Battle of Medina Ridge and Related Topics

Clockwise from top: USAF F-15Es, F-16s, and an F-15C flying over burning Kuwaiti oil wells; British troops from the Staffordshire Regiment in Operation Granby; camera view from a Lockheed AC-130; the Highway of Death; M728 Combat Engineer Vehicle

Gulf War

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Armed campaign waged by a United States-led coalition of 35 countries against Iraq in response to the Iraqi invasion and annexation of Kuwait.

Donald Rumsfeld, US special envoy to the Middle East, meets Saddam Hussein on 19–20 December 1983.

Kuwaiti Armed Forces Chieftain main battle tanks

Kuwait Air Force McDonnell Douglas A-4KU Skyhawk ground-attack aircraft

Lion of Babylon main battle tanks, common Iraqi battle tank used in the Gulf War by the Iraqi Army.

An Iraqi Air Force Bell 214ST transport helicopter, after being captured by a US Marine Corps unit at the start of the ground phase of Operation Desert Storm

Kuwaiti Armed Forces M-84 main battle tanks

President Bush visiting American troops in Saudi Arabia on Thanksgiving Day, 1990

American F-15Es parked in Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Shield

US Army soldiers from the 11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade during the Gulf War

Countries that deployed coalition forces or provided support (On behalf of Afghanistan, 300 Mujaheddin joined the coalition on 11 February 1991. Niger contributed 480 troops to guard shrines in Mecca and Medina on 15 January 1991.)

General Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr. and President George Bush visit US troops in Saudi Arabia on Thanksgiving Day, 1990.

Dick Cheney meets with Prince Sultan, Minister of Defence and Aviation in Saudi Arabia to discuss how to handle the invasion of Kuwait.

Gen. Colin Powell (left), Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf Jr., and Paul Wolfowitz (right) listen as Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney addresses reporters regarding the 1991 Gulf War.

The USAF F-117 Nighthawk, one of the key aircraft used in Operation Desert Storm

Aftermath of Amiriyah shelter bombing by U.S. Air Force, which killed at least 408 civilians in Baghdad

An Iraqi T-54A or Type 59 tank lies destroyed after a coalition bombing attack during Operation Desert Storm.

Scud Transporter Erector Launcher (TEL) with missile in upright position

Aftermath of an Iraq Armed Forces strike on US barracks

Military operations during Khafji's liberation

Marine Artillery played a huge factor in disrupting Iraqi counterattacks during the 1st Gulf War, February 1991.

Iraqi tanks destroyed by Task Force 1-41 Infantry, February 1991

Soldiers of 2nd Platoon, Company C, 1st Battalion, 41st Infantry Regiment pose with a captured Iraqi tank, February 1991

An Iraqi Republican Guard T-55 tank destroyed by Task Force 1–41 Infantry, February 1991

American AH-64 Apache helicopters proved to be very effective weapons during the 1991 Gulf War.

4th Battalion of the 3rd Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Armored Division (FWD) conducts artillery strikes on Iraqi positions during the 1st Gulf War. 4-3 FA was the primary fire support battalion for Task Force 1-41 during the 1st Gulf War, February 1991.

Battery C, 4th Battalion of the 3rd Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Armored Division (FWD) moves into position to conduct fire missions during the Battle of Norfolk, February 1991.

U. S. M1A1 Abrams tanks move out on a mission during Desert Storm in 1991. A Bradley IFV and logistics convoy can be seen in the background.

A M109A2 howitzer belonging to Battery C, 4th Battalion of the 3rd Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Armored Division (FWD) during the Gulf War, February 1991.

A M60A1 tank with a Track Width Mine Plow, Desert Storm February 1991

British Challenger 1 tanks during the 1st Gulf War. The British Challenger tank was the most efficient tank of the Gulf war suffering no losses while destroying approximately 300 Iraqi tanks during combat operations.

A destroyed Iraqi Army T-55 tank lies among the wreckage of many other Iraqi vehicles, such as trucks, cars and buses, somewhere along the Highway of Death in April 1991.

US M1A1 Abrams tanks from the 3rd Armored Division along the Line of Departure

Two Iraqi T-55 tanks lie abandoned near Kuwait City on 26 February 1991.

The oil fires caused were a result of the scorched earth policy of Iraqi military forces retreating from Kuwait.

