06:40 _"... with a distinct lack of onions..."_ Everything in these videos are so serious and methodical, and then suddenly something is said and it becomes very hilarious in the moment. Excellent commentary.
And I love the continuity of these videos for the most minute pointless things, the lack of onions was because of the trucks the 101st airborne stopped at the blockade on highway 8 a couple of days ago.
@@HiopX that part caught me. beduin nomads watching from their ridge applaud politely as the missiles find their target. like it is a round of golf and they're watching from their back porches 🤣
Their tanks were positioned too far away from the hill. Their artillery was aimed to far from the hill. The lack of onions must have really messed them up.
I love having such detail in modern wars that I can know of such events like how a _General_ wandered aimlessly into the middle of a full fledged battle and both sides ignored him.
Experience from the army has taught me that if any general appears during an active operation,including exercises, the best way is to completely ignore his existence and hope he goes away or someone else deals with him. Worked for these guys 🤣
@Marcelo Henrique Soares da Silva Weather was not suitable for air strikes and they where not spotted yet. It was basically their best chance to inflige damage to opponent and they screwed big time.
It's a running theme with *many* Arab militaries that senior officers are generally incompetent. They get their leadership through personal and political relationships, not through merit. Especially under Hussein, junior officers who took initiative and didn't follow orders exactly as told were seen as troublemakers and potential threats by their superiors and would be dealt with as such. It's especially sad in this case, where you have determined crews who stuck with it until the end, even though they were almost entirely robbed of the ability to make an effort to fight back by their own officers.
I wonder if they thought the Coalition tanks had the same range as their tanks, and wanted to position in such a way that the coalition would have to come off the hill to fight? Not wanting to let the coalition fire on them from the high ground?
@@joesmittington1207 look up reverse slope defense. Being on the high ground is actually a disadvantage in direct combat. The defenders just incompetently miscalculated the distance of the hilltop.
Earlier a group of of Americans intercepted and Iraqi convoy, hoping it was a convoy of weapons that they had stopped, it turned out to be a convoy of onion trucks. Hence the lack of onions joke.
This perspective is fantastic. 30 years ago and the technology the coalition had and used feels like stuff that was developed in the last decade. The counter battery radar use alongside CIWS, Stealth fighters, UAVs, and cruise missiles, all while battleships from WW2 take part. Crazy.
That's because the US has been letting development of new military technology sit while it fights on less technologically sophisticated enemies, however since the war on terrorism is pretty much dwindling down and China has become the main threat, the US is refocusing on advancing its military technology to stay far ahead of China.
Stealth aircraft have their roots in the 1970s (the proof of concept for the F-117A Nighthawk first flew in 1977) and arguably even the 1950s (the Lockheed A-12 had several features designed to reduce radar cross-section).
@@PomaReign Imagine after spending all that time and money on developing these weapons then countries like Iran and North korea skip all of that and just develop nuclear weapons that must be tough ngl
@@MrTheclevercat Hmm. Wikipedia kinda suggests the opposite -- that they tried to make the Ho229 stealthy but it didn't really work. The experimental radar-absorbent paint was no good, and the radar cross-section was about 40% of a conventional plane of similar size, which was still plenty big enough to see. On the other hand, that does mean that people were thinking about stealth in the 1940s -- in other words, basically since radar systems started to be deployed. Nonetheless, it doesn't seem that much was done until the 1970s.
@@dannyzero692 Such is the way of conscripts. It's sad but your enemy has no way to know whether you're a radical supporter of the regime or just some poor guy who's name got called.
@@dannyzero692 yes it’s very sad knowing that but I’m sure there were a few good men willing to give it all up for their cause. Look at who they were up against.
I was with 1st Brigade 1st Armored Division (3rd Brigade ‘Phantom’ 3rd Infantry Division) at the Battle of Medina Ridge. Seeing it first hand and seeing here gives a different perspective. A lot more going on than what we see from the ground. The Artillery the Medina slung at us was a lot closer than pictures here. My Bradley had four rounds land on all sides. We were thankful for not getting hit. Our counter battery thought there was up to eleven enemy artillery battalions that took part in this engagement. Thank you for this video.
Thank you for your service! I was a combat engineer deployed as a truck driver and one of 6 soldiers from my battalion hauling Bradley 20mm ammo to ASP 6 while you were fighting! Watched the flashes on the horizon that night, and hauled 43 POWs back to Saudi after we dropped our ammo
I see a lot of comments about 'onions'. Yet I don't know the context for WHY 'The Operations Room' mentioned them, let alone why so many comments pertain to onions. Do you know what the deal is about 'onions'?
@@gregparrott if you watched the video for Day 2, US infantry blocked Highway 8 in order to catch any iraqi convoys passing through, and when the first convoy appeared, it wasn't a convoy of weapons but a convoy of literally onions only. That's it, that's the entire thing.
@InSomnia DrEvil the air forces beat the command and control centers senselessly for about two weeks before the tanks rolled in. The Iraqi divisions didn’t have a chance.
Putin using the same thing the iraqi's used, plus his men are trained as much as the iraqi soldiers as well. Not only that but they also have the same morale strength as the iraqi soldiers! amazing! They'll take kyiv and odesa in no tim- oh
@@macncheese1435 Not to mention most of Iraq's equipment was Soviet made, so the present-day Russians are even using most of the same kit that led the Iraqi army their glorious vict- oh wait
One of of the fascinating things is how varied the military hardware was. The US Navy alone had F-14s, F-18s, A-6s, A-7s, and WW2-era battleships! Nowadays, they’d just be using different versions of F-18s and the Iowa class ships have all been retired.
That sort of variation comes with its own set of problems, sadly. Primarily in the realm of logistics and maintenance. Navies in WW1 and WW2 (and others, just using these as examples) ran into similar problems with all the different calibers of guns, particularly on battleships. Having to keep so many different ammo types and sizes available and loaded onto battleships wasn't easy. Standardizing weapons and minimizing the number of different types of platforms, such as the types of aircraft you use, has a great appeal. It's true having an aircraft with a more generalized set of capabilities can lose you some high-end optimization for something like air superiority, but having the bulk of your forces in a multi-role format (F-16, F-18, even the F-15 variants) with a few specialized (like the F-22) as the spearhead seem to be the way to go as far as modern militaries are concerned.
I don't know whether to be sad that most coalition casualties were inflicted by their own allies or to be happy that the enemy couldn't even do more damage than friendly fire could.
After the war the US developed panels that could be seen on IR sensors. They also developed a "Blue Force Tracker" which puts every vehicle location on a network. Friendly fire still happens, but it has been reduced.
It's funny, but it did highlight a massive problem. That many friendly fire incidents will lead to inquiries and lengthy debriefings. Imagine how difficult it must be to go home and do the report.
I still remember Feb 26 morning.. it was magical for us Kuwaiti.. i still remember running to the highway to greet liberating forces.. thanks everybody!!
Yes. One after the war ended sometimes saw cars driving down the road with people leaning out the window waving a Kuwaiti flag and honking the horn as they passed coalition forces. You're welcome.
I dont know if anyone mentioned it allready. But the political awareness of Norman Schwarzkopf to let the Kuwaitis themself enter and liberate their own capital is just brilliant. And that was a man nicknamed Stormin Norman for his media pressence and his fast striking moves during Wartime.
_"Coalition"_ So the coalition was united on the goal of = ejecting Iraq from Kuwait. It was never about removing Saddam Hussein or occupying Kuwait/Iraq - which the Arab partners would have never acceded to. Accordingly given the language differences and the nature of the operation Schwarzkopf correctly sent Arab forces along with the Marines to liberate Kuwait City itself. It was political as well as strategic. p.s. - think WWII. The Allied armies upon approaching Paris = let the Free French forces enter the city. That helped galvanize the French people to support the Allies as well as amplified the efforts of French forces fighting for their homeland.
