Gulf War

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Gulf War
DateAugust 2, 1990 – February 28, 1991
Location
Result

Indecisive

Belligerents

 United States
 Saudi Arabia
 United Kingdom
 Egypt
 France
 Syria
 Morocco
 Kuwait
 Oman
 Pakistan
 Canada
 United Arab Emirates
 Qatar
 Bangladesh
 Italy
 Australia
 Netherlands
 Niger
 Sweden
 Argentina
 Senegal
 Spain
 Bahrain
 Belgium
 Poland
 South Korea
 Norway
 Czechoslovakia
 Greece
 Denmark
 New Zealand
 Hungary


Diplomatic support :

 Iran

 Soviet Union
Iraq Ba'athist Iraq
Commanders and leaders
United States Norman Schwarzkopf Jr. Iraq Saddam Hussein
Strength
956,600, including 700,000 US troops[1][2] 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 39 other countries, led by the United States. It started with the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq on August 2, 1990. Iraq had claimed Kuwait as part of its territory. Iraq is said to have suffered around 80,000-100,000 soldier losses.[3]

There were two military operations.

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

Operation Desert Storm attacked Iraq's forces both in Kuwait and in Iraq. It started on 17 January, 1991 with an air strike. 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.[4]

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 August 2nd, 1990 the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait started. On January 17, 1991 the US began the Persian Gulf War with a massive US led air offensive known as Operation Desert Storm.[5]

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 February 28. 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.

metal disk with words and an eagle
Medal for United States personnel.

Related pages[change | change source]

References[change | change source]

  1. Gulf War coalition forces (latest available) by country "www.nationmaster.com". Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 2007-09-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  2. Hersh, Seymour (2005). Chain of Command. Penguin Books. p. 181.
  3. Ufheil-Somers, Amanda (1991-07-11). "The Other Face of War". MERIP. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  4. Brinkerhoff, John R.; Silva, Ted; Seitz, John (1992-05-18). "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)
  5. Lopes, Maraisa (2009). Folha de S. Paulo (Thesis). Universidade Estadual de Campinas - Repositorio Institucional. doi:10.47749/t/unicamp.2009.442545.