The Gulf War (1990-1991)

On 2 August 1990, Iraqi forces under Saddam Hussein invaded neighboring Kuwait with more than 100,000 troops and 850 tanks, following failed negotiations over oil production quotas, debt forgiveness, and Iraqi claims to Kuwaiti territory. Within 12 hours, most Kuwaiti resistance had ended, the royal family had fled to Saudi Arabia, and Iraq controlled most of the country. On 8 August, Iraq declared Kuwait its 19th province, installing Saddam's cousin Ali Hassan al-Majid as governor. The invasion was triggered, in Saddam's account to his 2003 captors, in part by an insulting exchange in which Kuwait's emir allegedly threatened to bankrupt Iraq.

Location: Kuwait

Within hours of the invasion, Kuwait and US delegations requested a UN Security Council meeting. Resolution 660 condemned the invasion and demanded Iraqi withdrawal. On 6 August, Resolution 661 imposed comprehensive economic sanctions on Iraq. Resolution 665 authorized a naval blockade to enforce the sanctions. The Arab League passed a resolution on 3 August calling for a solution from within the league; Iraq and Libya were the only Arab states opposing Iraq's withdrawal. The US administration was initially indecisive until UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher famously urged President George H. W. Bush "not to go wobbly," warning that appeasement in the 1930s had led to war.

Location: New York, USA

Acting on the Carter Doctrine and responding to King Fahd's request for US military assistance, President George H. W. Bush announced on 7 August 1990 that US forces would deploy to Saudi Arabia under Operation Desert Shield to prevent an Iraqi invasion. The US Navy dispatched two carrier battle groups, the battleships USS Missouri and USS Wisconsin, and 48 F-15 fighters from Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, to the Gulf. Military buildup continued, eventually reaching 543,000 troops, twice the number used in the 2003 invasion. Secretary of State James Baker undertook an 11-day journey to nine countries, securing Saudi, Kuwaiti, Egyptian, and Syrian support for the coalition, raising billions in financial backing.

Location: Saudi Arabia

On 29 November 1990, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 678, giving Iraq until 15 January 1991 to withdraw from Kuwait and authorizing member states to use "all necessary means" to force Iraqi withdrawal after the deadline. A coalition of 42 countries formed, with the United States providing 700,000 of the 956,600 troops. Coalition members included Arab states (Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman), Western allies (UK, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, Australia), and others (Argentina, Bangladesh, Czechoslovakia, Pakistan, South Korea, Senegal, and others). The coalition was the largest since World War II.

Location: United Nations, New York

On 17 January 1991, the coalition began an extensive aerial and naval bombardment of Iraq and Kuwait, beginning Operation Desert Storm. For 42 consecutive days and nights, coalition forces flew over 100,000 sorties, dropping 88,500 tonnes of bombs, widely destroying military and civilian infrastructure. Iraqi anti-aircraft defenses proved surprisingly ineffective, with the coalition suffering only 75 aircraft losses in 100,000 sorties. Iraq fired 88 Scud missiles at Israel and 47 at Saudi Arabia in attempts to split the coalition by provoking Israeli retaliation, but US pressure kept Israel out of the war while Patriot missile batteries were deployed to defend Israeli cities.

Location: Iraq and Kuwait

On 29 January 1991, Iraqi forces attacked and occupied the lightly defended Saudi city of Khafji with tanks and infantry. The Battle of Khafji ended two days later when the Iraqis were driven back by the Saudi Arabian National Guard, supported by Qatari forces and US Marines. The battle was a tactical Iraqi success but a strategic failure, as it failed to split the coalition. Coalition losses included 11 Americans killed in friendly fire incidents, 14 airmen killed when an AC-130 was shot down, and 2 captured, plus 18 Saudi and Qatari dead. Iraqi forces lost an estimated 60-300 dead and 400 captured. The battle demonstrated the effectiveness of coalition air power in stopping armored advances.

Location: Saudi Arabia

At 5:34 am on 24 February 1991, the coalition launched a decisive ground assault, preceded by a 90,000-round artillery preparation fire lasting 2.5 hours. The US VII Corps, spearheaded by the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, launched an armored attack into Iraq just west of Kuwait. The US XVIII Airborne Corps executed a sweeping "left-hook" across largely undefended desert, with the French Division Daguet protecting the left flank and the British 1st Armoured Division protecting the right. The 101st Airborne Division conducted the deepest air assault in history, 249 km behind enemy lines, cutting off Highway 8 between Basra and Iraqi forces. Coalition forces destroyed 1,350 Iraqi tanks, 1,224 APCs, and captured 22,000 Iraqi soldiers.

Location: Kuwait and Iraq

On 25 February 1991, an Iraqi Al Hussein missile hit a US Army barracks of the 14th Quartermaster Detachment from Greensburg, Pennsylvania, stationed in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, killing 28 US soldiers and injuring over 100. A subsequent investigation found that the assigned Patriot missile battery had failed to engage due to a software defect: a loss of significance effect in the onboard computer's floating point calculations compounding over 100 hours of consecutive use had shifted the range gate position far enough to lose contact with the Scud during tracking. The incident became the largest single loss of life among coalition forces during the war.

Location: Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

On 27 February 1991, US Marines liberated Kuwait City after several tank battles, with Kuwaiti forces tasked with taking the capital. The same day, Saddam ordered a retreat from Kuwait, and President Bush declared it liberated. On the night of 26-27 February, retreating Iraqi forces along the main highway north of Al Jahra were attacked by coalition aircraft in what became known as the Highway of Death, leaving a 60 km stretch of highway strewn with debris from an estimated 1,400 vehicles. As part of a scorched earth policy, Iraqi forces set fire to nearly 700 Kuwaiti oil wells. Coalition forces advanced to within 240 km of Baghdad before withdrawing to pre-war positions.

Location: Kuwait and southern Iraq

On 28 February 1991, after approximately 100 hours of ground combat, the coalition declared a ceasefire. Coalition forces had suffered 148 US battle deaths (35 to friendly fire), 47 UK deaths, 9 French deaths, and 37 from other nations, with Iraqi military fatalities estimated between 20,000 and 50,000. A UN report described the effect of the bombing campaign on Iraq as "near apocalyptic," returning the country to a "pre-industrial age." In the war's aftermath, Iraq suppressed Shia uprisings in March-April 1991, killing an estimated 25,000 to 100,000 people. The coalition established no-fly zones over northern and southern Iraq, and the UN Special Commission was created to eliminate Iraq's weapons of mass destruction programs.

Location: Iraq