Yeah given the plethora of advanced optics in the area, I’m sure they were noticed, observed, and reported on as foot mobiles in the vicinity of a standoff engagement. Not too hard to believe. The cheering was probably a good indication that they were not hostile, and any commander would report that.
I implore you all to watch that press conference. It gives an incredible insight on a general during a dramatic victory. The general seems exactly what a general should be, also showing great humility. It also shows how the media are ready to sell the war and profit off it… the general seems utterly disgusted with them and some of their questions. It is probably one of the “best” press conferences of all time.
@@butta_dawg585 In one of the earlier Desert Storm videos. A truck full of onions is captured or something. Of course, this leads to the troops lacking onions.
Dude I can only imagine the level of badassery the frontline tanks crews felt watching a line of superior tanks empty into the opposing force with Apache's overhead raining hell and warthogs strafing over the enemy. That has to have felt like the most American moment in the history of existence.
Not very far overhead either..... Squadrons of Apaches and Cobras would fly at ~20-30 feet off the ground at dusk heading into Iraqi airspace to use their night vision capability to destroy Iraqi armor and targets. During the day fighters/A-10's would smash them. MLRS units would rain destruction down on them day and night lighting up the skyline and shaking the ground.
Well done as usual. Thinking back, I worked in the Fwd FDC 2/11 Marines and had no idea what was happening much beyond what I could see. I knew we had covered a lot of ground and taken a lot of POW's. There were burning oil wells everywhere on the horizon and the only casualties our Battery had suffered were from mines that wrecked a couple trucks. A few days later I watched a replay of Gen. Schwarzkopf's briefing on CNN and thinking, WOW. I had no idea there was a slaughter on the highway north of Kuwait City or the Army had fought a huge battle to the west. During actual combat the "big picture" is unknown, what is happening with your company or battery is all that matters.
I’m pretty much always clouded with uncertainty when it comes to how I feel about the bigger-picture morality of acts of war, and to what extent they’re right or wrong, justified or not, etc. That being said: watching the detailed intricacies of these sorts of operations is, almost universally, simply fascinating. Putting the moral quandaries of the matter to the back of my head and just looking at the strategies involved, and the things that went on, and the often incredible level of power on display (especially e.g. the opening Air War part of this series… my god) is pretty much neverendingly interesting. I really appreciate the content on this channel, and the amount of effort that clearly goes into all the little details and such. It’s impressive, and it does a great job of depicting the battles in a way that tickles my unavoidable fascination with military operations. Even when, in the back of my head, I may still be wondering “was this necessarily the correct action to take, were the long-term consequences adequately considered” and so on.
those comments are all bullshit trying to justiofy 2003 war as the continuation of 1991 uncompleted work. This war was about forcing iraq out of kuwait, and thats what it did. hussein was raised as a dictator by US backing, the should ahve considered the risks before helping him kill iranians
@@Franfran2424 It's pretty simple: 91 was justified, smart and effective. 2003 was effective, but not justified and *very* dumb. The US and regional interest was in a weak Hussain that would keep order and block Iran, but not threaten anyone else - and 91 achieved just that. 2003 threw that away for trying to bring democracy and nation-build Iraq by US troops - which was a horrible idea. The first was geopolitics, the second an anti-geopolitical ideological crusade.
The Medina Republican Guard Division was brave enough to stay and fight, but seemingly inept enough to set up a reverse slope defense that placed the ridgeline out of tank gun range. There must be a reason so I’d like to know what they were thinking.
Presumably just a screw-up. Perhaps they set up at a distance that would have been within range on flat ground but failed to take into account the slope.
I was only about 10 when this happened but was glued to the television for days while it was going on. Years later, after I enlisted, I studied the gulf War. One of the most amazing aspects was how horrendously one-sided the casualties ended up being. At the time, military planners were still operating under the cold war doctrine of acceptable losses. They went into this fully expecting tens if not hundreds of thousands of US casualties. Instead, I think about 150 US soldiers and a handful of soldiers from allied nations died compared to 50,000 Iraqis.
@@HazeCarver Billy Mitchel was a hack who was half right in his statements, his promotions of Air power widely exceeded their ability at the time and led to it being discounted in all weapon tests with them even until the next decade.
It's all detailed in "Why Arabs lose wars". But it basically boils down to class warfare between the soldiers and officers, and promotion based on loyality/family, instead of merit, ect.
@@naitnait00 I would imagine fatigue would play a factor. Also, pretty sure the Iraqis didn't have laser rangefingers, which can be very useful for that sort of thing. It's also possible someone just flubbed their numbers.
@@Orcawhale1 Agree - I remember reading somewhere how Arabs need to get Western tech people to maintain their high tech equipment ie tanks, jets etc. Low class work for them lolz Also how their officers jealously guard their info/expertise for fear of losing influence/power so the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing. It's all rather childish.
I don't know if I've ever seen a channel whose comments were all about how great the production is. Not even about the content itself (onions aside), but how fantastic the videos are. Bravo!
Big time! You had all these units that had been sitting in Germany training for the Cold War and holding the line in Europe. Then the chance came up to blow that load all over Sadam’s regime in the desert. I would say not just America but the whole coalition was ready to fuckin go. My family had been living in Germany because pops was a tanker in the 1st AD during the whole Berlin Wall ordeal, before all this popped off then they sent him and the boys to Iraq. They and everyone in the coalition were absolutely ready for far more than that.
Yeah, it also helped to be fighting against nerfed export versions of equipment that was outdated anyway, and not the best-trained crews either. Like, you set up to attack the enemy when they come over the hill line but don't actually make sure you're in range? Not saying the training and equipment *didn't* pay off, but a war against the actual Warsaw Pact would have been a lot tougher.
From what I understand: The Warsaw Pact armies, particularly the Soviets, were much better trained, motivated, and led than the Iraqis. The Soviet equipment was also usually better but the strategies and tactics of the Iraqis was more the deciding factor in their poor preformance than the weapons available to them. They thought they could employ the same tactics they used against the Iranians for the US-led coalition armies and that simply wasn't going to work. There wasn't really any doubt that Coalition forces would defeat the Iraqis, but few people thought it would be so quick and decisive. The ground invasion literally was over in a matter hours more so than days. This did surprise the Soviets and the Chinese in particular.
@@tinman3586 Yes I would agree the Soviets and East Germans were a real threat for US and NATO forces and would of fought much better than the Iraqis. My dad was stationed in Berlin in 1979/1980 and he said the East Germans were very well trained and highly motivated. I remembered had a captured T-72 tank outside our motor pool in Ft..Carson from the first Gulf War I always thought about the former tank crew and where they were now. Anyway I would also say the Iraqi army was battle hardened from eight years of fighting the Iranians but the Iraqi Army was tailored to fight its neighbors not a super power like the USA or two world powers like the UK and France, nor a broader coalition of of other nations it was a hopeless war from the beginning on the Iraqi side.
Just recently watched entire press conference that is mentioned at the end. I highly recomment it for everyone interested, rightfully named "Mother of all press conferences"
Yes I was aware of that. It was the reporter asking why it took so long to cross a minefield as if it was an easy task something that irked Schwarzkopf . He later apologized to the reporter. But I got a laugh out of Schwarzkopf's response.
T-72- You underestimate my power! Abrams: Don't try it! T-72: *Fires and misses due to range* Abrams: *Fires and obliterates* Abrams: You were my enemy T-72, I disliked you! T-72 (burning)- I hate you!
