For Britain’s ‘Desert Rats,’ Sense of Deja Vu on Saudi Sands

JUBAIL, Saudi Arabia — Britain’s “Desert Rats” returned to the desert Saturday for the first time since World War II, rumbling ashore in tanks to join the international force massing against Iraq.

“This is a very exciting moment. And very impressive, too,” said Brig. Patrick Cordingley, commander of the 7th Armored Brigade, as 12 Challenger tanks lined up on the dock of this northeastern Saudi port.

“This means we are up and running. All preparations are behind us,” he told reporters after the first of the brigade’s 120 tanks committed to the Persian Gulf eased their way out of a transport ship.

Cordingley said the Challenger at 62 tons is the world’s heaviest and best-protected tank and is superior to Iraq’s Soviet-made T-72s.

“It has a greater firepower. It is a great overmatch,” he said.

The Challengers and the brigade’s 9,500 men will take up positions alongside U.S. Marines south of Iraqi-occupied Kuwait early next month.

Before the tanks are trucked to combat positions, their Rolls-Royce engines will be fitted with fine sand filters and heat shields.

The unit earned its nickname against Gen. Erwin Rommel’s Nazi panzer divisions in North Africa during World War II.