Condition Zebra: The Next War - 2025

Chapter 19

“Ha!” said General Kamel Ayad. A big, heavy set man, the General was quite satisfied with what he had just accomplished. Kuwait was in the fold, and now he had the Saudi sheep on the run.

“Ha! Did I not tell you they would break? Now we pursue them south, ever closer to the real prize, the great fields of Ghawar.”

“Careful, General,” said the Iraqi Defense Minister, Abdul Bakir, his dark hair catching the light with an evil gleam. “Is the army still fresh? The men must be tired after 72 hours hard fighting, and in need of rest. Do we not need to bring up more supplies before you go rushing off further south into the Saudi desert?”

“Supply is still reaching the front as we speak. No, we must keep the pressure on, and hit them again—before the Americans come up and put some backbone into them.”

“But look at these reconnaissance photographs! As they retreat, they are tightening their lines—eliminating the gaps. Your infantry can no longer infiltrate. You will have to simply put your head down and charge at them like a wild bull.”

“That may be true, said the General, “ but this bull has sharp horns. When we break through, they will be put to flight again. We must gain the junction of An Nairyah.”

“Indeed… Well General, I am to tell you that Qusay has obtained some intelligence. The Army of the United Arab Emirates is moving, and that of Qatar. Look here, this photograph tells the story well enough. Those are mechanized columns coming up Highway 5. They will reach Dammam by tomorrow, and the Americans already have troops there, along with a brigade from Bahrain. Frankly, I do not think we will have the strength to unhorse all these chariots.”

“Always the naysayer, Abdul. You spend too much time running a comb through your hair and looking into a mirror! Tell Qusay that if he is worried, then let him invite more Iranian forces to our tent. And where are the Syrians and Egyptians?”

“That is a sensitive matter. They are Sunni states, just like Saudi Arabia! Yes, they have aligned themselves with the Chinese, but soon they will see that has put very little mutton on their plates. Suez is closed, and no ships come to Egyptian ports now. Things there are never good, and now they are terrible. No, the Egyptians will not cross the Red Sea, nor will they get past Israel if they strike east through Sinai, so they will not do that either. Syria has claimed they can spare nothing, because of the insurgency they are fighting.”

“And all the North African states will do nothing as well,” said General Ayad. “They have Sunni majorities, but they do not love us. Saddam and the Ba’ath Party may be Sunni, but Iraq is and has always been a Shiite majority, and they know this all too well.”

“As for the Iranians,” said the Defense Minister, “Qusay is leery about inviting too many to our tent, as you say. Yes, if we need them, they will come. But he fears they may be unruly guests.”

“As long as they will fight for us, then let it be. War is not polite, Mister Defense Minister. You of all people should know that. So we must press on, if only to take enough from the Saudis to make it hurt. Then you and others might negotiate our withdrawal from their kingdom in exchange for Kuwait. That would be honorable. Yes?”

“Don’t be a fool, General. Do you think the Americans will allow us to just snatch away seven percent of the world’s oil reserves in a single day?”

“Allow us? We have already done it!”

“Yes, but they will want to reverse that. They will not be satisfied until we are kicked all the way back to our borders.”

“Perhaps, but they do not have the force to do such a thing. They have but one division in Saudi Arabia. I have many more.”

“And if they send more troops? Then what?

“The Chinese have told us they will prevent that. There is only so much they can airlift. The rest must all come by sea, and if you have been reading the headlines lately, you will have seen the Chinese Navy has been fairly good at sinking ships.”

“Yes, British ships, not Americans.”

“Well I do not sail ships. I command the Army, and thus far, I have done what I was asked to do. Qusay has told me to come here and rub the Saudis noses in the sand, and that is what I will do. Now… If you’ll excuse me, I have orders to write.”

Those orders to his division commanders would be fairly simple. The Saudi Army is in front of you—attack it!

The commitment of forces from the U.A.E. was a godsend, because the Saudi Army was realizing it was overmatched by the combined forces of Iran and Iraq. Behind them came two more MEU’s from Oman, which had come off the Amphibious Ready Groups based there, the 12thand 15th. Thus far, the two BCT’s of the 82nd Airborne had not advanced to the front line action. 1st BCT was deployed around Al Jubayl and Ras Tanura to guard the oil terminals, airfields and ports. 2nd BCT had then deployed along Highway 80 as it approached Dammam, screening the big Saudi Aramco facilities near Abqaiq, and blocking the way south into the vast Ghawar Oil fields.

On the main front, the Saudi Army had finally concentrated on a front extending from the coast at Ras Tanaqib, and southwest behind An Nairyah and into the desert beyond. The weary Iraqi troops were making selective attacks, many of their brigades needing rest and resupply, but on the extreme left of the position, near the escarpment close to a small desert airfield called Sulfa, a new offensive began.

