At 02:30 1/8 was struck by a two-pronged attack of APCs and dismounted infantry coming from the northeast and northwest. The attack hit the road intersection held by the tank company and the boundary between 1/8 and 2/4 which was set in at the "ice-cube." The battalion's eastern flank also received some accurate artillery fire, causing five casualties. The battalion's tanks and CAT Platoon worked very effectively at beating back this attack. They destroyed several enemy armored vehicles, some of them within only 75 meters of the battle positions. Pushing through to the final objectives, 1/8 was placed on the division's extreme right, tied in with the 1st Battalion 5th Marines of the 1st Marine Division. The battalion aimed at two small hills, from which it could control the road, as its objectives. Near to these was a suspected Iraqi strongpoint in an agricultural area known as the "Dairy Farm." Artillery fired preparation missions on this area as the companies began their final assaults on their objectives. In gathering darkness the battalion's progress slowed as it entered the increasingly restrictive nature of a more urban area.