WITH THE 2D MARINE DIVISION IN DESERT SHIELD AND DESERT STORM 67 and the 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, were abreast. The 3d Battalion, 23d Marines, followed in trace and provided additional flank security. As the 2d Battalion, 4th Marines, moved north, it bad to circumvent another minefield and encountered increasing armored resistance. Its attack brought it into a large agricultural area measuring several square kilometers. This area had been occupied by one brigade of the Iraqi 3d Armored Division, and also contained a major logistic support site.~ It was surrounded by a high cinderblock wall, and was filled with bunkers and fighting positions. The battalion pressed on through increasing darkness, and consolidated its positions along its section of the road. On the division's extreme right was the 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, tied in with the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, of the 1st Marine Division. The battalion aimed at two small hills, from which it could control the road, as its objectives. Near to these was a suspected Iraqi strongpoint in an agricultural area known as the "Dairy Farm." Artillery fired preparation missions on this area as the companies began their final assaults on their objectives. In gathering darkness the battalion's progress slowed as it entered the increasingly restrictive nature of a more urban area. However, by 1800, it had secured its section of the road and established anti-tank ambushes along it.~ In its movement north the 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, had bypassed some Iraqi formations, in accordance with orders. Following in trace, the 3d Department of Defense Photo (USMC) 0214 22 91 Wounded Iraqi so idlers await treatment at a division compound.First Page | Prev Page | Next Page | Src Image |