That area was lightly defended, and it was clear that the Iraqis were looking for a way around that flank. At the urging of US advisors, the Saudis ordered their airborne brigade to take to the helicopters and thump their way west, landing at Hadhar Airfield, about 55 kilometers southwest of Nairyah. Light patrol units in the area had noted the arrival of Iraqi Special forces by helicopter an hour earlier, and so both sides were moving this highly mobile forces into that sector, looking for advantage.

At the moment, US Planners at OMCOM were not overly concerned, because the U.A.E. Contingent, five brigades strong, had made good progress, coming up Highway 615 into the Ghawar Fields, and then moving up to Highway 80 behind BCT2 of the 82nd Airborne. With no direct threat to the oil fields at that time, it was decided to move the brigades from the Emirates right on up Highway 75, into a position where they could watch that extended left flank.

The Iraqis made two more attempts to break through the main Saudi line, one along the coast led by the Baghdad Division, supported by Iranian armor, and another on the extended left flank of the line. That coastal position was held by the Kuwaiti forces, all concentrated near the town of Manifah, and now the Iraqis made a big attempt to push through.

As before, the Kuwati forces were just not able to hold, and the battle of Manifah soon became a breakthrough zone, forcing the Saudis to shift their 11th Mech Brigade to that area.

“That brigade won’t be enough to hold,” said General Scott at OMCOM when the news came in. “Satellite imagery this morning shows a big reserve column coming down from Kuwait along the coast.”

“B-1’s have been working that over pretty good, sir.”

“Yes, all the way from Diego Garcia. We need to move those units into the Kingdom, and get the sortie rates up. Where is the U.A.E.?”

“They came up Highway 75, sir, and the head of their column is at As Sarrar south of Nairyah.”

“Watching that left flank? Hell we don’t need them there. The ground west of Highway 75 is murderous. The Iraqis have light forces there, but they won’t get over that stony ground easily. Better to shift the Emirate Force east, towards Al Jubayl.”

That decision was made, but it would then take half the day to get those troops east. Roads connecting Highway 75 to Highway 5 closer to the coast were few and far between. There were also many areas of impassable sand dunes between the two highways, and some could only be negotiated using thin desert tracks, which slowed the column a good deal.

As they moved, the Iraqis were pushing as hard as they could along that coastal road, now trying to break and turn the Saudi right flank as well. At the same time, they put in a big artillery barrage at the units holding the center near Nairyah, and heavy fighting renewed there soon after. Analysts at OMCOM thought it was a pinning attack, to prevent the Saudi’s from moving forces west towards the coast.

It was the U.A.E. that came riding to the rescue, all five brigades reaching the fighting that morning. They put in a sharp counterattack on the main coastal road just south of Manifah, and the remainder of their force extended their line west into the desert to stop any breakthrough there. This wall of fresh, well-armed troops, with good armor, was enough to bring the push along the coast to a complete halt. Yet by this time, a flood of reserves from both Iran and Iraq had reached the scene, and so they simply began to shift the attack further west, just beyond the lines of the Emirate contingent.

The fighting raged south of An Nairyah, and then five Iraqi infantry brigades, all dismounted infantry, made a human wave attack, emerging like dark Jinn rising through the blowing dust and sand. East of the town, the Hammurabi Division was making a big push to try and envelop the Saudi defense, and to the west, the Andan Division of the Republican Guard was pushing hard to reach Highway 75 and cut the city off.

The battle for Nairyah was over when that wave of Iraqi infantry swept over the town, and beleaguered Saudi forces, in danger of being surrounded by those flanking attacks, were forced to retreat. Just when it had seemed like the dike was reinforced in the coastal sector, the center was now giving way under that intense pressure.

The Twin battles of Manifah and Nairyah had put wind in the flagging sails of the Iraqi Army. The Republican Guard was now massing its divisions in the center, hoping to exploit the confusion in the Saudi lines. The drove south into the widening tangents of Highways 75 and 85 where they met at Nairyah, with the main effort pushing down Highway 85. If it prevailed, it would effectively flank the solid wall of resistance established by the U.A.E. forces earlier that morning. As officers of every stripe watched the changing situation at OMCOM, there were more than a few furrowed brows.

General Walter Conyers of the US 82nd Airborne, a balding man with over 40 years in the saddle, noted several airmobile incursions by enemy special forces behind the Saudi lines.

“I don’t like the look of that. Reports are that they have special forces troops taking up blocking positions on the roads behind the Saudis, and this breakthrough down Highway 85 is going to cut off the U.A.E. forces on the coast. I think we should advise the Saudis to get further south. They’re in danger of envelopment on too many sectors of the line.”

“I’ll inform the liaison officer, sir.”

“Right. Now that 3rd BCT is in country, I think it’s time we get it north. Let’s get them up here, where Highway 75 meets Highway 80. There’s a good heliport out near Abwab off Highway 75. I want that occupied.”

“Very good, sir. 1st Battalion 75th Rangers are also at Al-Udied in Qatar. Where do you want them?”

