The Deadliest Desert Ambush - 12 Marines vs 600 Iraqi Soldiers

The night of January 29, 1991, seemed  like just another mission for the Air Force E-8 Joint STARS crew. This  advanced surveillance aircraft, recently introduced to the American arsenal, had  been tasked with scouring western Iraq for Scud missile sites and keeping a watchful eye on  the territory ahead of the US Army VII Corps. Twelve days into Operation Desert Storm, the  crew had grown accustomed to the routine of monitoring the vast expanse of  the Kuwaiti-Saudi border area.

As the hours ticked by, the Joint STARS crew  directed their state-of-the-art sensors toward southern Kuwait. Unusual activity had  been detected in the previous days, stirring in the depths behind enemy lines. But tonight, the moving target indicators painted  an alarming picture.

The crew watched in disbelief as elements of Iraq's 5th Mechanized Division  and 3rd Armored Division surged southward, poised to breach the border near  the abandoned Saudi town of Khafji. The realization hit the crew  like a thunderbolt - Iraq was about to unleash its own ground  offensive and invade Saudi Arabia. In August 1990, Iraqi troops invaded Kuwait,  marking the latest move in President Saddam Hussein’s over-a-decade-long expansionist  policy.

The smaller and less militarized nation quickly succumbed to the Army, and  the leader declared it an Iraqi province, seizing its oil fields and fortifying  its border with Saudi Arabia. However, the leader had drastically underestimated  the international community's response. Nations worldwide condemned the invasion  and imposed sanctions on Iraq.

The crisis prompted the United States, led  by President George H. W. Bush, to mount the largest military confrontation  since the Cold War, assembling a powerful and diverse global coalition, including nations  like Great Britain, France, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Syria, ready to defend Saudi  Arabia and expel Iraqi forces from Kuwait.

Despite the imminent threat of a Coalition  military intervention, Saddam refused to withdraw from Kuwait. At the time, he was convinced that  the United States would be unable to maintain the Coalition's unity or mount an effective  military response. If an attack did happen, the leader was equally convinced that his  massive military could inflict sufficient losses on the Americans to force them to abandon  the struggle, as it had happened with Vietnam.

The United States and its allies assembled  a military force in Saudi Arabia called Operation Desert Shield to deter further  Iraqi aggression. When diplomacy failed, Operation Desert Storm began on January 16, 1991, with massive aerial and missile bombardments to  weaken Iraq's military for Kuwait's liberation. In an attempt to seize the initiative  and alter the terms of the conflict, Saddam launched powerful Scud missile attacks  against cities in Israel and Saudi Arabia, hoping to fracture the Coalition.

Instead, these  attacks led to the "Great Scud Hunt," with the Coalition deploying some of the latest  American aircraft, prototype E-8C JSTARS, to locate Scud launchers. In turn, Saddam  also set fire to Kuwaiti oil fields and opened offshore terminals to create  an environmental disaster. However, precision strikes by F-111F fighter  bombers quickly shut down the oil pumps.

With no end to the air campaign in sight, Hussein  resorted to one final option: a mechanized offensive across the Saudi border, culminating  in a major attack on the Saudi town of Khafji. On January 25, Saddam Hussein summoned his  senior military leaders to plan this attack. Although an outright victory against  the Coalition seemed unlikely, the leader believed that drawing America  into a costly battle could weaken their resolve and potentially prevent the  expulsion of Iraqi forces from Kuwait.

The plan to achieve Saddam's strategic goals was  straightforward. Five Iraqi infantry divisions, known as the "Saddam Line," guarded the  Saudi-Kuwaiti border with minefields, antitank obstacles, and fortified positions. Meanwhile, the attack force, comprising  the 3rd Armored, 5th Mechanized, and 1st Mechanized Divisions, boasted an array of  T-54/55 and T-62 tanks, BMP-1 personnel carriers, and heavy artillery.

Under Saddam's orders, they  would launch a multi-pronged invasion of Khafji, engaging Saudi Arabian, Kuwaiti, and U. S.  forces along the coastline.

Another supporting Iraqi commando force would infiltrate further  south by sea to harass the Coalition's rear. Saddam's ultimate priority was to capture  as many American personnel as possible, believing they would serve as valuable  bargaining chips. This belief stemmed from the perceived U.

