The Deadliest Desert Ambush - 12 Marines vs 600 Iraqi Soldiers

The night of January 29, 1991, seemed like just another mission for the Air Force E-8 Joint STARS crew. This advanced surveillance aircraft, recently introduced to the American arsenal, had been tasked with scouring western Iraq for Scud missile sites and keeping a watchful eye on the territory ahead of the US Army VII Corps.
Twelve days into Operation Desert Storm, the crew had grown accustomed to the routine of monitoring the vast expanse of the Kuwaiti-Saudi border area.
As the hours ticked by, the Joint STARS crew directed their state-of-the-art sensors toward southern Kuwait. Unusual activity had been detected in the previous days, stirring in the depths behind enemy lines.
But tonight, the moving target indicators painted an alarming picture. The crew watched in disbelief as elements of Iraq's 5th Mechanized Division and 3rd Armored Division surged southward, poised to breach the border near the abandoned Saudi town of Khafji.
The realization hit the crew like a thunderbolt - Iraq was about to unleash its own ground offensive and invade Saudi Arabia.
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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. -

[@user-lm9bd3lu5h]

We had a son go over and was a forward surveyor and we never told his mother as he was in a hard spot and we didn't want her to know where he was or what he was doing, He came home in one piece, but yet the effects of the war took a toll on him. He's alive today, but he'll never be the same. We are proud that he took his place and did his duty and glad he came home!! We want to thank all the boys that went and those who never came back! I salute them all! Thank you to all who served!

[@RoyDees-t2k]

We had a son go over. Who is we? We never told whose mother? And who took who's place and did his duty? Your story doesn't make any sense.

[@chickenbone72]

thats the problem with stolen valor. there stories never pass the sniff test

[@thomasfx3190]

My family kinda worked like that too, except my brother joined the Air Force, went to Honduras and made sure to call Mom shortly thereafter. I merely served as an artillery fire support officer.

[@adnanfetibegovic8491]

Yes thank those who invade Iraq because of nuclear weapons which didn't exist?

[@watchman4todayreloaded192]

@@RoyDees-t2k You want the other user to identify themselves, but you yourself are hiding behind an anonymous user code.

[@philseeger7522]

My friend, Kevin Callahan was the Navy Corpsman with those 12 Marines. "We gotta stay here, it's what Recon does!" He was awarded a Bronze Star for this action.

[@michealnelsonauthor]

I served with a Doc who had balls and fight enough for a SEAL. Some of them fight right along with us. GG.

[@tidefanyankee2428]

I know Callahan (I'm a fellow Corpsman), his platoon was attached to my unit 1st Recon Bn for Desert Shield/Storm.

[@philseeger7522]

@@tidefanyankee2428 We had been friends since '81 at Roosy Roads. We were stunned to hear he died while surfing a couple years ago.

[@tidefanyankee2428]

@@philseeger7522 Oh man, I hadn't heard that. That's too bad.

[@tidefanyankee2428]

@@philseeger7522 There is a video on the 12 Marines here on KZbin. Callahan is in it.

[@steveolive9991]

12 U.S. Marines against 600 Iraqis....the Iraqis never had a chance.

[@klpittman1]

Marine number 7 was from North Georgia and was overheard mumbling, "Only 600? What are we supposed to do after lunch?"

[@Scout686]

Simper Fi, my brothers

[@318overwatch9]

DAMN STRAIGHT!

[@phyrhfbr1819]

😏

[@andreaspapapetrou5220]

Never ending illusions, fantasies, and fiction of the delusional USA, they forgot after 20 years they run out of Afghanistan, Iraq with their tail between their legs

[@timtitus2532]

I was in the Gulf for all of this conflict, on board the USS Acadia. Did a lot of repair work on ships but saw no live action. Some of our crew was up in Bahrain on a tiger team assignment and had to deal with a scud missile attack. I'm proud of our people who went in harms way.

[@pskarnaq73]

I served on the Cape Cod! Actually didn't get to the Cod till the following January.

[@wesleyshultz]

Howdy. I was a Marine Infantry officer with Task Force Ripper, and my IOC buddies were with Task Force Shepard. We remember the role and effectiveness of the Saudi Army a little differently. TF Shepard suffered some friendly fire casualties from USAF A-10s. The USMC LAV's went just fast, they closed in combat formations vs the Iraqis at almost 80kph. The 25mm chain guns were killing main battle tanks at short range.

[@michealnelsonauthor]

Semper Fi, Sir.

[@tidefanyankee2428]

I remember the Saudi's leaving at night.

[@brewted]

Ohh Rahhh!

[@ChuckPackwood]

I was a 19 y.o. deployed to Iraq and Kuwait. My first time outside the US.

[@Captain-Awesome]

Thank you for your service to our great nation Chuck.

[@markbenson7749]

9i

[@markbenson7749]

​99 😅@@Captain-Awesome

[@Captain-Awesome]

@@markbenson7749 not sure what that means?

