't pull out in time :'(
It seems even your scouts were able to defeat the Republican guards defenders without any serious casualties. But at what cost 😞
Best of luck soldier!
Coalition: disaster strikes when two vehicles were hit by missiles Iraqis: disasters have been striking us all day long
Yeah I think that one must be a real moron to cry about the losses of the coalition, when they *litteraly* rolled over the opposing forces.
"Do not become engaged" "Err, we didn't, we just destroyed them all instead."
"No, sir. We just systematically demolished their entire formation."
I mean its the US Army, if you wipe the enemy with no losses and all guns intact they aint saying shit.
Does sound like conflicting orders, doesn't it? "Move to contact and find the enemy... in a sandstorm." "Do not become engaged."
@@chrisjohnson3912 I know right. What do they supposed to do then? Retreat?
@@Niceguy312373636 "Decisively engaged" is a specific term which basically means you're stuck in the fight and retreat is difficult or impossible. For example, if you're in a room with an enemy soldier, you're decisively engaged. The mission of the 2ACR was to advance to contact without becoming decisively engaged, basically meaning they should destroy enemy screen units and shoot at the main body but not actually charge them.
The Iraqi army: *is unable to score a tank kill* The Americans: "Fine I'll do it myself." *friendly fire intensifies*
Sad but hilarious
💀💀💀
not funny.
The A-10 is a fine bird for fratricide, that's for sure.
@@johnkapwn A-10s are deadly weapons, for sure.
"Calmly destroys the anti-aircraft gun with a TOW missile." Calmly you say😂
I was at that exact part when I saw this comment I couldn’t help but laugh 😂
I mean they were probably nevereous but they were trained to keep cool and actually think in tough situations and with what they go through I wouldn’t doubt it.
Dumbledore when Harry places his name in the Goblet of Fire:
It was a mostly peaceful missile engagement.
Hmmm... I'm thinking the missile operator was busy eating a Big Mac with a tall strawberry shake. Vehicle Commander: "Gunner: I think the enemy is using A ZSU vehicle for anti-vehicular activities up ahead. You see 'em?" Gunner (with a mouthful of burger): "Mrf...mm-hmm." Vehicle Commander: "Would you mind putting a TOW round into him?" Gunner (swallows his food and puts down his burger): "Sure thing, Cap." (The gunner sites the AA vehicle with the TOW and fires, then picks up his hamburger again. As he takes his next bite, the AA vehicle explodes in a ball of fire.)
Imagine waking up one day, going into a huge tank battle, and just casually making the longest tank kill in history.
Considering it was a Scot that pulled it off? Sounds like a pretty normal day.
Imagine waking up one day, as a dictator, and hearing your enemies just wiped out a fucktillion-ton of your best armor without a scratch. Gotta sour your day.
@@pekkaseppala3999 More like a fuckton of his best armor just went quiet and stopped talking.
@@tanall5959 was actually an English Crew commanded by an English officer. A surprisingly large percentage of troops in Scottish Regiments are actually English.
Luckiest tank shot in history, more like, given the rubbish FCS on the Challenger.
My dad always said not to call it a war: "there will be no epic movies no songs no real stories *nothing* cause no one likes to talk about a slaughter"
Jarhead was pretty good. Not at all celebratory though.
The Gulf War rapidly escalated from an "ass beating" to an "unecessary ass beating". Nobody likes to watch an unnecessary ass beating.
@@JeepWranglerIslander Had Iraq I been taken to its necessary conclusion, Iraq II would not have been necessary. I for one, am fine with any level of ass beating, so long as it is US doing the beating.
@@marcusalexander7088 lol, gj serving you force ken stealing masters u absolute fool
@mandellorian Right and wrong. We knew he was working on WMD, including nukes. Thankfully Israel blew the shite out of his reactor. WMD isn't just nukes, WMD includes things that are VERY easy to hide. Stuff like biologicals. Stuff like C19, but I digress. You are correct about Saddam and regime change. The thing is, if you're going to do regime change, finish the bloody job! While the actual intel about WMD was bullshit, it was still possible.
Eagle Troop: "So anyway, I started blasting..."
Hur dur. Brilliant meme here.
A.good friend was in this battle. He said at first, he was elated.. They went, they kicked ass. But over the years, he began to feel guilty about just how easy it was to obliterate these people into defeat. He said it was more of a Live Fire Exercise than it was a war. Only the other guys died in large numbers.
Shouldn't of invaded kuwait should they
Its an understandable feeling. But this wasn't a war of aggression. The Republican Guard were committing real atrocities in Kuwait and, at the time, the Iraqi army was very powerful regional force. On top of that, Schwarzkopf said that they did not expect it to go so "easily". They had good reason to assume a long and bloody battle and were prepared for it. Anyway, im not trying to say your friends feelings are wrong. They're not. However, he should have some pride, because they actually did a lot of good. Must have been one fucking hell of a feeling being in that battle.
The hard reality is that war is supposed to be unfair when two militaries engage each other.