Hah, I just caught the subtle and nonchalant reference at 6:42 “distinct lack of onions”, a reference one might only get after watching the series in chronological order in a single sitting. Well played, sir!
I've seen dozens of personal photos from these battle areas. The Iraqis were obliterated. Nothing but burned vehicles and corpses for as far as the eye could see. It was beyond a route.
the production value of these videos has gotten so good I'm so happy to see a channel I've stuck with finally start to get the hype and recognition it deserves
@@Peoples_Republic_of_Devonshire I'm not saying that we weren't justified, but from what he said in the video it was the US general who told the 1st armoured division to change course so that the US didn't friendly fire again.
I think it would have be amazing if they had stuck with the original orders but flew the flag and played the national anthem as loud as possible lol. Then nobody could confusing who they are and it's not like it matters if the Iraqis know your coming, not like they could do much about it haha.
I love this channel. It is has really stirred a love for history and highlights so well the minute by minute action. I've been trying to share this channel with others so you get the praise you deserve. I only wish you could work with some huge company and make more documentaries because I can't get enough. Your the only channel I look forward to positing
I literally almost came in my pants when I saw this video come up in my feed. I hope you make more of these videos on other wars in future, they are some of the best things on RUclips right now.
You're videos on Desert Storm are the first Ive seen, and these are very well made! You're visuals are interesting and the information is presented very well. Thank you for your time in making these, I thoroughly enjoyed them and learned quite a bit
I was with the 3rd ACR in that friendly-fire incident, and that is not what happened. In fact, we were ordered by Regimental - NOT Corps - to attack across a known corps boundary. This boundary split a small auxiliary Iraqi airfield in half. Recon had determined no Iraqi forces were there, but Regimental decided to "assault the objective" in order to obtain a "combat command" credential for Lieutenant Colonel Daly. I was on Lieutenant Hanlon's Abrams at the time, and when we received our briefing, we were told a full brigade of Iraqi light infantry was holding the airfield with a battery of towed howitzers and a company of tanks in support. This was NOT a training exercise; we were told these were actual estimated enemy troop strengths and dispositions. Daly had invented a new cavalry assault tactic, and it had been tried numerous times in peacetime field exercises, but this would be the first combat test of "The Diamond Formation". We pulled in all recon assets, put all our armor forward into a giant wedge, and "charged" the airfield. It was the worst possible direction to assault from in using the Diamond: thick tank-high dunes with scrub atop them all the way in to the airfield's surrounding service road. Perfect ambush terrain for light infantry, and we were ordered to proceed as though no one was there. This put everyone on edge, and the charge quickly bogged down as my company - then leading the way - hit the service road. Our XO immediately called over the net that we'd hit the runway and therefore must be centered on the objective, so he was calling halt. I stood up in the loader's hatch, looked over the side at the road, and turned to Lt. Hanlon: "Sir, any MiG landing on that would have its wheels in the sand on both sides." Hanlon's response: "I'm sure they'll figure it out." They never actually did, and we never moved again until the whole mess was over with. Everything had bogged down, as the Diamond always had, because actual cavalry training and doctrine took over. Which is that tanks stop when running into an unknown element, so that scouts can go see what's happening. We saw HEMETs and other US vehicles in an area where they "weren't supposed to be". I Troop went forward to investigate, because some 50 US vehicles had been reported by Stars & Stripes as stolen by Iraqi commandos. We were not to assume that US vehicles were automatically in US hands. I don't recall who fired first, but after one American engineer in the "Iraqi" force was wounded, someone popped a flare and someone else realized what was happening. A cease-fire was called over the net. Lt. Col. Daly either didn't hear it or didn't care, because his Bradley charged across the field shooting at the engineers who were trying to get their wounded man to cover, yelling "they're getting away!". That's why an American engineer died that night. Someone wanted a combat medal on their resume, and someone indulged them. There had never been any Iraqis at that airfield.
After the fact reporting invariably gets things wrong. Some is "selective" - to cover people's backsides - while some is simply the chaos of battle when you have multiple units all chattering over the net. As an example. 24th ID was credited for capturing Jalibah - which they did. Yet the reality is that 2nd Squadron hit the airfield first. The Republican Guards defending it = called in artillery on themselves as a defense. Regiment gave order to bypass on as the area was too large for a single squadron to handle and 24th ID came in behind to assault it. As an aside. Another "blue on blue" almost happened here. An "adjust fire" was issued from within 2nd Squadron to hit the airfield given the resistance met at the same time that Regiment was tasking +"psy-ops" to come into the area to try to talk them into surrendering. Had a "check fire" not been issued by the squadron BOC the gun line would have fired the mission to possibly cause another incident. As is often the case command and control was fragmented rather than cohesive which is how these things usually happen. 🤨 p.s. - after the ceasefire the squadron officers all put themselves up for medals...... 🤦♂ The field grade officers all put themselves in for Silver Stars while all the troop COs and 1st Sgt's were put in for Bronze Stars. Stereotypical "punch your ticket" nonsense which sadly always happens. (Saber Squadron)
"After 24 hours of fighting, it went from the 'Elite Republican Guard,' to the 'Republican Guard,' to 'the Republicans made this shit up about their being guards out here.'" -Bill Hicks
I'm glad that the GBU-28s were mentioned. Those represent the immense innovation that the American logistics system is capable of. They recognized a threat that we couldn't defeat in August 1990 and had a weapon conceived, developed, tested, and produced within 6 months. Normally that process takes years, even decades.
It was quite a feat indeed. Not to nitpick, but the GBU-28's were never actually tested as the designers knew they would work and did not have time to test the actual final weapon before sending them to Irak.
I literally just subscribed after watching your Midway, Black Hawk Down and other Desert Storm videos so this was a nice treat to see posted right after I did. Amazing work on these videos!
Nice, been waiting a few months for the finale. Was a great, well done series. The Iraqis were a defensive 1975 force going up against a mobile high tech 1990 force with every advantage.
I remember seeing two of the M1's getting hit and ammo exploding out the top side blast panels as designed, the crew inside were uninjured on both after everything stopped exploding.
Another brilliant clip bringing the events to life and letting us participate. Well done. Hard to believe that DS is already celebrating its 30th anniversary.
I've been reading Bob Woodward's book The Commanders about the lead up to the Gulf War. In part 1, it goes over the 1989 US invasion of Panama and the entire time I was reading I was imagining an Operations Room video playing. Great work on the Gulf War! And if I haven't been obvious enough about what to cover next here is an interesting fact from Operation Just Cause: General Noriega surrenders to the Vacation Papal Nuncio on Christmas Eve starting a standoff between US Forces, Noriega , & Vacation Embassy in Panama.
It’s amazing that so much of this tech was so new and just being tested. It sort of harkens to how mass fire changed the landscape of war a century earlier in WWI. Extended peace with massive technological advance always leads to unprecedented results in warfare.
I will add again how much I enjoy these videos. You guys are going to start blowing up soon. One thing though, Please consider making some longer ones. I love the short vids but would love to see longer ones Either way, I only have a handful of channels I sub to. Yours being one of them
The Brits didn't appreciate it in 1812 or 1776 either! Old habits die hard, I guess (In all seriousness, it's tragic and I'm sorry for those killed and wounded by friendly fire)
Whats crazy is Iraq had the 5th largest military on earth at the time. They had mobilized 75% of their fighting age males. They were considered very adept at munitions and special operations. Their soldiers were considered experienced due to previous wars and they were particularly well armed as far as third world countries go with hundreds of tanks, aircraft, and ballistic missiles along with a stockpile of chemical weapons. Their military outnumbered the US army and marine corp combined. So the coalition invading with such a force wasn't overkill. The iraqis just folded very quickly
Soldiers are killed in training every year....... Military operations are dangerous you know. Considering the size of the forces used and the geographical area involved + number of different countries who had forces on the ground then the subsequent "friendly fire" incidents were actually low compared to other wars.
