The Last Great Tank Battle of the 20th Century

February 1991, the Gulf War. Republican Guard units defend the flank of the Iraqi army occupying Kuwait. The Battle of 73 Easting was named after a north-south coordinate line (an "Easting", measured in kilometers) on military maps. The US Army’s Eagle troop, consisting of M1 Abrams and Bradley Fighting vehicles engaged and destroyed a significant number of Iraqi Republican Guard tanks and Armoured vehicles. This was to be the last major tank battle of the 20th century. The Iraqis were using Soviet designed equipment and the battle's lopsided outcome in favor of the United States was to be a significant milestone in proving US tactics and technology in Armored Warfare.

00:00 H.R. McMaster leads Eagle troop through the Iraqi border
02:55 Explosions up ahead!
03:39 Is this civilian village or military outpost?
05:25 2 M2 Bradley Fighting vehicles vs 2 T-72s
08:16 The Tawakalna Republican Guard facing the advance of the US troops!
09:59 McMaster's M1A1 Abrams is hit?
12:11 ZSU “Shilka” fires at the Bradleys!
13:34 Scout Michael Tribble reloads the TOWs under heavy fire
15:05 Eagles have passed 70 Easting, but they won’t stop!
15:50 Eagle Troop vs Iraqi reserve
16:32 The battle of 73 Easting is over. How many casualties?

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[Aurumq]

I find it amazing that in 4 years this channel went from 2d animations to very realistic 3d animations keep up the good work

[julienrooknizan]

My jaw dropped when the camera showed the commander's face model. Beautifully animated and told

[Sabre]

I was in this battle. 20 year old specialist on an M1A1 “Wolfpack 7” 3rd squadron 2ACR. We destroyed 2 t55’s and 2 T72’s. While the sand storm was going on we couldn’t see more than a few hundred meters in any direction. After the tank battle died down we became the pow collection point. We pointed the back of the tank towards the pow’s to help keep them warm with the turbine engine, fyi the desert gets really cold at night. My boss the squadron command sergeant major Tom Nestor and I dismounted to clear the bunkers around us while my gunner and driver over watched the pow’s. Clearing Iraqi bunkers and armored vehicles with a flashlight and .45 pistol was the scariest thing I have ever done. I still get cold sweats when those memories come to the surface.

[R.FrancisBrown]

14:33 also as a scout yall dont know how goddamn hard and annyoing it is to A) reload the tow in general and B) do so under fire with a full load and combat conditions. Hats off to this guy.

[crazytrain]

My senior drill sergeant at Fort Knox was an E5 gunner during this battle. He was on 33 tank in E troop if I remember right. That man had deployed countless times to many different war fronts, but still chose his 2ACR combat patch over all the others. He used to tell us stories about this fight and showed us some pictures, but we never really understood what he was talking about...we are all new Tankers and didn't understand. A couple of years later, my LT was doing some platoon movement classes for our troop, and he started talking about this battle....when me and a couple of my buddies from Knox, looked at each other wide eyed, and then spoke up about our SDS's stories he told us. An E7 walked by the troop window as we were talking about him and mentioned him by name to us, as a question. We nodded and he just said "you should be honored to have learned under that man", then walked away. Leaving the whole damn room quiet and everybody just kinda starting at each other.

Everything started to make sense after that. All the passion for armor he showed during the 6 months as my platoon's DS....a man that literally shed tears over the smallest mistakes we made and dedicated every moment to us in training us to be better. We were turned into Tankers....by a man that had many many confirmed kills on enemy armor. Made me even more proud to be a Hard Knox Tanker

[Todaysclipsn]

I felt like I was the tank crew. That’s how realistic this film was. I been a viewer for 2 years and this is the best I’ve seen. Not just from the channel, but from across the platform.

[ShubhayooBanerjee]

I am a very old Yarnhub viewer....this is by far the BEST video they have presented...everything ranging from the spectacular graphics, the voiceover, the music is top notch. The little snippets of normal conversation that they added in between the narration really upped the overall output. I must say, watching Yarnhub's old videos and then this one, I can see the difference right in front of my eyes. Absolutely delighted by your new venture, and keep up the good work👌

[movingpix-tabak]

That sabot round peeling off mid-air and in slow motion revealing the words "comment" "like" "subscribe" was crafty!

[naturovic]

Watching for years, seeing the animation slowly get better is truly awarding, and I can only imagine the team feels the same, much love to everyone at Yarnhub!

[imperialg.s]

Man, from the heart
You have achieved a new level of quality and detailing in editing and story telling
Hats off

[fideliselan]

My Company First Sergeant from my deployment to Afghanistan in 2006-2007 fought in this battle as a Bradley gunner. It was remarkable hearing his stories from the battle.

[firingallcylinders]

I can't even imagine the terror of facing an enemy that can see you but you can't see them in the sand storm.

[rowancoggins]

Possibly the highest quality production of military history I have ever seen. You sir ARE the man to watch.

[BSNickel]

After 5 years of being with you guys, I can’t believe your animation has gotten this good!!!

[yoyobeanz]

That’s crazy the guy got spared by the speeding Bradley. Imagine being that guy and telling that story. Remarkable

[willpugh]

I have NEVER seen a channel as dedicated to improving every single video as yours, your animation, content and narrations have improved exponentially with each batch of videos. Great job we are all very impressed

[suprchickn]

Your attention to detail is quite exemplary and your videos get better each time. As a former M1A1 crewman your team may want to note that the Abrams has a turbine engine that sounds like the whistle of a fighter jet. The Abrams was known as "Whispering Death" because the engines were so quiet unlike the older tanks. Also, the 120mm rounds are accessed by a knee switch that opens the storage doors. There are quite a few videos of live fire training from inside the vehicles on YouTube.

Amazing work. Keep it up!

[LancelotChan]

The facial expression is so great and the story so exciting! Thanks Yarnhub!

[vernonjordan]

6:35 The copper wire from the TOW missile flashing in the corner is insane detail!

[Troopertroll]

People have pointed it out before, but the difference between the overwhelming success of Desert Storm compared to the total bungling of Iraqi Freedom is insane.