@@TheAceDread4th most powerful air force in the world at the time was said in the last video anyway.
@@davebrown9707 yeah, but those soldiers didn't make that decision. That was the domain of one person: Saddam Hussein. That is the biggest problem with autocracies. One person can be responsible for actions which cause thousands or millions of deaths. An extreme example is the Shah of the Kwarezmian Empire. He and his uncle (the governor of Otrar) stole the goods of a 500 person Mongol trading party and killed them all. When the Mongols sent envoys demanding an explanation, they killed 2 of the 3 envoys and humiliated the 3rd. The justifiably engraged Genghis Khan halted his war with the Jin Empire in China and turned his attention to Kwarezmia. Ninety percent of the people in the Empire perished. All due to the foolhardy actions of 2 men.
*Desert Storm can be summarized as a Turkey Shoot for the Coalition Forces*
About as close as a perfect war gets.
I enjoy the "human interest" asides peppered throughout, and would enjoy more of them in each video.
I prefer a "Corps-level drive-by".
i mean a turkey shoot is people who cant fight back. the iraqi's could but their planning and chain of command was the major problem especially at 73 easting.
Iraqis are literally using trench warfare like it's world war 1
I knew it was one sided but sheeesh, this was a complete BOT lobby for the Coalition.
Fr
Just what happens when your tanks have thermals, thicker composite armour, and better shells. From what I can remember the T-72s didn't even get tungsten penetrators like the 3BM22 and only had access to 3BM17 which was pure steel and completely useless against the M1A1 Abrams used by the US while the US had access to M829A1 which is a DU penetrator that could basically lolpen the T-72s used by Iraq, which I believe where the shitty T-72M export models. Hell I think the Challengers even got access to their Charm rounds which were also DU.
@@a_stone Honestly the Iraqi tank crews would've had more luck hiding in trenches with RPGs and ATGMs, waiting for the M1s and Bradleys' to pass and then opening up on them. worked well for them in 2003.
@@a_stone The shell would not have been completely useless as a hit on the turret ring or gun mantlet would at least jam something but since they do not have thermal sights nor good training the chance of them hitting is 0%
@@reahs4815 You are overestimating how accurate one can be with analog fire control systems. The sight is off set from the gun and while you can get an accurate ranging and get the gun to hit the target, hitting a precise location is extremely difficult. Even with modern targeting systems you will struggle to hit precise locations. IRL combat isn't war thunder. APFSDS doesn't work like that on the Abrams. That upperplate is designed to shatter any APFSDS that hits it due to it's extreme angle meaning any shots fire at the turret ring can't actually penetrate and damage the turret ring because both the upperplate and lower part of the turret are angled enough to shatter APFSDS.
When I went to Iraq in 2005, I was assigned to 3rd ACR under then Colonel H.R. McMaster. He was serious and personal, he had a gift for explaining complex issues in simple terms and cared for the soldiers under him. Best officer I ever served under.
Thank you sir
I’ve seen him in a doc about this battle. Know why he got the CO gig and stars later. Junior officers want to be him when they grow up.
I served on the other side…. I’m grateful to USA for giving me and my family asylum. I did not want to fight for Saddam… he Not take care of his soldiers, he live high on hog while others starve.
@@coachhussayn3379we are glad you made it here.
“Do not become decisively engaged.” Republican Guard: “Does anyone else hear boss music?”
Haha war funny XD
My father was SBS during the Gulf war and was one of the forward observers calling in airstrikes on the highway of death. I remember him saying "At one point, there were 34 gunships firing on this strip in the desert. The day after all you could smell was burnt flesh and perfume."
Perfume? Is that a euphemism?
Perfume?
@@omarselim6281 the retreating Iraqis had looted luxury good on the way out.
@@omarselim6281 It was one of the more heavily looted luxuries from Kuwait city.
@@omarselim6281 perfume to help mask the odor of death
Honestly the level of detail combined with the animation simplicity makes for a very informative history lesson into these conflict's, very well done as usual
Thanks!
@@TheOperationsRoom Seanyboy589 is absolutely spot on with his assessment.
No one can like this comment anymore it is perfect as it is.
@The Operations Room As a vet of the Battle of '73 Easting, I would like to give you a GIANT Cavalry cheer for actually pointing out the initial engagement was basically accidental. I was in Palehorse troop 4th Squadron (Aviation) and we were attached to 3rd Sqaudron as air support and worked with Eagle troop directly on several occasions. After the battle an M1 tank commander, told me that "Gus" (one of our code words for GPS) had lost lock, so they didn't know exactly where they were, and were very surprised to crest the hill and see all the heat signatures.
My former boss was a tanker in Desert Storm. As a lieutenant he was over a platoon of M1A2s. He told me that every single loss his unit suffered was from friendly blue on blue fire. Not a single loss from enemy fire. That really shocked me. I expected some friendly fire incidents but not on that scale. That would be my greatest fear if I were an Air Force pilot. Knowing I killed my brothers and sisters down there on the ground would have devastated me. Utterly devastated
I was a Platoon Leader with 3rd BDE, 3ID attached to 1ST AD, we had M2A2 Bradleys. We used thermals, not infrared. Other then that, this is totally awesome! I now have a greater knowledge about what was happening around me to other units. Very well done.