@@TheBacknblack92 The United States formed an alliance that included 34 countries and they were far advanced in technology. Despite this, air power was the most important factor in destroying the Iraqi army, as the international coalition relied 90% on air power in this war.
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Ok.
keep it up man love your stuff what are your thoughts of a ww1 battle or a ww2 campaign like north Africa or operation market garden
Could you do a Battle for Khafji? I've seen a lot of info about it but still can't visualize what actually happened there.
NordVPN's even doing TV ads now, their budget must be rediculous
Like to see you get sponsored, keep up the great work bud.
06:40 _"... with a distinct lack of onions..."_
Everything in these videos are so serious and methodical, and then suddenly something is said and it becomes very hilarious in the moment. Excellent commentary.
And I love the continuity of these videos for the most minute pointless things, the lack of onions was because of the trucks the 101st airborne stopped at the blockade on highway 8 a couple of days ago.
It's obviously a fake video. America lost the gulf war in four days, lost the basrah uprising also.
Beduin: applauds politely
@@HiopX that part caught me. beduin nomads watching from their ridge applaud politely as the missiles find their target. like it is a round of golf and they're watching from their back porches 🤣
They finally found the Tide-changing WMDs😂
Their tanks were positioned too far away from the hill. Their artillery was aimed to far from the hill.
The lack of onions must have really messed them up.
F
No onions and who is crying now.
This is why you should always carry an onion in your pocket
Onions are the WMDs of iraq no wonder french made a song about it back in the 1700
Basically everything that could go wrong for them, did... and spectacularly so. End result: Systematically demolished and erased from existence.
I love having such detail in modern wars that I can know of such events like how a _General_ wandered aimlessly into the middle of a full fledged battle and both sides ignored him.
Experience from the army has taught me that if any general appears during an active operation,including exercises, the best way is to completely ignore his existence and hope he goes away or someone else deals with him.
Worked for these guys 🤣
he probably just drank an invisibility potion
Fred Franks made a few mistakes in that 90 hour period... Schwarzkopf was not happy with him.
God was with them every second
I guess God doesn't like people from Middle Eastern countries 😐
Miscalculating your range while setting up an ambush and defensive position is such an OOFFFF moment.
@Marcelo Henrique Soares da Silva Weather was not suitable for air strikes and they where not spotted yet. It was basically their best chance to inflige damage to opponent and they screwed big time.
It's a running theme with *many* Arab militaries that senior officers are generally incompetent. They get their leadership through personal and political relationships, not through merit. Especially under Hussein, junior officers who took initiative and didn't follow orders exactly as told were seen as troublemakers and potential threats by their superiors and would be dealt with as such.
It's especially sad in this case, where you have determined crews who stuck with it until the end, even though they were almost entirely robbed of the ability to make an effort to fight back by their own officers.
@@skyhager5953 although it was good for us, what a tragedy that is…
I wonder if they thought the Coalition tanks had the same range as their tanks, and wanted to position in such a way that the coalition would have to come off the hill to fight? Not wanting to let the coalition fire on them from the high ground?
@@joesmittington1207 look up reverse slope defense. Being on the high ground is actually a disadvantage in direct combat. The defenders just incompetently miscalculated the distance of the hilltop.
I don't think theres anything scarier than being on the recieving end of "An entire Battalion of Apache attack helicopters and A-10s".
How about two battalions of Apache Attach Hleocopers and A-10's?
@@TheOwenMajor naw man that’s just overkill, then again there’s no such thing as overkill.
Must have been a slaughter.
Two Apache helicopters and one A-10 alone is terrible. But this, an entire Battalion? That's Over slaughter.
Being within 100 yards of the target you called the A-10s on.
"Distinct lack of onion" lol. Those who remember, know.
Lmao
I laughed hard when he said that.
I dont get it
@@sevenriversb3704 Nah we would smell them from Europe. They wouldnt be able to hide.
Earlier a group of of Americans intercepted and Iraqi convoy, hoping it was a convoy of weapons that they had stopped, it turned out to be a convoy of onion trucks. Hence the lack of onions joke.
This perspective is fantastic. 30 years ago and the technology the coalition had and used feels like stuff that was developed in the last decade. The counter battery radar use alongside CIWS, Stealth fighters, UAVs, and cruise missiles, all while battleships from WW2 take part. Crazy.
That's because the US has been letting development of new military technology sit while it fights on less technologically sophisticated enemies, however since the war on terrorism is pretty much dwindling down and China has become the main threat, the US is refocusing on advancing its military technology to stay far ahead of China.
Stealth aircraft have their roots in the 1970s (the proof of concept for the F-117A Nighthawk first flew in 1977) and arguably even the 1950s (the Lockheed A-12 had several features designed to reduce radar cross-section).
@@PomaReign Imagine after spending all that time and money on developing these weapons then countries like Iran and North korea skip all of that and just develop nuclear weapons that must be tough ngl
@@beeble2003 Actually, the flying wing design made by Nazi Germany was accidentally a stealth aircraft. so 1945 at the latest.
@@MrTheclevercat Hmm. Wikipedia kinda suggests the opposite -- that they tried to make the Ho229 stealthy but it didn't really work. The experimental radar-absorbent paint was no good, and the radar cross-section was about 40% of a conventional plane of similar size, which was still plenty big enough to see. On the other hand, that does mean that people were thinking about stealth in the 1940s -- in other words, basically since radar systems started to be deployed. Nonetheless, it doesn't seem that much was done until the 1970s.
“These guys stayed and fought”. Nothing wrong with a little respect for the enemy. Everybody just had a job to do.
It’s kinda depressing to know that some of them didn’t want to fight but had no choice
@@dannyzero692 Such is the way of conscripts. It's sad but your enemy has no way to know whether you're a radical supporter of the regime or just some poor guy who's name got called.
But they shot short like clueless rookies. Do I miss somethibg?
@@juanzulu1318 but they fired.
@@dannyzero692 yes it’s very sad knowing that but I’m sure there were a few good men willing to give it all up for their cause. Look at who they were up against.
I was with 1st Brigade 1st Armored Division (3rd Brigade ‘Phantom’ 3rd Infantry Division) at the Battle of Medina Ridge. Seeing it first hand and seeing here gives a different perspective. A lot more going on than what we see from the ground. The Artillery the Medina slung at us was a lot closer than pictures here. My Bradley had four rounds land on all sides. We were thankful for not getting hit. Our counter battery thought there was up to eleven enemy artillery battalions that took part in this engagement. Thank you for this video.
A Co 2/70 with 2nd Brigade myself.
I am so proud of you my friend ! Well done
Thank you for your service! I was a combat engineer deployed as a truck driver and one of 6 soldiers from my battalion hauling Bradley 20mm ammo to ASP 6 while you were fighting! Watched the flashes on the horizon that night, and hauled 43 POWs back to Saudi after we dropped our ammo
Thank you for serving and sharing as well always interesting to read comments of those who live these vigorous events!
Thank you for your service
Loving the "distinct lack of onions" callback to your earlier episode with the truck convoy of onions that was bombed.
There's always one thing a militairy must never say.
"This *insert geography feature* is impassable by any *insert thing* ".