[@allynsmith5026]

​@@Captain-Awesome9th infantry?

[@stephenbritton9297]

Sadam’s biggest mistake was to think that the US military he faced was ANYTHING like the army that had fought in Vietnam.

[@RadioactiveSherbet]

Tbf, I think trying to fight the US in a stand-up conventional war is what actually did him in. If he'd dispersed all his troops and fought a guerilla war from the start, it really would've been Vietnam 2.0.

[@wvhillbille9458]

we had leaders that let commanders do what they needed to do without trying to run the war from the White House.

[@cbeaudry4646]

Even the, idk pick a year between 1965-75, US Military could have defeated the 1990/1 Iraqi Army in a CONVENTIONAL war in the desert (albeit with a lot lot more casualties & longer duration than the 1990/91 US)

[@Rhaspun]

@@RadioactiveSherbetSaddam was probably looking at all his tanks. He had the largest tank force in the Middle East. But he didn’t understand that the US has been taking notes of their own weaknesses and making corrections as lessons are learned. There are actually are observers monitoring any battle. Taking notes.

[@rajeshkanungo6627]

I don’t think the US lost militarily in Vietnam. They lost the social and political fight. A whole field of study called strategic culture developed based on our experiences there. Even when you try to do good you can get kicked in the shins. This field of study and the lessons learned were ignored in Iraq and Afghanistan. One example in Vietnam is the US supporting a corrupt Catholic ruling family when the country was primarily grounded in Buddhism. The US idea of local governance, bureaucracy, customs, etc. were bound to conflict with what was there. The US was also following in the footsteps of the French, who were not known for being kind.

[@n4lra1]

I was retired from the USAF and employed as a civilian contractor with US Central Command , when Desert Shield was implemented. My boss was a retired LTC and intel officer in the US Army. We were providing support to Central Command at our field office at Quarry Heights, Panama in August 1990, when Ralph was recalled to active duty. He spoke fluent arabic and farsi, had several prior middle east assignments and at one time served as a military attache to the Shaw of Iran. His language skills and experience was in high demand. I was wondering if I'd also be recalled, but with a different skill set and experience, I was not.

[@rafehr1378]

👍Navy Seabee. 'Nam days

[@dphillips4351]

My high school girl friends dad served as an attaché also a LTC in Iran for the Shaw. Put 20 years in because of him.

[@n4lra1]

​@@dphillips4351 I wonder if they are the same person? The man I referred to was Ralph Palmieri. I don't know his full name, but believe I'm spelling his last name correctly. Ralph didn't mention when, or for how long he served as the military attache. I changed companies soon after Ralph was recalled to active duty, never meeting with him again. Ralph was a few years older than me. He would probably be in his late 70's or early 80's, if he's still living today.

[@handimanjay6642]

12 Americans against 600. “We had them right where we wanted them.”

[@jfleisch365]

"We're surrounded, the poor b*st*rds".

[@cakroon]

A Chesty quote

[@rafehr1378]

I joined the U.S. Navy, SEABEES. 1970. Vietnam War. We Seabees could be anywhere on Terra Firma. 24 hours. Marines are with us. Seabees build anything needed. Hunger is our weakness.

[@michealnelsonauthor]

Semper Fi. I was in HE-MT and we had CE builder/destroyer guys lol in my H&S company and were told we'd all work with you guys if ever able, since we were essentially doing the same things with extra words and a diff boot camp... lol.

[@alejandrogonzales7022]

That's awesome! I'm a GWOT era Seabee (retired now). You guys left a heck of a legacy for us to live up to. I remember getting stopped once while in uniform by an older gent who saw the insignia on my uniform. Told me a story about his experience with Seabees in Viet Nam. He was nothing less than impressed by you guys.

[@robertphillips6296]

My Brother was an Engineer on the US Navy C-130's. While they were waiting to refuel in Saudi Arabia his crew was given a tour of the Royal Saudi Air Force C-130's by their British Counter Parts. Upon inspection they noticed several scorch marks in the Cargo Area Hull. When they asked about them they were told that the Saudi's had a habit of starting Cooking Fires in the shelter of the Aircraft. They were brand new Planes that had been ruined because of ignorant behavior.

[@CW4PWR]

At 13:02 you can see General Schwarzkopf famously wearing a watch on each wrist - one for each Washington and Iraqi time zones. Watch guys call this "Schwarzkopfing it" to this day. The watches were a cheap Seiko SKX009 and a gold Rolex. You could do an entire video on General Schwarzkopf, an interesting man with an interesting history.

[@user-xq2zn8bu9q]

Wow, I didn't know that & thank you for sharing. I'll look out for it in the future. I'm a watch ⌚️ lover & a Seiko SK009 is a watch I would love to own. But alas, I am a Casio fella. 😄

[@0101-s7v]

6:56 "12 US Marines remained inside of one of the buildings." Inside sources say that only 12 Marines stayed behind because the building was not big enough to hold all of their testicles.

