Gulf War 1990
In September 1990 the commanding officer was warned that the QDG featured in contingency plans to deal with Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. Shortly afterwards 'A' Squadron, under the command of Major Macdonald, became the medium reconnaissance element of 7th Armoured Brigade-the Desert Rats- the initial group deploying in support of the Multinational Force. There followed a period of intense preparation the regiment worked together as a team to put 'A' Sqn into a fighting state and provide extra personnel for its war establishment. The fact that the vehicles and equipment worked so well over a long period in adverse conditions was due in main to the hard work of other squadrons of the regiment prior to deployment.
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A Sqn in the Gulf |
Over the following months more QDG left for the Gulf; some to reinforce the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, others to the Queen's Royal Irish Hussars and the 14th/20th Hussars. Groups totaling sixty-two men went as battle casualty replacements, while other individuals deployed to a variety of other units and headquarters. Once it had been decided that the British contribution would be increased to the whole of 1st Armoured Division, the regiment hoped that the QDG would deploy in its normal role as 1st Armoured Division's reconnaissance regiment. This was not to be, and a further forty-four men went to reinforce the 16th/5th Lancers, who now took over that role.
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QDG Attachment to 16th/5th Lancers |
'A' Squadron's vehicles and equipment were loaded on to the Mercandian Queen at Bremerhaven on 27 September 1990. This vessel was described as 'a real rust bucket, which was to break down on many occasions, and thus arrived late in Saudi Arabia'. On 16 October the main body of 'A' Squadron flew out to the Gulf and was initially billeted with the US Marine Corps Reconnaissance Forces in a camp to the north of the port of Al Jubail. For the next ten days the men acclimatized to desert conditions. The vehicles finally arrived on 26 October and 'A' Squadron deployed into the desert on the 29th.
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A Sqn Scimitar |
'A' Squadron formed a close friendship with the American Marines, cemented when there was a challenge to a rugger match, with the Marines fielding a Corps team. 'There were comments on the Queen's Dragoon Guards team's lack of size. It was a hard bruising affair, with the squadron coming out winners four tries to nil, which led to immediate adoption by the Marines'. There followed an initial three-week training period with 7 Brigade. On 11 November 'the Squadron assembled in a tight group, at 6 a.m. with dawn breaking, surrounded by dunes, for a short service and silence - a poignant moment as one surveyed uplifted faces and prayed for the impossible'. In late November 'A' Squadron moved to train independently with the US Marines at Manifa Bay - 130 kilometers north of Al Jubail.
On 6 January 1991 the Squadron came under command of the 16/5th Lancers and spent the next ten days fitting and testing the new 'Speech secure system'. The air war started on 17 January and preparations for the Land Offensive began in earnest. 'A' Squadron moved 300 kilometers west to the area of the Wadi Al Batin on 21 January, where 1st Armoured Brigade. On 5 February 1st Armoured Division concentrated in mass formation to practice the breach crossing through the Iraqi defensive line in close cooperation with the 1st (U.S.) Infantry Division (Mechanised). Preparations for the Land Offensive were in their final phase and the squadron was detached to operate independently with the artillery group. Artillery raids took place between 14 and 23 February, with the squadron securing and screening gun positions. On 24 February 'A' Squadron regrouped with the 16/5th Lancers in the staging area south of the breach. The squadron led the reconnaissance group through the breach-head in the early morning of 25 February and refueled in the forming-up point, Valley Forge. The 16/5th Lancers' initial mission was to attack Objective Zinc, using air and long-range artillery. However, the 7th Armoured Brigade had broken out so fast that they reached Zinc prior to the 16/5th Lancers - the latter being ordered to move to the north east of that objective. It was 1 a.m. on 26 February. The weather was dank, with the visibility reduced by the smoke from the burning Kuwaiti oil wells.
