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Liberation of Kuwait
Part of the Persian Gulf War
An Iraqi T-54, T-55 or Type 59 and T-55A on Basra-Kuwait Highway near Kuwait
Two Iraqi tanks lie abandoned near Kuwait City.
Date24–28 February 1991
LocationKuwait
Result Coalition victory; Kuwait liberated of all Iraqi troops
Territorial
changes
Kuwait restored; Iraq gives up claim as 19th province
Belligerents
Iraq Iraq United States United States
Kuwait Kuwait
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia
Flag of Egypt Egypt
Canada Canada
Flag of Syria Syria
Flag of Oman Oman
Flag of Morocco Morocco
United Kingdom United Kingdom
Commanders and leaders
Iraq Saddam Hussein
Iraq Ali Hassan al-Majid
Kuwait Jaber Al-Khaled Al-Sabah
United States Norman Schwarzkopf
United States Colin Powell
Saudi Arabia Khalid bin Sultan
United Kingdom Peter de la Billière
Strength
Around 500,000[citation needed] Around 650,000[citation needed]
Casualties and losses
Between 20,000 - 35,000 casualties[citation needed]
Around 150,000 POWs[citation needed]
1,155 casualties[citation needed]
70 POWs[citation needed]

The Liberation of Kuwait was the campaign to retake Kuwait from Iraq after the massive air campaign, between 24–28 February 1991. U.S. troops and the Coalition entered to find the Iraqis surrendering en masse; however, pockets of resistance existed, particularly at Kuwait International Airport where Iraqi troops, seemingly unaware that a retreat order had been issued to them, continued to fight, resulting in a fierce battle over the airport itself. The majority of the fighting took place in Iraq, rather than Kuwait.[1]

Prelude[]

3 AD Iraq

Tanks from 3rd Armored Division Brigade along the Line of Departure.

Days before the attack, an amphibious force made repeated feint attacks and landings at Kuwait City, attempting to fool the Iraqis into thinking the Coalition would attack via amphibious assault. Instead, the troops were to enter by the southern border of Kuwait. The Coalition forces based there were weary from constant Scud missile threats, chemical missile threats and near-constant shelling by Iraqi artillery. When the first troops began the assault, they were warned that casualties could be as many as one in three.

Campaign[]

DM-SC-92-03658

An American M60 Patton tank breaches the Iraqi defense line in Kuwait on February 24th..

At 4 a.m. on February 24, after being shelled for months and under the constant threat of a gas attack, the U.S. 1st and 2nd Marine Divisions crossed into Kuwait. They maneuvered around vast systems of barbed wire, minefields and trenches. Once into Kuwait, they headed towards Kuwait City. The troops themselves encountered little resistance and, apart from several minor tank battles, were met primarily by surrendering soldiers. The general pattern was that Coalition troops would encounter Iraqi soldiers who would put up a brief fight before deciding to surrender.

Abrams in formation

M1 Abrams move out during the Gulf War

On the 27th of February, Saddam Hussein issued a retreat order to his troops in Kuwait; however, one unit of Iraqi troops appeared to have not gotten the retreat order. When the U.S. Marines arrived at Kuwait International Airport, they encountered fierce resistance, and it took them several hours to gain control and secure the airport. As part of the retreat order, the Iraqis carried out a "scorched earth" policy that included setting hundreds of oil wells on fire in an effort to destroy the Kuwaiti economy. After the battle at Kuwait International Airport, the U.S. Marines stopped at the outskirts of Kuwait City, allowing their Coalition allies to take and occupy Kuwait City, effectively ending combat operations in the Kuwaiti theater of the war.

Result[]

IrakDesertStorm1991

Aerial view of destroyed Iraqi T-72 tank, BMP-1 and Type 63 armored personnel carriers and trucks on Highway 8 in March 1991

After four days of fighting, all Iraqi troops were expelled from Kuwait, ending a nearly seven-month occupation of Kuwait by Iraq. A little over 1,100 casualties were suffered by the Coalition. Estimates of Iraqi casualties range from 30,000 to 150,000. Several U.S. and one Kuwaiti aircraft were shot down by Iraqi air defenses, compared to no losses of Iraqi aircraft, though this was primarily because the Iraqi Air Force had already been almost entirely destroyed prior to the Coalition ground invasion. Iraq lost thousands of vehicles, while the advancing Coalition lost relatively few. Iraq's export model (Monkey Model) of the Soviet T-72 tank proved no match for the U.S. M1 Abrams tank. Manufactured in the 1970s, the Iraqi T-72s lacked later modernizations such as composite armor, depleted uranium rounds and thermal imaging sights.

References[]

  1. Morse, Stan (1991). Gulf War Debrief. World Air Power Journal. 

External links[]

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