Battle of the Bridges The Battle of the Bridges or Kuwaiti Bridges , also known as Battle of Jal Al - Atraf ( ) was a battle that took place on 2 August 1990 , in Kuwait following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait . Name . The bridges referred to are the two bridges that cross the Sixth Ring Road at the junction with Highway 70 , west of the Kuwaiti town of Al Jahra . Al Jahra , a town to the west of Kuwait City , sits astride the roads from the Iraq border to Kuwait City . Background . On 2 August 1990 , shortly after 00 : 00 local time , Iraq invaded Kuwait . The Kuwaitis were caught unprepared . Despite the diplomatic tension and the Iraqi buildup on the border , no central orders were issued to the Kuwaiti armed forces and they were not on alert . Many of the personnel were on leave as 2 August was both the Islamic equivalent of New Year and one of the hottest days of the year . With many on leave , some new crews were assembled from personnel available . In total , the Kuwaiti 35th Brigade managed to field 36 Chieftain tanks , a company of armoured personnel carrier s , another company of antitank vehicles and an artillery battery of 7 self - propelled gun s . They faced units from the Iraqi Republican Guard . The " Hammurabi " Mechanised Division consisted of two mechanised brigades and one armoured , whereas the " Medinah " Armoured Division consisted of two armoured brigades and one mechanised . These were equipped with T - 72 s , BMP - 1 s and BMP - 2 s , as well as having attached artillery . It is important to note that the various engagements were against elements of these rather than against the fully deployed divisions . Engagement . The Kuwait Land Army 35th Armoured Brigade had been put alert at 22 : 00 on 1 August . It took about eight hours to equip with ammunition and supplies ; however , given the limited time and lack of preparedness , the brigade had to deploy before fully supplied and with less than half of its artillery prepared . Colonel Salem departed with the antitank company at 04 : 30 , with the rest of units leaving by 06 : 00 . The camp was 25 km west of Al Jahra , so they moved east and deployed to the west of the interchange between the Highway 70 and Sixth Ring Road . The " Hammurabi " Mechanised Division of the Iraqi Republican Guard had by this time reached Al Jahra . Approaching from the north , part of the division moved around the west of Al Jahra , making use of the 6 - lane Sixth Ring Road . They were apparently not expecting opposition as they were deployed in road column and were neither reconnoitering nor securing their flanks . This careless behaviour and a consistent failure to use communications were to be a defining feature of Iraqi units in the battle . The Kuwaiti 7th Battalion was the first to engage the Iraqis , sometime after 06 : 45 , firing at a short range for the Chieftains ( 1 km to 1 . 5 km ) and halting the column . The Iraqi response was slow and ineffectual . Iraqi units continued to arrive at the scene apparently unaware of the situation , allowing the Kuwaitis to engage infantry still in trucks and even to destroy a SPG that was still on its transport trailer . At 11 : 00 elements of the " Medinah " Armoured Division of the Iraqi Republican Guard approached along Highway 70 from the west , the direction of the 35th Brigade ' s camp . Again they were deployed in column and actually drove past the Kuwaiti artillery and between the 7th & 8th Battalions , before the Kuwaiti tanks opened fire . Taking heavy casualties , the Iraqis withdrew back to the west . After the " Medinah " regrouped and deployed they were able to force the Kuwaitis , who were running out of ammunition and in danger of being encircled , to withdraw south . The Kuwaitis reached the Saudi border at 16 : 30 , spending the night on the Kuwaiti side before crossing over the next morning .