First, thank you for your service. Second, could you explain the difference between "thermals" and "infrared"? Forgive my ignorance, but I thought IR was used to see the heat signatures.
@@brynotar Thank you for the explanation.
@@brynotar They're similar in that they detect non-visible light, IR just accepts more variance in wavelengths.
@@thudthud5423 Sorry for not replying. Thermals you can see hot spots, were IR needs an external source, like a an infared light to see an image. I am talking about 1990's tech, so it may have changed.
Thank you for your service
This guy should get a Netflix contract! The amount of details is just crazy.
But how do we know how accurate it is?
@@JohnyG29 Because it has been documented several times, all he is doing is giving a visualization of the battle and doing a damn fine job of it as well.
this may make me sound like an idiot but i had no idea there was this many tanks in a single battle in desert storm.
@@kuckoo9036 It would be about American imperialism even though Kuwait was/ is a sovereign nation that the coalition was defending.
man, I had no idea Desert Storm was such a total obliteration. Its like a level 70 army going up against a level 1 army
beforehand all the hype was that Iraq had the 4th largest army in the world and the republican guard were bad asses, and it was not gonna be an easy war. No comms and fighting a well trained army whose tanks had farther shooting range really changes things!
not to mention but it was Iraq against the US, Brittan, France, Canada, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Syria and probably like 40 other countries
Probably the most one sided war in history.
Iraqi Level: 1 Coalition Level: ???
@@RyanCaesar The Iraqi Army of 1990 was formidable in number but it lacked mechanized battle doctrine, able leadership and C^4ISR capabilities not to mention their equipment was inferior to the US.
“Do not become decisively engaged” Eagle troop commander: “ya see, personally, I couldn’t let that slide.”
My Uncle was in this battle, his Bradley was surrounded, and he doesn't like talking about it, but from what my father has told me. He had to fend off enemies in the turret then with his M16A2, while his crew repaired the Bradley.
WOW. Eagle Troop waltzing into soo many enemy tanks and not loosing a single one themselves. That's amazing.
and the Brits got their own Chancellorsville to boot!
They landed on a bunch of worn-down 1970's tanks while what Eagle Troop had were tip-of-the-spear best tanks in the world at the time.
@@TripleAlfafa Not even a fight, just a massacre
This was a difference of technology and training. Not only are the M1 Abrams and M3 Bradley superior to T-72s and BMP-2s, it's not even a competition. Not to mention the fact Coalition forces had vastly superior training to the Iraqis. I mean, I remember this anecdote about an Iraqi POW who ended up in the back of a Bradley that had Erwin Rommel posted up on the side for morale, and the Iraqi was confused as to why an American would have a picture of the greatest tanker in history in his tank lol.
@@FearlessLeader2001 It wasn't just that, the unfortunate fools on the Iraqi side had given all the possible initiative to the west.
There has litteraly been more deaths from friendly fire incidents than iraqi attacks during Day 3!!!
when the difference in military power with your enemy is so great that you become the most dangerous thing on the battlefield even for your own forces
A-10s have a strong rep as blue on blue killers. Air Force Times even wrote an article about it back in 2015.
@@maxschaeffner9005 Yet, I challenge you to find an Infantryman that doesn't want a few over his head 24/7.
@@drawingdead9025 An American soldier wouldn't mind. a British one might be wary if it stuck around for a while sine he's prob heard dark jokes about them.
It is very, very, very hard to confirm targets on verbal confirmation alone. Your training makes you able to spot your own armor pretty well, but foriegn armor is a lot harder, especially when your target is also foriegn armor... I'd be curious to see the full investigation myself at some point, but most likely without exact coordinates they had no way to know where the battle lines were. It's likely they realized their mistake quickly though, and that's why they stopped firing so fast. I hope no pilot ever has to feel that feeling, knowing he just iced his allies.
Imagine the bravery of the Iraqi tank crew going up against the Abrams though.
Yeah it's like they never even stood a chance
I don't know if it was bravery or stupidity. Remember, they were used to fighting Iranians who had similarly piss poor equipment which was a decade behind what we had.
Imagine the alternative. Going home and being tortured and killed, right after watching their family be tortured and killed.
@@dx1450 Nah, these are elites. They knew they were all screwed, especially after Day 1's absolute horror show. No air cover, total enemy air superiority, and they had lost their own retreat route. They were rear guard - nobody was coming for them, they were the ones holding people back. This was a sacrificial play.
As they where bombarded heavily for 40 days before the ground attack and short of supplya
Very accurate depiction of the battle. Thank you. Minor corrections from a participant, we used thermal sites, not infra red. There’s a significant advantage with thermals, especially in that sand storm.
wait what's the difference?
