Khafji Saudi Arabia

It was no longer an enemy off in the distant dunes, lobbing occasional artillery shells; no longer a high-altitude Nintendo War. When illumination flares popped over the cold desert Tuesday night, U.S. Marines looked down the 30-foot-long cannon barrels of advancing Soviet-built tanks. And they heard the roar of guns. The opening moment of the great ground war was upon them. Never mind later assessments that this was an Iraqi reconnaissance in force, a challenge, a probe, an attempt to lure U.S.

Allied forces led by Saudi troops tried early today to recapture the Saudi town of Khafji after the first major Iraqi ground assault of the Persian Gulf War, a "hellacious" battle that began in the eerie glare of a full moon and took the lives of 12 Marines--the first U.S. ground troops killed in action. The liberation drive began at 11 p.m. Wednesday, Saudi time. By early today, it was still unclear whether the allies had taken back the town or were driven off by Iraqi forces.