Battle of Norfolk The Battle of Norfolk was a tank battle fought on February 27 , 1991 , during the Persian Gulf War , between armored forces of the United States Army and those of the Ba ' athist Iraqi Republican Guard . It was the final battle of the war before the unilateral ceasefire took effect . Overview . The battle took place about east of and 18 hours after the Battle of Al Busayyah , and several kilometers east of the Battle of 73 Easting , which had ended just two hours earlier . The Battle of Norfolk is named for Objective Norfolk , an area that encompassed the intersection of the IPSA Pipeline Road and several desert trails and a large Iraqi supply depot defended by Iraqi armor . Objective Norfolk was located west of Phase Line Kiwi , east of Phase Line Smash , and north of Phase Line Grape . Phase lines are map references occurring every few kilometers used to measure progress of an offensive operation . Participants . The forces involved in the battle were the American 1st Infantry Division , the 3rd Brigade of the 2nd Armored Division ( Hell on Wheels ) and the Iraqi 18th Mechanized and 9th Armored Brigades of the Tawakalna Mechanized Infantry Division . Breach . On the night of 23 / 24 February 1991 , in accordance with General Norman Schwarzkopf ' s plan for the ground assault called Operation Desert Sabre , VII Corps raced east from Saudi Arabia into Iraq in a maneuver later nicknamed the " Hail Mary . " The Corps had two goals : to cut off Iraqi retreat from Kuwait , and to destroy five Republican Guard divisions near the Iraq - Kuwait border that might attack the Arab and U . S . Marine Corps units moving into Kuwait to the south . The breach was preceded by a heavy artillery barrage , led by 4 / 3 FA Battalion , to soften up Iraqi defenses . Around 300 guns from multiple nations participated in the impressive artillery display . Iraq lost close to 90 artillery pieces during this barrage . Led by Major General Thomas Rhame , the U . S . 1st Infantry Division pushed through the Iraqi defenses . The U . S . 1st Infantry Division opened fire on the Iraqi defenses with tank fire and destroyed four tanks with TOW missile s . In the end , the division succeeded in decimating the Iraqi 26th Infantry Division , and taking over 500 prisoners . The U . S . 1st Infantry Division also suffered a casualty , with one soldier being killed by an Iraqi land mine . Battle . The Battle of Norfolk , in a sense a continuation of the fighting that began with the Battle of 73 Easting the day before , began at 12 : 30 am on 27 February . The two attacking brigades of the U . S . 1st Infantry Division , including the 3rd Brigade of the 2nd Armored Division , were positioned along the 75 Easting , 2 , 000 meters east of 73 Easting . The Brigades clashed with the Iraqi Tawakalna Division of the Republican Guard , including the 37th Brigade of the 12th Iraqi Tank Division . With air support from the 1 / 1 Attack Helicopter Battalion and fire support from 4 / 3 FA Battalion preventing Iraqi artillery from interfering , the U . S . 1st Infantry Division conducted a passage of the 2nd ACR ' s lines . In the following three hours the U . S . 1st Infantry Division methodically crossed the of Objective Norfolk , destroying Iraqi tanks , trucks , and infantry through thick fog . The 3rd Brigade of the 2nd Armored Division destroyed 60 Iraqi tanks and 35 AFV along the IPSA pipeline . In the thick of the fog of war , U . S . units became mixed with Iraqi units dispersed throughout the desert . This confusion led to the largest number of friendly fire incidents throughout the war . By dawn , the U . S . 1st Infantry Division controlled Objective Norfolk and the Tawakalna Mechanized Infantry Division had ceased to exist as a fighting force . American casualties were six soldiers killed ( all but one by friendly fire ) and 30 wounded .