|
Kuwait
Persian Gulf War, 1991
Despite its huge losses in the Iran-Iraq War, Iraq was unchallenged
as the most powerful military presence in the gulf area. Reviving
Iraq's old territorial claims against Kuwait, Saddam Husayn called
for the annexation of Bubiyan and Warbah islands at the mouth
of the Shatt al Arab to give Iraq a clear passage to the gulf.
He also accused Kuwait of illegally siphoning off oil from Ar
Rumaylah field, one of the world's largest oil pools, which the
two countries shared. Saddam Husayn threatened to use force against
Arab oil producers, including Kuwait and the UAE, that exceeded
their oil quotas, charging them with colluding with the United
States to strangle the Iraqi economy by flooding the market with
low-priced oil.
Although Iraq had accompanied its threats by moving troops to
the border area, the world was largely taken by surprise when,
on August 2, 1990, the Iraqi army invaded and occupied Kuwait.
A force of about 120,000 soldiers and approximately 2,000 tanks
and other armored vehicles met little resistance. The Kuwaiti
army was not on the alert, and those troops at their posts could
not mount an effective defense. Some aircraft operating from southern
Kuwait attacked Iraqi armored columns before their air base was
overrun, and they sought refuge in Saudi Arabia. Of the 20,000
Kuwaiti troops, many were killed or captured, although up to 7,000
escaped into Saudi Arabia, along with about forty tanks.
Having completed the occupation of Kuwait, the Iraqi armored
and mechanized divisions and the elite Republican Guard advanced
south toward Kuwait's border with Saudi Arabia. Intelligence sources
indicated that the Iraqis were positioning themselves for a subsequent
drive toward the Saudi oil fields and shipping terminals, possibly
continuing toward the other gulf states.
In the first of a series of resolutions condemning Iraq, the
United Nations (UN) Security Council on August 2 called for Iraq's
unconditional and immediate withdrawal from Kuwait. In the ensuing
months, a coalition force of more than 600,000 ground, sea, and
air force personnel deployed to defend Saudi Arabia and to drive
the Iraqis out of Kuwait. Command of the force was divided: commander
in chief of the United States Central Command, General H. Norman
Schwarzkopf, headed United States, British, and French units;
his Saudi counterpart, Lieutenant General Khalid ibn Sultan ibn
Abd al Aziz Al Saud, commanded units from twentyfour non-Western
countries, including troops from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, Kuwait,
and the other gulf states. In addition to 20,000 Saudi troops
and 7,000 Kuwaiti troops, an estimated 3,000 personnel from the
other GCC states took part in the land forces of the coalition
offensive, known as Operation Desert Storm.
When the massive coalition ground assault of Operation Desert
Storm got under way on February 24, 1991, troops of the Persian
Gulf states formed part of two Arab task forces. The first, Joint
Forces Command North, consisting of Egyptian, Saudi, Syrian, and
Kuwaiti troops, deployed on Kuwait's western border. Joint Forces
Command East deployed along the gulf immediately south of Kuwait
and consisted of about five brigades (each well below the strength
of a regular Western brigade) from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain,
and Qatar. The main attack was a sweeping movement by United States,
British, and French forces in the west designed to cut the links
between the Iraqi forces in Kuwait and their bases in Iraq. The
Saudis and Kuwaitis on the western border of Kuwait, composed
of about four brigades organized as the Khalid Division, together
with an Egyptian regiment, breached Iraqi defenses after allied
bombing and engineer operations blasted passages. Iraqi troops,
although in strong positions, surrendered or streamed to the north.
Units of Joint Forces Command East advanced up the coastal road,
capturing the city of Kuwait on the third day of the offensive
after light fighting and the surrender of thousands of Iraqi soldiers.
Data as of January 1993
|