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Sgt Clegg and the Reserve Cavalry |
At 2.15 a.m. on 26 February orders came to attack an Iraqi position of battalion strength, codenamed Objective Lead, forty kilometers to the east. 'A' Squadron advanced in total darkness with three troops up - the guided weapons and support troops close behind. As the leading troops moved forward, they encountered wire fencing. Alert to the threat of mines, they tried to find a way through. One Scimitar hit a mine, damaging its track, but the support troop, commanded by Lieutenant Fenton, found a gap to the south, and the squadron switched its line of attack. At first light, in poor visibility, dug-in Iraqi armour was identified to the squadron's front. At 6.45 a.m. the attack started with the bombardment of an Iraqi mechanized company and tank company position with the new multi-launch rocket system (MLRS). This was followed by an air-strike which knocked out three T62 tanks, an armoured personnel carrier and motor transport. There followed a further bombardment of another Iraqi tank company's position. By 8.30 a.m. the leading troops were engaging the enemy with both 30 mm cannon and anti-tank missiles, and the Iraqis were responding. Squadron headquarters was engaged from the rear.
There were reports from 2 Troop, and the Advanced Alternative Headquarters, of Scimitars withdrawing as Iraqi armour pushed north and north east. Major Macdonald, thinking that 'A' Squadron had exposed flanks, ordered a withdrawal, but was told by the commanding officer of the 16/5th Lancers to remain in position. In the meantime Lieutenant MacLennan's troop engaged and destroyed an Iraqi T55 tank and two personnel carriers; Lieutenant Carter's troop destroyed another personnel carrier. While this was going on visibility had further decreased. Support troop deployed its radar and detached movement within the mechanized battalion position - this it engaged with four MLRS attacks. The squadron's guided weapons were used to destroy a further four personnel carriers as they tried to escape the barrage. In the rear of the squadron position Lieutenant Carter's troop had destroyed two more personnel carriers and taken forty prisoners. At 11.45 a.m. 'A' Squadron was ordered to withdraw after five hours of continuous action, the withdrawal taking place in a growing sandstorm. By 2 p.m. replenishment was complete and all vehicles were again battle worthy.
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3rd Troop A Sqn |
Late on the evening of 26 February the 16/5th Lancers were ordered to move thirty-five kilometers east in preparation for the pursuit of the Iraqi army to the Euphrates. As 'A' Squadron arrived at the forming-up point in the early hours of 27 February, it was ordered to return to 7th Armoured Brigade to provide their reconnaissance screen for the advance on Kuwait. Starting at 7.30 a.m. on 27 February the squadron, covered by attack helicopters and challenger tanks, passed through the 16/5th Lancers in the Wadi Al Batin and led the rapid advance for sixty-five kilometers to Objective Varsity, situated in the centre of Kuwait. The final objective, codenamed Cobalt, lay astride the main road from Kuwait City to Basra, about fifteen kilometers from the coast. At 5.15 a.m. on 28 February 'A' Squadron , 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards, closely followed by the tanks of The Queen's Royal Irish Hussars, set out for Cobalt; forty-two kilometers were covered in eighty minutes. 'A' Squadron was astride the main road just as President Bush declared the ceasefire at 8 a.m. 'The scene of devastation remains poignant with Iraqi dead lying beside the road, which was strewn with wrecked military equipment. They sky was black and overcast with smoke from the burning wells'.
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Basra Road |
The first of March was St. David's Day, and the Welsh Dragon flew from the QDG armoured vehicles. For the next three days more prisoners were found, fed and taken to the POW cage - the wounded were treated by the doctor. We also buried their dead.' Among the trophies captured from the Iraqis was an intact T59 tank. 'A' Squadron returned to Germany with 7th Armoured Brigade, having handed over its vehicles to the RAOC at Al Jubail. The QDG were flown into Hanover aboard a British Airways Jumbo Jet on 15 March 1991 to be reunited with their families at Wolfenbuttel. The regiment had not suffered a single casualty. Major Macdonald summed up: 'The soldier was the real battle-winner - his strength to endure whatever hardship, his ability to adjust to whatever circumstance, his tenacity in combat and his humour, which makes life bearable in times of danger'.
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