Ground troop movements 24–28 February 1991 during Operation Desert Storm

Iraqi T-62 knocked out by 3rd Armored Division fire

Aerial view of destroyed Iraqi T-72 tank, BMP-1 and Type 63 armored personnel carriers and trucks on Highway 8 in March 1991

Iraqi 'Saddam' main battle tank destroyed during Operation Desert Storm

A Bradley IFV burns after being hit by Iraqi T-72 fire.

Civilians and coalition military forces wave Kuwaiti and Saudi Arabian flags as they celebrate the retreat of Iraqi forces from Kuwait.

Coalition troops from Egypt, Syria, Oman, France, and Kuwait during Operation Desert Storm

Argentine Navy Alouette III helicopter on board, February 1991

Canadian CF-18 Hornets participated in combat during the Gulf War.

French and American soldiers inspecting an Iraqi Type 69 tank destroyed by the French Division Daguet during Operation Desert Storm

One of the Italian tornadoes used in the operation

British Army Challenger 1 main battle tank during Operation Desert Storm

Iraqi Kurds fleeing to Turkey shortly after the war

Sailors from a US Navy honor guard carry Navy pilot Scott Speicher's remains.

Approximate area and major clashes in which DU rounds were used

Destroyed Iraqi civilian and military vehicles on the Highway of Death

An armored bulldozer similar to the ones used in the attack

Oil well fires rage outside Kuwait City in 1991.

USS Missouri launching a Tomahawk missile. The Gulf War was the last conflict in which battleships were deployed in a combat role.

Military personnel examine the remains of a Scud.

Some consider the Battle of Medina Ridge the largest tank battle of the war.

VII Corps (United States)

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One of the two principal corps of the United States Army Europe during the Cold War.

Major General J. Lawton Collins, VII Corps, describes the taking of Cherbourg to General Omar Bradley, First Army.

Organisation of VII Corps in 1989 (click to enlarge)

VII Corps Garrison Footprint in the 1980s

Captured Iraqi T-72 Tank at VII Corps Cold War HQ, Kelley Barracks.

An Iraqi Republican Guard tank destroyed by Task Force 1-41 Infantry during the 1st Gulf War, February 1991.

Order of battle graphic showing VII U.S Army Corps during Operation Desert Storm

The 1st Armored Division would head north to engage the Iraqi Republican Guard in the Battle of Medina Ridge.

Republican Guard Forces Command insignia

Republican Guard (Iraq)

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Branch of the Iraqi military from 1969 to 2003, primarily during the presidency of Saddam Hussein.

Iraqi President Saddam Hussein talks with Republican Guard officers in Baghdad on 1 March 2003. Iraqi News Agency/AP.

The insignia of the Iraqi Anti Aircraft Unit of the Republican Guard.

A dug-in 2S1 Gvozdika 122mm self-propelled howitzer of the Iraqi Republican Guard abandoned during Operation Desert Storm, 28 February 1991.

An Iraqi Republican Guard FROG-7 captured by U.S. Marines.

Lt. General Mohan al-Furayji, former Republican Guard officer, as a commander of the new Iraqi Army on 5 August 2008.

The Republican Guard participated in some of the largest tank battles in US history including the Battle of Medina Ridge, Battle of Norfolk, and the Battle of 73 Easting against the U.S. VII Corps.

The storming of Redoubt No. 10 in the Siege of Yorktown during the American Revolutionary War prompted Great Britain's government to begin negotiations, resulting in the Treaty of Paris and Great Britain's recognition of the United States as an independent state.

United States Army

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Land service branch of the United States Armed Forces.

General Andrew Jackson standing on the parapet of his makeshift defenses as his troops repulse attacking Highlanders during the defense of New Orleans, the final major and most one-sided battle of the War of 1812

The Battle of Gettysburg, the turning point of the American Civil War

U.S. Army troops assaulting a German bunker in France, c. 1918

U.S. soldiers hunting for Japanese infiltrators during the Bougainville Campaign

U.S. Army soldiers observing an atomic bomb test of Operation Buster-Jangle at the Nevada Test Site during the Korean War

US tanks and Soviet tanks at Checkpoint Charlie, 1961

A U.S. Army infantry patrol moving up to assault the last North Vietnamese Army position at Dak To, South Vietnam during Operation Hawthorne

U.S. Army soldiers preparing to take La Comandancia in the El Chorrillo neighborhood of Panama City during Operation Just Cause

M1 Abrams tanks moving out before the Battle of Al Busayyah during the Gulf War

Iraqi tanks destroyed by Task Force 1-41 Infantry during the Gulf War, February 1991