[@craighanson-rc1md]

obviously they had no testicles since they were Marines yet hid. They didn't have to fight to the end but there was clearly stuff they could have done to help retake the town especially when reinforcements arrived to take the city back. They could have set up traps & helped lessen the numbers or find a way for reinforcements to sneak in to the town but nope they hid quiet as the mice... these were suppose to be Marines..... they could have used mines or IEDs to help take out the occupying forces or make them think there was a large group inside any of a number of things while keeping themselves relatively safe.

[@tascosaeagle]

@@craighanson-rc1mdyou’ve obviously never engaged in urban combat.. My neighbor & I shared a beer after his return . He was the non-recon marine radioman that maintained contact with JSTARS even though his prc - 25 was damaged from a grenade . They had orders direct from G-1 to try & get out of town undetected because JSTARS was about to open a can of kick-ass on the iraqis. They withstood 2 days with no support, no water with daytime temps over 110 , no food ,no medical support in case of a firefight when leaving , & we’re running dangerously low on ammo . They knew what they were doing & could not set “ booby traps” without revealing their existence somewhere in the town . You want to call them cowards ? They knew that with what ammo they had ,even if they practiced a shooting principal of “ one shot,one kill” they’d run out of ammo with several hundred well supplied & well rested iraqis left to deal with. The after action report that I saw recommended combat awards for everyone in recognition of their contributions on the operation.Typical reaction of someone that had survived prolonged close combat for 48 hrs in those conditions would have displayed anger @ perceived cowardice from support elements. He had nothing but praise for artillery even though they wouldn’t fire danger close to the 2 bldgs they were in . As it was their staying provided JSTARS with critical intelligence on the movement of Iraqi officers. I don’t remember who the Iraqi was that had his face on the HV cards or if he lived but Gen Schwartscoff handed Robert his Bronze Star ( for leadership & intrepid courage for combat actions) . Robert deserves an apology for your insult mister .

[@tascosaeagle]

Your “ inside spurces” were desk jockeys . They obviously knew no inside info except for what was passed down 3 weeks later. They stayed behind not in one building but in 3 & only managed to consolidate their position down to 2 blgs because god level courage by stepping over the bodies of sleeping iraqis & walking across the street into My buddies bldg . Mind you they walked not ran because running would’ve been conspicuous if anyone had seen them . Careful with the insults if you don’t know the inside story. What they really did , in my opinion should’ve got each of them AT LEAST a Silver Star & Robert didn’t tell me everything . Marine NCO’s are at their best when in combat not like your wanna-be experts that have never worn body armor.

[@oregonian3238]

@@craighanson-rc1md First Class Douch Bag. Anyone that states "there was clearly "stuff" they could have done" should not be commenting on anything that adults, let alone Marines have done.

[@claudiodominguez.]

@@craighanson-rc1md What @tascosaegle said, Oorah ! ! !

[@thatsabear]

The saudi troops were known as "speed bumps" as they would attack first, then fall back and US and British forces would take over

[@feemdog]

Yeah, I remember the Saudi army a bit different. I was a marine sgt with 3rd laad(air defense) attached to Task Force Ripper(7th marines). When the air war started on Jan. 17th the Saudi troops were actually closer to the border in front of us. So my Lt thought we should scout out the border and get ready to set up some air defense sites with stinger teams. We went up to the border looking for the Saudi mech Bn to let them know we were in the area. They were gone! They got so scared at the thought of combat they packed up and retreated back to the rear. Luckily we found two green beret soldiers, who where attached to the Saudi mech Bn, who were scouting out their own forward positions when the Saudi's left them behind.

[@tcortez]

That is exactly how I remember dealing with the SA units.

[@katherinecooper6159]

My husband was activated for Desert Shield which became Desert Storm. Eventually, I was activated. My best friend's husband was also activated. They met somewhere in the desert. I remember during a telephone conversation hearing a 'scud warning'.

[@jefflittell7743]

Thank you for your service

[@devingerdes8239]

Cool story

[@tireballastserviceofflorid7771]

My ex wife was in a Navy hospital in Bahrain. I was on the phone one night and heard air raid sirens. Before she could get off tue phone I hear a huge explosion. It was a patriot intercepting the scud directly overhead. The bulk of tue scud landed inside their perimeter. They were told later it would have hit dead center of the hospital complex. Really scared the crap out of her and me.. she had some interesting things to say about what the Iraqi military had done in Kuwait. She had pictures of zoo animals and people that were just sick.

[@moonman3030]

thank you for your service ma'am. and your family too i appreciate it. the world does not know the gravity of Americas involvement when terrorist reign free and do as they want. a lot of people particularly on the left might object to the military. i know in my heart America is sparing the world from much trouble when they fight against terror.

