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Iraq Invades Kuwait
Iraq fores invaded Kuwait.The Iraq leader Saddam Hussein had been making threats against Kuwait for a while,his actual invasion caught most of the world by surprise and extent of Iraq invasion was also a surprise.Those who had expected an attack,like Commander of US.Central General Norman Schwarzkopf expected just a limited attack to seize Kuwait oil felid.Insted,within a number of hours,Iraq fored and had seized downtown Kuwait City and they were heading south towards the Saudi Arabian border. -
American Response
When word of the Iraqi attack was received and digested in Washington, the first concern was: would he stop at the Saudi border? Initial analysis was not encouraging;Iraqi forces began to assemble at the Saudi border in offensive positions. The United States had contingency plans for coming to the defense of the Saudis, but they were dependent on the Saudis asking for US assistance. -
Planning an Offensive
By the end of September,there was nearly 200,000 American fores in Saudi Arabia-,enough to successfully defend any Iraq attack. The question remained,however,how to remove Iraq forces from Kuwait. The inital plan called for a direct offensive aimed at Kuwait City; but Schwarkopf and the other American commanders thought that it was too risky against heavily armed,well-entrenched Iraq. Instead,they called for additional troops to prepare for an offensive. -
Air Attack
On the morning of Junuary 17,Allied forces began the first phase of Operation Desert Storm the attack on Iraq.Amercain forces systematically first destroyed the Iraq border rader stations.Next they attacked Key elements of Iraq anti-aircraft network. Finally they began bombing Key targets in downtown Iraq,including the Presidential palace,communication centers and powers stations. The Allied forces lost only 2 planes during the attacks. The attacks contiued day and night. -
Scuds Hit Israel
On January 17, at 3 AM, the Iraqis fired seven Scud missiles at Israel. Israelis, based on Saddam's earlier threats to burn half of Israel with chemical weapons, awaited the missiles wearing gas masks. The Scuds only had conventional warheads, but their terror value was immense. The Israelis, following their long-stated doctrine, wanted to retaliate massively immediately. However, Washington heavily pressured Jerusalem not to respond. -
Attack on Al Khfji
On the evening of January 29, after two weeks of air assaults, the Iraqis mounted their one attack. The Iraqi 5th Mechanized Division attacked southward, capturing the Saudi town of Al Khafji, eight miles south of the Kuwaiti border. The Iraqis repulsed the first Saudi force that attempted a counterattack and, despite massive American air attacks, they held on to the town through the day and night. -
Ground Attack - Day 1
On February 24, at 4 AM, led by the Marines, the Allied troops crossed the borders into Kuwait. For the days before the attack, the Iraqi troops had been subjected to merciless air attacks; every possible target was struck. The Allied offensive had three major prongs: the first aimed at Kuwait City, the second to the west aimed at the Iraqi flanks, and the final one far to the west, beyond the major Iraqi lines that would totally outflank Iraqi lines. -
Ground Atttack Day -2
On the second day of the war,the American troops advanded-further on all farms. The Marines approached Kuwait City,while the West prongs began to cut off the Iraq's abilty to withdraw. Once again,American casualities were extremely low. -
Ground Attack Day 3
The third day of the war saw the largest tank battle in history.The America's armored forces engaged the tank of the Republican guard.The American tanks completely destroyed the Iraqi heavy armor without losing a single tank.During the third day,the Iraqi army began a headlong retreat from Kuwait and southern Iraq That retreat was cut off by Allied aircraft.Iraqis were told to leave their vehicles and retreat by foot.Their vehicles were destroyed from the air. -
Ground Attack Day 4- The End
The fourth and last full day of the war saw the American forces continuing the destruction of much of the Iraqi Army. A decision had already been taken in Washington to end the war at 100 hours. It had been determined that an assault on Baghdad might have too many unintended consequences. The best that could be done was to destroy as much Iraqi equipment as possible, and that was what was done in the last hours of the war.