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On the 21 March 2003, the U.S. Army's 3rd Division crossed the Kuwaiti border into Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. By the 4 April, the Division had advanced some 400-kilometres and was standing at the gates to the Iraqi capital city of Baghdad. However, as the 3rd prepared to conduct the offensive into the city, U.S. Intelligence had no clear understanding of the state of Iraqi defences in Baghdad. This prompted Major General Buford Blount, C.O. 3rd Division, to order an armoured raid into the capital to test the response of the Iraqi defenses - a raid that has since become known as, the Thunder Run into Baghdad.
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 4
Posted >1 y ago
Thanks. M1 tanks are often used to make first ground contact because they have a lot of fire power and armor. Some the Iraqi fools wanted to use civilian vehicles to attack our tanks. It was not a good idea.
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Posted >1 y ago
It is reported we had 3,000 M1 tanks in Desert Storm. That is 29 miles of tanks.
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Posted >1 y ago
I was the S2 for then LTC Blount when he was my BN CDR in 3-64AR in Schweinfurt when the Wall fell and during the 1st Gulf War. Shortly after E Germany fell, W German units went in to oversee the drawdown of the E German forces. We were partnered with 354 Panzer out of Hammelburg, and thier BN CDR and a couple of officers and NCOs took over running an E German regiment in Halle. He called over to then LTC Blount and asked if he wanted to come and have a first hand look at the equipment and facilities. Was one of the coolest events had during my whole career in what we got to do that day - assisted by officers and soldiers who had grown up with us as the enemy until a few months prior. When the ground war went down - we were doing a rotation at Hohenfels. Blount's leadership was a key factor in my not leaving the Army after the drawdown, one of the finest officers ever served under.
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