On Feb 26, 1991, during the Gulf War, a U.S. force of the 2nd ACR comprised of over a dozen M3 Bradley armoured vehicles and nine M1A1 Abrams battle tank would duke it out with over 85 Iraqi tanks (which included Russian-built T-55s and T-72s). The battle would come to be known as the Battle of 73 Easting.
Fought in the featureless desert, the U.S. had a number of technological advantages over the Republican Guard, including superior main battles tanks and GPS, which allowed for the pre-planning of movement (as opposed to blind encounters). The M1A1s had a "kill range" of 8,200 feet while the Iraqi tanks featured a kill range of 6,560 ft. Since the battle was being fought at night, in the middle of a sand storm, thermal technology also helped.
In a matter of a few hours, approximately 600 Iraqis were killed or wounded during the operation, 1,300 prisoners taken, compared to only 6 American losses and 19 injured. In the end, 160 Iraqi tanks were destroyed to just one American Bradley.
The world's fourth largest army had been defeated in less than 96 hours.
The ensuing Gulf War battle resulted in a complete catastrophe for the Iraqi forces and it's considered "the last great tank battle of the 20th century." #gunsup #stayzero #zerofoxtrot #DSboys