Tanker Stories: The Battle of 73 Easting

The Battle of 73 Easting

73 Easting was not a single isolated conflict in the style of pre-20^th century pitched battles. It was part of a wider line of fighting spread across the Iraqi desert. As with many of the engagements in World War I, it was the intensity and significance of the fighting that made 73 Easting worthy of identification as a battle in its own right.

Around 4:20 pm, E Troop of 2ACR, led by Captain H R McMaster, surprised an Iraqi company of eight tanks in defensive positions on a slope at the 70 Easting. After clearing this threat, McMaster saw an Iraqi Company in Soviet-produced T-72 tanks holding defensive positions three kilometers to the east.

Continuing past the original limit of his advance, he fought through an infantry position and onto the high ground at the 74 Easting. There, a unit of 18 T-72s stood their ground against the American forces and tried to outmaneuver them. But surprise, better equipment and better training together gave the Americans a significant advantage. McMaster and his troops destroyed yet another Iraqi tank unit

A scout platoon set out north from E Troop to regain contact with other coalition forces. Along the way, they ran into another Iraqi position, this one occupied by 13 T-72s, which they destroyed with TOW anti-tank missiles.

More of 2ACR now arrived and the unit took up positions overlooking a wadi – a dried-up river valley – at and near the 73 Easting. By 6:30 pm, wave after wave of Iraqi tanks and infantry were advancing up the wadi and attacking the Americans, with the aim of driving them back and creating a safe line of retreat. For the next four hours, the Iraqis tried to drive out the Coalition forces but were held off.

By the time the fighting slackened around 10 pm, dozens of Iraqi tanks had been destroyed.

Sporadic fire continued throughout the night, and another fierce engagement was fought the next day around a nearby objective. But the fighting at the 73 Easting was over.

The Importance of 73 Easting

The charred remains of an Iraqi T-55 main battle tank sit on the Iraqi-Kuwait border, destroyed by Coalition armor heading into Kuwait during Operation Desert Storm.

The size and significance of land battles in the First Gulf War were not widely appreciated until a decade later. 73 Easting was a huge tank battle, in which the Coalition forces destroyed 160 tanks, 180 personnel carriers and 12 artillery pieces. Two brigades of the Republican Guard were destroyed, and it was the Guard’s first ground defeat.

Strategically, the action kept the Iraqis busy while other advances took place. Perhaps as significantly, it was a demoralizing defeat for Saddam’s supposed elite.Jason Harris

For More on this battle, visit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_73_Easting