3AD HISTORY OF OPERATION DESERT STORM AND SPEAR

File: 081996_jul96_decls1_0171.txt
Page: 0171
Total Pages: 269

Subject: 3AD HISTORY OF OPERATION DESERT STORM AND SPEAR                 

Box  ID: BX001301

Document Number:          3

Folder Title: OPORDS AND  COMMAND AND CONTROL                                                                 

Folder Seq #:          4

Unit: 3D AD       

Parent Organzation: VII  CORPS  








                  berm that rir
                           ,n @rom  the GUIf  coast'into the desert for-over 200    miles along.,@op
                  borde@. 'Across,our axis of advari6e, just north of cur Line of   Departure :CLD)
                  the enemf -lih @shed up a double .be@m. Each berm wav,e.to 11 feet high..4p@ 20
                  to 30 feet wide at its base. The berms viere separated by i5 feet. The Iraqis
                  d DU "'drop                    ms in front of us apparently to conduct mounted
                  ha she        gips in the ber
                  reco@ t(5 it?@,s@Ah' At one of the gaps a 3rd Armored     Division-helicopter
                  destroyed'a'-'qull@dozer-vdth-two TOW-missiles.
                   Minor skirmishes'contfA@6d in the     Ist Infantry Division   and  Ist Cavalry
                  Division areas on 19 February. The night brought us a very     violent
                  thrunderstarp with torrential rains. In our tents we contemplated the        Iraqis
                  across the'bbrdi;"i6'tfiE-irlirLiRchet.
                    On 21 February vie received'Warnii-ig that the Division would m"Ove   fo'rwiwd the
                  .next day to a position Jiist 'sbuth-of the LD. Later that day we learned th,at
                  the Commander of the Republican Gua@ds-was executed and replaced by SadBan's
                  son. Four division Commanders wereralso executed# Enemy prisoners later
                  indicated that Saddam had placed a few of his Republican Guards in each
                  command. They were similar to political officers. If a soldier was captured
                  while trying to desert he was to be executed by the unit. The Republican
                  Guards kept tabs on who carried out the sentence and who did not. Commanders
                  that'did not carry out the sentence were-themselves killed. At one point, an
                  an attack north, our 3rd Brigade discovered a bunker containing approximately
     20 beheaded Iraqis.
                    We didn't actually move up to the LD until the 22nd of February. Early on
                  the 21st the Brigade notified us of the 24 hour delay. We also received a SCUD
                  alert on the 21st, at 1723 hours. They impacted far south of us outsided the
                  FAA. We finally moved up on the morning of the 22nd of February. At this
                  point the air campaign intensified. They concentrated on artillery, the
                  Repuolican Guards' armor, and on command and control centers at division level
                  and above. The airstrikes caused serious morale problems, especially in
                  4ront-line divisions.
                     23 February was noteable only because the Brigade passed orders to i       nitiate
                  movement on the 24th at 2 hours @t first light. The movement time was later
                  changed to not earlier than 1200 hours. The 2nd ACR moved to the berm early
                  the next morning to secure both sides and knock more lanes through the berm.
                  They pushed almost 10 km   into Iraq without resistance. We began taking nerve
                  agent pretreatment pills   at 1300 hours. That night all callsigns and
                  frequencies were frozen. The Brigade started moving at 1000 hrs, 24 February,
                  G-Day. We Fueled just      south of the LD and put on our Chemical Protective
                                   PP level  II). Battery C crossed the berm at 1448 hours,
                                     :-h@s,  the TOCand Headquarters Battery at 1525 hours (lane
                                                              hours. The sand blew that day. Smoke
                                                              thick haze that did not disipate
                                                               lry took 13 prisoners, the first of
s we had
                                                             stopped and laagered for the night.
                      The news from across the front was spectacular. Immediately in front of
                  the Division, the 4-7 Cavalry took over 50 prisoners. Twenty kilometers in
                  front of us the 2nd ACR had encountered little resistance and took hundreds of
                  Prisoners. The Ist Infantry Division on our right had come as far north as we


                                                              4

Document 269 f:/Week-28/BX001301/OPORDS AND COMMAND AND CONTROL/3ad history of operation desert storm and spear:0816961333481
Control Fields 17
File Room = jul96_declassified
File Cabinet = Week-28
Box ID = BX001301
Unit = 3D AD
Parent Organization = VII CORPS
Folder Title = OPORDS AND COMMAND AND CONTROL
Folder Seq # = 4
Subject = 3AD HISTORY OF OPERATION DESERT STORM AND SPEAR
Document Seq # = 1
Document Date =
Scan Date = 18-JUL-1996
Queued for Declassification = 01-JAN-1980
Short Term Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Long Term Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Permanent Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Non-Health Related Document = 01-JAN-1980
Declassified = 16-AUG-1996