@@majorfallacy5926 Thermal uses light to create sharper images while infrared uses heat to produce images
@@khrzantema ah thank you
@@khrzantemaell, dont thermal cameras detect heat with infared light, thats why they’re called thermals, theres a difference but they both do involve temperature
Thermal sight are infrared sight just like a square is a rectangle
“The Operations Room has uploaded a video”. Ah, what an excellent addition to an already fine Friday.
9:52 the defenses facing eagle troop is instructive of Reverse Slope Defense. And I appreciate that fact that the Iraqi commanders are trying their best to alleviate any short comings of their equipment. This allowed them to ambush enemy cresting over the hill with more guns and shorter range. Unfortunately for them the technological gap is too wide.
I think it may have been futile, though. With the sandstorm, they were too far from the ridge and couldn't get targets sighted well enough. Without the sandstorm, air power and artillery would have crippled them. I don't think there was a scenario where the Iraqi forces could have put up a better fight than they did.
@@CeesaX It was a real Kobayashi Maru scenario; it was an absolute no win situation and the Iraqi commanders did the best they could with what they had. Honestly I don't think they could have done any better given the circumstances. Against a more technologically comparable opponent then it may have worked or the results would have been less lopsided. They certainly were not lacking in courage and determination to stand and fight, that much can be said.
@@richardtaylor1652 Their leader may have been a cretin, but they still fought with honor.
That defensive tactic was soviet asf heck you could simplify the Iraqi defensive strategy as soviet
I don’t think they could even penetrate the American/British armor. They tried thugh
9:58 That moment when you realize you've just walked in on the enemy's main body and the only thing to do is draw sabers, rake your spurs back, and run them over.
I've lived through both wars in Iraq. Most terrifying times of my entire life. I was a kid in the first and oh my god, the horror we experienced when fighter jets fly over us. It still haunts me sometimes.
Do you still live there?
So you live in the USA now?
@@cyanoticspore6785 Why the retarded question? Who would be demented enough to come and live in USA after the cowboys voluntarily rased your native country for their own comfort and cheap oil, under false pretenses? I mean, you can try and blame it on Saddam, except that USA were the ones who actually put him in power... Educated people actually know things... Also, USA are clearly such a bad choice of destination. Such a dangerous and sick country... Mass shootings at every corner, kids murdering other kids for 15 minutes of fame, vengeful attacks from middle-East (some say "terrorists", but as long as USA doesnt recognize Hiroshima and Nagasaki as terrorist attacks, I'll refuse to call 9/11 "terrorist"...), highest ratio of imprisonned people in the whole "civilized" world, a backward country still applying death penalty, xenophobic and hyper schizophrenic country owned by a warmongering elite???
Habibi, I hope you and your family are safe now.
@@Eisernkreuzdon’t worry, we will find him.
" Superior infra red sights " Battlefield 4 players : Just like the simulations.
Battlefield 3, bro. Battlefield 3.
In the good old days of armored dlc if you had infrared you were superior to anyone
@@713bigounce *BF2 vet sitting listening to MEC theme and waiting for 62% Optimizing shaders*
Thermal not IR
@V.M Sypher... it's NOT infra red, it's thermal sights. FYI
“Do not become decisively engaged” *Did somebody say BOOM?*
"In the moment sir, it did seem to be better than being less decisively engaged."
"Do not become decisively engaged." New Objective: Shoot a hole in Mars.
PLEASE, do the 2003 invasion of iraq. I'm a massive Generation Kill fan but i'd want to know more about the whole invasion to really understand how their action fit into the invasion as a whole, and your style and delivery would be perfect!
I was born in Kuwait on 1986 and witnessed the Iraqi invasion and the horror of it so I really do appreciate all this information and amazing videos !
damn. Tell me more lol. My parents came to canada during the sri lankan civil war lol
@@honkhonk8009 it would be a whole book to tell what I witnessed, but we basically escaped in a convoy through the desert into saudi arabia before the allies came in the city
You were running from the allies?
@@davout5775 lol obviously not, no one knew when the allies will arrive and free kuwait and when they do come what will happen to the population so when there was a time to escape people took it
@@Themain1ofall Yeah that's more logical
I appreciate how comprehensive this series has been. It would be awesome to see a similar format for the six day war and other “smaller” conflicts
Yep hope he keeps going with other conflicts in the future once this series is done.
6 Day War would be great. Likewise Yom Kippor war. I'd also like a Falklands series.
I'm pretty sure he's doing the falklands war soon
@@craigfdavis He's working on the Falkland Islands campaign now.
@@craigfdavis Falklands have been done to death (excuse the terrible pun). There's loads of videos about it.
When McMaster's guys rolled up on those tank OPs, they were going into a reverse slope defense killing field already dialed-in and registered by the Iraqis. By any book definition, they should have been stopped cold there with debilitating attrition and casualties. Instead, they turned it into a killing field on their terms not only against the OPs and layered defense, but the reserves too.