“Here, at the Saudi Aramco Refinery near Abqaiq. That gives us a pretty good screen in front of Ghawar. Now let’s hope the Saudi’s can conduct a fairly cohesive withdrawal.”

Over the next several hours, they watched as both wings of the front fell back until the line was reestablished from Ras al Khair on the coast, and southwest across Highway 85, stretching through the desert all the way to Highway 75. But the Iraqis had made good progress on that road, pushing aggressively south in their pursuit, looking to exploit any opening they could find. Near the coast, their lines were now about 40 kilometers north of the first big gas separator plant as Highway 5 approached Al Jubayl. So the tide of the fighting was starting to get uncomfortably close to the oil rich heart of the Kingdom.

A big tank fight happened at the junction of Highway 85 with the coastal Highway 5, right near the airfield and well site of Abu Hadriyah. There the Iraqi 26th and 34th Armored Brigades clashed head on with the 2nd Armored Brigade of the U.A.E., slowly forcing them down the road towards the airfield, but at great cost. Burning tanks littered the highway, the dark smoke of fires staining and thickening the clear blue sky.

That night, the last of the Saudi left wing began the long retreat south on Highway 75, stopping west of the desert airfield at Thadj. The next friendly forces they would encounter would be the men of the freshly deployed 15th MEU battalion near the Abwab Heliport. It was now attached to 3rd BCT, 82nd Airborne Division, which was holding just north of Urayaarah. That town screened a vital road junction where Highway 80 ran from Dammam on the coast all the way southwest to Riyadh in the heartland of the Kingdom.

But the Iraqis had no interest in the capital, at least not at this point in the campaign. It had no oil. Thus far they had made enough of an incursion into the Kingdom to hold a strong bargaining position if it came to that, but their suit would only lengthen if they were to secure some of the big oil infrastructure regions, and well sites of the mighty Ghawar.

The withdrawal down Highway 75 had opened that road to the Iraqis, and reconnaissance noted a long line of trucks moving south in the early hours of November 28th. No less than eight Iraqi motor rifle brigades formed that long column, and behind them, the Andan and Al Faw divisions were resting in the broken battlefield.

Casualties had been extremely heavy, on both sides, particularly in the armor brigades, where some units beginning the war with 36 tanks has single digits still operational. The vaunted Hammurabi Division had just 20 tanks left, but the Saudi Army had suffered as well.

While the Saudis had better equipment, they had little experience using it. Most units of the Iraqi Army were equally raw, but the sheer mass of that army made up for any lack of prowess in battle. The ability of the Iraqi infantry to make massive attacks and infiltrate gaps in the line had been most effective.

Yet now the battle was rolling ever nearer to General Walter Conyers and his 82nd Airborne Division, one best trained in the US Army. There was a growing tension in the desert air, because if they persisted, Iraq and Iran would leave no doubt as to the fact that they were now at war with the strongest military on earth.

Unfortunately, most of that power was over 5000 miles away….

Chapter 20

Ivy Mike and Bram Stoker had another assignment that night. Even though their brigade was us at Al Jubayl on the coast, they had been assigned to the Division Intelligence pool, and sent well south this time, to report on suspected movement west of Highway 75. Earlier that day, air reconnaissance had seen a concentration of Iraqi forces around the old desert airfield of Hadhar, but the initial assessment had been that these were brigades reorganizing and resting after the intense fighting around Al Nairyah.

There was no paved road that led to Hadhar, just dirt roads that made their way through the shifting sands, there when they are used, gone when no one came that way. Lieutenant Ives tried to find a reported secondary road using satellite imagery, but all he could see was the empty desert.

Yet the relatively flat and open ground was easy going for tracked vehicles, except in areas of dunes or heavy sand. As highway 75 ran due south, it was fringed by rocky terrain to the west, an area of about 20 kilometers. But beyond that broken ground, things flattened out to empty, hard arid desert, and that was where Hadhar, and several other desert airstrips, had been set up. US planners at OMCOM were worried about it, because it looked like a natural route south.

What they did not know was that Iraqi special forces battalions had been scouting the way south all the previous day, and that night there was a major movement south by the Talwalkana, Nebuchadnezzar, and Al-Medina Divisions of the Republican Guard. They had followed thin desert tracks connecting these little used desert airstrips, to the southernmost strip at Muhaysh. There the ground became more difficult again, with dunes to the west and stony ground to the east, so the column stopped near Hill 1165 to rest, all lights blackened. At 03:00, they planned to move again, looking for the road east towards the junction of Highways 75 and 80.

Infrared air recon saw the long column glowing, and the alarm was raised at King Khalid AFB to get Strike Eagles up. On the ground, Lieutenant Ives and his sidekick Sergeant Stoker had checked in at the headquarters of Panther Brigade, 3BCT of the 82nd Airborne, and then they went up Highway 75 through the hamlet of Urayarah to a substation about 10 kilometers south of the Abwab Heliport. It wasn’t long before they spotted trouble.

