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Liberating Kuwait
the 24th Infantry Division covered the central desert region and I Marine Expeditionary Force covered the eastern region around the port of al-Jubayl. The 1st Cavalry Division was established behind the 24th Infantry Division; the Marines prepared to launch a counterattack; and the 82d Airborne was deployed around Dharhan, ad-Dammam, and Abqaiq in order to secure the rear areas from commando and terrorists attacks. The Army intended to engage Iraqi forces early with its attack helicopters and armored forces while conducting a mobile defense.39 Primarily concerned with the coastal highway route, the Marine plan, in contrast, called for utilizing the terrain to hinder and disperse the Iraqi forces as they drove south. The highway was bordered by sabkhas or salt marshes; by mining the highway, blowing up highway culverts, and destroying gas stations, the Marines hoped to channel the Iraqis off the road and into these desert sand traps where close air support and naval gunfire
could destroy them. Lacking the Army’s vehicular mobility and high numbers of armored vehicles, the Marines intended to hold just south of the tip of the Triangle, at what was called “Cement Factory Ridge” (the same piece of high ground that 7th Marines had initially defended in August). This was considerably removed from where the Army intended to engage the Iraqis, and the Marines worried that the Iraqis passing down the Tapline Road might flank them. This caused some tension between the Marine and Army tactical commanders, though in the actual event the Iraqis did not invade and the defensive plans were thus never tested.40
Meeting of Cultures: Marines and Saudis The United States began providing the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with military assistance in the 1940s, and as the decades passed the relationship grew. The United States assisted the kingdom as a bulwark first against communism and secular ethnic
Adapted from a Central Intelligence Agency map by Marine Corps History Division