Wouldn't have made a difference in this case
France: the Ardennes is impassible with tanks
Iraq: the Euphrates are is impassable with tanks.
@@thecatalyst6212
“The Russian plateau is impassable in the winter”
Mongols: “check this out”
@@Swaygooy Nazis: The defenses are impassible
Allies: Watch this shit
Civ 5 player: This mountain range will offer me a clear defensible line.
Carthage: Yeets elephants over it.
Everybody in desert storm: ayo that tank and infantry doesn’t seem so friendly to me
Sir, he has a U.S. flag on it :v
WATCH YO JET WATCH YO JET
Yo yo ayo yo ayo ayo ayo
@@iamaloafofbread8926 CAV shot anything in front of them.
Ah've neva seen a tank like dat in Basic Training, must be Iraqi.
that onion shipment payoff felt so good
Iraqis secret weapon Is not the Scuds its onions
What video was that one? I need to rewatch it
@@Fede_uyz Day 2 - Iraqi Counterattack
I see a lot of comments about 'onions'. Yet I don't know the context for WHY 'The Operations Room' mentioned them, let alone why so many comments pertain to onions. Do you know what the deal is about 'onions'?
@@gregparrott if you watched the video for Day 2, US infantry blocked Highway 8 in order to catch any iraqi convoys passing through, and when the first convoy appeared, it wasn't a convoy of weapons but a convoy of literally onions only. That's it, that's the entire thing.
That scene where British tanks hoist the Union Jack must've been epic.
Just like the revolution. Target practice. 😆
sorry, could not resist the jab. love the U.K.
When you see an armoured division thats got union jacks raised and your hearing british grenadiers in the distance...
Shoulda done that to begin with.... U.S. too...
ruclips.net/video/-WMAGDuCgjU/видео.html
Ride of the Valkyries blasting on the speakers...
Now THIS is a special military operation, *wink*. The sheer amount of fire power displayed is mind-boggling.
@InSomnia DrEvil Dime Store Desert Storm
@InSomnia DrEvil the air forces beat the command and control centers senselessly for about two weeks before the tanks rolled in. The Iraqi divisions didn’t have a chance.
Putin using the same thing the iraqi's used, plus his men are trained as much as the iraqi soldiers as well. Not only that but they also have the same morale strength as the iraqi soldiers! amazing! They'll take kyiv and odesa in no tim- oh
@@macncheese1435 Not to mention most of Iraq's equipment was Soviet made, so the present-day Russians are even using most of the same kit that led the Iraqi army their glorious vict- oh wait
And people say putin could stand up to all of nato, when the US alone with this force could take out almost all of russias army
One of of the fascinating things is how varied the military hardware was. The US Navy alone had F-14s, F-18s, A-6s, A-7s, and WW2-era battleships! Nowadays, they’d just be using different versions of F-18s and the Iowa class ships have all been retired.
get you a plane that can do both
Also the Iraqis, they had Russian, Chinese and French equipment
That sort of variation comes with its own set of problems, sadly. Primarily in the realm of logistics and maintenance. Navies in WW1 and WW2 (and others, just using these as examples) ran into similar problems with all the different calibers of guns, particularly on battleships. Having to keep so many different ammo types and sizes available and loaded onto battleships wasn't easy. Standardizing weapons and minimizing the number of different types of platforms, such as the types of aircraft you use, has a great appeal. It's true having an aircraft with a more generalized set of capabilities can lose you some high-end optimization for something like air superiority, but having the bulk of your forces in a multi-role format (F-16, F-18, even the F-15 variants) with a few specialized (like the F-22) as the spearhead seem to be the way to go as far as modern militaries are concerned.
No great war can be won without the Iowas. They are good luck tokens.
And a WWII era aircraft carrier USS Midway ( although it's modified way beyond its previous condition)
The Bedouins were so polite when they clapped.
Wasn't that a religious teaching
@@bosbanon3452 A Bedouin is just a nomadic Arab of the desert.
I was there today and I think I saw that small hill bcz it's the only one in the vicinity 😅
They clapped for the Roman Empire, the British Empire, the 3rd Reich, the Americans...
Et al, ad nauseum, for thousands of years...
@@bosbanon3452 Bedouin is an Arabic word for nomads lol
I don't know whether to be sad that most coalition casualties were inflicted by their own allies or to be happy that the enemy couldn't even do more damage than friendly fire could.
Fratricide is always worse than dying to the enemy imo, it sucks to hear that are own guys took out some of are British brothers🇺🇲🇬🇧💪
After the war the US developed panels that could be seen on IR sensors. They also developed a "Blue Force Tracker" which puts every vehicle location on a network. Friendly fire still happens, but it has been reduced.
It's funny, but it did highlight a massive problem. That many friendly fire incidents will lead to inquiries and lengthy debriefings. Imagine how difficult it must be to go home and do the report.
@@PeterJavi not that funny tho
@@marcustulliuscicero.5856 Truth
I still remember Feb 26 morning.. it was magical for us Kuwaiti.. i still remember running to the highway to greet liberating forces.. thanks everybody!!
coward...a true men figth herself by your own country...
Yes. One after the war ended sometimes saw cars driving down the road with people leaning out the window waving a Kuwaiti flag and honking the horn as they passed coalition forces. You're welcome.
I dont know if anyone mentioned it allready. But the political awareness of Norman Schwarzkopf to let the Kuwaitis themself enter and liberate their own capital is just brilliant. And that was a man nicknamed Stormin Norman for his media pressence and his fast striking moves during Wartime.
_"Coalition"_ So the coalition was united on the goal of = ejecting Iraq from Kuwait. It was never about removing Saddam Hussein or occupying Kuwait/Iraq - which the Arab partners would have never acceded to. Accordingly given the language differences and the nature of the operation Schwarzkopf correctly sent Arab forces along with the Marines to liberate Kuwait City itself. It was political as well as strategic.
p.s. - think WWII. The Allied armies upon approaching Paris = let the Free French forces enter the city. That helped galvanize the French people to support the Allies as well as amplified the efforts of French forces fighting for their homeland.
Same with degaulle and the French army allowed to go into paris first ahead of the other allied armies
3:30 Nomads were cheering for Tank rounds hitting targets.
Who noticed them and writes this down in the Report?
Probably whatever intel organizations had them as assets.
@@tanall5959 lol yea, it was their CIA case worker, who the nomads directly told their account to
@@tanall5959 I sincerely hope youre not serious. If I had to guess probably the tank commanders..no?
Yeah given the plethora of advanced optics in the area, I’m sure they were noticed, observed, and reported on as foot mobiles in the vicinity of a standoff engagement. Not too hard to believe. The cheering was probably a good indication that they were not hostile, and any commander would report that.
@@whispofwords2590 I sincerly hope youre not a bootlicker but hey we cant have everything we want
This deserves a room at the Tank Museum. Continuously playing all episodes.
And The War Museum
Oh heavily agreed!!! This would be an amazing addition to it.
Nothing terrifies British troops more than friendly American forces
One thing terrified them more, leaving their base in Basra.
Tenk goes boom
The myth the British have never had friendly fire incidents
Don't feel too bad. Our AF tends to bomb our own troops sometimes.
@@flight2k5 That's a false myth. Proof... only Challenger IIs ever to get destroyed were destroyed in friendly fire incidents.
UK: ayo you’re shooting at friendlies
US: sorry was just checking if friendly fire is on
LOL
Yea Brit’s have had numerous friendly fire incidents 😂
I've said it before and i'll say it again, the Operations Room is by FAR, the best military / battle analysis channel on RUclips
I implore you all to watch that press conference. It gives an incredible insight on a general during a dramatic victory. The general seems exactly what a general should be, also showing great humility. It also shows how the media are ready to sell the war and profit off it… the general seems utterly disgusted with them and some of their questions.