S. vulnerability showcased  during the Vietnam War and the Iranian hostage crisis. An Iraqi prisoner from the battle later  revealed to American interrogators: (QUOTE) “The sole purpose of the raid on al-Khai was to  capture Coalition personnel.

The loss of all Iraqi equipment and personnel involved in the raid was  of no importance as long as POWs were captured. ” Preparations for the offensive began on  January 26, with earthmoving equipment digging berms and reinforcing artillery  positions. In the following days, armored vehicles from the 3rd Armored Division  moved into their designated positions.

As January 29, the planned  invasion date, inched closer, the confrontation with the United States  Hussein had waited years for was finally about to arrive. In comments to Palestinian  leader Yasser Arafat, he declared: (QUOTE) "We are ready for it. We will fight America, and, with God’s will, we will defeat it  and kick it out of the whole region.

" On the night of January 29, 1991,  Air Force E-8 Joint STARS were on a patrol mission searching for  Scud sites in western Iraq when their sensors showed clear signs of  an upcoming attack in the making. By then, it was clear: the Iraqi Army was starting  the first major ground engagement of the Gulf War. At precisely 8:00pm, the silence of the  desert night was shattered by the roar of Iraqi engines as column after column of armored  vehicles and mechanized infantry surged forward, crossing the border into Saudi Arabia.

Led by  the 3rd Armored and 5th Mechanized Divisions, the Iraqi troops maintained a disciplined  formation as they approached the Saudi town of Khafji, sneaking through a cleared path through  the “Saddam Line. ” Artillery units, equipped with powerful howitzers, were strategically  positioned to provide supporting fire. The initial phase of the attack focused  on overwhelming the sparse coalition outposts along the border.

Marine forward air  controllers, positioned to direct air strikes, called in support while executing a  tactical withdrawal as fast as possible. By midnight, the lead elements of the Iraqi  divisions were reaching the outskirts of Khafji. The city, abandoned months earlier  due to its vulnerable position, was silent.

The Iraqi grip on the town tightened as tanks  and armored vehicles took up defensive positions, their barrels trained on potential entry points.  Infantry squads methodically cleared buildings, setting up command posts and  establishing communication lines. Unbeknownst to them, twelve United States  Marines remained inside one of the buildings.

As Khafji was being overrun by about 400  to 600 Iraqi troops and nearly 50 tanks, two six-man Marine reconnaissance teams  conducting routine intelligence gathering inside the town found out about the ambush  when they suddenly spotted a helmet of an Iraqi soldier showing above an approaching armored  personnel carrier, with machine gun at the ready. According to one Marine: [QUOTE] "All I saw was the helmet, then the shoulders, then the . 50-caliber machine gun.

I hit the ground and grabbed my  alice, then crawled to my 'humvee'. " By the time the group determined they  were surrounded, it was too late to leave, and the Marines sped south. From then  and until the town was liberated, the 12 trapped Marines had no choice but  to hide in the upper floors of buildings, burn secret codes and other classified  material, and most importantly, use their encrypted radios to signal their locations  and call in artillery fire on Iraqi positions.

As January 29 ended, the Iraqi  flag was raised over strategic locations. It was now official:  Khafji was firmly in Iraqi hands. But this would not last for long.

In the earliest hours of January 30, 1991,  as Iraqi troops invaded the tiny Saudi town, the United States Armed forces were right  in the midst of a three-week redeployment, complicating the counterattack. Distressed by the occupation, Saudi  Arabian commander General Khaled bin Sultan appealed to United States General  Norman Schwarzkopf for an immediate air campaign in and around the city. But the urban  setting made it way too difficult.

Instead, it was decided that coalition ground  forces, including Marines, Saudis, and other allies, would retake the city with  the support of a powerful air counterattack. Sensors detected Iraqi mechanized divisions  entering Khafji, and air operations swiftly redirected their focus to target these moving  forces. Using a system of strike areas, each measuring 18 miles by 18 miles, hundreds of  air interdiction sorties, including over 100 Air Force A-10 missions, diverted their efforts  to halt the advancing Iraqi forces.

A-10s and A-6s joined forces, employing air-to-ground  weapons to stop the Iraqi advance in its tracks. While the threats posed by anti-aircraft  fire and missile launches still remained, the rapid and concentrated air attacks prevented  the assembly of heavier Iraqi air defenses. As the sun rose, only a few hundred Iraqi troops  were occupying the town of Khafji.

