WUrN THE 1ST MARINE DWISION IN DESERT SHIELD AND DESERT STORM           113


Slowly the battalion felt its way north and into an area containing numerous
tanks and armored personnel carriers manned by crews determined, for once,
to resist. Several firefights developed as Marine and Iraqi vehicles exchanged
tank and machine gun fire. Leaving burning Iraqi vehicles behind, the battalion
brushed aside opposition, bypassed surrendering soldiers, and pressed north to
the obstacle belt.
   No sooner were they past the barbed-wire and minefield than lead elements
of the 1st Battalion saw two enemy vehicles through their thermal sights. The
Iraqis attempted to flee west at high speed only to be stopped when TOW
missiles slammed into their vehicles. Two of the Iraqis died in the explosions
and the dazed but surviving six passengers surrendered. They were all officers.
Later, when closer to the airport, an armored personnel carrier bolted from
concealment in an attempt to get to the highway. A TOW missile hit and
disabled the vehicle and it stopped between the 1st Battalion and task force
headquarters.   Instead of surrendering, the survivors dismounted and began
shooting. Marines from Company D returned fire, killing them. The incident
turned out to be the battalion's last firefight. At 2200 the 1st Battalion, 1st
Marines, reached the radio tower and established positions alongside the airport
perimeter road.177
   The  1st Tank   Battalion initially followed 1st Battalion, 1st Marines.
Numerous oilfield pipelines obstructed its route and there were frequent halts
and detours as the battalion moved to get past these barriers. Occasionally,
Iraqis bypassed by the 1st Battalion, 1st Marines, and fired on the Marine tanks,
but the engagements which ensued always left the enemy's vehicles destroyed
and burning. The congested area and appalling visibility was an unnerving
experience for the tankers. Second Lieutenant James D. Gonzales, Company C,
3d Tank Battalion, later wrote:17~

                It was an obvious chokepoint, kind of like the
          classic ambushes you learn about in school. We could
          go    forward,  or  back  out  the  way  we   came.
          Unfortunately, the entire 1st Marine Division lay behind
          us, so going back was not an option. Eight-foot berms
          to our right and a dense orchard on our left, left us with
          only one option: push forward down the narrow road to
          out front.
                Move out, Red. Take it slowly and keep an eye on
          those trees.   They've got bunkers in there," the 1st
          Platoon commander called out over the net.
                Not only were there bunkers--but bunkers filled with
          ammo.     One tank had just pumped 100 .50-cal rounds
          into one twenty minutes earlier and it was still burning
          ferociously.
                I watched as 1st Platoon crept its way down the
          road. They were at great risk and everyone knew it. We
          were all tense, maybe the most thus far.   What lay