Battle of Norfolk

The Battle of Norfolk was a tank battle fought on 27 February 1991, during the Gulf War, between armored forces of the United States Army and those of the Iraqi Republican Guard.

The battle took place about 60 miles east of, just 18 hours after the Battle of Al Busayyah, and several kilometers east of the Battle of 73 Easting, which had just ended two hours earlier. The Battle of Norfolk is named for Objective Norfolk, an area that encompassed the intersection of the IPSA Pipeline Road and several desert trails and a large Iraqi supply depot defended by Iraqi armor. Objective Norfolk was located 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. The forces involved in the battle were the American 1st Infantry Division and the Iraqi 18th Mechanized and 9th Armored Brigades of the Tawakalna Mechanized Infantry Division.

On the night of 23/24 February 1991, in accordance with General Norman Schwarzkopf's plan for the ground assault called Operation Desert Sabre, VII Corps raced east from Saudi Arabia into Iraq in a maneuver later nicknamed the "Hail Mary." The Corps had two goals: to cut off Iraqi retreat from Kuwait, and to destroy five Republican Guard divisions near the Iraq-Kuwait border that might attack the Arab and Marine Corps units moving into Kuwait to the south.

The Battle of Norfolk, in a sense a continuation of the fighting that began with the Battle of 73 Easting the day before, began at 12:30 am on 27 February. The two attacking brigades of the 1st Infantry Division were positioned along the 75 Easting, 2,000 meters east of 73 Easting, fought for and held by the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment. With air support from the 1/1 Attack Helicopter Battalion preventing Iraqi artillery from interfering, the 1st ID conducted a passage of the 2nd ACR's lines. In the following three hours the 1st ID methodically crossed the ten kilometers of Objective Norfolk, in heavy fog and close contact with the Iraqi units. By dawn, the 1st US Infantry Division controlled Objective Norfolk and the Tawakalna Mechanized Infantry Division had ceased to exist as a fighting force. American casualties were 6 soldiers killed, all by friendly fire, and 30 wounded.

See also

*Battle of 73 Easting
*Battle of Medina Ridge
*Gulf War