Battle of the Karbala Gap ( 2003 ) The Battle of the Karbala Gap occurred during the 2003 invasion of Iraq . The Karbala Gap is a 20 - 25 - mile wide strip of land with the Euphrates River to the east and Lake Razazah to the west . This strip of land was recognized by Iraqi commanders as a key approach to Baghdad , and was defended by some of the best units of the Iraqi Republican Guard . American forces attacked Iraqi forces in the area with massive air attacks followed by concentrated armored thrusts which resulted in the Iraqi units being surrounded and annihilated . Initial Moves . The Iraqi high command had originally positioned two Republican Guard divisions blocking the Karbala Gap . Here these forces suffered heavy Coalition air attacks . However , the Coalition had since the beginning of March been conducting a strategic deception operation to convince the Iraqis that the US 4th Infantry Division would be mounting a major assault into northern Iraq from Turkey . This deception plan worked , and on April 2 Saddam ' s son Qusay Hussein declared that the American invasion from the south was a feint and ordered troops to be re - deployed from the Karbala front to the north of Baghdad . Lt . Gen . Raad al - Hamdani , who was in command of the Karbala region , protested this and argued that unless reinforcements were rushed to the Karbala gap immediately to prevent a breach , American troops would reach Baghdad within 48 hours . His suggestions fell on deaf ears . Meanwhile , American troops were pushing through the gap and reached the Euphrates River at the town of Musayib . An expected Iraqi chemical attack did not materialize . At Musayib , American troops crossed the Euphrates in boats and seized the vital al - Kaed bridge across the Euphrates after Iraqi demolitions teams had failed to destroy it in time . In response , Lt . Gen . Hamdani was ordered to launch an immediate counterattack . Hamdani later said that his units were not in condition to launch an immediate counterattack and that he counseled to establish a defensive line along the Usfiyah River in order to contain the American breakthrough . Nevertheless , Hamdani ' s forces launched a counterattack on the night of April 2 – 3 . Iraqi Counterattacks April 2 – 3 . The 10th Armored Brigade from the Medina Division and the 22nd Armored Brigade from the Nebuchadnezzar Division , supported by artillery , launched night attacks against the American bridgehead at Musayib . The attack was savagely repulsed using tank fire and massed artillery rockets , destroying or disabling every Iraqi tank in the assault . The next morning , Coalition aircraft and helicopters counterattacked the Republican Guard units , destroying many more vehicles as well as communications infrastructure . The Republican Guard units broke under the massed firepower and lost any sense of command and cohesion . By the end of the day , the tanks of the 3rd ID had overrun Lt . Gen . Hamdani ' s headquarters and Hamdani and his staff fled . American forces lost no men killed in this action while Iraqi losses are estimated at 230 to 300 killed . Destruction of the Medina Division . While the fight around Musayib was raging on April 3 , other elements of the US 3rd ID had captured Baghdad International Airport . Before pushing deeper into Baghdad , US commanders decided to mop up the remnants of the Republican Guard Medina Division which were still present south of Baghdad . The intention was to catch the Medina Division from behind , while they were engaging other units to their front . The 2nd Brigade of the 3rd ID under Col . David Perkins was dispatched to the southwest towards Objective Saints , the codename for the intersection between highways 1 and 8 . The interchange was defended by dismounted infantry , and during the fight for Objective Saints one US soldier was wounded and an M1 Abrams tank was disabled by an RPG round ( it was later repaired ) . After capturing Objective Saints on the 3rd , the 2nd Brigade pushed south and made contact with the remnants of the 10th and 2nd Brigades of the Medina Division . Despite reports that 80 % of the division ' s vehicles had been destroyed , the Iraqis had moved their vehicles away from their prepared defenses and hidden them near buildings and in palm groves , sparing many of them from air attack . Hundreds of Iraqi tanks , IFVs and artillery were still present . The American tanks tore into the Iraqi vehicles , destroying many of them at point blank range . Despite the survival of many of their vehicles , the Iraqi defense was un - coordinated and many troops put on civilian clothes and deserted during the fight , leaving their uniforms on the battlefield . The Medina Division ceased to exist as an effective fighting force . Aftermath . The Battle of the Karbala Gap had been a one - sided engagement in which elements of the 3rd Infantry Division annihilated the best units in the Republican Guard while suffering minimal losses . However , four days later , the Iraqis scored a direct hit on the Third Infantry Division , Second Brigade ' s Tactical Operations Center , with an Al - Samoud variant rocket , estimate 280 kg payload warhead , killing three soldiers , two foreign reporters , wounding 14 additional soldiers , and destroying 22 vehicles , mostly unarmored Humvees . The destruction of these units left the door to Baghdad wide open for the 3rd ID , and the next day Col . Perkins lead the first " Thunder Run " , an armored strike through southern Baghdad . Baghdad would fall within days .