It is probably one of the “best” press conferences of all time.
This one?
ruclips.net/video/wKi3NwLFkX4/видео.html
Totally agree, that press conference is a must watch. It is now part of history.
stormin’ Norman 🫡
Cant wait for the next part of The Battle of Mogadishu! Good stuff man!
Same here. I check everyday waiting on it.
I can't wait any longer ☹️☹️
19 Americans dead so sad, thousands of Somalis not to add millions probably starved to death by CIA psyops and coup nah thats ok.
@@illyrian44 you allergic to history?
@@illyrian44 if you dislike history, this channel isn’t for you.
"with a distinct lack of onions" I see what you did there
They would've stood a chance if they had onions shm.
Can someone explain the onions reference to me lol
@@butta_dawg585 In one of the earlier Desert Storm videos. A truck full of onions is captured or something. Of course, this leads to the troops lacking onions.
:)
“Eating a lunch of rice and tomatoes with a distinct lack of onions…” nice little jab there lol
Dude I can only imagine the level of badassery the frontline tanks crews felt watching a line of superior tanks empty into the opposing force with Apache's overhead raining hell and warthogs strafing over the enemy.
That has to have felt like the most American moment in the history of existence.
Not very far overhead either..... Squadrons of Apaches and Cobras would fly at ~20-30 feet off the ground at dusk heading into Iraqi airspace to use their night vision capability to destroy Iraqi armor and targets. During the day fighters/A-10's would smash them. MLRS units would rain destruction down on them day and night lighting up the skyline and shaking the ground.
Well done as usual. Thinking back, I worked in the Fwd FDC 2/11 Marines and had no idea what was happening much beyond what I could see. I knew we had covered a lot of ground and taken a lot of POW's. There were burning oil wells everywhere on the horizon and the only casualties our Battery had suffered were from mines that wrecked a couple trucks. A few days later I watched a replay of Gen. Schwarzkopf's briefing on CNN and thinking, WOW. I had no idea there was a slaughter on the highway north of Kuwait City or the Army had fought a huge battle to the west. During actual combat the "big picture" is unknown, what is happening with your company or battery is all that matters.
I’m pretty much always clouded with uncertainty when it comes to how I feel about the bigger-picture morality of acts of war, and to what extent they’re right or wrong, justified or not, etc.
That being said: watching the detailed intricacies of these sorts of operations is, almost universally, simply fascinating. Putting the moral quandaries of the matter to the back of my head and just looking at the strategies involved, and the things that went on, and the often incredible level of power on display (especially e.g. the opening Air War part of this series… my god) is pretty much neverendingly interesting.
I really appreciate the content on this channel, and the amount of effort that clearly goes into all the little details and such. It’s impressive, and it does a great job of depicting the battles in a way that tickles my unavoidable fascination with military operations. Even when, in the back of my head, I may still be wondering “was this necessarily the correct action to take, were the long-term consequences adequately considered” and so on.
those comments are all bullshit trying to justiofy 2003 war as the continuation of 1991 uncompleted work.
This war was about forcing iraq out of kuwait, and thats what it did.
hussein was raised as a dictator by US backing, the should ahve considered the risks before helping him kill iranians
War doesn't decide who's right or wrong, it decides who's left
@@Franfran2424
It's pretty simple:
91 was justified, smart and effective.
2003 was effective, but not justified and *very* dumb.
The US and regional interest was in a weak Hussain that would keep order and block Iran, but not threaten anyone else - and 91 achieved just that.
2003 threw that away for trying to bring democracy and nation-build Iraq by US troops - which was a horrible idea.
The first was geopolitics, the second an anti-geopolitical ideological crusade.
Hear, hear. Took the words right out of my mouth.
We have dumb comments from Fran and in opposite, intelligent comments for Iddo.
The Medina Republican Guard Division was brave enough to stay and fight, but seemingly inept enough to set up a reverse slope defense that placed the ridgeline out of tank gun range. There must be a reason so I’d like to know what they were thinking.
Probably a massive back room payoff to Iraqi commanders to sabotage their own forces. War is a racquet.
They may have been brave but that doesn’t really matter when their commanders are completely inept
Presumably just a screw-up. Perhaps they set up at a distance that would have been within range on flat ground but failed to take into account the slope.
Incompetence is a reason. Americans killing British soldiers is also incompetence
If i remember rightly, alot of generals came from Saddams tribe, therefore not chosen on merit.
I was only about 10 when this happened but was glued to the television for days while it was going on. Years later, after I enlisted, I studied the gulf War. One of the most amazing aspects was how horrendously one-sided the casualties ended up being. At the time, military planners were still operating under the cold war doctrine of acceptable losses. They went into this fully expecting tens if not hundreds of thousands of US casualties. Instead, I think about 150 US soldiers and a handful of soldiers from allied nations died compared to 50,000 Iraqis.
The level of detail and clear information in your videos is among the best on RUclips, keep up the great work!
Imagine if you showed this to the guys who first advocated that air power wins wars, they would be amazed by a computer.
you had me in the first half, not gonna lie
I think this would be Guderian with his close air support during the blitz
Billy mitchel was fucking right. And to this day the air force kicks themselves in the ass for court martialing him.
@@HazeCarver Billy Mitchel was a hack who was half right in his statements, his promotions of Air power widely exceeded their ability at the time and led to it being discounted in all weapon tests with them even until the next decade.
“Lack of Onions” I got that reference.
I dont can you explain? Lolol
@@morisco56 US forces intercepted what they thought was a convoy of arms, turned out to be onions.
@@morisco56 In an earlier episode, the 101st stops a convoy of onions.
@@joshuahawkes7218 lol thanks
I didn’t get it and thought it meant they didn’t wanna get diarrhea before battle lol
Unbelievable that the Iraqi armor picked out a great spot to zap tanks cresting the ridge but are just out of range! genius!
I don’t understand how they could have messed up that one up so badly. Maybe it was the constant bombing
@@naitnait00 A lack of onions in ones diet tends to skew effective range calculations.
It's all detailed in "Why Arabs lose wars".
But it basically boils down to class warfare between the soldiers and officers, and promotion based on loyality/family, instead of merit, ect.
@@naitnait00 I would imagine fatigue would play a factor. Also, pretty sure the Iraqis didn't have laser rangefingers, which can be very useful for that sort of thing. It's also possible someone just flubbed their numbers.
@@Orcawhale1 Agree - I remember reading somewhere how Arabs need to get Western tech people to maintain their high tech equipment ie tanks, jets etc. Low class work for them lolz
Also how their officers jealously guard their info/expertise for fear of losing influence/power so the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing. It's all rather childish.
I don't know if I've ever seen a channel whose comments were all about how great the production is. Not even about the content itself (onions aside), but how fantastic the videos are. Bravo!
''Eating lunch with a distinct lack of onions''....made me chuckle...love it.
The training and equipment tailored for fighting the armies of the Warsaw Pact apparently paid off.
Big time! You had all these units that had been sitting in Germany training for the Cold War and holding the line in Europe. Then the chance came up to blow that load all over Sadam’s regime in the desert. I would say not just America but the whole coalition was ready to fuckin go. My family had been living in Germany because pops was a tanker in the 1st AD during the whole Berlin Wall ordeal, before all this popped off then they sent him and the boys to Iraq. They and everyone in the coalition were absolutely ready for far more than that.
Yeah, it also helped to be fighting against nerfed export versions of equipment that was outdated anyway, and not the best-trained crews either. Like, you set up to attack the enemy when they come over the hill line but don't actually make sure you're in range?