According to General Charles Horner, the Air Force’s  Joint Forces Air Component Commander: [QUOTE] “So few Iraqis made it across the border [. . .

]  that it appeared to be some sort of minor action. ” By the morning of January 30, while it  was clear that the Iraqis were slowing their advance, the coalition, particularly  the United States Marines and Saudi forces, focused on regaining control over Khafji.  However, to General Schwarzkopf: [QUOTE] “The mere fact that they launched these attacks indicates they still have a  lot of fight left in them.

” Throughout the day, Air superiority  continued to play a crucial role. Pilots quickly noticed that as soon  as the first Iraqi vehicles got hit, the entire formation stopped moving,  becoming much better targets. Toward evening, Saudi and Qatari forces  assigned to the area began the first of two attacks to retake the town.

Further supported  by U. S. Marines, the ground efforts to push the Iraqi forces back finally began.

As  the coalition forces gradually advanced, no one shone brighter than the Saudi forces.  Drven by the urgency and national pride to reclaim their territory, the Marines  quickly gained confidence in their allies. According to Marines liaison  office Captain Joseph Molofsky: [QUOTE] “When push came to shove, without  any real plan, any real direction, those Saudi soldiers obeyed their orders and  went forward.

And, they did so courageously. ” With the offensive about 24 hours old and with the  powerful coalition moving faster than expected, Iraqi reinforcements made a push for  Khafji under cover of darkness. However, Joint STARS detected the approaching  Iraqi army and stopped, rerouted, delayed, and destroyed all enemy  maneuvers with liberating vengeance.

By the morning of January 31, after exemplary  coordination between air, artillery, and ground support of multiple nations, Iraq's entire  offensive at Khafji had been mostly shut down. With the offensive unraveling, coalition  efforts to reclaim the town intensified, beginning with a powerful artillery strike  led by the U. S.

Marine Batteries at 7:05am. Despite the heavy coalition bombardment, Iraqi  forces maintained their positions in Khafji, resulting in fierce urban combat akin to  the one fought on the night of the 29. This was not without loss.

A single United States  Air Force AC-130, call sign “Spirit Zero Three,” remained over its targets as the sun came up  despite the strict policy that these models only work at night. Just as was feared, an Iraqi  surface-to-air missile struck the aircraft, taking down its entire 14-man crew with it, resulting in  one of the largest losses of the entire Gulf War. Early on February 1, the 12 Marines who had  no choice but to hide within buildings were finally extracted from Khafji.

And while one  had suffered a shrapnel wound, all were alive. By then, the city had been recaptured.  The three-day ground conflict in and around Al Khafji involved some of the costliest  firefights for American soldiers since Vietnam, leaving 43 Coalition servicemen lost and 52  wounded.

Iraqi Army fatalities were reportedly in the multiple hundreds, while an estimated  500 more were captured as prisoners of war. While the Battle of Khafji did not  accomplish any of the Iraqi objectives, it was enough of a success that Saddam was able  to claim a credible propaganda victory. After all, despite the overwhelmingly superior  coalition, the Iraqis planned and executed a major surprise offensive, holding  the town hostage for two whole days.

According to Iraqi General Salah Aboud: [QUOTE] "The Khafji conflict is one  of the bright spots in Iraqi Army history. . .

one of the many  recorded for future generations. " The Saudis, on the other side, were proud  of their victory, especially their work with the incomparable United States Marines. As  stated by General Khaled bin Sultan: [QUOTE] "They had been given a chance to prove themselves  and had done so splendidly….

Our forces were now equal partners with our allies, ready to  play a full role in any future battle. ” After Khafji, the Coalition leaders  realized the Iraqi Army wasn't as tough as they thought. It was clear the  Iraqi soldiers had major morale issues and weren't really up for a fight.

This gave  the Coalition a good idea of what kind of resistance they'd face when they launched  their ground offensive later that month. As expected, Operation Desert  Sabre, which began on February 24, was swift and smooth, with no  significant counterattacks. To this day, the Battle of Khafji,  a barely three-day-long engagement, remains largely unknown due to the overshadowing  impact of other major events in the Gulf War.