European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 25, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday May 25, 1991 the stars and stripes b Page 3gulf combat was intense general say Franks cites troops sense of Honor by Vince Crawley and Effie Bathena staff writers Stuttgart Germany a just because the persian Gulf ground War was a Quick does no to mean it was clean and easy said the three Star general whose Mission was to smash the heart of iraqis army. Although Many of. The firefights were Swift a some of them were intense exchanges of fire a said it. Gen. Frederick m. Franks whose Germany based Vii corps outflanked the Republican guard and finished the War a some fighting was close in As the enemy would come out of bunkers and Trench lines a Franks said. In other Battles . Soldiers fought �?o360 degrees against enemy troops who were on foot and in vehicles. Enduring rain wind and sandstorms ground troops fought furious Battles lasting from minutes to half a Day. A the iraqis had a plan a Franks said countering charges that the enemy was too disorganized to fight. Enemy commanders attempted to reposition their soldiers and fight Franks. Said but the Allied tanks came at them too swiftly also the relentless Allied air Campaign had destroyed the iraqis ability to move Large formations he said. The Mission of Vii corps was to find and destroy iraqis elite Republican guard divisions. Thrusting into Iraq on saturday feb. 23 a the Day before the ground War officially began a the Lead elements found the guard on tuesday afternoon. Franks troops then pounded the enemy using More than 3,000 tanks and Bradley combat vehicles manned and supported by almost 150,000 soldiers from four american divisions a cavalry regiment and the British 1st army div. They crushed the elite iraqi forces for 36 non Stop hours until the ceasefire was called Early on feb. 28. During a 90-minute interview in his Stuttgart Headquarters on thursday Franks spent most of the time praising his soldiers sergeants and officers a in that order. Franks said he was impressed by the soldiers he talked to after the fighting especially their a sense of Honor in the Bat  a. A soldiers when you asked them about what they had done a leadership would say they a done something heroic a they would almost speak in whispers about what they had done a Franks said As his own voice lowered. Franks a West Point graduate who came on Active duty in 1959, said he also was struck by his soldiers courage especially in a pursuing the fight during sandstorms or in the  although the unseasonable desert storms hampered iraqi troops the cold rain and wind a were no strangers for the Vii corps mix of soldiers who came from Germany great Britain and Kansas the general said smiling. Where to do it he said. A a the possibility was there for it to go fast. Mass in a Quick left Hook a Franks said jabbing his own left fist through the air As he spoke. He knew it could be won swiftly a if we could get our soldiers there in the right place at the right time and the right combination.�?�., through december and Early january while ground troops rushed to the desert intelligence personnel mapped a amps Effie Bathon it. Gen. Frederick m. Franks knew the persian Gulf ground War could be won swiftly if we could get our soldiers there in the right place at the right time and the right combination Franks who said the strategic Objet Tives could not have been accomplished without a ground Battle Felt confident in the Battle plan from the Start. Developed by Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf the Central come commander the plan called for a three phase air Campaign followed by a ground War. The heart of ground Campaign was a Surprise tank strike through Iraq a not Kuwait a that would destroy  guard from the rear. Schwartz Zopfs staff had outlined the plan by the time Franks was called in Early november. He was simply told what to do and enemy troop positions. From the Way the iraqis arranged their units Franks said it was obvious they did no to expect a coalition attack through the Barren desert West of Kuwait. One of his greatest concerns he said was that the iraqis might realize they were about to be flanked and reposition their forces before the air Campaign was launched. The six week air War kept enemy forces pinned Down and once he was told to Roll into Iraq Franks said his Job was one of massive synchronization. A so when the Battle started and i could see that the enemy had stayed about where lie was in mid and late january then it was a matter of massing the corps against him Franks said. This required a a brute Force logistics while instilling in his soldiers a a Emo