Any experts on the Persian Gulf War?

donatos

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My question is about the Persian Gulf War, the first desert war of 1990-91. Were there individual infantry platoons fighting off on their own during the invasion of Iraq or was the invasion that of whole divisions and companies coming in together?


I know in this Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts there are platoons fighting individually but what about that first conflict with that lightning fast invasion?

My story deals with a solitary platoon advancing into Iraq from Kuwait.

Thanks in advance.
 

pilot27407

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Actually there were quite a few small units which did that.
I’m much to tiered to think (03:00 hours) but if you pm me tomorrow with specific questions I’ll do my best to help.
 

Hallen

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Depends on what you mean. A platoon is part of a company. The company is part of a battalion. The battalion is part of the division.

The division takes the operation order and breaks it down for each of the battalions. The battalion breaks it down for each company and the company for each platoon. It is possible for a platoon to have a mission that sends them off on their own. It's relative, in that "on their own" might mean just a kilometer away, or 100m away. Or, if they're a special ops unit, then it could be much farther away.

I doubt a single platoon would be given a sector to invade on it's own, if that's what you're going after. However, once you cross into enemy territory, a platoon will be given a sector to attack/defend but that's in conjunction with a company attack.

Airborne and Air Assault units can be a bit different in that it's easier to get split up. However, a major invasion like Saudi Arabia into Kuwait, is a massively coordinated thing. It is possible for a platoon to get isolated for some period of time. The plan never survives first contact with the enemy.

What kind of platoon is this and what is their job? That would help in getting more specific.
 

Linda Adams

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While there's not a lot of material available on the war (it seems largely forgotten), what is available does focus specifically on the battle tactics.

Do remember one thing about the war though -- even though a company may be with a battalion and still feel isolated. It's very different being on the ground. You don't feel like the world is crowded with people there.

BTW, at the beginning of the build up, it was possible to be a lone company in a sea of battalions. That happened to us. We arrived and were initially under our home battalion. The army decided to put us under another battalion -- but they hadn't arrived yet. First battalion said, "You belong to them, not us." So we were a company without a battalion for about a month, I'd guess. Very, very hard getting supplies without a battalion.
 

donatos

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Thank you all for your replies. It did help a lot. It was only one paragraph of one chapter that I needed the research for so I was able to wing it from the details you three provided me. But though it was one paragraph it was a crucial swing in the book which brings on the climax and I couldn't screw it up without your help. Thanks again.