[@UrsantaHoHoHo]

as a slumber agent, i was activated as well

[@timopalmer6239]

I remember being cold, sleeping on the ground being awoken to artellety fire and th cammand srtmjr yelling will running waking us up to the cry of "time to kick ass and take name". The rest is history. The video brought back so many memories that laid dormant all these years. 20-yrs later I did 5 tours boots on ground in Iraq and Afghanistan. DAM!

[@Randy7th]

FYI, Sargeant Major is abbreviated as SGM...after "5 tours" I would have thought you knew this...

[@45CaliberCure]

@@Randy7th I think he was spelling it the way a Marine says it with a mouth full of chaw. Give 'im a break. :)

[@tundranomad]

I remember being at Ft Benning in infantry school, 3 days before graduation watching Desert Storm kick off on a TV at the PX.

[@TM-yn4iu]

The timeline shared here is all over the place! Put it in the chronological sequence. Thanks to all the brave members in this event and all others through history. An old vet.

[@GunnersRange]

I remember Khafji well. I was the S-2 with 3dBn 23D Marines, 8th Marines Regt, 2nd MarDiv. On the night of the 29th we got 'wind' of something happening to our northeast. On that night, we were still in positions south of the 2nd MarDiv HQ and had not yet been moved up closer to the border. We heard the next day, the entire DIV HQ was on the line in defensive posture that night -- EVERYONE [being Marine Rifleman] women, children, cats, dogs, camels, snakes, scorpions, spiders, etc. There was a rumor even MGen Keys was on the line. The morning of the 30th, our S-3, chewed my ass up and spit me out because 'I not predicted their coming in a timely manner' [because everyone knows an Intell Officer should be able to mind-read anything the enemy does]. I explained that if the Iraqis had left Kuwait City at midnight and marched at the standard 15Km/hour road-rate, it would only have taken 3-4 hours to march down the coastal highway to the Saudi border, which would have put them at the border NLT 0430 - 0500. Of course, as it turns out, they were a lot closer than Kuwait City. Semper Fidelis! CWO4 USMCR [Ret] 17 Feb 1969 - 1 August 2004

[@michealnelsonauthor]

Semper Fi, Warrant Officer.

[@jasonkeenan4154]

The A-10s were feasting on Iraqi armor in 91.

[@godsmacked1000]

They really said: 🤤

[@b1zarre23]

Thank you for bringing this story forward!

[@donscheid97]

The very first statement is inaccurate.... the Joint Stars E-8 was still under development at the beginning and though out Desert Storm, the plane was a prototype. That is why they were able to accelerate the pace and improve the function of the system, because they had real world and real time data to use. Factory technicians deployed with it and were onboard during daily operations.

[@Recovery2012-x2f]

I was thinking the same thing, it was there but I was under ther impression it wasn’t yet operational. Our Strike Eagles weren’t fully operational when we deployed. A lot of “toys” got real world testing I bet

[@redbision6707]

Before all this started Battle Group Echo was protecting reflagged Kuwaiti tankers. I was onboard the USS Ranger CV-61 with 14 other Ships along with The USS Missouri BB-63

[@jameshicks914]

Why the SAUDIS are not thankful for our USA help is beyond me. The Saudis have never been our ally and never will be.

[@Blap552]

Isn't it because of their Earl that we say Hi in passing?

[@bilalbazzi5002]

It’s fake

[@Bonserak23]

A bright spot in Iraqi history?

[@thudthud5423]

Yeah, that "bright spot" is basically a fading ember in the ashes and wreckage of a house that burned down.

[@wannamontana4130]

I can't fathom the spin on this one. Could you imagine the reverse, ... if we celebrated a 2 day win as if it were some type of accomplishment? WTF?

[@beerdrinker6452]

I am 58, nearly 59. I joined the U.S. military in 1984. I served continuously until 2005. War makes the rich richer, even the rich vanquished become richer. Think deeply about my statement. The rich vanquished are either bought off or prosper. Saddam's family is still circulating near the top of the sludge pool. Same in every warzone, everywhere, any religion, any country, any language. Makes me feel really old that this show is ancient history to most people. Oh well.

[@thomasmorea333]

Yes the Military Industrial Complex…=rich. Ike was right

[@45CaliberCure]

Yeah, that is a bit fucky. The losers still maintain their fortunes and relative influence within their countries, to a large extent, other than a few examples who get whacked for "Justice".

[@marstondavis]

The Iraqi soldiers stood as much of a chance for success as a fart in a tornado.

[@keithalderson100]

Yes, Salam was drawn into his Kuwaiti invasion by duplicitous and deceptive political response to a question of consequences of an invasion of Kuwait... "Just a local issue", he was told by the UK.

[@gigipeedee]

Such a good channel, such ass thumbnails. You're better than that.

[@Spartan_777]

"The Khafji conflict is one of the bright spots in Iraqi Army history", may be one of the saddest and most condemning things I've ever heard.

[@Xiaengao]

That's like saying, "I boxed Mike Tyson, and even hit him once!"