If the Iraqis positioned their dug-in T55s much closer they could have inflicted some casualties and also preset their artillery to shoot at the crest
@mcbrians.8508 from my understanding, the iraqi tanks had the ridge well within there own range capabilities. The reason why the iraqis were obligated instead of the 2nd acr forces was due to the sand storm that limited the Iraqis conventional sights but that the thermals of the abrams and bradleys could still see and shoot through. This battle is a good example of how many different factors can influence the outcome of the war. With the sand storm, the iraqis were destroyed due to the enemybeing able to target them faster. If the sand storm wasnt there, the 2nd acr would have been obliterated through massed direct and indirect fires.
It was the 3rd Armored Division that conducted the passage of line through the 2nd ACR. I fired those DPICM rounds.
"How come you always sit on ya flak vests?" "So we don't get our balls blown off"
@snipe69 Did it work?
@snipe69 amazing
That's actually a well-known line and scene from the movie "Apocalypse Now", only it was a helmet instead of a vest and a Huey instead of an armored vehicle
@@662wc5 Why do you think I made this comment?
"Do not become decisively engaged" "Roger, then we will incisively engage them instead"
obliterate*
@@woutervanverseveld5326 completely wipe from existence*
@@peoplesdemocraticrepublico4822 *outrange, snipe, and obliterate the enemies*
Excellent, excellent and did I say excellent video. I'm 67 years old. I'm a big WW1 and 2 history buff. I served 3 years in the army. I trained as an avionics mechanic then served 6 months in Vietnam with a Dustoff unit. I was on flight status as a patient protector. When I returned to the states, I spent 2 years as a gunner on an M60A1 tank. The army works in mysterious ways. I got a job with a major airline after getting out of the service that allowed me to see so many battlefields in Europe such as Normandy, Dieppe, Dunkirk, Hurtgen forrest, Bastogne, Berlin, Dresden, Peenemunde. I could go on and on, but I've seen so much, it's hard to find something that' offers something new and interesting in a modern day battle. This is incredible. Thank you for your efforts.
This has been the best report on the Battle of 73 Easting I have seen. Most other documentaries focus on McMasters part in the battle thereby diminishing the true size of the engagement. You clearly demonstrate how combined forces paradigm works in combat. I have seen a good number of your productions. The caliber has always been very high. By maintaining the post battle report format historians will not have to deal with the biases that one encounters in many other historical records and books. So thank you very much I wish you the best and look forward to more of your productions in the future.
As a veteran, and someone who served on an aircraft carrier in the Gulf at that time, these videos are astounding! It is as historical and does a great job of covering every nation, divisions, air groups, and side anecdotes to give an overall view of the planning General Schwarzkopf and his team and allies did. We were all surprised that it was over as quick as it was. We were launching half our aircraft twice daily since the start of the air war, working 12+ hours a day in 135 degree weather before the jets turned on. We didn't complain because we were doing our jobs. We saw several different nations arrive on deck. One carrier at one time had aircraft from 3 other ships land on it by mistake. I've seen mines blown up by EOD about a mile from our carrier. The skies were absolutely crazy, the heat was almost unbearable, but we were focused and determined. It made it worth my time serving. I'm not in agreement of other times the US has gotten involved with other countries, though this time its was righteous and fully sanctioned by the UN. We definitely should have had a better exit strategy with the middle east though, but it wasn't Storming Norman's job, which was pure genius.
This was one of the only times multilateral sanctions followed by mandated military interventions were agreed upon uninamiously and implemented through the UN SC mechanism. Politics, Diplomacy and Military Planing were by the book. If only this could be replicated everytime a nation decides to disrupt the international order and peace. Unfortunately nowadays UNSC is completely paralyzed by Russian and Chinese vetos.
EOD?
@@QLEK99 Outside of maybe Iran and Turkey, all the disrupting being done in the world today is either Russia, China, or one of their puppets doing daddy's direct bidding.
@@Meonium Explosive Ordinance Disposal, aka Bomb Squad for military.
@@mdbizzarri Oh. Did they blown up underwater mines?
McMaster was channeling his inner Patton, like what he did in Sicily.
It's called "Action of Contact" and he did the right thing
I knew him personally. I thought he had a big Ego. 😀 Just like Patton.
@@bradleylaney2092 Ego is one thing - often a misnomer for earned confidence; however Patton was an elitist: His great-grandmother came from an aristocratic Welsh family, descended from many Welsh lords of Glamorgan. His father was a wealthy rancher and lawyer who owned a one-thousand-acre (400 ha) ranch near Pasadena, California. H.R. comes from more humble roots, the son of a Infantry Lieutenant Colonel in Philadelphia and worked his ass off to get to where he made it.
"They show courage in doing so." Damn right they did, standing toe to toe with the Abrams tank was suicide in those ancient T-55's without modern or thermal optics. Bravery and stupidity are closely linked.
@14ALL41OK The Republican Guard was made up of conscripts?
There weren't that many T-55s. Most were t-72s and t-64s. Both are formidable but not good enough to fight Abrams(practicing a superior fighting doctrine). Like with the Ukraine war, bit sides are using a ton of t-72s, and Ukraine is even using t-64s.
