Review Guardia, Mike, Bradley
vs BMP, Desert Storm 1991, Oxford, New York: Osprey Publishing,
2016
Bradley vs BMP, Desert
Storm 1991 was the second in
Osprey’s Duel series to deal with the Gulf War. This one focuses upon the
armored fighting vehicles (AFV) of the American and Iraqi forces the Bradley
and BMP respectively. Like all the Duel books this one follows the same format.
First it breaks down the two vehicles, then the opposing forces, and then the
combat. Author Mike Guardia’s main argument was that this was the first time
modern American equipment was tested against its Soviet counterparts. It should
have been that a developing country like Iraq with twenty year old vehicles was
no match for a superpower with the latest technological innovations.
Guardia mentions
the wide disparities between the two forces that faced off in the Gulf War. The
BMP was a 1960s Soviet design that went into service in 1969. The Iraqis mostly
purchased BMP-1s but also 200 BMP-2s for use in the Iran-Iraq War. The original
73mm gun of the BMP-1 could penetrate the armor of an American Bradley but was
inaccurate past 500 meters while the 30mm cannon of the BMP-2 was ineffective
against the US AFV. Not only that but because Iraq’s BMPs were ten years old
and the Iraqis had poor maintenance the barrels were worn out leading them to
miss even more. In comparison, the Bradley went into service in the 1980s. It
had superior firepower, better optics and electronics like a GPS system. The
Bradleys had thermal sights that allowed them to see through Iraq’s sandstorms,
and begin firing at over 3,000 meters. The BMPs’ optics were only good to 900
meters. The two were not meant to fight each other but rather to allow the
ground troops to keep pace with the tanks in a fast moving war of maneuver, but
when the two did meet in 1991 there was no real comparison between the two. The
Bradleys could see and fire upon the Iraqis before they even knew the Americans
were there.
The book focuses
upon the Battle of 73 Easting when the American 2nd Armored Cavalry
Regiment (ACR) met the Iraqi Tawakalna ala Allah Division of the Republican
Guard. This was part of the left hook the U.S. led Coalition launched from
western Saudi Arabia to cut off the Iraqi forces in Kuwait before they could
retreat back into Iraq. The 2nd ACR was the lead reconnaissance unit
of the American divisions. On February 26, 1991 it ran into the lead elements
of the Tawakalna division and engaged and destroyed them. As they continued to
move forward they ran into prepared defensive positions and an Iraqi
counterattack at night. The unit’s Bradleys played a supporting role to its
Abrams tanks engaging the Iraqi vehicles and infantry with their missiles and
guns. They mostly fired upon the Iraqis at over 3,000 meters before the Iraqis
even saw them. They were able to destroy tens of both BMP-1s and T-72 tanks in
a matter of minutes with the loss of only one Bradley. Guardia emphasizes that
unlike in Kuwait where the Iraqis mostly fled rather than fight in this battle
they resisted. The advantages in technology, training and organization were
overwhelming for the Americans and the Iraqis basically stood no chance. The
Bradleys and Abrams for example, coordinated their fire to take out individual
targets, while there was no such cooperation by the Iraqis. Interestingly the
author points out that despite the fact that the Tawakalna Division was quickly
destroyed, it was able to hold up the American forces long enough to allow many
of the other Republican Guard units to escape rather than be caught in the
Coalition trap. That would prove crucial for Saddam Hussein in the postwar
period.
The main issue with
the book is that it tries to portray this conflict as proof of the superiority
of American vehicles versus the Soviets’. The problems with this are many.
First you have a 1960s BMP fighting against a 1980s Bradley. Second, there was
no comparison between the U.S. Army which was a well oiled machine and the
Iraqis who lacked training, supplies and servicing of their vehicles. A
superpower versus a developing country is not comparable, so saying the then
new Bradley outpaced the BMP that was a generation behind proves little. Not
only that but the Tawakalana ala Allah Divisions’ resistance saved most of the
Republican Guard that assured Saddam Hussein’s ability to stay in power. He
used them to put down the uprisings that started right after the Gulf War. That
meant while the Americans expelled Iraq from Kuwait, they failed at their
larger strategic goals of wiping out Saddam’s best troops and hoping that he
would be overthrown after his defeat. Guardia completely misses this because
his focus is just on the two AFVs and the immediate situation of expelling Iraq
from Kuwait. He therefore misinterprets the bigger picture on two levels when
he compares the two vehicles as if they were equals and in his declaration of
victory for the Americans. An added irony is that the Iraqis continue to use
the BMP to this day, but had to buy new ones because most of their 1980s stock
was scrapped after the 2003 invasion.
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