[@JAmediaUK]

Minor footnote: Whilst Iraq was invading Kuwait, the UK inserted four 2 man SAS Recce (Recon, to US types) teams into Kuwait City on the last civil airline that landed there. This was in the few hours after the Iraqi's had crossed the border in force, but before they had fully secured the country. They looked and behaved like civilians until they disappeared in the airport terminal at Kuwait City. Most of the rest of the passengers on the flight became prisoners of Iraq. The SAS teams remained in place in Kuwait City until after Kuwait was recaptured.

[@pauldunne822]

How could s a s blend in , what planet are you on?😂you are reading to many comic books 😂😂😂😂

[@stevebarlow3154]

@@pauldunne822 Because they are the most elite SF unit in the world. Do some research before making silly comments.

[@pauldunne822]

@@stevebarlow3154 pretend to be Arabs yea right😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@stevebarlow3154]

@@pauldunne822 They managed it in Aden! But I was referring to their ability to remain concealed whilst observing the enemy. Some units spent weeks living in a hole in the ground in the Falklands War.

[@JAmediaUK]

@@pauldunne822 They are very good at appearing to be Arabs, or at least middle eastern. Many of them speak Arabic.

[@thatsabear]

Saddam attacked Kafji way before he set the oil fields on fire!

[@GarySmoke]

You referred to an A-6 Intruder but showed an AC-130 Gunship. You didn't mention the Ghostriders until the end when we lost one. GOD BLESS YOU Brothers.

[@phyrhfbr1819]

as it happened in vietnam? bro did he not realize how bad we decimated vietnam? the kill count compared to losses is just mind blowing... we lost the political war because back home realized winning will equal a genicide with those people... they wont give up... respect... but nevertheless we broke vietnam and we still had one arm tied behind our backs... they definitely won a phyrric victory there 🤔

[@somozasi]

Vietnam wasn't lost, democrats let it fall. The swamp was already helping our enemies.

[@allynsmith5026]

I love my country, but the "limited engagement" referred to by many as the Vietnam War went into the "L" column. Mission failed. Certainly not by any fault of the men who were mostly drafted and sent there. We can thank Washington, and the dirty hippies over here that were protesting the conflict. Our guys had it worse over there than any other American GIs up until that point with the exception of the men who were sent to places like Peleliu, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and countless other places in the Pacific when they fought Japan.

[@JohnJarpe-hm3wj]

Actually two thirds of those sent to Vietnam had volunteered and two thirds of those who served during WWII were drafted.

[@phyrhfbr1819]

@JohnJarpe-hm3wj uh bro... he just said in "L" column... or did you just feel the need to integrate incorrect information into my thread... tell me now... how many in L common were voluteers during the years he served? you may research and post here... or just know to delete you comment as you definitely misread and misunderstood... and you even said actually 🤣🤣🤣 actually your presumptive and have situational un awareness... he said in L column clear as day, but you missed it 🤔 I'll screenshot this tomorrow and post it... maybe you'll have removed your foot from your mouth by then, and make me look like I'm rambling to no one 😅 actually 🤣🤣🤣

[@JohnJarpe-hm3wj]

@@phyrhfbr1819 I merely pointed out that the majority of troops who served during the Vietnam conflict had actually volunteered and that during WWII a majority of troops were drafted. I made no reference to America either winning or losing either war but I wanted to make the point a point about the source of the majority of troops were in both wars. I got my information from an article written by former Navy secretary of United States senator James Webb. That was it. I am not sure why you chose to go nuclear on me for posting a piece of factual information. There were certainly people who volunteered because they knew they would be drafted anyway but I didn't dwell on any of that I just wanted to make the point that it was a myth that we got all of the troops we needed to fight WWII the week after the attack on Pearl Harbor and that everyone who was in the service during Vietnam was drafted. I had an uncle who flew a Cobra in Vietnam, he had an out but he chose to volunteer. There were many such people. I am sorry that I defiled "Your" thread but I would rather you go after me as an outlet for your rage than you get in a physical altercation like a road rage episode or spousal abuse.

[@donaldmartin4980]

The poor Iraqis were out numbered !!! Twelve US Marines versus 600 Iraqis … unfair fight !! The Iraqis had no chance !! Desert Storm veteran here, none of the middle eastern countries stand a snowball chance in hell against the USA ….

[@michaelrumfelt3106]

no but can't win wars with rules of engagement. none of our troops can't defeat the liberal democrats

[@monkeyabattoir8501]

J-Star engine warm up is crippling loud.

[@eudaenomic]

There were SF units on the border, they moved to the military mosque north of khafgi and we had over 30 iraqi soldiers surrender there.

[@JustReed]

Yup.

[@beaugator]

I worked on the J-Star program back in the day at Melbourne.

[@bobrivett7645]

Hey Melbourne Florida, I remember Grumman Aviation out at the Airport and tge J-stars program. I grew up in Palm Bay a graduated from Melbourne High School in summer of 1978.

