16                                  U.S. MARINES IN TIlE PERSIAN GULF, 1990-1991


result of this rehearsal, the 2d Marine Division staff focused its staffwork upon
the problem of a second breach zone through the enemy's obstacles.M
    By the beginning of February a concept bad been approved for both
divisions to perform separate breaches. On 13 February, the 2d Marine Division
conducted its own sand-table rehearsal and exercise to practice the assault and
the breach.   This exercise was conducted in two phases. In the morning,
participants took part in a large sand-table walk-through of the control methods
by which the units would be called from their assembly areas and move through
the lanes which would lead them to the breach sites. In the afternoon there was
a full-scale rehearsal of the 6th Marines' assault from its assembly areas to the
breach sites. An important part of this movement was the familiarization of the
units' guides with their duties in leading their units along the proper routes and
to the assigned breach lanes.
    While    unit training continued, the division staff turned to the final
preparations for the assault, only 11 days away. After the movement of the
division's elements into their final positions, the time had arrived for active
offensive operations.
                               Intelligence

    The 2d Marine Division staff and commanders sought information on the
enemy situation beginning in the earliest days of August. Even before the
division had received a mission, and while its deployment to the Persian Oulf
was little more than speculation, the 0-2 section, under Lieutenant Colonel
Christopher J. Gregor, was assembling as much information as it could about
the Iraqi Army and its capabilities.
    An intelligence database was acquired early on through liaison with other
intelligence agencies, and by reviewing the lessons learned from the Iran-Iraq
War.~ One of the earliest products of the 0-2 section was a small pamphlet,
entitled Saudi Arabia Handbook, which went into two editions. At this time, the
emphasis was still on the defense, and the information related to Saudi Arabia
and how its climate and terrain could be expected to affect military operations.67
These handbooks were distributed throughout the division and II MEF.
    Another important booklet, also produced and distributed early in the
conflict,  was How They Fight.  Desert Shield Order Of Battle Handbook,
published by the United States Army Intelligence and Threat Analysis Center
in August and September 1990. This was an especially instructive publication,
focusing upon the Iraqi Army, its organization, and its methods of operation. In
addition to detailed and specific information, the handbook contained this
assessment of the enemy:

                The Iraqi Army, the world's eighth largest, is also
             one of the best equipped and combat-experienced in the
             world. It can conduct multi-corps operations spread over
             100km or more and is capable of coordinating air and
             artillery, timing of  movements   and  operations,