The Iraqi 2nd and 3rd Special Forces Battalions had been operating on the ground all night, moving like shadows over terrain they found very familiar to that back home in Iraq. They had picked their way through rocky gullies to a small hill, labeled 912, and Sergeant Stoker spotted movement there before dawn on the 28th of November.

“Look there, LT, that’s infantry on that hill south of the road.”

“Right, Colonel Jenkins at Panther Den told me they tangled with our patrols last night. We need to get north up 75, and then get off the road to the west. Its rough country, but I think we can get through.”

They worked their way west of the highway, using hills marked on the map to guide them. Hill 1083 was the highest point on the map, and also easier to get to in the Hummer, so they were up on that hill at 03:00, just as the Iraqi Republican Guard column began to get moving. The silence of the desert was suddenly broken by the deep distant growl of big engines.

“Intel was right,” said Ives. “There’s got to be a big column out there, probably just beyond that high ground on the horizon. They must have used that open valley north of this air strip to get down this far last night, then tried to lay low.”

They watched for some time, until the sound of tanks was palpably evident on the cool desert air. It was a big column, bigger than a division, and that raised Sergeant Stoker’s hackles.

“These guys are heading right for 3rd BCT.”

“Damn right. Get on the radio and report it. This is serious. That’s got to be a full division.”

It was, in fact, the Al Medina Armored Division, led by its 14th Mech Brigade, with 2nd and 10th Armored Brigades following. What they did not know, was that three other brigades had already passed this point, and they were well to the east, two independent infantry brigades and the 10th Mechanized Brigade of the Talwakana Division. There was even more force at the tail of the column, as yet unseen.

“Rivet Joint, Panther One, this is Redtail. Major movement to your west and approaching Grid 988-7. Heavy, heavy. Over.”

Now they could hear the sound of helicopters, flying low over the ground bringing in more Iraqi special forces teams. It was clear to the Lieutenant that this was a major offensive advance, and he stated so in his urgent report to 3BCT.

The 82nd was put on notice, and now it was going to war.

For years, as the military missions began to shift away from anti-terrorism deployments, the TO & E’s of various US Army units began to change to reflect the growing “Great Power” competition underway. This was even reflected in the structure of the 82nd Airborne Division, which had begun by adding a so called “tank battalion” to its order of battle. It began with Alpha Company, 4/68 Armored, a new unit attached to the 82nd. The catch was that instead of “tanks” like the M1A2 Abrams heavy tank, it had light armored vehicles, the LAV-25A2, a vehicle the USMC was using.

After that first company found its way into the division structure, a new idea emerged from the RAND think tank for the conversion of an Airborne BCT into an “Airborne Light Armored Infantry” force. Since the LAV-25 could be deployed by parachute, or carried in C-17’s, the addition of 12 transport LAV’s and another 8 recon versions would add additional protection, ground mobility, and firepower to an otherwise air lifted brigade.

In this history, that concept was embraced by converting the 3rd BCT of the 82nd Airborne with this new TO & E, not just one battalion, but all three. That put 60 LAV-25’s on the ground at Rivet Joint One, which was the code name given to that vital road junction where Highway 75 and 80 crossed one another. The division also had the 73rd Cavalry Regiment, with a squadron attached to each of the three BCTs, and after moving by helicopter to their deployment zone, the were each assigned ten M1A2’s from prepositioned war stocks that had been in the Kingdom. So while the 82nd remained a light infantry force by design, it nonetheless had some teeth in its structure, and all the infantry battalions were also lavishly supported by Javelin and TOW AT systems.

That said, the warning sent by Lieutenant Ives was quite stark. He was advising 3BCT that a heavy column was heading their way with both APC’s and tanks. This deep envelopment was much bigger than anyone at OMCOM had surmised, and it got General Walter Conyers quite concerned. He had flown from OMCOM in Muscat to King Fahd Airport near Damman to get in the saddle for the fight that was drawing closer by the hour.

It soon became clear that the Iraqis had masked the entire front along the lines of the U.A.E. and Saudi forces, and then sent the bulk of their Republican Guard divisions on this big overnight maneuver east of Highway 75. What concerned him most was that the Saudi lines ended around the town of Hanidh on Highway 75, which was 75 kilometers north of the 3rd BCT positions. There was nothing on that road, which made that a big 75 mile gap now that there were strong enemy forces approaching Rivet Joint One. His 3rd BCT was an island, with no friendlies on either flank for miles.

“Goddammit,” he said. “We need to reinforce that flank, and fast. What about those two Marine battalions?”

“They came up Highway 615, sir, and just reached Black Gold.” That was Supply Base Ahsa, in the heart of the Ghawar oil fields. Asha was the largest city in that region, encompassing Al Mubaraz, Al Hasa, Al Qarn and Al Hufuf.