[@georgethompson5459]

My former first sergeant was force recon and his men were the 12 marines trapped in Khafji.

[@thomclark7641]

I went to the SNCO Academy (Gunnery Sergeants Course) with him, he had a Silver Star from Khafji, Lou Gregory.

[@papajohn851]

12 Marines against 600 Iraqis? KInda lopsided dont you think? Marines have them outnumbered.

[@shengyi1701]

It was merely a mosquito attacking an elephant as Stormin Norman uttered. Those marines were at the top of the elephant’s Hide!

[@Lew114]

When I saw the title I honestly didn’t know whether the 16 Marines were ambushed or whether they ambushed 600 Iraqi soldiers. Not at all surprised that they won.

[@peterpiper8681]

And the only person wounded by shrapnel wasn't a Marine, he was a Navy Medical Corpsman attached to 1st Recon Battalion injured by FRIENDLY FIRE.

[@og775]

Around the 14 min mark they said Sadam and Yaser said God willing they will defeat America, I guess Mr. G did not the memo! To all the Soders that fought in that war, Thank you for your service and bravery!

[@nelsonhu3926]

Thank you for your service!! From Australia.

[@69dlx84]

I went into Khafji with a crew a few days after Army Spec. Melissa Rathburn-Nealy (first female MIA during ODS) was captured there, to recover the vehicle she had been in.

[@Scout686]

First I’ve heard of an AC130 being shot down.

[@Oldman_Taylor]

This story is all over the place, but that part was correct. We where talking to them while a team of Marines where near overrun, and they just wouldn't leave until they inflicted some major damage - saved those Marines for sure. Cost them their lives.

[@30anvz28]

They never understand why a “Single Marine” is NEVER outnumbered.

[@MatthewBeene-ri6cm]

I have a CAR for my service with the marines. A10 warthog is my favorite weapon of war, saved my ass along with my unit…

[@galesams4205]

I served in vietnam on a powerful M-60 Tank, Never had a M-1 Abrams or even seen one. 10th armored calvery, 4th div.

[@savagecub]

12 Marines vs 600 Iraqis ?????? Hardly seems fair for the Iraqis !!!!

[@russhoffman6301]

Storm on the Horizon by author David J. Morris is about the Battle of Khafji.... Desert Storm vet here, dodged the first four SCUDS launched at Dhahran in Saudi, watched the first air raids take off from Dhahran that attacked Iraqi air defernses

[@5hoyuChicken]

It’s wild how long we were in Iraq. I was in elementary during Desert Shield. My first Iraq deployment was for OIF 2 in ‘04. My last deployment was to Kuwait in ‘08.

[@jeremey1423]

I remember my CO talking about this in the late 90s. He had been one of the officers on the radio with the trapped Marines. The way he talked about it, they were pretty close to getting captured or killed several times.

[@vegan-cannibal714]

It kills me how the media down plays the Iraqis armys abilities. Iraq had the fourth largest army on the planet. They were well equipped, and their republican guard units all had combat experiences, as did most of their regular units. Lastly, the smoke from the oil well fires combined with a sand storm and neutralized our biggest advantage. Because of our optics and our ability to engage targets at longer ranges than iraq. We should have been able to sit out past their weapon systems maximum effective range. It should have been a turkey shoot. However, the smoke and sand our thermals were useless past a couple hundred meters. There were more than a few times that we had almost overrun the Iraqis armored units before we saw them. As far as being able to navigate with GPS, that simply wasn't true. We had a single Loran C that was only useful as a paper weight. It could take 45 minutes for the Loran to finally spit out a location. It used Lat Long while we used the military grid system. We could convert those lat long positions into something we could use. That had to be done by hand, and that took time as well. GPS was far more trouble than it was worth back then.

[@geoffmcnew5863]

I was in 3rd Armored Division and KZbin keeps deleting my comments.

[@ivanthemisunderstood6940]

I graduated high school in May 1990 and assumed I would be drafted to fight in the 'mother of all wars' promised by Saddam. My naivety was due to my youth and inexperience. Thankfully, the Coalition defeated Iraq in 72hrs. Saddam wasn't naive, young, nor inexperienced. He willfully and knowingly threw away countless Iraqi lives and plunged his great nation and the entire region into decades of pain, suffering and humiliation. Over three decades later Iran is making the same claims as their former arch enemy. Russia has already gone full Saddam and wasted it's best troops and countless innocent people on both sides of its border for nothing. NOTHING! China is playing the same zero-sum game. Why do these rich and ancient cultures keep attacking and killing their neighbors, while ultimately destroying their own people?