Not saying the training and equipment *didn't* pay off, but a war against the actual Warsaw Pact would have been a lot tougher.
As I recall, the Soviets were shocked at well Allied tech and tactics worked against Soviet tech and doctrines.
From what I understand:
The Warsaw Pact armies, particularly the Soviets, were much better trained, motivated, and led than the Iraqis. The Soviet equipment was also usually better but the strategies and tactics of the Iraqis was more the deciding factor in their poor preformance than the weapons available to them. They thought they could employ the same tactics they used against the Iranians for the US-led coalition armies and that simply wasn't going to work.
There wasn't really any doubt that Coalition forces would defeat the Iraqis, but few people thought it would be so quick and decisive. The ground invasion literally was over in a matter hours more so than days. This did surprise the Soviets and the Chinese in particular.
@@tinman3586 Yes I would agree the Soviets and East Germans were a real threat for US and NATO forces and would of fought much better than the Iraqis. My dad was stationed in Berlin in 1979/1980 and he said the East Germans were very well trained and highly motivated. I remembered had a captured T-72 tank outside our motor pool in Ft..Carson from the first Gulf War I always thought about the former tank crew and where they were now. Anyway I would also say the Iraqi army was battle hardened from eight years of fighting the Iranians but the Iraqi Army was tailored to fight its neighbors not a super power like the USA or two world powers like the UK and France, nor a broader coalition of of other nations it was a hopeless war from the beginning on the Iraqi side.
Just recently watched entire press conference that is mentioned at the end. I highly recomment it for everyone interested, rightfully named "Mother of all press conferences"
Schwarzkopf glares at reporter and asks "Son you ever been in a mine field?"
Reporter melts into a puddle.
Herbert Miller Schwarzkopf was involved in an incident in Vietnam that lead his men into a mine field.
Yes I was aware of that. It was the reporter asking why it took so long to cross a minefield as if it was an easy task something that irked Schwarzkopf . He later apologized to the reporter. But I got a laugh out of Schwarzkopf's response.
Abrams: It's over T-72, I have the High Ground!"
T-72: You underesti…
*proceeds to get strafed by an A-10 Warthog*
T-72 was the chosen one
T-72- You underestimate my power!
Abrams: Don't try it!
T-72: *Fires and misses due to range*
Abrams: *Fires and obliterates*
Abrams: You were my enemy T-72, I disliked you!
T-72 (burning)- I hate you!
It also has a harder armor, bigger gun, better sights and a more experienced and trained crew
Like poor T-72 really
Hah, I just caught the subtle and nonchalant reference at 6:42 “distinct lack of onions”, a reference one might only get after watching the series in chronological order in a single sitting. Well played, sir!
I've seen dozens of personal photos from these battle areas. The Iraqis were obliterated. Nothing but burned vehicles and corpses for as far as the eye could see. It was beyond a route.
Yeah you could almost say it was a rout
the production value of these videos has gotten so good I'm so happy to see a channel I've stuck with finally start to get the hype and recognition it deserves
Brits refusing an order cos they dont wanna get shot in the back by friendly fire, make sense
I don't think they refused, they were ordered to because the USA had killed to many Brits.
Considering how many Brits the yanks killed could anyone criticise us?
We didn't trust them
@@Peoples_Republic_of_Devonshire I'm not saying that we weren't justified, but from what he said in the video it was the US general who told the 1st armoured division to change course so that the US didn't friendly fire again.
I think it would have be amazing if they had stuck with the original orders but flew the flag and played the national anthem as loud as possible lol. Then nobody could confusing who they are and it's not like it matters if the Iraqis know your coming, not like they could do much about it haha.
Seeing all the tanks of the UK 1st Armoured Division all running with their colours up would be a sight to see
It makes me proud
I will fly a crossbones
@@chrisgould101 That's what British submarines fly when returning to base.
@@beeble2003 only after a kill
Trust me it was.
6:33 - With a distinct lack of onions 🤣
Tasty and funny details like "the Bedouins politely applauding" and the hindrance of "a distinct lack of onions" are why I like the Ops Room so much!
12:45 When you hear Rule Britannia playing in the deserts…
Britain went from ruling the waves to ruling the dunes
Reliving the glory days
I won't lie, i did a little cheer when the animated Union Jacks started waving. What a glorious flag.
*Desert rats intensifies*
Ear to ear grin from me at the thought of a mass of British tanks with flags sprinting through the desert.
The sec i saw the title on the notification my day just got better . ❌🧢
Same dude
factsss
Finally got the next episode in the series! Looking good!
I can’t imagine the research and hours of labor you put into these. Thank you again!!
I love this channel. It is has really stirred a love for history and highlights so well the minute by minute action. I've been trying to share this channel with others so you get the praise you deserve. I only wish you could work with some huge company and make more documentaries because I can't get enough. Your the only channel I look forward to positing
Im obsessed with the history of war and this channel satisfies everytime
I literally almost came in my pants when I saw this video come up in my feed. I hope you make more of these videos on other wars in future, they are some of the best things on RUclips right now.
Channel puts a video of modern ground warfare. Fan likes automatically
You're videos on Desert Storm are the first Ive seen, and these are very well made! You're visuals are interesting and the information is presented very well. Thank you for your time in making these, I thoroughly enjoyed them and learned quite a bit
I was with the 3rd ACR in that friendly-fire incident, and that is not what happened. In fact, we were ordered by Regimental - NOT Corps - to attack across a known corps boundary. This boundary split a small auxiliary Iraqi airfield in half. Recon had determined no Iraqi forces were there, but Regimental decided to "assault the objective" in order to obtain a "combat command" credential for Lieutenant Colonel Daly.
I was on Lieutenant Hanlon's Abrams at the time, and when we received our briefing, we were told a full brigade of Iraqi light infantry was holding the airfield with a battery of towed howitzers and a company of tanks in support. This was NOT a training exercise; we were told these were actual estimated enemy troop strengths and dispositions.
Daly had invented a new cavalry assault tactic, and it had been tried numerous times in peacetime field exercises, but this would be the first combat test of "The Diamond Formation". We pulled in all recon assets, put all our armor forward into a giant wedge, and "charged" the airfield. It was the worst possible direction to assault from in using the Diamond: thick tank-high dunes with scrub atop them all the way in to the airfield's surrounding service road. Perfect ambush terrain for light infantry, and we were ordered to proceed as though no one was there. This put everyone on edge, and the charge quickly bogged down as my company - then leading the way - hit the service road.
Our XO immediately called over the net that we'd hit the runway and therefore must be centered on the objective, so he was calling halt.
I stood up in the loader's hatch, looked over the side at the road, and turned to Lt. Hanlon: "Sir, any MiG landing on that would have its wheels in the sand on both sides."
Hanlon's response: "I'm sure they'll figure it out." They never actually did, and we never moved again until the whole mess was over with.
Everything had bogged down, as the Diamond always had, because actual cavalry training and doctrine took over. Which is that tanks stop when running into an unknown element, so that scouts can go see what's happening. We saw HEMETs and other US vehicles in an area where they "weren't supposed to be". I Troop went forward to investigate, because some 50 US vehicles had been reported by Stars & Stripes as stolen by Iraqi commandos. We were not to assume that US vehicles were automatically in US hands.
I don't recall who fired first, but after one American engineer in the "Iraqi" force was wounded, someone popped a flare and someone else realized what was happening. A cease-fire was called over the net.
Lt. Col. Daly either didn't hear it or didn't care, because his Bradley charged across the field shooting at the engineers who were trying to get their wounded man to cover, yelling "they're getting away!".
