Battle of Norfolk

Battle of Norfolk
Part of the Persian Gulf War
A dug-in Iraqi T-72 Asad Babil tank at the Battle of Norfolk, 26 February 1991
Date 27–28 February 1991 (1 day) Location Al Muthanna Governorate, Iraq Result Coalition victory
Belligerents
United States  United Kingdom	Ba'athist Iraq
Commanders and leaders
Norman Schwarzkopf Frederick Franks Thomas G. Rhame[1] Rupert Smith[2]	Salah Aboud Mahmoud Brig-Gen. Saheb Mohammed Alaw Gen. Ayad Futayih al-Rawi[3] Brig-Gen. Bassil Omar Al-Shalham[4]
Units involved
VII Corps 1st Infantry Division 1st Cavalry Division 1st Armoured Division 2nd Armored Division(Fwd) 3rd Armored Division (United States) 210th Field Artillery Brigade[5] 4th Cavalry Regiment 1st Squadron[6][7]	Tawakalna Division 10th Armored Division[8] 12th Armored Division[9] 17th Armored Division[10] 52nd Armored Division[11] 25th Infantry Division[12] 26th Infantry Division[13] 31st Infantry Division[14] 48th Infantry Division[15] 9th Armored Brigade[16] 18th Mechanized Brigade[5] 50th Armored Brigade[17] 29th Armored Brigade[18] 110th Infantry Brigade[19] 11th Mechanized Brigade[20] 80th Armored Brigade[21]
Casualties and losses
American Sector: 21 killed[22] 67 wounded[22] 5 tanks destroyed[23][24] 4[24]– 5 IFVs destroyed[25] Objective Dorset: 15 killed[22] 27 wounded[22] 3 tanks damaged[26][27] British Sector: 15 killed[28] 43 wounded[28] 2 IFVs destroyed[29]	American Sector: Heavy casualties 937 captured 550 tanks destroyed[30] 480 armoured vehicles destroyed[30] 396 artillery pieces destroyed[31] Objective Dorset: Heavy casualties 2,500 captured[32] 300 tanks & IFVs destroyed[32] British Sector Heavy casualties 7,000+ captured[33] 300 tanks destroyed & captured Heavy IFV losses[34][35] Heavy artillery losses[36]

The Battle of Norfolk was a tank battle fought on February 27, 1991, during the Persian Gulf War, between armored forces of the United States and United Kingdom, and those of the Iraqi Republican Guard in the Muthanna Province of southern Iraq. The primary participants were the U.S. 2nd Armored Division (Forward), 1st Infantry Division (Mechanized), and the Iraqi 18th Mechanized and 9th Armoured Brigades of the Republican Guard Tawakalna Mechanized Infantry Division along with elements from eleven other Iraqi divisions.^[37] The 2nd Armored Division (Forward) was assigned to the American 1st Infantry Division as its 3rd maneuver brigade due to the fact that one of its brigades was not deployed.^[38] The 2nd Armored Division (Forward)'s Task Force 1-41 Infantry would be the spearhead of VII Corps.^[32] The British 1st Armoured division was responsible for protecting the right flank of VII Corps, their main adversary being the Iraqi 52nd Armored Division and multiple infantry divisions. It was the final battle of the war before the unilateral ceasefire took effect.

The Battle of Norfolk has been recognized as the second largest tank battle in American history and the largest tank battle of the 1st Gulf War.^{[39][40][41][42][43]} No fewer than 13 divisions participated in the Battle of Norfolk along with multiple heavy armored brigades and elements of a regiment.^{[37][35][44][45][46][47]} American and British forces destroyed approximately 850 Iraqi tanks and hundreds of other types of combat vehicles.^{[30][34][35][32]} Two additional Republican Guard divisions were destroyed at Objective Dorset by the U.S. 3rd Armored Division on 28 February 1991.^[48][32] During this battle the U.S. 3rd Armored Division destroyed an additional 300 enemy vehicles and captured 2,500 Iraqi soldiers.^[32]