British Armor in Desert Storm

As more information becomes available on the performance of DESERT STORM participants, it is interesting to focus on the part played by British tankers who fought with VII Corps in the 100-hour ground war. The following account describes the actions of the 1st British Armored Division - and especially 4th Armored Brigade - in what the British call DESERT

SABRE.

The initial British contribution to the DESERT SHIELD deployment was 7th Armored Brigade, commanded by Brigadier Patrick Cordmgly. Arriving in Saudi Arabia during October 1990, the modem “Desert Rats” continued the traditions of their forebears, who earned their nickname battling the Axis in North Africa during WWII. The brigade deployed two armored regiments (tank battalions) - the Queens Royal Irish Hussars and the Royal Scots Guards, each equipped with 57 Challenger 1 main battle tanks. The third formation in the brigade was an armored infantry battalion, 1st Battalion the Staffordshire Regiment, with 45 Warrior IFVs. The Warriors had only recently been fielded. The brigade traveled directly from its home base in Soltau/Fallingbostel, in Northern Germany, while heavy equipment was shipped by sea. To enhance its combat capability, the brigade received a squadron (company) of Scimitar light armored reconnaissance vehicles from the Queen’s Dragoon Guards, an armored engineer regiment, and the 40th Field Regiment Royal Artillery, with 24 M109 self-propelled 155-mm howitzers. Seventh Armored Brigade was the fvst formation equipped with 120-mm tank guns to arrive in Saudi Arabia. American armor deployed up until that point included only 105-mm-gun-equipped M1 or M60 tanks. After arrival, the 7th came under the command of the U. S. Marines to bolster their armored firepower against possible encounters with the Iraqi T-72 tanks that faced the coalition forces along the Kuwaiti border. As the ground offensive plan for DESERT STORM started shaping up, it became clear that the coalition would need more heavy forces, including sufficient logistical support for the fighting teeth. The result was a substantial increase in armored forces. Heavier 120-mm MlAls arrived from Germany with the U. S. VI1 Corps. From British forces in Germany came the 4th British Armored Brigade and the headquarters of 1st British Armored Division, with its divisional troops. Fourth Armored Brigade, commanded by Brigadier Christopher Hammerbeck, included one armored regiment, the 14/20 King’s Hussars, augmented with one squadron from the Life Guards, with 59 Challenger 1 MBTs, and two armored infantry battalions, 1st Battalion Royal Scots and 3rd Battalion the Regiment of Fusiliers, the latter supplemented by a company from the Grenadier Guards. In support was afield regiment of the Royal Artillery and a combat engineer regiment. In contrast to 7th Armored 12 ARMOR - July-August 7992

Brigade, Hammerbeck's brigade was a totally ad-hoc formation. Only the headquarters, the armored regiment, and one artillery battery originally belonged to the brigade in Germany. The two armored infantry battalions were newcomers, chosen because they were equipped with Warrior IFVs. While still in Germany, the brigade went into a hasty training schedule aimed at bringing the various battalions up to combat shape. After deployment to the Gulf, it underwent further training, especially live firing on open desert ranges. By January 30th, the brigade became operational, ready for action. By that time, the two armored brigades had already come under the command of Major General Rupert Smith, commanding general of 1st (UK) Armored Division, which itself was becoming part of U. S. VII Corps. There is no need here to go into the planning stages of the VI1 Corps battle plan, which has been adequately covered elsewhere, but we shall concentrate on the part played by 1st (UK) Armored Division and emphasize the battle gade, about which we have more precise details. Brigadier Hammerbeck organized his brigade into three mixed battle groups, which - due to its being a fought by 4th British Armored Bri- 7th A m r d Bllgade plus RAPIER AD I I I I I 4th A W r e d Brlgade mechanized force - seemed to him more suitable for a running desert battle. The battle group is the normal combat organization in which the armored division fights. The composition of the battle group itself leaves the commander much flexibility. In.theory, it would be a balanced mix of armor and infantry, with support. But the actual mix could vary to suit mission requirements. In fact, during the ground campaign, 4th Armored Brigade changed its battle group m u several times as the fluid battle situation demanded. From the start, 4th Armored Brigade was organized into three battle groups, one based on the annored regiment, with a company of Warrior IFVs supplementing the infanhy element; the other two were infantry-heavy, each with one Challenger,..:' 7...... _

