European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 25, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 6 the stars and Stripe monday february 25,1991war in the Gulf massive assault by Melissa Healy and John  the los Angeles times. Washington a the massive  ground As Saull against the iraqi army was designed months ago to be a Campaign of Speed deception and seamless Man Euver with just one goal senior Pentagon officials said saturday to crush a crippled adversary. It is a plan for surrounding and destroying the heart of the iraqi military Force not merely to drive it from kuwaiti soil. The offensive which envisions simultaneous air land. And amphibious attacks across the entire front contains no intermediate objectives or a a firebreaks where action would pause to allow an orderly iraqi withdrawal. A instead military planners said saturday the Campaign is designed to do to the iraqi army exactly what Gen Colin l. Powell chairman of the joint chiefs of staff promised it would Cut it off and kill it. Multiple attacks will Force the iraqis to defend at numerous Points and will mask the main assault a 150,000-Man armoured and airborne thrust that Pentagon officials Call a the  and the ground attack that began Early sunday iraqi time will not Stop until the Hammer has fallen on the entire iraqi Field army officials said. A senior army official said that iraqi troops will soon face Only two alternatives a they will either die in place or . A a senior military officials were confident even cocky saturday just hours before the offensive began. Officials with Access to the War plan and current Intelli gence predict that the ground assault could be completed in As few as�1.4 Days. They said that it could claim fewer than 1,00 1 . Casualties. They base their predictions on estimates that 40 percent to 50 percent of iraqi military hardware in the theater has been destroyed. Other expectations arc mass surrenders by enemy troops the unparalleled mobility of. The Allied Force the unchallenged air supremacy and. The Long Range of coalition weapons which will allow the Allied forces to engage the iraqis at great distances. A senior army officer said saturday that the Battle pits Saddam Hussein s a elegant world War i defences against the most Mobile army of the 20th  he said that the allies a will press the attack at a Speed unheard of in military  nagging concerns remained. Saddam could order terrorist attacks officials said unleash his Poison Gas stockpile or Slaughter tens of thousands of kuwaiti civilians. A an animal in his death throes is most dangerous a said a senior Pentagon official. A Saddam Hussein is in his death throes. He has nothing left to protect nothing left to  officials warned that the iraqis retain 1,500 artillery pieces in the theater and unknown stores of chemical weapons that desperate iraqi troops could fire at Allied ground troops advancing into planned Quot killing  although chemical weapons arc one of the Quot dirtiest tricks Quot that iraqi forces could use to thwart Allied forces it is Only one of several that Iraq May employ to forestall defeat. Military commanders fear that the iraqis May be readying their remaining combat aircraft for Kamikaze strikes against Allied troops or against Israel. Although no iraqi combat aircraft have flown for two weeks intelligence analysts have spotted maintenance work being done on some of the remaining warplanes. Many of  pilots remain in Iraq. Durin the loan Iraq War iraqi warplanes sprayed Poison Gas Over the Battlefield from aircraft,.officials said. Military cml Mantisi also Are fretting that Iraq leaders could discern themire Tion of the main Allied assault and move reinforcements into place to meet it. But the Allied ground Campaign is designed to make it As difficult us possible for iraqi commanders to understand where Allied forces Are moving and what their objectives Are. Whereas the buildup to the attack robbed the Allied assault of the element of strategic Surprise the intricate tactical plans Are designed to keep Saddam a forces guessing As to when where and How Allied units. Nuvill attack. Any unexpected successes will be rapidly . Army a three dimensional attack the . Army s Quot airland Battle concept a three dimensions close combat deep operations and rear area Secu Rity. The concept differs from the War fighting doctrines of other nations because it a airborne paratroopers drop emphasizes engaging the enemy deep Bel in enemy Ines deep behind the front line and 1 supported by helicopters by combining conventional and ground attack and electronic warfare vat source . Department of defense modern land combat by David Miller and Christopher f. Foss a Kart Tate they will either die in place or  a senior  army official exploited an army official said and units will Cut their losses when  most Mobile and flexible unit under Allied command is the xviii airborne corps which includes the 101st air assault div the 82nd airborne div and the 24th inf div Mech. They were expected to be among the first . Units to penetrate deep into Iraq moving in 100-mile a a leapfrogging movements toward the heart of the iraqi forces the elite Republican guard. As the allies Advance in different directions they will Quot Peel off troops to hold iraqi units in place and use the Speed of helicopters m1a1 tanks and airborne forces to outflank outrun and confuse slow moving iraqi forces a we will be throwing Sand in his eyes while we re hitting him in the Side and blaring Rock music from a Loudspeaker while a dog is1 nipping at his Ankles. We want him to believe that a human wave is descending upon him a a knowledgeable Pentagon official said. One senior defense official familiar with the details of the Overall Battle plan said that the rapid and fluid movements Are designed a to get inside the turning radius of the iraqi military devising counters to the iraqis reactions even before they have executed them. Many iraqi units have been made virtually immobile and unable to communicate with each other or higher commands by five weeks of Aerial bombardment officials said. Intelligence analysts have concluded from the iraqis performance at the Jan. 30 Battle for the northeastern saudi town of Khanji that coordination among iraqi military units is crucial to their combat performance. A right now the momentum is w Ith us. Keeping the situation moving faster than they can react to it is key a said the official. Some of the 18,000 marines afloat off the kuwaiti coast May have been sent ashore or lifted deep Inland in helicopters to deceive the iraqis forcing them to commit troops held in Reserve in the heart of Kuwait. Meanwhile the bulk of the amphibious Force May have landed elsewhere or a More powerful armoured Force might be moved in from the rear of the iraqi reserves and Cut them off a military official said