Desert Storm

Following Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait on August 2nd, 1990, with a goal of acquiring the country’s rich oil fields as well as eradicating Iraq’s substantial debt to its Middle Eastern neighbor, a coalition of more than 30 countries launched Operation Desert Shield on August 7th, in an effort to protect Saudi Arabia from potential Iraqi aggression. Over the coming months leading up to Desert Storm, hundreds of thousands of troops poured into Saudi Arabia, with an objective of building a defensive perimeter around the oil rich nation, as well as joint training operations for a potential invasion of both occupied Kuwait and Iraq.

Failed Diplomacy

After the last attempts at diplomacy ended in failure, on January 17th, 1991, a coalition of now 35 countries launched the combat phase of their combined efforts to oust Iraqi forces from Kuwait. Known as Operation Desert Storm and spearheaded primarily by the United States, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia and France, the operation began with a punishing display of aerial and naval bombardments targeting Iraq’s command and control centers, communication networks and critical infrastructures in both Iraq and occupied Kuwait. In command of the fourth largest army in the world, Hussein refused to back down, invading the Saudi Arabian city of Khafji on January 29, 1991, until the U.S. Marines along with Saudi and Qatari forces retook the city on February 1st.

100-Hour War

Led by General Norman Schwarzkopf, after five weeks of relentless bombardment, ground operations now known as the “100-hour war” began on February 24, decimating a listless and rapidly surrendering Iraqi army in a sweeping display of military superiority, including the so called “highway of death,” where coalition forces trapped fleeing Iraqis on a main highway connecting Kuwait City to Iraq. Instituting a scorched earth policy, Iraqi forces also set Kuwaiti oil wells on fire, causing severe damage to Kuwait’s economy and the global environment. By the time the war was over on February 28th, coalition forces had destroyed over 3,000 tanks, 1,400 armored personnel carriers, 2,200 artillery pieces and countless other vehicles, all at a cost of 96 coalition service members and an estimated 30,000 Iraqi troops, making Operation Desert Storm, an overwhelming show of western military might.