64                                 U.S. MARLNES IN THE PERSIAN GULF, I99~I99i

meeting, the three major subordinate commanders conferred on the conduct of
the attack, and left to issue their orders. At 1200, all elements of the division
crossed the line of departure.211
    They advanced quickly to their objectives. The major action of the day fell
to the Tiger Brigade. With the heavy firepower and high mobility of their
Abrams tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles, they were well equipped for the
task now before-them. Their mission called for them to move rapidly across the
desert, seizing at Al Jahrah the main road from Kuwait City. The division staff
had long recognized that the high ground of the Mutlaa Ridge was key to
controlling this area. Here the road crosses the ridge at a right angle, and as it
climbs the ridge, it is bounded by steep escarpments, shallow ravines, and Iraqi
minefields.
    It was at this natural bottleneck that the convoys of Iraqi vehicles were being
attacked by Marine aircraft in the early hours of the morning. The destruction
of vehicles at this point caused a tremendous press of traffic. To ensure that
none of these vehicles would escape, the "Tigers" now began a rapid move of
20 kilometers across the desert to seize and block the road. They were to be the
"cork in the bottle."
    The brigade moved off in the attack at 1200, along with the rest of the
division. Colonel Sylvester formed his unit into a "V" formation: the 3d and 1st
Battalions, 67th Armor, were side by side, followed by the 3d Battalion, 41st
Infantry. The artillery of the 1st Battalion, 3d Field Artillery, came in trace of
the maneuver elements. Of all the division's units, the "Tigers" had the greatest
distance to cover. To reach their objective as quickly as they could, speeds of
up to 20 kilometers per hour were maintained when possible.212
    On the left flank, the 3d Battalion, 67th Armor, commanded by Lieutenant
Colonel Douglas Tystadt, U.S. Army, quickly encountered a battalion-size
defensive position. As the American soldiers assaulted this line, the Iraqis on
the left  chose to surrender. Recognizing the opportunity this presented,
Lieutenant Colonel Tystadt moved his battalion through the gap, flanking the
remainder of the position. At nearly the same time, the 1st Battalion, 67th
Armor, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Michael T. Johnson, U.S. Army,
closed on a complex of Iraqi bunkers and dug-in tanks. Using their TOWs and
the main guns of their tanks, the soldiers destroyed 20 Iraqi tanks and APCs.
Then, flanking this position, they pressed on to the north.213
    Continuing north, the 3d Battalion, 67th Armor, approached the Ali Al
Saleem airfield, which was just to the west of the division's left boundary. Here,
as they came to the southern slope of the ridge leading to Al Jahrah, the soldiers
encountered a minefield protecting an Iraqi strongpoint. One company was
quickly ordered to conduct a hasty breach of the minefield, using mineplows
and rollers. Two companies provided fire support to the breach force, while
another assaulted through the breach. All of this was done under fire from the
enemy's position, which was quickly destroyed.214
    While this was occurring, the mechanized infantry of the 3d Battalion, 41st
Infantry, had moved behind the 3d Battalion, 67th Armor, and was following in
trace of it, preparing to seize their objective, which was close to the airfield.