“Then let’s get the Marines to Rivet Joint One, on the double. The Saudis are still too far forward given this development. They need to fall back into this area where the heavy dunes will limit the Iraqi infiltration tactics. That should allow them to extend their line south. One more thing. Tell 1/75 Rangers that guard duty is over at the Aramco Plant. Get them moving down Highway 80 to reinforce 3rd BCT. Then we’ll need to pony up assets from the other two BCT’s. Detach both recon squadrons and have one infantry battalion from each brigade ready for airmobile lift on my command. This thing is getting close to paydirt, and we’ve got to hold the line.”

“How soon before the Marines get here, sir?”

“You mean 1st Division? They could be two goddamn weeks for all I know. That’s up to the Navy. The Saudis are asking for support from Qatar, and now that they see the U.A.E. is in this thing, they’re more inclined to answer that in the affirmative. And our good friend the Sultan is mobilizing his people the get them over here as soon as possible.”

That was, of course, Taimur bin Assad, the current Sultan of Oman in this history, who succeeded Qaboos bin Said Al Said that very year. Oman had perhaps the second largest Army on the Arabian Peninsula after that of Saudi Arabia, and might be able to contribute seven or eight Brigade/Regiment sized units once they were fully mobilized. At that moment, however, The Iraqi Army was knocking on both the front and back doors of Ghawar, and they had to be stopped.

The Eagles and Apaches were also on the prowl that morning. Two Squadrons of F-15 Strike Eagles were based near Riyadh, and they began targeting the Iraqi column that had made its bold advance on that deep left flank. They were joined by 1/17th Heavy Attack Helicopters, their Apaches going in to try and slow the enemy advance and clog up their roads with burning vehicles.

The Iraqi advance continued in spite of these attacks, though it would take them all morning on the 28th as the brigades of the Al-Media Division began to arrive just east of Rivet Joint One. The Karbala Infantry Brigade had taken a position on Hill 853, which was right near Highway 80, about 15 kilometers west of the junction. They soon found themselves mostly surrounded by four US battalions, until they were joined by the19th Mech Brigade of the Talwakana Division, and their LOC west was secured.

Even with the addition of those LAV-25’s, US Airborne troops weren’t about to make assaults against such a heavily armored enemy force, but they would dig in and hold their ground. The brigade artillery battalion was busy all morning, shelling that hill, and Hill 912 20 kilometers north, which had been occupied by an Iraqi special forces battalion. The Iraqis did not press any attacks either, beyond scattered mortar fire. They were waiting on the rest of their corps….

After they made their report, Ives and Stoker had skedaddled east, the Hummer bouncing over the rough ground. They made their way to Hill 781 near Highway 75, just in time to see even more Iraqi troops arriving about ten kilometers to the north along that road. As the Saudis withdrew, they had extended their line south to take up positions along the Highway, as far south as the heliport at Abwab, so the right flank of Rivet Joint One was finally covered.

US reserves continued to flow to the scene, with 3/325th Battalion arriving by helicopter from 2nd BCT at Al Jubayl, and 1/504th Battalion humping it up Highway 80 from 1st BCT in Dammam. The Armored brigade of Bahrain, with 60 older M60A3 tanks, informed OMCOM that it would stand ready to move down Highway 80 if called upon to provide armored support. Around noon, General Conyers decided that the Iraqi infantry up on hill 853 had too good a look at the US positions, and he ordered it taken.

The soldiers of 3rd BCT stormed up that hill, supported by their own artillery and attack helos, and kicked the Karbala Infantry Brigade off those heights by 01:00. Atop their new perch, soldiers of 1/73rd Recon could see the distant smoke and dust rising from big movement to the west. That afternoon, they saw the mech brigades arriving, and now the full scale of the Iraqi concentration was known—a full corps of three Republican Guard divisions.

General Conyers’ force had now swelled from four to ten battalions, but they were looking at an equal number of Iraqi brigades, with at least 100 tanks, and plenty of AFV’s. The position the US forces now held stretched from a refinery substation ten kilometers north of Urayarah, due south over the newly captured Hill 853, and another ten kilometers south to the Mobile 1 airstrip and pipeline pump station. Beyond that, and all along that flank, was the craggy escarpment of Jiba Ash Shuab, which pretty much made any enveloping sweeping maneuver further south around Mobile 1 dubious at best, if not impossible. So the 82nd dug in and waited to see what Saddam’s boys would do. In the meantime, they would watch the fireworks as that concentrated enemy force became the object of F-15 Strike Eagles, B-1’s out of Al Udied in Qatar, and the Buffs,[4] all the way from Diego Garcia.

It was a move that was sound in principle, well executed, yet fraught with potential shortcomings that could make it very risky. Taking three divisions of the Republican Guard and running them into that valley sweeping south towards Highway 80 was an almost impudent move, as the US Generals at OMCOM saw things. Lt. General Scott, the theater commander, summed things us nicely.

