The Battle of Al Busayyah
The IRON SOLDIERS’ First Encounter in Iraq
The following is an excerpt from the newly published book; The Gulf War Chronicles by Richard S. Lowry.
At 0630 on Tuesday, February 26, 1991 , the 2d Brigade of the 1st Armored Division opened the assault on Al Busayyah. In preparation for the attack, Division artillery had been pounding the town all night. Then at 0635, Team Gator mounted a small ridge and paused momentarily. Team Gator, commanded by Captain Dave Bither, was the lead element of Lieutenant Colonel Mike McGee’s 6-6 Infantry Battalion. Moments later, the entire Battalion rolled over the ridge. One more ridge lay between the "Iron Soldiers" and the Iraqis in Al Busayyah. 2-70 Armor rolled into position on 6-6′s left flank. Open desert stretched out to the horizon, on 6-6′s right flank. Over a hundred armored vehicles ground to a halt at the face of the final ridge. The Iron Soldiers could see the town, some four kilometers in front of them.
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Al Busayyah was a critical crossroads and an Iraqi Army stronghold. The town consisted of forty to fifty buildings, most located along one main north-south road. A reinforced Iraqi commando battalion defended Al Busayyah. The town was heavily fortified with rooftop, sandbagged, machine gun nests and fighting positions. Eleven Iraqi tanks and twelve other armored vehicles were dug-in deeply at strategic positions in, and around, the town. Trenchlines stretched fifteen hundred meters south of town, radiating out to perimeter strong points.
2-70 Armor and 6-6 Infantry rolled forward over the ridge. Both battalions ground methodically forward on line. Team Gator was on the point of the spear. Bither’s lead tanks headed straight for one of the more prominent defensive positions?two thousand meters ahead. Team Gator rolled forward and the Iraqi defenses grew closer?fifteen hundred meters?fourteen hundred meters. Each M1 gunner carefully selected and locked on to his target?thirteen hundred meters?twelve hundred meters. This was it. The Iron Soldiers were going into battle. Each man nervously awaited the first blow. The Iraqi defenders opened fire on the advancing tanks and Bradleys with heavy machine guns. Sparks flew as the rounds bounced harmlessly off the American armored vehicles like bbs hitting an oil drum.
For a moment the scene before their eyes mesmerized the Iron Soldiers. Captain Bither quickly broke the spell. He ordered his mortar teams to cover the battlefield with smoke, then ordered his men to "return fire." The company’s mortars responded immediately and dumped smoke rounds right on top of the forward Iraqi positions. Bither’s men snapped out of the trance induced by first contact with the enemy and all the advancing vehicles opened fire with their full force. Gator’s M1s pounded the Iraqi bunkers with their main guns and the Bradley gunners raked the enemy lines with machine gun fire.
M1A1 Abrams Tank
Then came the excited cry from the tank platoon leader on the left flank. "Gator Six, this is White Six! Tanks, we got tanks! Over!"
Bither calmly responded, "White Six, this is Gator Six. Kill them. Out."
White Six had spotted two T-55 tanks and an Iraqi armored car, dug in some twenty-two hundred meters away. Over a dozen Abrams gunners that were all itching for their first tank-kill had spotted the unfortunate Iraqis. Within seconds, a dozen rounds slammed into the three vehicles, turning them into a tangled mess of blood and metal. Team Gator ground forward killing more tanks, armored vehicles, and bunkers.
The Iraqis continued to fight. The Iraqi tanks fired on the advancing juggernaut. Machine gun fire bounced off the American vehicles. Team Gator continued to advance, destroying everything in its path. Once the Iraqi tanks were destroyed, the only real threat to the American vehicles were RPG teams. All of the Iron soldiers scanned the battlefield and as soon as an RPG team would pop up, they would be mowed down by machine gun fire. The Iraqis managed to get off a few shots, but they all missed. 2-70 and 6-6 slammed through the outer defenses.
Around two kilometers from Busayyah, 2-70 turned to skirt the town on the left, while 6-6 swept around the right side of town. Both battalions swept north past the buildings, firing at anything and everything in the Iraqi position.
Once past the town, 2-70 continued north into Iraq . 6-6 stopped two kilometers north of the town and regrouped for the assault on Al Busayyah. Mike Ferris and Team Bandit remained in position north of town. The Team’s eight M1s and four Bradleys blocked a retreat from Al Busayyah. The rest of the battalion strung itself out along the east side of town. At 1100, Captain Dane Tkacs led the battalion Engineers in the final assault on the town. A Combat Engineer Vehicle (CEV), two Armored Combat Earthmovers (ACEs), and five Bradleys attacked from the south. The CEV and ACEs rolled into town, in the center of Main Street , like desperados in the Wild West. The CEV knocked over buildings and destroyed enemy vehicles with its 165-mm gun. The ACEs rolled over and crushed everything in their path and the Bradleys shot at anything that moved. They rolled north for seven hundred meters. At the north end of town they turned around and headed south, continuing the havoc.
6-6 Infantry completely demolished the town. No Iraqis were left alive. While 2d Brigade was attacking Busayyah, the 3d Brigade had attacked remnants of the Iraqi 26th Infantry Division, southeast of Busayyah. Farther to the east of the Iron Soldiers, the 3d Armored Division attacked what was left of the Iraqi 26th Infantry Division. By noon Iraq ‘s 26th Infantry Division was decimated. The victorious soldiers had little time to reflect on the morning’s events. They quickly refueled and rearmed, turned and raced north to catch up with the rest of the corps. This battle had broken the ice, but the Republican Guard still lie ahead, waiting for the American tankers.
