Gen. Frederick M. Franks Jr.
Commander, VII Corps
"We were not going to repeat Vietnam. We were going to hit them hard, hit them fast, and not stop."
Biography
Frederick Franks Jr. commanded VII Corps — the 'Jagged Edge' — the armored fist of the Gulf War coalition and the most powerful offensive force assembled since World War II: 146,000 soldiers, 1,587 tanks, 1,400 Bradley fighting vehicles, and 600 artillery pieces. A decorated Vietnam veteran who lost his right leg at Dong Ha and fought the Army to keep his command, Franks was criticized after the war by Schwarzkopf for advancing too cautiously during the 100-hour ground campaign. The controversy — captured in Rick Atkinson's Pulitzer Prize-winning 'Crusade' — divided the military for years. Franks maintained he had to secure his flanks before advancing; Schwarzkopf believed he had let the Republican Guard escape. The debate illuminates the fundamental tension between methodical combined-arms warfare and the 'operational art' of rapid exploitation.
Did you know?
Franks lost his right leg below the knee at the Battle of Dong Ha in 1970 but fought to remain on active duty with a prosthetic — unusual at the time. He later wrote a memoir with Tom Clancy titled 'Into the Storm: A Study in Command.'
Key Battles
Operation Desert Sabre — The Left Hook
Coalition Forces victoryFebruary 24, 1991 · 8,148 total casualties
The 'Left Hook' stands as one of the most brilliantly executed ground maneuvers in modern military history — Schwarzkopf's deception plan kept 13 Iraqi divisions watching the coast while the real blow fell hundreds of miles to the west.
Battle of 73 Easting
Coalition Forces victoryFebruary 26, 1991 · 851 total casualties
The Battle of 73 Easting — 23 minutes that destroyed an entire Republican Guard brigade — demonstrated the overwhelming technological superiority of the M1A1 Abrams and became a case study in combined arms maneuver warfare taught at war colleges worldwide.
Battle of Objective Norfolk
Coalition Forces victoryFebruary 26, 1991 · 2,029 total casualties
Objective Norfolk broke the spine of the Republican Guard in a single night of fighting, validating the 'AirLand Battle' doctrine the US Army had spent fifteen years developing after Vietnam.
Battle of Medina Ridge
Coalition Forces victoryFebruary 27, 1991 · 1,804 total casualties
Medina Ridge — 186 Iraqi tanks destroyed with only four coalition deaths — stands as perhaps the most lopsided large-scale armored engagement in history, a testament to the M1A1's thermal sights and 120mm smoothbore gun that could kill T-72s at ranges where they couldn't be seen.
Life Journey
Timeline
November 5, 1936
🌅 Birth
Born in West Lawn, Pennsylvania
June 1959
📚 Education
Graduated from West Point, commissioned as cavalry officer
May 5, 1970
⚔️ Battle
Lost right leg below the knee during Battle of Dong Ha; awarded Silver Star
1970–1971
📍 Posting
Recovery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center; fought to remain on active duty with prosthetic
1989
📍 Posting
Took command of VII Corps in West Germany — the Army's most powerful armored force
February 26, 1991
⚔️ Battle
Led VII Corps through the Left Hook; the Battle of 73 Easting and Medina Ridge were fought under his command