“Alright, here’s the latest photo recon from the Air Force this afternoon, and this concentration is the Talwalkana, Nebuchadnezzar, and Al-Medina Divisions of the Republican Guard, three of their very best. They’ve been fighting, and on the move for 96 hours, so they have to be winded, and now this move around that flank has them at the end of a very long supply line, and some of it over rugged terrain. In short, we think they’re tired, hungry, and perhaps needing fuel, but as these photos show, they appear to be organizing for an attack up Highway 80 towards Dammam.”

The photos didn’t lie. They showed the mechanized companies forming up, armor behind them, but what was notably absent was artillery. The big Iraqi self-propelled guns were cumbersome and slow, and none of the battalions had made it that far south. So the Iraqis would attack without the historical queen of the battlefield, artillery. All they had was a few organic guns and mortars.

“Gentlemen, they think they’re looking at a thin line of Khaki out there, just another brigade they plan to blow through. But if they’d squint, and look a little closer, they’ll see the Stars and Bars on the shoulders of our troops, and that makes all the difference. We’re not just anybody and his mother out there, we’re the 82nd Airborne Division, United States Army. We’ve built up to perhaps two brigades in strength against ten of theirs, but that’s deceptive. Any one of the ten battalions we have on the line has the raw muscle, firepower and fighting prowess to equal any Iraqi brigade you put in front of it. So they’re going to have to bunch up on us, and we’ve got the air power to hurt them when they try that.”

“Sir, what about the thrust coming down Highway 75?” came the obvious question from Skip Johnson, Liaison officer for the 82nd.

“That’s what we think they’re counting on. That attack is being made by their Andan and Al Faw divisions, also Republican Guard, but light motor rifle brigades, with one armored brigade in the mix. That said, at noon we saw movement south from An Nairyah, and we’ve now identified yet another Republican Guard division moving south on 75, the Baghdad Division, with three mech brigades. So that makes it a six pack, gentlemen—six of the eight Republican Guard divisions committed to this one offensive. Their intention is obvious. The two groups want to meet and shake hands at Rivet Joint One, but that isn’t going to happen—not on our watch. This is going to be the biggest fight the 82nd has had since the German counteroffensive in 1944. What happened there, Skip?”

“Sir, the 82nd Airborne Division faced off against 1st SS Leibstandarte, 2nd SS Das Reich, and 9th SS Hohenstaufen Divisions as they attempted to reach and relieve Kampfgruppe Pieper.”

“Well, did the Germans get through?”

“No sir—not on our watch.”

Chapter 21

As it approached the industrial city if Al Jubayl from the northwest, Highway 85 intersected with Highway 95 near the town of Abu Hadriyah, which then ran parallel to the coast southeast to Dammam. About 25 kilometers from this intersection, southeast on Highway 95, the road is flanked by two large industrial plants, the Kursaniyah Gas Plant east of the highway, and the Fadahili Gas Plant to the west. These sprawling facilities stretched for nearly a mile, an ugly gaunt mass of pipes, tanks and metal grating. In addition to recovering gas from both on and offshore fields, the facilities had cogeneration plant with the capacity to produce 1.3 gigawatts of power and 3.2 million pounds of steam per hour.

On the night of November 28th, the Fadahili Plant suddenly erupted in fire from a massive artillery barrage from seven battalions, the flames towering up into the black sky with an evil orange glow. In that ghastly landscape, with the terrain scored by years of excavation to the east, it seemed as if the earth itself had split open and demons had risen from hell. Dark silhouettes of the firefighting teams danced before the flames like vagrant spirits, and soon a deathly black smoke rolled up into the night, blotting out the stars.

Two strong brigades from the U.A.E. had set up defensive position forward of the plant, and now they looked over their shoulder at that massive inferno, which seemed deliberately ignited there to prevent their withdrawal.

Before the barrage, some debate had been held to consider whether the plant should be defended or simply abandoned. Even if taken by the Iraqi’s, it would still be intact, some argued. If defended, it might incur severe damage, and that was exactly what had happened. There were very many similar plants in Saudi Arabia, and this one had been utterly destroyed as an example of what would happen if the Saudis and their allies decided to defend them.

Now the beleaguered U.A.E. brigades fell back south of that burning wreck of twisted metal and reorganized, the men coughing and gasping for clear air after that brief retreat. If the Iraqis wanted what they had just destroyed, they could have it. It was just one of five separate attacks they had launched that night at the witching hour.

In the south, they had rumbled up to Hill 853, now held by the US 73rd Cav Regiment, and there the vaunted Republican Guard brigades would meet with a bloody and costly repulse. There were twenty M1A2 Abrams tanks in the defense, and they easily stopped, and badly mauled, the Iraqi T-85 tanks purchased from the Chinese.

An older, under gunned tank dating to the late 1980’s, the Type 85 models had all been discontinued decades ago in China, and the older inventories sold off to client states. The Chinese had recovered T-72s in the first Siberian War, and learned its main gun could defeat the armor on every tank model in that series, a sobering discovery that led them to develop something better in their Type 90 models.