[@oldtabrough1026]

Not very well produced. There is another video in KZbin that explained this much better, with better animations

[@richardyoung871]

In this video he talks about 12 Marines caught in Iraq, but the main reason Saddam Husaien went into Kuwait was for the Saudi oil or crude, but the crown prince asked President Bush to help the country but Iraq was expanding and two different operations were going on already and NATO go into the act as well, but just look at Iraq now, free people but there's another problem with the price of oil, on the world markets

[@0101-s7v]

Hussein thought he was in a position to capture US POWs. That's so cute.

[@billdunlap320]

I was there. I was a Marine Forward Observer with Task Force Ripper. I couldn't tell how many we killed, but it was alot. Then the Iraqi government didn't even want their dead. That's why so many surrendered during the ground war.

[@thegunslinger1363]

Is there any books on Desert Storm you could recommend?

[@michealnelsonauthor]

I've written a manuscript for a SFF book, fictionalizing one bunker battle of the ground war of the Persian Gulf War. Not yet submitted to publisher. Tbd. Particular references I found authoritative & helpful were: ~Desert Storm: Air War, by Robert F. Dorr ~Persian Gulf War, by Rodney P. Carlisle ~The Gulf War of 1991, by Alastair Finlan All were found in the Gonzales Branch of Ascencion Parrish Libraries, S. Of Baton Rouge. YMMV. It's been a very long time.

[@darenm617]

Ohhhhh desert! I read that thumb nail and was like..pie throwing accident?

[@fjb4932]

I was assigned to the Navy Exchange Garage at Naval Station Argentia, Newfoundland, Canada when this kicked off. A long buildup and Finally ! I was hoping to be involved somehow, but as a Construction Mechanic 1st Class i realized it was easier and more efficient to send out an order for a Batt. and have 500 SeaBees respond at once rather than issuing 250 different travel orders for one 'Bee here and a half a dozen there, piecemeal . Iwas lost in the backwater of the NAVY and ran the NEX Garage during the day, drank beer and watched the war in the evening. Story of my time, always on an Oceanographic Research boat, Subic Bay, on an island ( Diego Garcia / Vieques ), Quantico, Pt. Hueneme/ Gulfport, Boardman Bombing Range Oregon. Always the backwater when history was being made. "Some did all...All did some." ☆

[@jeromebarry1741]

The U.S. expenses for the 1991 war were paid by the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. General Schwarzkopf described that payment in his autobiography.

[@michealnelsonauthor]

Semper Fi, Marines. My unit had orders to go, on a Thursday, But Pres Bush cancelled the whole thing because y'all handled up business by midnight Wednesday. I Missed it by that much! But missed out of all the bad crap too. Thanks for doing what ya did.

[@russpaxman3660]

I was on a vessel about two miles south east of Khafji while the scud missiles were flying, January 91. It was very overly generous of the US to claim the Saudi troops were courageous, in the same way that the US allowed the French to lead the parade after the liberation of Paris by British and American forces, as if the French had played any part in the liberation of France?

[@zambalic1]

Saudi forces equal partners with US and British forces! Are you kidding me?

[@andrewclarke9321]

All that time I spent in the desert was totally worth free coffee and a meal at golden coral once a year.

[@chlebowg]

5th SFGA had a SOTA intercept team in there too.

[@ronevans3479]

18 Bravo…..was there

[@mohammedsaysrashid3587]

When someone covers previous mistakes by another mistake, he or ...traps himself deeper to enemies hardener

[@simonconte7299]

So, 90% of the video is on the Iraq conflict generally and the battle for Khafji, and maybe 10% about the 12 marines.

[@JADEK111]

"12 Marines vs 600 Iraqi Soldiers" Displays a completely unrelated thumbnail picture... as usual

[@emmanuelawosusi2365]

So

[@gigipeedee]

​@@emmanuelawosusi2365Your mother

[@katherinecooper6159]

did you watch the entire program or are you just a 'nay-sayer'?

[@JADEK111]

@@katherinecooper6159 It's a known fact that he's posting videos with unrelated thumbnails. I don't need to watch the whole video for that.

[@johncasey1020]

If you are going to show unrelated stock footage of tanks in a desert, make sure it's actually tanks in a desert, not tanks rolling through a forest.

[@Afiso]

Didn't know a AC-130 gunship was shot down ever.

[@conradnelson5283]

My neighbor was worried about the war. I told her the war would not be a problem, but the peace would.. I was hoping I was wrong. I wasn’t.

[@anthonyscott5134]

So when a “leader” like Saddam says “with god’s will we will defeat it…” but then THEY are thoroughly defeated, what do they then think about their god? Do they think their god abandoned them, or they weren’t obedient enough to their god? I’m really curious about that. The Arabs in the Middle East have been bested everytime over decades by the Israelis and in each of those times those Arab leaders state “with god’s will…” yet they continue to say that. I find that truly interesting.

[@stevebarlow3154]

Not always, don't underestimate the enemy. I've forgotten which war it was, but the Egyptians gave the Israelis a hard time in the Sinai desert and the Israeli armour was defeated with very heavy losses. Later on the Israeli military got bogged down in Lebanon and their armour proved vulnerable to Hezbollah fighters.

