Battle of Rumaila

Battle of Rumaila
Part of the Gulf War (aftermath)

Armored vehicles captured in the Euphrates Valley of Iraq presented to the United States Army Infantry School by the 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized) in 1991
Date2 March 1991
Location30°51′23″N 46°55′07″E / 30.8562582°N 46.9184875°E / 30.8562582; 46.9184875
Result American victory
Belligerents
 United States Iraq
Commanders and leaders
United States Norman Schwarzkopf
United States Frederick Franks
United States Barry McCaffrey
Ba'athist Iraq Iyad Futayyih
Units involved
United States 24th Infantry Division Iraq 1st Hammurabi Armored Division
Strength
25,000 troops
241 M1 Abrams tanks
221 M2 Bradley armored fighting vehicles
94 helicopters[1]
Estimated 7,000 troops[2]
300 tanks[2]
700 wheeled vehicles[3]
Casualties and losses
1 wounded
1 M1 Abrams tank destroyed
1 IFV destroyed
700+ killed[4]
3,000 captured[5]
247-360 tanks & armoured vehicles destroyed[5]
400+ trucks destroyed[6][7]
33[8] – 43[6][7] artillery pieces destroyed
8 MRLs destroyed
4 helicopters shot down[9]
Battle of Rumaila is located in Iraq
Battle of Rumaila
The Hammar Marshes inside Iraq

The Battle of Rumaila, also known as the Battle of the Causeway or the Battle of the Junkyard, was a controversial attack that took place on March 2, 1991, two days after President Bush declared a ceasefire, near the Rumaila oil field in the Euphrates Valley of southern Iraq, when the U.S. Army forces, mostly the 24th Infantry Division under Major General Barry McCaffrey engaged and nearly annihilated a large column of withdrawing Iraqi Republican Guard armored forces during the immediate aftermath of the Gulf War.

Aerial view of an Iraqi column consisting of a T-72 tank, several BMP-1 and Type 63 armored vehicles, and trucks on Highway 8 destroyed at the Battle of Rumaila, March 1991
  1. ^ Kraus & Schubert 1995, p. 176
  2. ^ a b Pike, John. "Hammurabi Division". Globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  3. ^ Atkinson, Rick (18 March 1991). "Outflanking Iraq Go West, 'Go Deep'". The Washington Post. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  4. ^ "Wages of War - Appendix 2: Iraqi Combatant and Noncombatant Fatalities in the 1991 Gulf War". Comw.org. Retrieved 2013-12-21.
  5. ^ a b Sloyan, Patrick J. (8 May 1991). "Biggest Battle Of Iraq War Took Place After Cease-Fire". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  6. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference hersh was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ a b Richard S. Lowry, The Gulf War Chronicles: A Military History of the First War With Iraq
  8. ^ David S. Pierson, Military Magazine 2011
  9. ^ E. M. Flanagan,Lightning: The 101st in the Gulf War