That's why an American engineer died that night. Someone wanted a combat medal on their resume, and someone indulged them. There had never been any Iraqis at that airfield.
After the fact reporting invariably gets things wrong. Some is "selective" - to cover people's backsides - while some is simply the chaos of battle when you have multiple units all chattering over the net. As an example. 24th ID was credited for capturing Jalibah - which they did. Yet the reality is that 2nd Squadron hit the airfield first. The Republican Guards defending it = called in artillery on themselves as a defense. Regiment gave order to bypass on as the area was too large for a single squadron to handle and 24th ID came in behind to assault it.
As an aside. Another "blue on blue" almost happened here. An "adjust fire" was issued from within 2nd Squadron to hit the airfield given the resistance met at the same time that Regiment was tasking +"psy-ops" to come into the area to try to talk them into surrendering. Had a "check fire" not been issued by the squadron BOC the gun line would have fired the mission to possibly cause another incident. As is often the case command and control was fragmented rather than cohesive which is how these things usually happen. 🤨
p.s. - after the ceasefire the squadron officers all put themselves up for medals...... 🤦♂ The field grade officers all put themselves in for Silver Stars while all the troop COs and 1st Sgt's were put in for Bronze Stars. Stereotypical "punch your ticket" nonsense which sadly always happens.
(Saber Squadron)
The sheer numbers involved are mind blowing!! Ive said it before and ill no doubt say it again but great production👌
"After 24 hours of fighting, it went from the 'Elite Republican Guard,' to the 'Republican Guard,' to 'the Republicans made this shit up about their being guards out here.'"
-Bill Hicks
Yep. Why did they even fight? Just to put up a stink?
@@antoy384 Stealing their onions pissed them off ?
Detailed research, clear presentation, unmatched production, fantastic job as always!
Top job on this series. You've really captured the dynamics and tone of the war, right up to the "Charlie Wilson's War"-style conclusion.
I'm glad that the GBU-28s were mentioned. Those represent the immense innovation that the American logistics system is capable of. They recognized a threat that we couldn't defeat in August 1990 and had a weapon conceived, developed, tested, and produced within 6 months. Normally that process takes years, even decades.
It was quite a feat indeed. Not to nitpick, but the GBU-28's were never actually tested as the designers knew they would work and did not have time to test the actual final weapon before sending them to Irak.
I literally just subscribed after watching your Midway, Black Hawk Down and other Desert Storm videos so this was a nice treat to see posted right after I did. Amazing work on these videos!
Same. Watched it in that order yesterday
"Distinct lack of onions" only og's will get this
Meanwhile: the 101st has a alot more extra onions.
Nice, been waiting a few months for the finale. Was a great, well done series. The Iraqis were a defensive 1975 force going up against a mobile high tech 1990 force with every advantage.
This is the type of content I expect to see on National Geographic. Great job man keep it up
You know it’s another fascinating video when 15min goes by so fast it seems like 5 min. Keep up the good work!
Is like level 1 vs level 100 with all features unlock.
Or....
SBMM in a nutshell
The people politely clapping for the US tankers is funny
This was an excelled series, I really enjoyed it. The Gulf War is one of my favorites pieces of military history and your work is top notch.
Stunningly produced docuseries. Thank you!
This is awesome! Thanks for uploading these documentary-level videos for free.
Well done. How you tell the history of these military actions simply states the facts and keen observations.
I remember seeing two of the M1's getting hit and ammo exploding out the top side blast panels as designed, the crew inside were uninjured on both after everything stopped exploding.
"Distinct lack of onions" I laughed a little too much on that one. Love these videos!
This series was incredible! Thank you so much for your hard work in putting this together!
can't wait to see what else you're cooking up
6:05 54th ENGN BN was the KIA ,, the shooter was the Battalion commander from the CAV,
“With a distinct lack of onions” is one of the best lines I’ve heard in a war front recap
12:55 are there any pictures of the thousand union jacks flying??
This entire series for Desert Storm was legendary work, man!
That press conference is a master class in how to project confidence, authority, and handle reporters! Highly recommend everyone watch it!
Another brilliant clip bringing the events to life and letting us participate. Well done. Hard to believe that DS is already celebrating its 30th anniversary.
When you don't even bring a knife to a gunfight cause all you could find was a rusty spoon.
Next John Wick movie announced.
@@lonniebailey4989 I see you've played knifey-spooney before!
And they were the 4th (I believe) most powerful army in the world at the time.
I've been reading Bob Woodward's book The Commanders about the lead up to the Gulf War. In part 1, it goes over the 1989 US invasion of Panama and the entire time I was reading I was imagining an Operations Room video playing. Great work on the Gulf War!
And if I haven't been obvious enough about what to cover next here is an interesting fact from Operation Just Cause: General Noriega surrenders to the Vacation Papal Nuncio on Christmas Eve starting a standoff between US Forces, Noriega , & Vacation Embassy in Panama.
I hope you mean Vatican... Otherwise TUV just got a lot more powerfull.
It’s amazing that so much of this tech was so new and just being tested. It sort of harkens to how mass fire changed the landscape of war a century earlier in WWI. Extended peace with massive technological advance always leads to unprecedented results in warfare.
“Eating a lunch of rice and tomatoes with a distinct lack of onions” 😆 I choked on my sandwich.
I will add again how much I enjoy these videos. You guys are going to start blowing up soon.
One thing though, Please consider making some longer ones. I love the short vids but would love to see longer ones
Either way, I only have a handful of channels I sub to. Yours being one of them
Reporter - who do you fear most in the upcoming battles ?
General -- Being shot at an killed by our American allies :-(
The Brits didn't appreciate it in 1812 or 1776 either! Old habits die hard, I guess
(In all seriousness, it's tragic and I'm sorry for those killed and wounded by friendly fire)
@@chaosXP3RT its fine, 1812 saw the white house turn into the ash house
@@jab4043 At least it's still white
@@triparadox.c Yes, that's the problem!
YES!! Thank you OPS Room! the lack of onions is life or death.I keep telling people, and what a time for a wrong turn lol.
The fact that most of the coalition casualties came from friendly fire really says a lot about just how one-sided the war was.
Whats crazy is Iraq had the 5th largest military on earth at the time. They had mobilized 75% of their fighting age males. They were considered very adept at munitions and special operations. Their soldiers were considered experienced due to previous wars and they were particularly well armed as far as third world countries go with hundreds of tanks, aircraft, and ballistic missiles along with a stockpile of chemical weapons.
Their military outnumbered the US army and marine corp combined.
So the coalition invading with such a force wasn't overkill. The iraqis just folded very quickly
@@TheBacknblack92 Quality over quantity.
Soldiers are killed in training every year....... Military operations are dangerous you know. Considering the size of the forces used and the geographical area involved + number of different countries who had forces on the ground then the subsequent "friendly fire" incidents were actually low compared to other wars.
@@TheBacknblack92
The United States formed an alliance that included 34 countries and they were far advanced in technology. Despite this, air power was the most important factor in destroying the Iraqi army, as the international coalition relied 90% on air power in this war.
These videos really show how much of a bloodbath this war was, and how outmatched the Iraqi forces were in literally every way.
I love that callback on that "lack of onions" part.
9:19
War: So how manny types of destruction you gonna cause with how manny types of weapons systems?
US ARMY: Yes.
Discovered your channel barely a week ago and I was already waiting for this
"Soldier, you're fighting in the bloody Middle East, you're not allowed to run your tank out of gas..."
I want you to know, I'm sick and can't laugh without going into a coughing fit. "A distinct lack of onions" damn near killed me.