Combat Engineer Vehicle ? CEV
Richard S. Lowry, author of The Gulf War Chronicles, (see: www.gwchronicles.com) is currently working on his next book, Marines in the Garden of Eden . It will tell the complete story of Task Force Tarawa’s week-long battle for An Nasiriyah.
dear sir ,
I was in the battle of Al busayyah, I was with the 54th Combat Eng. Bn. attached to TF2-70 . It seems that the information about the combat engineers role in the battle is ,(although acurate ) incomplete. The Combat Engineers were much more involved in the battle than just limited to the ACE’s and the CEV’s.We cleared two mine fields leading to the approach to the town and assisted in clearing buildings ,as well as continuing on with the main element to fight in the “Battle of Madina Ridge” I would be most appreciative if you would ammend your article to include the role of the Combat Engineers in more detail so we can get proper recognition.
thank you .
I was in the lead unit of the 1st Phantom Brigade..we were the first brigade of the 1st AD. We were an attached Brigade and before the storm we were 3rd Infantry Division soldiers. we linked up with 1st AD in saudi weeks prior to the assualt. The 1/7 brigade and 4/7 brigade of the 3rd ID as well as the 4-66 armored division made up the 1st brigade of the 1st AD in Desert STorm,,,,we were the Phantom Brigade/1st brigade of 1st Ad in that battle……..WE wore 3id patches before , during, and after the war…..but we were proud to be 1st AD soldiers as well in Desert Storm….I still wear both patches Proudly!
It’s really good to see this in the pages of history. This is all a fuzzy memory for me when we pulled up to Al Busayyah and they opened up on us. I was with the 1st Platoon Rebels, C company 6/6 Inf. Thank you for the article. It clarifies some of the things that happened those days. As far as the comment that everyone was KIA as result of the 6/6, that was not right. Many of the enemy surrendered, and our soldiers fed them MREs. I remember that they didn’t have a problem eating dehydrated pork patties at all.
i dont know if u guys check this reguarly i was wondering if u guys remember a bradley commander named ken mohr i was also wondering if u guys could give me a little more insite as to the battles u fought my father doesnt want to tell me too much any reply would be appreciated, thank you ken mohr jr.
I was with HHC 6/6 Infantry, and was with the T.O.C. vehicle, overlooking the town and monitoring the events throughout the assault. I can verify Thompson’s account of the KIA (above). There were 8-10 Iraqi 26th Infantry soldiers who surrendered, and to whom we fed MRE’s and gave water. Other than that, the account reconciles with my memory of the events of that day. Thank you for this article….it brought back some memories.
SPC Darryl Barber
6/6 Infantry
“Fighting Regulars”
I also was In HHC 6/6 inf ” the “Fighting Regulars”/ “Mail Foot”. I was looking for a crest of my old unit to show my kids and ran across this article. It has been almost tweenty years and this is the first time That I ever saw an article on our Unit The Iorn Brigade. Yes I can also verify what Thompson and Barber stated. Not only that but the Destruction of the “B” Brigade of the Medihnah Republican Guard Division on the 27 of February. It was a honor and a privalage to have served with these men. I also would like thank the other units that served along with us. They also deserve their credit also. It was nice to see a article of a time in history that you can point to and be able to tell that you were their. The map also gave me a visual way to show my kids what took place and what role we played in it.Telling someone what happened is not the same as letting them read it. Its In Black and White History
Thank You
Cpl Christopher ( cant smoke a rock) Slade
6/6 inf “Fighting Regulars”
I was also in HHC 6/6 Infantry at the battle of Al Busayya, I was in the communications platoon. It’s good to see post from fellow soldiers from my old combat unit. I hope all 6/6 infantry soldiers are doing well and good wishes to all.
It was a time to remember,
Thanks for serving,
Cpl. Kevin Colter
Skinner here, 2nd platoon, Charlie Company, 6/6, track Charlie two four.
I drove a Bradley, though I never trained to. I remember pulling up to town (Al Busayyah) with turrets at 180 degrees and getting shot at pretty good with “small arms” –12.5 mm machine gun. I remember pulling back a bit to let the MRLS rockets do their thing. I remember some killing, but not wiping out a town. We used a bunch of 25 mm HE on buildings and walls and once a person. I don’t remember seeing anyone surrender. Cleared a large nearby bunker complex shortly after securing town.
Hi skinner . are you from chicago.I was also in c 6/6 inf
Don’t you remember the one wounded iraqi all bloody on the stretcher and angel had his m16 about 3 inches from his beat up mug? I’ll never forget the MLRS attack that morning. A sight to see.
SGT. Barber Blacksheep Company 6/6 Infantry Track two three a part of TF-2-70
We encountered heavy amount of surrendering Iraqi soldiers. We rolled into a mine field at one point which put us on a major delay.
I know TOW rockets were fired twice at T-55s and 25MM used on buildings and light vehicles.
Oh and the bodies of sheep were every where!!!! Seems they had a large herd of sheep in the town and that artillery attack that lasted for hours must have tossed those sheep every place!!!
The tranch line had sleeping bags and boots laying around which means the artillery hit and caught them off gaurd and they just ran for cover leaving there boots behind.
there with the scouts-still serving,commisioned now a LTC with three more tours in IRAQ. Still remember those days.