Gulf War/Liberation and Defense of Kuwait/Battle of Al Busayyah
From Month/Year
February / 1991
To Month/Year
February / 1991
Description The Battle of Al Busayyah was a tank battle fought just in the pre-dawn darkness on February 26, 1991, during the Persian Gulf War, between armored forces of the United States Army and those of the Iraqi Army.
The battle is named after the Iraqi town of Al Busayyah, which sat at a critical crossroads and was an Iraqi Army stronghold. The town consisted of forty to fifty buildings, most located along one main north-south road. It was defended by a battalion-sized Iraqi infantry unit reinforced by T-55 tanks, armored personnel carriers, and elements of an Iraqi commando battalion. The town was heavily fortified with machine gun nests and fighting positions. Twelve Iraqi tanks and twelve other armored vehicles were dug-in deeply at strategic positions in, and around, the town. Trenchlines stretched fifteen hundred meters south of town, radiating out to perimeter strong points.
