Gulf War

Gulf War
Date2 August, 1990 – 28 February, 1991
Location
Result Coalition victory
Territorial
changes

State of Kuwait resumes self-governance over all Kuwaiti sovereign territory

  • Establishment of a demilitarized zone and construction of a separation barrier along the Iraq–Kuwait border
Belligerents

 Kuwait
 United States
 United Kingdom
 Saudi Arabia
 Egypt
 France

Coalition:

Diplomatic support:  Iran

 Soviet Union		 Iraq
Commanders and leaders
Strength
956,600, including 700,000 US troops[2][3] 650,000 soldiers
Casualties and losses
  • Military dead:
  • 1,000–2,000
  • Civilian dead:
  • 500–1,000
  • Military dead:
  • 80,000–100,000
  • Civilian dead:
  • 5,000–7,000

The Gulf War was a conflict between Iraq and 42 other countries, led by the United States. It started with the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq on 2 August, 1990. Iraq had occupied Kuwait as part of its territory. Iraq is said to have suffered around 80,000–100,000 soldier losses.[4]

There were two military operations.

Operation Desert Shield brought Western troops to protect Dhahran, Saudi Arabia and the Arab Gulf states that Iraq had not attacked.

Operation Desert Storm attacked Iraq's forces both in Kuwait and in southern Iraq. It started on 17 January 1991 with an air strike on Baghdad. Ground operations started 24 February. Iraqi forces set fire to oil wells to slow the attack. The war ended on 28 February 1991 with a ceasefire.[5]

The long Iran–Iraq War had ended in August 1988. Iraq owed a great amount of money to Saudi Arabia and had difficulty paying it back. Saddam Hussein declared the neighboring country of Kuwait to be siphoning Iraqi crude oil from across the border, and on 2 August, 1990 the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait started. On 17 January, 1991 the US began the Persian Gulf War with a massive US led air offensive known as Operation Desert Storm.[6]

The attacks were assisted by newly developed weapons, including stealth aircraft, cruise missiles and smart bombs.

After 42 days of fighting U.S. President Bush declared a ceasefire on 28 February. By that time most Iraqi forces in Kuwait had either surrendered or fled.

Operation Desert storm included a bombing campaign that targeted Iraqi aircraft, anti-aircraft systems, oil refineries, weapon factories, bridges, and roads. President George Bush decided not to depose Saddam Hussein.

Political issues after Operation Desert Storm lead to the second Persian Gulf War in 2003.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gulf War.
  1. ↑ "Desert Shield And Desert Storm: A Chronology And Troop List for the 1990–1991 Persian Gulf Crisis" (PDF). apps.dtic.mil. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 April 2019. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  2. ↑ Gulf War coalition forces (latest available) by country "www.nationmaster.com". Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 13 September 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. ↑ Hersh, Seymour (2005). Chain of Command. Penguin Books. p. 181.
  4. ↑ Ufheil-Somers, Amanda (11 July 1991). "The Other Face of War". MERIP. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  5. ↑ Brinkerhoff, John R.; Silva, Ted; Seitz, John (18 May 1992). "United States Army Reserve in Operation Desert Storm. Engineer Support at Echelons Above Corps: The 416th Engineer Command". Fort Belvoir, VA. doi:10.21236/ada277638. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. ↑ Lopes, Maraisa (2009). Folha de S. Paulo (Thesis). Universidade Estadual de Campinas - Repositorio Institucional. doi:10.47749/t/unicamp.2009.442545.
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