@@vyros.3234 I mean, those ukranians T-64 are often better than half of the T-72 version of the Russian army. T-72 were meant to be cheap T-64, with this last one being the most modern tank in the world when it came out, having composite armour for the first times
@@vyros.3234 T-62s?
i was in the 1st marine div when this started. we could here the bombs falling. after see the carnage later i was in absolute awe of our air power.
I've never seen such detailed yet simplistic explanation of the operation desert storm and this really provides an insight into how capable and advanced the US Armed forces are. Great job to all the creators behind this.
no, it provides an insight into how Incapable and old the Iraqi armed forces WERE
@@Vanyali that too. It was honestly a shitshow on the Iraqi side. Just the fact that Saddam went ahead with battling an alliance of such capable nations is just mind bogglingy stupid planning.
@@prayagrajmohanty3939 he wanted another Vietnam.. forgot that jungles and open deserts are different. This coalition would not have 'won' in a Vietnam situation as its simply impossible without nuking the whole country. The western coalition went to town on Saddam and Iraq's best, at that point the 5th biggest army if im not mistaken. just shows quantity < quality in open field battles
@@Max-hw7xl yeah thats a better way of explaining. Thanks!
"simplistic" isn't a compliment. It's like saying "dumbed down"
Status Update on the shipment of Onions? The real MVP of this War
The drivers of that shipment must have been ao furious, the were expected to die for some fucking onions
MVP? Most Ventilated Produce ?
As part of this VII Corp invasion (2nd ACR then 1st Inf Div), I thoroughly enjoyed your presentation. Thank you for this flashback. PS There was 1 friendly fire incident that destroyed an 2nd ACR Bradley, I have of photo of it burning and soldiers waiting for the fire extinguish to pull out the bodies. There was in 1st Inf Div 1 Abrams knocked out by a shot to the engine and 1 Bradley that sustained an RPG that breeches the hull and bounced around injuring crew.
"How do you deal with a self propelled AA gun so that A-10's can begin their attack?" *"I'd simply become decisively engaged with it"*
True story, when the battle was over an Iraqi general who was captured asked why the Americans had a picture of Rommel in their APC. He was met with the response by a private, “because if you read his book, you wouldn’t be in here with us”
"No plan survives a first contact with the enemy" they taught us in the Infantry school
To be fair, there was nothing Iraq could have done with the disparity in equipment. People say technology is Americas weakness but it proved decisive here Perhaps it would be a bit of a weakness in a peer on peer conflict but that hasn’t been proven and it isn’t likely to have a peer on peer conflict in the nuclear age.
@@g.g.hochstetler2286 it's true that they had inferior equipment, but as this where the weapons the Warsaw pact would have used agianst the Nato, I'm pretty sure they could have inflicted way more damage, if the where better trained and coordinated.
While you are right Rommel was almost killed, he used those mistakes to become a better soldier, and after he shared his experiences in his book, one can learn from his failures and successes to potentially become even better.
@@JackTheMurderer I mean, T-55s with no little to no anti air weapons? WP had it survived this long would be using T-72s and T-80s in frontline units, with very heavy air defense and dedicated close air support.
A glorious cavalry charge.
"Do not get decisively engaged" Eagle Troop: oh no! Anyway...
You know the situation is bad when your enemy kills more of their own men than you do by accident
to be fair i think most of our casualties were also friendly fire
If anyone is interested, General H.R. McMaster was on "The Pacific Century" podcast this week and describes the battle for about half an hour and his role in it as a tank commander. Very interesting stuff.
There was also an Episode covering 73 Easting on "Greatest Tank Battles". Many of the people covered in this video appear in the episode and personally talk about their experiences during the battle.
Thanks, I’ll give it a listen. They say he’s the one who, as National Security Adviser, gave Trump false nuclear codes, and Trump didn’t find out until after this past Christmas. This story is probably apocryphal, but it’s funny.
@@MarcosElMalo2 It is definitely apocryphal - nobody gets the codes unless and until they actually *need* the codes - and if they need those codes they really really need them right now. I would however have no trouble believing that McMaster gave very careful, very *firm* orders to the President's football carriers.
Well now I have a new foreign policy podcast, thanks!!!
Remember, fellow tankers: The best tank is the one that shoots first. Or the M1 Abrams.
Or the Challenger 😉
@@Axispaw1 As a yank, I'd still go for the Abrams, but the Challenger is not a bad choice. That madlad Scots Guard tank who landed THAT shot. Longest one ever on record
@@Chino56751 bare in mind that you Yanks are using the armour that us Brits invented that allowed a Challenger 2 to withstand 13 RPG hits, multiple small arms fire, grenades and a mine. Add to that the rifled barrel and powerful engine it's no wonder it's classed as one of the best, if not the best tank in the world.