Mintum of  others he defines the ground War by Days of the week. A was i saw the enemy. Dispersed As they were and the ability of our units to rapidly move and close with the enemy a Franks said a late monday night i saw the possibility of a Quick finish. A the corps destroyed 2,000 enemy tanks almost half of iraqis prewar total. The numbers of the iraqi dead were not counted by Allied solders but most pub lie estimates exceed 100,000 from the air and land Battle. Franks who lost a leg to a land mine in Vietnam said he remembers a every Day the soldiers who were wounded in action. And who died. Who gave the last full measure of their  one of Franks staff officers said the general has visited hundreds of wounded Gulf War veterans in military hospitals Smice the War ended. A week before the corps crossed the iraqi defensive berm marking the Start of the ground War Franks recalled that Lve  soldiers from an air de fens artillery battalion a a Soldier interrupted me a said Franks who seems to prefer not being interrupted a and looked me right in the Eye and said a done to worry general. We Trust  a Franks said he thinks of that moment often. A the obligation of the Leader at whatever level is to be Able to fulfil that Trust with a. Lifetime of commitment to the profession a a he said. The a priv Illge of commanding soldiers in Battle has to be the biggest thing in be Ever been asked to do in the  in another incident capt. . My master a cavalry troop commander from Bamberg Germany was talking with Franks after the cease fire. The Captain described the details of a fight that his unit e troop 2nd Arnid Cav regt had been through. Then Franks asked him How Long it had lasted. A the said 23 minutes. He. Rom pm Breed exactly a Franks recalled. A in a sense what professional soldiers do is spend a whole lifetime getting ready for those 23 minutes a Franks said. A and that a really what the life of a Soldier is All  refugee Convoy passes safely into Dozhuk by Joseph Owen a staff writer Dozhuk Iraq a an experimental United nations Convoy carrying 106 refugees entered this Northern iraqi provincial capital Friday on the heels of a 25-member municipal works team composed of . And British forces and a civilian worker. The Convoy filled mostly with children was the third test in As Many Days said . Special envoy Staffan de Mistura. He said the Success of the Experiment will prompt Large scale convoys beginning saturday. De Mistura also estimated that 12,000 predominantly kurdish refugees have migrated South into the City on their own since tuesday. The purpose of the convoys was to see whether the iraqi police would allow the refugees to enter the City without obstruction which they did de Mistura said. A the idea is to prove to everybody including ourselves that we could have truckloads of refugees. Not Only go through checkpoints but not even be checked a he said. He said he expects up to 1,000 people will move into Dozhuk by . Convoy saturday and the daily influx could reach 3,000 after that. Officials of the International combined task Force said More than 11,700 refugees left the Mountain Camps on the turkish iraqi Border thursday leaving fewer than 51,000. The municipal works team was an Advance party of the coalition humanitarian assistance group composed of 87 troops 11 doctors and nine disaster assistance response team members. The group intends to link the Hospital to the City Power Supply clean up the piles of rubbish remove rubble and explosives left from Tolje kurdish uprising in March and set up three reception centers for incoming refugees. The team set up Headquarters at a Dozhuk hotel Friday after meeting with the new governor of the province it the morning. Army it. Col. Gary Goff the team Leader said the groups work should last about three weeks with the reception centers requiring the most Effort. Team members already could be seen patrolling the City and collecting explosives Friday afternoon. Goff said the group would have no role in making the kurd feel Safe from iraqi forces. A the reassurance of that is to be done by the ., said. In other developments Friday a a in Western Iran a soviet transport plane carrying 10 people and Relief supplies for kurdish refugees crashed and burned killing four people and injuring six reports said. All 10 were soviets according to an official at a Switzerland based company that chartered the flight. A Mother Theresa who won the 1979 Nobel peace prize for her work on behalf of the  sick and poor will Fly to Baghdad monday at the invitation of Saddam Hussein a government according to a  spokesman. The purpose of her visit was not immedi Atchly known. Contributing to this report the associated press