In another history, even the older M1A1 tanks had routinely devoured the Iraqi T-72’s which made this encounter at Hill 853 an even more jarring experience for the Republican Guard units that had tried to take that position. Here they had armor that would have been beaten by older T-72’s, let along the modern M1A2 tanks that had joined the 73rd Cav. The attack raged on for two hours, with the mech infantry advancing into the US Javelin fire and taking heavy losses. The 82nd Airborne Division stood like a rock, and it could not be moved.

North of that sector, the Andan and Al Faw Divisions, reinforced by the Baghdad Division, were trying to bull their way past the Saudi 12th Armored and 6th Mech Brigades on Highway 75 south. Known as the battle of Hill 732, the Iraqi forces clawed their way forward, gaining about five kilometers, but the Saudi line, battered and bleeding, nonetheless held. Like a grinding football game, the Iraqi team had reached the ten yard line, and now it was going to the fullback with its Republican Guard divisions simply trying to pound their way through the defense, but without success.

At dawn, US forces at Rivet Joint One were pleased to see that four battalions from Qatar had arrived, two mech and two more of armor, which put another 41 Leopard II tanks on the field. The Iraqis in the south now had 61 T-85 Tanks left after their failed assault, and they fell back on the high ground around Hill 1007 to the west. They had expended a great deal of ammunition, and many of the brigades were simply burned out. Unfortunately, they were a very long way from a good supply source now, and the Iraqi commanders began to realize the precarious nature of their situation.

Before them stood a hardened, implacable enemy, with much better equipment, command of the skies above, and troops that would not give an inch. Behind them there was nothing but the stony desert and a single dirt road winding its way west through a forsaken valley.

Everything depended on the 2nd Corps on Highway 75. They simply had to get through and flank the American position from the north, which might force it to withdraw. And that road was the only way the weary 1st Corps would ever get replenished with fresh supply. The 20th and 8th Saudi Mech Brigades in front of 2nd Corps were equally battered, their battalions down to 50% strength. All it would take was one more push, and so the Andan and Al Faw Divisions came at them again at noon, under a hot, merciless sun.

Not needed behind the US 82nd, the Qatari battalions were sent north, swinging through the desert east of highway 75, and arriving just as the 4th Al Faw Brigade was getting up steam and making a good advance. Realizing the crucial nature of this sector, the US asked the Emir of Bahrain to release his armor brigade for action, and that was granted, sending those 60 M60A3’s into the fight. Those, with the 40 Leopard IIs in the Qatari battalions, would be enough to stop that attack. It was like good linebackers slamming into the runner to support the tackles, and there would be no first down.

The yardage, when it finally came, did not come at Rivet Joint One, or along Highway 75. Far to the northeast, near that burning gas plant at Fadahili, the withdrawal of the U.A.E. brigade had left a crack in the line that was quickly exploited by hordes of Iraqi Infantry. They pushed through, west of that raging fire, and began overrunning the 6th King Fahd Armor Brigade. That breakthrough now put a big question on the table for General Kamel Ayad. He had held one division of his Republican Guard in reserve, the best of the lot. The Hammurabi Division was sitting at Abu Hadriyah, 35 kilometers north of the burning gas plant, and if committed now in the wake of that swarming attack, the breakthrough might be exploited enough to unhinge the entire Saudi defense further west. The division still had 72 tanks, in two brigades, and a pair of very strong mech brigades, and it went storming down a secondary road, passing the burning gas plant to the west, and grinding on into that breach.

It was 4th down and seven, the endzone tantalizingly close. It was either one more running play with that Republican Guard division, or the Iraqi Army was going to have to give up the ball. General Ayad knew a field goal would not be enough. The Iraqis could smell the oil burning, and it was like a shark smelling blood.

The exploitation began at sunset on the 29th, the tanks and APC’s of the Hammurabi Division surging through the gap in the line and forging a way into the desert to the south. If they turned east towards the coast, they would be cutting off everything at Al Jubayl, and might force their enemies to give up that big industrial center, which would be a great plum. If they turned west they could sweep behind the Saudi lines, potentially cutting off their defense in the desert as it extended west to Highway 75. If they kept on straight ahead, the way to Dammam was wide open.

Lt. General Conyers in Dammam was not going to have it either way. He had every confidence that he could hold Jubayl, even if it was cut off, but he was worried about the Saudi forces in the desert.

“They have some good units out there, the King Salman Armored brigade being the best of them. What they have to do now is maneuver and counterattack this breakthrough on its western flank, and we’re going to block it on the eastern flank with 1st BCT.”

“They just have the 1st and 2nd Battalions left, sir. Everything else went to Rivet Joint One.”

“That will be enough. What we’ll do is pull the other two battalions from 2nd BCT in to reinforce. They’re holding the airfields at Ras Tanura and King Fahd, but there’s no threat there. This is for the money, gentlemen. Get those battalions moving.”