ARMOR - 13 squadron in close support. The brigade received Scorpion and Scimitar elements from the divisional reconnaissance regiment, the 16/5th Queens Royal Lancers, to serve as reconnaissance screen, a must in desert warfare. Fourth Armored Brigade crossed the line of deparhm around 1930 on G Day, the main brigade axis led by the 14/20 Hussars battle group commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Michael Vickery. The 1st Royal Scots battle group advanced along a parallel route, with the third infantry-heavy battle group in brigade reserve. Brigadier Hammerbeck was traveling in a Challenger with his tactical command group of Warrior command vehicles. He could monitor the three command radio nets of the baffle groups. His immediate objective was the destruction of an Iraqi armored reserve brigade. It was believed to be about 45 kilometers east of the point where the brigade swept through the breach in the Iraqi forward defense system. The night was pitch dark, with pouring rain, and shortly after crossing the start line, the British vehicles ran into the tail of a massive convoy of trucks. They were moving behind elements of the U. S. 1st Infantry Division that had originally made the breach. After a delay of about one hour, while commanders sorted things out, the brigade was moving again toward its Objective BRONZE, the southern complex of an Iraqi divisional defensive system. The northern end of this complex, code-named COPPER, was the objective of a twebattalion attack by 7th Armored Brigade. First contact on BRONZE was made G+l at 2030 hours. During the advance, columns of vehicles were delayed by unexploded munitions in the lanes, mainly from MLRS and CBU cluster munitions that did not have delay fuses. The passage through the U. S. 1st Infantry Division lines was done with perfect precision, traffic control handled mutually by American and British military police. Objective BRONZE was taken rather quickly with little opposition h m the Iraqis, who were surprised by the rapid attack. Attention shifted to the 7th Armored-Brigade’s attack on COPPER, which was the larger compound. After midnight, Brigadier Hammerbeck shifted his tank-heavy battle group to the north to assault the southern part of COPPER, which was already under attack by the two 7th Armored Brigade battle groups mopping up the northern half. As the tank attack went in, opposition stiffened considembly, and the Challengers used their thermal imaging optics to knock out Iraqi tanks hiding behind sand berms. A running fight developed, with several Iraqi tanks blowing up in flames. At the height of the battle, Hammerbeck decided to bring in the Royal Scots battle group, which went in to clear the enemy trenches, dismounting from their Warriors as they came upon the Objective

COPPER SOUTH.

The weather played havoc with the thermal imaging equipment of the Challengers (TOGS). As the leading tanks set off into the dark, the min descended like treacle, the dust thick with soot from the Iraqi oil fires in Kuwait to the F t. Tank gun engagement ranges came down to 500 meters and less. After three weeks of enduring intensive air attack by systems employing thermal weapons, the Iraqis had quickly discovered that a “cold” tank could survive. Iraqi tank crews became quite adept at hiding their tanks from thermals, even removing batteries to prevent heat signatures. As the two battle groups fought on COPPER SOUTH, it soon became clear to the brigadier that he had encountered a much stronger enemy position than had been anticipated. Initial briefings had indicated COPPER SOUTH to contain a maximum company-sized force of tanks and infantry. Actually it turned out to be a full-British Warrior infantry fighting vehides maneuwr on an objective after penetrating the Iraqi defensive belt. 14 ARMOR - sized armor-heavy battle group with over 25 tanks! The Challengers main armament - a rifled 120-mm cannon - proved highly lethal, and its effect on Iraqi tanks was devastating. Secondary explosions often blew turrets off hulls, while after-battle inspections showed catastrophic results, with interiors turned white from intense heat. On G+2 at 0945, the attack on Objective BRASS began. The two battle groups arrived on the start line and deployed into battle formation. BRASS was a large position which contained the major portion of the Iraqi 52nd Armored Brigade. In the west, it consisted of an infantry-heavy battle group, a company of about a dozen tanks, and two companies of MTLB carriers in berms. All were deeply entrenched in fortified positions. In the center was a heavy armored battle group with some 30 tanks and lots of carriers with artillery support. More artillery was deployed farther to the east, but within range. Hammerbeck ordered the Royal Scots battle group to attack BRASS 1, and as they stormed forward in their Warriors, they were met by heavy enemy artillery fire. The battle group drove under its own burst bamge and made it, without loss, to the outer defenses, where the bombardment stopped. Then A Company dismounted and started clearing the forward trenches, using grenades and CLAW close assault weapons. Very quickly the enemy troops started to come out of their bunkers to surrender. Meanwhile, tanks of the 14/20 Hussars were attacking BRASS 2, which involved a very long approach march. Joined by the brigadier’s tactical command group, the tanks attacked, firing from long ranges, knocking out hidden Iraqi tanks behind berms. Within the hour, before midday, the position By 1500, BRASS 3 had also been clear& by the Fusilier battle group after two hours of fighting in the trenches. Also at about that time, U. S. Air Force A-10 tank-busters mistakenly identified a column of Warriors as enemy vehicles and blew up two of them, killing nine soldiers inside the vehicles and wounding seven others. Soon, orders came over the radio for the next stage, an attack on Objective TUNGSTEN. This required a quick orders group. TUNGSTEN was to be taken by night attack after a difficult approach march that had to cross the Tapline Road, including crossing of a large overground pipeline some two meters high. To overcome this obstacle, engineers were attached to each battle group to construct passages. The battle for TUNGSTEN was a set piece attack, aimed at what was thought to be a brigade-plus enemy force in well constructed fortifications. A massive artillery bombardment plan included two brigades of artillery, the 142nd Artillery from the U. S. National Guard, with MLRS, as well as most of 1st UK AD divisional artillery, with two batteries of MLRS and several of SP guns. This added up to a lot of ftrepower, perhaps the largest number of guns on a single objective during the campaign. The brigadier’s TAC commaria group motored forward, setting up near the scouts to watch the spectacle. It was an impressive display of fireworks. For 45 minutes, the rain of steel kept coming down with a running roar, exploding into a carpet of was secure. fire across the full depth of the Iraqi position. As m n as the bombardment ceased, the Royal Scots and Fusiliers battle groups found a crossing point over the pipeline and stormed into the enemy position, knocking out everything in sight that still stood. Stunned survivors soon came out of their underground holes and surrendered. For the attack on TUNGSTEN, Hammerbeck had changed his dispositions, creating two “square” battle groups, each with two squadrons of Challengers and two with Wanior IFVs. Having already seen heavy fighting, the 14/20 Hussars battle group was left in reserve, with one squadron of tanks and one company of armored infantry. Throughout the night, the two battle groups worked their way across a series of Iraqi positions, with Challengers giving close support with direct fire from main armament and coaxial machine guns on call by the infantry commanders advancing inside the Iraqi defense complex. By dawn it was all over. Thousands of Iraqis were coming forward to surrender, including two brigade commanders and a major general who commanded a division. At TUNGSTEN, the 4th Armored Brigade had defeated remnants of the Iraqi 12th Armored Division and reserves from the 25th Infantry Division. After a short rest and replenishment, new orders called for the advance to continue to the north and reach the Kuwait-Basra highway to seal off any southward movement by Republican Guard armor, which was already h&d- pressed by the maneuver of VI1 Corps and XVIII Airborne Corps. The brigade had prevailed through a remarlcable campaign. It advanced 350 kilometers in 97 hours, fought several major battles, and destroyed more than 60 enemy tanks, many guns, Apcs, and other vehicles. Some 8,000 prisoners were taken. Out of the 59 Challengers, 53 reached the end of the battle intact. Over such distances, this was a remarkable technical achievement by crews and maintenance men. ARMOR - 15