@@Axispaw1 The Germans may have made the main cannon ( and a tank is useless without that ), which proved its worth over and over. The Belgians made the coaxial machine gun, which also served superbly. But, we Yanks made the engine- putting out over 1,500 hp, and giving the Abrams a top speed of over 45 mph, with 30 on rough ground. Speed is life, and with it, ( along with everything else, of course ), the Abrams demonstrated its exceptional ability beyond all doubt. It ranks as one of the deadliest AFVs in the world... ...but your Challenger is decent as well. XD
@@Chino56751 I think we can both agree that the Challenger and the Abrams are the best 😂. No wonder the Iraqi armour took a beating.
The battle of 73 Eastings shows the superiority of western tanks and weapons. It also amazes me how low the casualties where on the coalitions side.
"Our orders were to not become decisively engaged. So anyways, we started blasting."
Attended the Australian Defence Force Academy and my squadron CSM was a former British tank gunner with a verified kill in Desert Storm. I understand that he was the only Australian serving at the time with a verified tank kill. Super intense dude who was all of 5'5. Great video on a veritable slaughter.
Granby. Desert Storm was the Yank operation.
@@HO-bndk Thanks for the correction. All I can think is lucky I never mentioned it to him because it would have afforded him yet another opportunity to give me a verbal colonic.
I served 2 years in 2CR and 5 years in the army and a couple years ago, we got a T72 tank to display in front of the squadron. This tank was a captured tank from the battle of 73 Eastings. I was on squadron duty that day so they assigned me to clean out the tank. I don’t know if they made me clean it as a cruel joke or if it was just because I was a SPC. I popped into the hatch and saw the burnt out ruins of the drivers seat and among the items I was going to throw out was a shell casing I kept. As an Iraqi native I felt so weird sitting in the seat of someone who was Iraqi and killed by the US. I do not know if it was deep guilt, how could it be? I came here when I was really young. But I know I felt something in my heart that ripped my identity apart. I of course knew everything about the battle because well, you had to. It was your unit. They make you learn about it for the boards. I do not plan on watching this video, I just had to tell my story. For anyone who thinks we are weak I would like for you to imagine being in our shoes. Anyway that’s all.
Thanks for sharing your story. War is brutal, and this battle was one-sidedly brutal. Many men in the coalition forces that were in the battle don’t like to talk about it, even though they were victorious. And thank you for your service.
Iraqi with paul as name, thats weird
@@navyseal1689 a human with the name NavySeal168? That’s weird never heard of a human with that name.
You are not weak. But America is evil. You should not fight for them
@@chaosXP3RT I know damn well I’m not weak but some people in these comments like to say this about Iraqis when they can’t even comprehend being in our shoes. No I wouldn’t say Americans are, it’s just some of the government who thinks the Middle East is their playground. Like the lives of Arabs dont matter. But American Soldiers are some of the best men I’ve ever known. I really do think it’s the ignorant portion of America who are the problems. The ones that never served a day in their lives. The pampered ones who wouldn’t survive a day in Iraq and watch mainstream media everyday. Those are the people who laugh in the comments of videos about how weak Iraq was but they don’t understand. Let me put you in an old ass tank with no AC and no water and see how quick you start panicking and crying in the 130 degree weather. Oh wait you don’t have 911 out here and the entire world formed a coalition against your army using the most advanced gear of the time. Don’t be like these ignorant people and say a certain nationality is evil or good. But I know what you meant.
Can't believe I was lucky to find your channel just a day ago and had the 1st day of air and half a week of ground war to watch! You do amazing work, keep it up!
This is absolute quality work you are delivering here. Telling both the story of the battle as a whole and the individual units on the battlefield is amazingly done. Well done.
“Whatever happens, we have got The Maxim gun, and they have not.”
wise words.
@@arlingtonhynes it means having an overwhelming technological advantage over your enemy.. it's from the days of African colonization when the British army fought tribals armed with bows and spears with rifles, cannons, and maxim machine guns.
@@MrAwsomenoob You do this a lot, don’t you? Barging in when the adults are talking, with your little factoid that everybody knows. Go read the original piece the quote is from. You don’t even know who said it, do you?
@@arlingtonhynes hardly matters if I did. You'd just say I looked it up. Besides I've got nothing to prove to some prick on the internet. Hilaire belloc BTW
@@arlingtonhynes no I'm pretty sure that's what the quote means, unless you'd like to prove otherwise?
Each video I watch, I always think to myself 'he can't top this one' and then the next one I watch, you make me out to be a liar. You sir are a perfectionist and a fantastic creator. Anyone can put a few video clips together and then do a voice over, but the videos you put out, take it to the next level. Thank you for all your effort and I look forward to the next one.🙏👍
Wow, thanks!
@@TheOperationsRoom Credit where credit is due and it' not just because you send people over to my charity channel. 👍
@@TheOperationsRoom Would be great if you could get some photos or live videos to help show how real these conflicts are.Not too many, but just enough to show that it is real. It's easy to forget that real people are dying in the format that you use. Please take that as it's intended (constructive criticism) as I love your videos and can't wait to see "day 3" of this part of the conflict.