[@anthonyscott5134]

@@stevebarlow3154 HUH? What does that have to do with my comment? Reread my comment. The main point of my comment is about the so called religious aspect of how the Arabs in relation to a war or upcoming attack always give some sort of statement “ with god’s will…”. Busy since you brought up about them bogging down Israel, that still doesn’t address the part of my comment about Israel defeating them. Which Israel has and did. The bogging them down is inconsequential to my comment.

[@s.porter8646]

Awsomeness of a vid...and always love 80s tech

[@Urbanstrangler]

Just call them JSTARS, Jay-stars.

[@Snacks8536]

They had all the tools at their disposal but didn’t use them effectively against the coalition.

[@guyh.4553]

Correction right out at first. Those birds were flying for Desert Shield. Store didn’t start until

[@royhi1809]

RECON ALWAYS HAVE SUPPORT!

[@codystout5353]

I can't believe Saddam actually thought he won that war

[@H4CK61]

So how was this 12 v 600?

[@Jose-xf6gm]

"12 Marines vs 600 Iraqi Soldiers"...? The 12 Marines didn't fight 600 Iraqi soldiers, this is nothing but clickbait.

[@SgtZak_]

I was in country. Almost none of what was said about local middle eastern ally forces was accurate

[@thatsabear]

I was there too! There were middle eastern allies there! I saw them myself! 7th trans grp 419th trans bn 1461st trans co

[@Oldman_Taylor]

@@thatsabear I am sure hes talking about they way they where "fighting" - on par with their alias and earning their respect - I am sure their Generals got that impression from our Generals, the rank and file - not so much!

[@ltcajh]

Good info, but wish they'd choose another program to narrate these.

[@BSdetected]

Marine recon are the real deal… no glamour… just tcb…. “Its what recon does” as our friend below notes.

[@scottetherton2384]

What is it with people not knowing what happened in Vietnam? No, that is not what happened in Vietnam.

[@butterfinger1171]

What are you talking about? This video wasn't about Vietnam.

[@jamesferguson2353]

@@butterfinger1171 and how about those Mets lol

[@michealnelsonauthor]

@@butterfinger1171 buy a clue. Saddam Hussain thought the US Military had a very poor war effort in Vietnam. He thought we sucked vs his troops experienced from 10 years of fighting Iran. That was partly thanks to the propaganda spewed by the US Media, reporting about how disorganized and ineffective, every negative and critical story they could even make up, to discredit the US war effort of Vietnam. Hussain bought that crap. In reality the US military was severely hampered by politicians in the way, of doing what Could have been done. Which we F-ing unleashed on Hussain for 1.5 months of Hell! For them.

[@duskobabic4285]

And then the groundhog wrapped the chocolate. 12 Rambo soldiers against 600 idiots. What a fairy tale. For the uninitiated - this has NEVER happened.

[@oioo32000]

Chapter 1. Crazy to think. My bro was in Gulf war Chapter 2. In Ramadi in 06-07. As a whole mission failed. 1 million innocent dead too. Got some free college tho 🤪

[@kamakazie-kronos668]

I was in Desert Shield / Storm as a Corspman with 2nd FSSG 2nd Med Battalion A company.

[@KansaSCaymanS]

One of those “12 Marines” from 1st Recon Bn was their Navy Corpsman.

[@odonovan]

I watched the entire video and didn't see an ambush. CLICKBAIT! Thumb DOWN!

[@wesleyshultz]

The USMC Recon teams ambushed with their best weapon. A radio, they ran arty and air missions for 2 days and nights.

[@Oldman_Taylor]

@@wesleyshultz Story was bs. The "air detecting" all of this - if that really did happen, no one got that word. The ambush he brushed right past - because it didn't make since in his version. The entire border was covered in very small teams of Recon, ANLICO, and some SF guys. WE where ambushed - got hit with armor and APC's out of nowhere. That fight was intense, much more so than the nearly abandon city.

[@chavdarnaidenov2661]

"with liberating vengeance"...

[@harrykeel8557]

I remember watching all of that, the battle of Kafiji in the evenings after coming home from work. It kinda reminded me of how I watched the Vietnam war, when I was eight and nine years old, and ten, etc. But this was done right. They let the generals run things instead of the politicians. And to quote Patton, they "held them by the nose and kicked them in the rear end."

[@guyforlogos]

600 soldiers vs 12 US marines? Better get more soldiers….

[@TheTallhillbilly]

You aren't correct when talking multi national, it was 25,000 American troops and 12 or 13 hundred troops by the other countries you mentioned

[@walthanas]

Why show footage Soviet T72 tanks when talking about Iraqi T54, T55 and T62 tanks? (BTW: The Iraqi tank units also used Chinese built T69 and T69-II tanks)

[@djbarnes11]

The Iraq war was never a war ! The Ukrainian conflict is not a conflict!