Throughout the division, Challenger had more than proven its battle worth. There had been initial fears making the rounds in the British Army as to its combat value, mainly due to its dismal failure in the 1987 Canadian Army Trophy gunnery competition in Germany. However, the British did not take chances. As they arrived in the Gulf, vehicles were modified by special maintenance crews flown out to Jubail by Vickers, the tank manufacturer. They set about improving the tanks for their oncoming combat assignments under desert conditions that were much different than those expected in NATO. Special cooling fans and air filters were fitted, and TOGS systems (the Challengers’ thermal sights) were adjusted. Add-on armor suites were mounted to enhance survivability against shapedcharge rounds and hand-held antitank weapons. The results speak for themselves. During DESERT SABRE, there were 24 powerpack changes in the field, and out of a total of 176 tanks which had crossed the start line on G Day, only two had dropped out by day two, due to accidents. Though Challengers did not suffer any hits from enemy guns or antitank weapons during the fighting, a Warrior survived being mistakenly hit by a British HESH round, which fortunately struck the add-on ceramic armor and did not penetrate. Oddly, the add-on armor actually improved the cross-country ability of armored vehicles: the additional thickness along the outer skirts reduced the vor-texes around the vehicle when moving over desert sands. The ammunition most widely used by Challenger gunners was the L31 HESH, which might surprise some advocates of the smoothbore 120-mm tank gun. (A HESH, or High Explosive Squash Head round, explodes on contact like.a HEAT round. But where a HEAT round’s shaped charge sends a metal jet through the mor, a HESH warhead’s payload of plastic explosive detonates in contact with How a HESH Round Attacks Armor ran a hetic magy. xmd. It was moa am tm in the US. inwnbny s the HEP (High Expb-...... ive PlaSliC) mund ta tank 1ms.... me KIN Mechanism B the armor and destroys it by shock effect. - Ed.) Many strongly believed that the rifled British 120-mm tank guns were outdated and that HESH rounds were obsolete against modern armor. But the British gunners had actually fired more HESH rounds than any other ammo during the 100-hour engagements. It was used to destroy enemy APCs, bunkers, and fued positions. Even older type tanks were knocked out by HESH rounds. With engagements fought at night through thermal imaging gunsights, a hit with HESH showed up clearly as massive thermal flashes, much more brilliant than those produced by any other antitank rounds. The Challenger proved its worth in combat. Brigadier Cordingly, the commander of the Desert Rats, paid tribute to its effectiveness by stating that “Challenger is a tank built for combat and not competitions.” 3 One example of a gunner’s skills illustrates this. A Challenger of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards actually destroyed an Iraqi tank with a fmt-round hit at a range of 5100 meters, a remarkable achievement even on a peacetime gunnery range. Lieutenant Colonel David Eshel, IDF, Retired, is senior defense advisor to Eshel Dramit Ltd. publications. He is a graduate of the French Armor School at Saumur and a former lecturer at the IDF Command and Staff College. He served many years as a career officer with the Israeli Defense Forces with which he saw much combat duty including action with signal and tank units. 16 ARMOR -