Battle of Medina Ridge

Battle of Medina Ridge
Part of the Persian Gulf War
M1 Abrams tanks moving in formation during the Persian Gulf War
Date February 27, 1991 Location Southwest of Basra, Iraq 30°10′27″N 46°56′6″E / 30.17417°N 46.93500°E / 30.17417; 46.93500 Result American victory
Belligerents
United States	Iraq
Commanders and leaders
Norman Schwarzkopf Frederick Franks Ron Griffith Montgomery Meigs Edward Dyer Colonel Hatch Colonel James Riley Lt. Col. John Ward	Ayad Futayyih Al-Rawi[1]
Units involved
1st Armored Division[2] 3rd Infantry Division[3] 3rd Brigade CT 75th Artillery Brigade[1] Battery B, 25th Field Artillery[4] 1st Aviation Regiment[4][5] 2nd Battalion 3rd Battalion	Medina Republic Guard Division 2nd Brigade[2] Adnan Motorised Division[6] Tawakalna Republican Guard Division[7] 52nd Armored Division 17th Infantry Division[7] 10th Armored Division[8]12th Armored Division[9]
Casualties and losses
2 killed 33 wounded 4 tanks destroyed 2 IFVs destroyed 1 ambulance destroyed 1 HEMTT fueler destroyed 2 attack helicopters shot down 4 Humvees destroyed[10] 1 A-10 shot down[11][7]	839 captured 186 tanks destroyed 127 IFVs destroyed 72 artillery pieces destroyed[12] 118 trucks destroyed 5 air defence systems destroyed[13]

The Battle of Medina Ridge was a tank battle fought on the 27 February 1991, during the Gulf War, between the U.S. 1st Armored Division and the 2nd Brigade of the Iraqi Republican Guard Medina Luminous Division outside Basra, Iraq.^[14] The U.S. 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, was also a major contributor, by leading the attack.^[3] Iraq's Adnan Motorized Division was also a participant.^[6] Medina Ridge is the name American troops gave to a low rise, approximately seven miles (11 km) long.

The battle, which was waged over approximately two hours, was considered by some sources the largest tank battle of the war.^[15] It took place west of phase line Kiwi, east of phase line Smash, and north of phase line Grape. Phase lines are map references occurring every few kilometers used to measure progress of an offensive operation.