WrrH THE 1ST MARINE DWISION IN DESERT SHIELD AND DESERT STORM             13


heliborne combined arms team would be created to engage the enemy's flank
and channel its advance, at which point Myatt would attack with an armor-
heavy regiment against the enemy's flank. Though Myatt's plan took advantage
of the improving mobility of the 1st Marine Division, it ultimately relied on a
static defensive position toward which he wanted the enemy driven. The main
defensive line was to extend from Hadriyah to the Cement Factory ridgeline.~
   Colonel Fuiks, the G-3, then realigned units to accomplish the necessary
tactical deployment. Regimental Combat Team 3 retained its two infantry
battalions and was designated the heliborne regiment. Regimental Combat Team
7 was reinforced by the addition of the 1st Tank Battalion and became the
division's armor heavy regiment. However, RCT 7 lost the 3d Battalion, 9th
Marines; Company C, 1st Assault Amphibian Battalion; Company B, 1st Tank
Battalion; and the 1st Platoon, Anti-Tank Company, 3d Tank Battalion. Those
units combined to become the reinforced battalion mechanized combined arms
force in the northernmost position in the division's sector.
   The reinforced 3d Battalion, 9th Marines, successfully worked in conjunction
with the light armored infantry battalion as the division's mobile rapid reaction
force. Though the Marines in the task force understood the necessity of their
mission to delay and channel an Iraqi attack, they were skeptical of their tactical
value. They referred to themselves as a ~speed ~~~pt1 for all the impact one
lightly equipped infantry battalion would have on the commander driving a
multi-division armored attack.
   In November, the 1st Marine Division's tactical posture shifted from defense
to offense. The change took place throughout CentCom forces and President
Bush announced the new allied resolve during his Thanksgiving visit to 1st
Marine Division headquarters in the desert. Planning for such a contingency
began sometime earlier. On 18 November 1990 Colonel Fulks published Frag
Order   16-90 to  Operations Order 2-90  which  established    a transitional
defensive/offensive tactical plan. The mission given to the division was to
continue defense in zone but begin conducting training exercises in preparation
for offensive operations. The division was to be ready for sustained Operations
by 15 January 1991. In formulating a revised concept of operations, Colonel
Fulks anticipated the joining by mid-December of an additional regiment which
would become a mechanized task force. He also planned for the employment
of the British 7th Armored Brigade and the increased tactical flexibility in armor
strength the brigade brought with it.
   According to the division mission, units continued operational training with
an ever-increasing emphasis on offensive tactics. Close study of Iraqi defensive
arrangement began in earnest, as well as efforts to develop effective counter-
measures. The light armored infantry battalion continued to perform its covering
role, while the remainder of the division began  `creeping forward"     and
westward in its sectors. If the Iraqis attacked, General Myatt planned on having
a mechanized task force positioned north across enemy avenues of approach.
The division's defense would be conducted by a second mechanized task force
along the coastal highway which was considered the main supply route for allied
forces. The British 7th Armored Brigade would make up the division's armor-