U.S. Army Rangers taking part in a raid during an operation in Nahr-e Saraj, Afghanistan

U.S. Army soldiers with the 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division returning fire during a firefight with Taliban forces in Barawala Kalay Valley in Kunar province, Afghanistan, March 2011

Organization of the United States Army within the Department of Defense

U.S. Army soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 175th Infantry Regiment, Maryland Army National Guard conducting an urban cordon and search exercise as part of the army readiness and training evaluation program in the mock city of Balad at Fort Dix, New Jersey

U.S. soldiers from the 6th Infantry Regiment taking up positions on a street corner during a foot patrol in Ramadi, Iraq

The 1st Cavalry Division's combat aviation brigade performing a mock charge with the horse detachment

U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers from the 3rd Special Forces Group patrolling a field in the Gulistan district of Farah, Afghanistan

U.S. Army Rangers practicing fast roping techniques from an MH-47 during an exercise at Fort Bragg

A trainer with Company A, 1st Battalion 502nd Infantry Regiment, Task Force Strike, 101st Airborne Division assisting Iraqi army ranger students during a room clearing drill at Camp Taji, Iraq on 18 July 2016

U.S. Army soldiers familiarizing with the latest INSAS 1B1 during exercise Yudh Abhyas 2015

A Lockheed Martin Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system used for ballistic missile protection

A U.S. soldier on patrol in Iraq with the support of a Humvee vehicle

3rd Infantry Division soldiers manning an M1A1 Abrams in Iraq

An element of the 18th Infantry Regiment, wearing ASUs, representing the United States at the 2010 Victory Day commemoration in Moscow

The Ranger Honor Platoon marching in their tan berets and former service uniform

The Battle of Medina Ridge, Battle of Norfolk and the Battle of 73 Easting were tank battles of historical significance.

A dug-in Iraqi T-72 Asad Babil tank at the Battle of Norfolk, 26 February 1991

Tank battle fought on February 27, 1991, during the Persian Gulf War, between armored forces of the United States and United Kingdom, and those of the Ba'athist Iraqi Republican Guard in the Muthanna Province of southern Iraq.

Soldiers of 2nd Platoon, Company C, 1st Battalion, 41st Infantry Regiment, Task Force 1-41 Infantry pose with a captured Iraqi tank during the 1st Gulf War, February 1991.

Iraqi tanks destroyed by Task Force 1-41 Infantry during the 1st Gulf War, February 1991.

Elements of Battery C, 4th Battalion of the 3rd Field Artillery Regiment's Reconnaissance Team drive past a burning Iraqi tank. Vehicles from 4-3 FA follow closely behind during the Battle of Norfolk during the 1st Gulf War, February 1991.

Task Force 1-41 Infantry destroyed multiple Iraqi tanks in defensive entrenchments.

An Iraqi tank destroyed by Task Force 1-41 Infantry during a night combat operation during the Gulf war, February 1991.

An Iraqi Republican Guard T-55 tank destroyed by Task Force 1-41 Infantry during the 1st Gulf War, February 1991.

A M109A2 self-propelled howitzer, belonging to 4-3 FA Battalion, prepares to move into position to engage Iraqi forces, February 1991. 4-3 FA Battalion conducted numerous fire missions and artillery raids during the 1st Gulf War.

M270 Multiple Launch Rocket Systems attack Iraqi positions at the Battle of Norfolk during the 1st Gulf War, February 1991.

British Army Challenger 1 main battle tank during Operation Desert Storm. The Challenger proved to be very effective at the Battle of Norfolk. Not a single Challenger was lost in battle and a Challenger set a record for the longest tank on tank kill at around 3 miles.

Challenger 1 of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards near Kuwait City during the Gulf War.

A British Challenger 1 tank during the 1st Gulf War. The British Challenger tank was the most efficient tank of the Gulf war suffering no losses while destroying approximately 300 Iraqi tanks during combat operations.

Iraqi Type 69 tanks after an attack by the British 1st Armoured Division during Operation Desert Storm.

US M1A1 Abrams tanks from the 3rd Armored Division along the Line of Departure. The 3rd Armored Division inflicted heavy casualties on Iraqi forces. The 3rd Brigade alone destroyed 300 Iraqi combat vehicles of various types.

U.S. A-10 attack aircraft units distinguished themselves during combat operations during the Gulf war.

There are other sources that list it as the second or even the third largest tank battle of the Gulf War behind the Battle of Medina Ridge and the Battle of 73 Easting.