It was late February 1991, and the Gulf War’s ground phase had just commenced. In the arid expanse of the Iraqi desert, the nine M1A1 Abrams tanks and thirteen M3 Bradley fighting vehicles of Eagle Troop rolled across the endless sands. As the spearhead of the US Army’s 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, their mission was clear yet perilous—to disrupt the formations of Saddam Hussein’s elite Republican Guard and gather crucial intelligence.Yet no sooner had they entered enemy territory than nature dealt an unexpected hand. As the American armored vehicles rumbled their way into the danger zone, they were suddenly enveloped in the swirling chaos of a sandstorm. Though barely able to see as they battled through the dense clouds of dust, Eagle Troop’s crews took advantage of the cover provided by the low visibility, using their thermal imaging sights and GPS units to identify a series of Iraqi positions, blasting them with the M1A1s’ smallbore cannons and the Bradleys’ TOW-2 missiles before the enemy soldiers had a chance to realize what had hit them.Eagle Troop was safe for now, but as the unit headed deeper into hostile lands, the tension continued to build. Coming to a rise in the barren terrain, Eagle Troop nervously pushed on, not knowing what could be lurking on the other side. As they crested the ridge, they could barely believe what lay before them: an entire Iraqi tank division.The last great tank battle of the 20th Century was about to begin.- As images and footage of actual events are not always available, Dark Docs sometimes utilizes similar historical images and footage for dramatic effect. I do my best to keep it as visually accurate as possible. All content on Dark Docs is researched, produced, and presented in historical context for educational purposes. We are history enthusiasts and are not always experts in some areas, so please don’t hesitate to reach out to us with corrections, additional information, or new ideas. –