I like how you add in personal stories and anecdotes with the overall battle's information. It makes it more interesting.
as a desert storm veteran this was well done. I was the first infantry division and remember the firefight. M1A1 driver/loader and fuel hermit driver. that long road march before the fight was also brutal.
Always a good day when operations room uploads.
Enjoy!
"i want to be able to make more hillens" HAHAHAHAA
Dude I love your visual battle plan in real time as you tell each play by play of each division. it reminds me of some old show i used to watch when I was a kid describing ww2 brigades/divisions pushing ever so closer towards germany.
Not gonna lie Eagle was doing some serious stat padding there. An absolute sealclub. We need some skill based matchmaking- the meta has gone too far.
nah, I think the Iraqis were stat padding themselves. They were playing on easy mode with AI for too long that they thought they could compete on elite mode. This is just what happens when a noob gets thrown into the wrong lobby.
I see what you did here, released this video on Kuwait's National and Liberation Day. Noice !
A well researched and presented video. It breaks down a multifaceted operation into its component parts and makes the whole campaign understandable. Absolutely brilliant for historians and military tacticians alike. Wouldn’t be surprised if this video, along with others in the Desert Storm series, makes an appearance at military training colleges throughout the world! Looks like a large time investments was required to research and produce this video.
This is the coolest channel with the coolest way of displaying the content being talked about that I've ever seen I'm excited for every upload
Man, impressive job! That is what I was looking for! Thank you!
US tankers engaging the Iraqis here all said essentially the same thing: the Iraqi tank rounds, even when fired from nearly point-blank range, rarely if ever hit anything because they clearly never bore-sighted their guns. Not surprising at all for ME forces.
IIRC, the only Iraqi kill of the day was a Bradley crested on a hill or hillock. I may be mistaken though, and that may have happened on day 4.
Really. So how did the tank guns work during the war with Iran, where hundreds of theirs were destroyed.
@@USB740 Both the Iraqis & Iranians used their MBTs as artillery pieces. There are plenty of photos of their tanks lined up with barrels fully elevated. That's why they fought an 8 year war....it was trench warfare because both sides were (are?) too stupid and lazy to properly employ their weapon systems, hence the lack of maneuver warfare.
@@morgan97475 That was not my question. I asked how come Iranian tanks were destroyed in the hundreds (about 800) by Iraqi tanks if the Iraqi tankers don't know how to sight their tank guns.
@@USB740 I cannot address that as I'm unaware of that event/ series of events. But I'd love to know more about it....please share!
I'm a simple man, I see a TOR upload, everything else can wait.
Same. I clicked so fast I damn near broke the iPad screen!
Outstanding video! Thank you for your time and effort!
These videos have the perfect mix of the anecdotal and the macro, like a great essay. Well done!
I served with a COL who was a 2LT during the Battle of 73 easting at the time. He was with 1st AD His exact words when I asked him about the battle.... “We kicked their asses........a good ole fashion beat down”
As an American artillery officer. I can only imagine the intensity of the FDC and gunline massing such fires. And im kinda jealous. The look on those Fire directions officers face when they got to fire DPICM...
There was a lot of " I get to fire for REAL!" In Desert Storm.
@@patrickkenyon2326 ... LOL, a lot of "GUNNER, SABOT, TANKS, DIRECT FRONT..' in E Trp turrets that day!
@@cav1stlt922 For me, it was FOX 1, FOX 2.
@@patrickkenyon2326 ... if I am not wrong, there were very little FOX 2 fired against very little Iraqi aircraft in the air.
@@cav1stlt922 True. Most of them either stayed on the ground or flew to Syria.
Fantastic vid, the series is top notch. Can’t wait for the next episode!
So glad I found this channel! Some excellent work you've done!
Welcome aboard!
*Finds a retreating column* "SO ANYWAY I STARTED BLASTING"
I’ve watched a lot of documentaries about Desert Storm and 73 Easting, but this video conveys the bigger strategic picture in the best way yet. Thank you!
Not sure if you will see this, but I’ve been binge watching the whole desert storm videos and this is the final one, and I just wanted to say great work. I’ve never seen a channel that covers topics like this with such great visuals and descriptions, and it’s very clear you put a ton of effort into your works. Thank you, and I look forward to watching many more of your videos.
You've joined my favourite channels list in the space of 3 videos. Brilliant videos!
General Frank wanted to hit the iron plates of Rep Guards with his "iron fist", but instead found thin paper which he could've pierced with his index finger.
Where would that have been? You fucking clowns haven't a clue.....and this channel is somewhat way the fuck off.
@@chrome505 Ehm?
Hey, just wanted you to know I really appreciate this channel. The amount of raw data you bring to the table is amazing, I assume you're pulling this from after-action reports? Anyway, putting it all together with the animations really allows these conflicts to unfold in a tactically understandable way that books and documentaries just never seem to pull off. Incredible attention to detail. Thanks!
Another incredible video by the Operations Room. 👏 This man is a blessing. 🙏