By midnight, four battalions from those two BCT’s put a full brigade strength force in front of the Hammurabi Division, and it was joined by the King Faisal Armored Brigade, really a battalion sized unit now, with 18 tanks, but it was backed up by the strong King Khalid Mech Brigade. Another mech battalion also crossed the causeway from Bahrain to add further support.

The Hammurabi Division would not go without a fight. It directed three brigades to a point in the blocking enemy line, and they were going to fall on 2/504 Battalion, of the 1st BCT, but they just could not move them.

The US troops were dug in well, and the Iraqi’s had come too far south in their headlong exploitation, outrunning their own artillery. The American battalion had 18 anti-tank launchers, Javelins and TOW’s, and they were putting them to work. They could see the Iraqi infantry dismounting from their AFV’s, and crouching in small groups behind them. Out in front, the big T-85’s lumbered forward like war elephants, the 125mm guns on this variant began switching to HE rounds, as they could not see any enemy armor ahead.

Then the US infantry opened up on them, the squad leaders calling the tune. “Javelin!” The missiles were suddenly dancing out over that deadly space between the two sides, and there would come loud explosion, ending the life of one T-85 after another. In 1997, just before the first Sino-Siberian war, it was the best tank the Chinese had. Now those stocks had mostly been sold off, and it was the best the Iraqi’s had in 2025, but it had met its match, and then some.

The Javelin was a lightweight, shoulder fired weapon, weighing just under 50 pounds, and consisting of a launch tube and a 127mm missile. It could range out 2500 meters, with good accuracy, a fire and forget system that used an imaging infrared seeker to find its target. One “gunner” and a second ammo carrier made up the two man firing team, and together they could send out a tandem warhead that had two shaped charges. The first would detonate any reactive armor that may have been applied to the tank, the second was for the dirty work, and it could penetrate the equivalent of 750mm armor. The missiles would scoot out from the launcher, then arc up into the sky to look down and find the targets, then they would dive for the kill at a near 90 degree angle, striking the thinner top armor of the targets.

That was enough.

2/504 was holding, the Javelins getting kills and the infantry putting down lethal anti-personnel fire to stop the Iraqi infantry. As more and more tanks and APC’s became smoking holes in the ground, the ardor of the dismounted Iraqi infantry flagged, and things seemed to be more preferable to the rear.

It would only get worse for the Hammurabi division. The last remnants of the Kuwaiti armor, two Chieftains and three Challengers, came rumbling up behind the 82’nd, and they were a welcome sight. A US Sergeant leapt on top of one, and shouted orders for the gunners inside to track their turrets left or right and engage targets, and more help was not far off. Some “experts” were on the way.

General Conyers had determined his position at Rivet Joint One was solid as a rock, so he detached the two battalions of the 73rd Cav he had sent there earlier, and they would ride through the pre-dawn hours, racing east to support their brothers, each with ten US M1A2 Abrams tanks. That was going to be the straw that broke the camel’s back.

The Hammurabi Division Commander could see that his hour of glory had passed. He had gained five yards, but no first down, and no touchdown. It was time to huddle and see what was left to be done.

General Kamel Ayad, knew he had lost the ball. His prized halfback had made a daring dash through the enemy line, but it was stopped. Enemy fighters and dark winged bombers were now circling overhead like desert vultures. They would begin pounding his prized division, and the futility of his position now became apparent.

“We cannot get through,” he said to an aide. “Those damnable American airborne troops will simply not break! And now their fighters pick off our tanks and APC’s like carrion. The entire 1st Corps of the Republican Guard is now sitting in the desert east of the Americans, and they cannot break through to the fields at Ghawar!”

“Must we retreat, sir? Is it over?”

“Nonsense,” said the General. “We need time, that is all. Our troops are weary. They have come all the way from our own border, some 320 miles for 1st Corps in just five days. What other army has done such a thing? We have all of Kuwait, and good positions inside Saudi Arabia. We have also showed them what we could do to their precious gas plants and refineries. While they may have stopped us, I do not think they have the strength to mount any serious counterattack. So we will consolidate, dig in, and resupply. I am sitting in the parlor while the Saudis think to have their dinner, but I will be a noisome and unruly visitor. Just you wait and see.”

That was a fairly accurate assessment of the situation. The Iraqi attack was played out. In its most reaching moments, it had found the 82nd Airborne Division in front of it in both key attacks, and they had given no ground. The Saudi Army had fought like tigers, and they had taken severe losses, but still remained a cohesive force, battle hardened by these last five days. Soon the brigades of the Sultan of Oman would come west to join their ranks, making any further offensive plans by the Iraqis unfeasible.

Yet General Ayad was correct. The Arabian coalition did not yet have the strength to mount a real counterattack. For that it would take heavier units coming from the United States, and the closest was the 1st USMC Division, waiting at Diego Garcia for the outcome of the great naval battle for control of the Arabian Sea.