Gautam wrote:
<<This is not true, I'm afraid. It is a very common misconception, but it is not at
all true. Although the air war was extremely effective at certain tasks - severing
logistical chains, weakening command and control, and so on - even the Air Force has
now come to admit that the Iraqi forces were combat capable when the ground war began.
In fact, the largest tank battle since the Second World War was fought north of
Basra. I actually know people who were at 73 Easting, one of the most remarkable -
and intense - ground combat actions of which I am aware. It is still true that the
only thing that can kill a large number of main battle tanks quickly is other
main battle tanks. The reason most people don't realize this about the Gulf is that
American land forces moved so quickly that press coverage was unable to keep up with
them - thus leaving the only lasting images those of the air war. >>
I guess what I based my asumptions on was reports of Iraqi Tank squadrons having been
thouroughly shell shocked by the air war, and tanks that, while they hadn't been
destroyed, had been rendered inacsessable by being burried in their hiding places.
Certianly the destruction of Iraqi infrastructure and complete air superiority
facilitated the rapid progress of the brief ground war. Would you have an idea on
what the casualties were in the abovementioned tank battle?
Doug
