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The Battle of Al BusayyahRichard S. Lowry | June 15, 2004 | one comment | Print | E-mail 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.
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. Pages: 1 2Help Armchair General by bookmarking to
           
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One Comment to “The Battle of Al Busayyah”
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 .
By James A. Barone on Sep 15, 2009 at 12:56 pm