Persian Gulf War Timeline
The Persian Gulf War, which started on 2nd August 1990 and ended on 28 February 1991, was the first war fought between the coalition forces led by the United States and Iraq. There were 32 nations in all forming the coalition. This war was a result of occupation of Kuwait by Iraq. Of course, thereafter, the second war was also fought when it was rumored that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. This war started on 19 March 2003 and again consisted of a coalition force led by the US. It ended with the capture of Saddam Hussein and his subsequent hanging after a trial. |
The dictator of Iraq, Saddam Hussein declared that Kuwait was trying to suppress Iraq’s economy by over-producing oil thereby under-pricing it in the global market. He also claimed that Kuwait was illegally pumping out oil from its oil fields located in Rumaila. Saddam invaded Kuwait on 2 August 1990. After aerial and ground attacks, Saddam established ‘Provisional Government of free Kuwait’ on 8 August 1990.
The UN laid trade embargo on Iraq and passed Resolution 660 for immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Iraqi troops from Kuwait. The UN set 15 January 1991 as the final deadline for Iraq’s withdrawal.
Failing this, the coalition forces launched first air strikes on 17 January 1991 over military and civil infrastructures of Iraq followed by ground attacks from 23 February 1991 after attaining air supremacy and major control of the ground situation.
The first major win was on 20 March 1991 when ground troops of the UK and the US moved and occupied Umm Qasr.
The coalition took control of the H-2 and H-3 airfields located in the western part of Iraq by 23 March 1991. Mechanized troops moved in closer to Baghdad. The second major step was Coalition troops being air-lifted and dropped in to Kurdish dominant northern Iraq.
By 27 March, US troops put down fierce fighting by irregular Iraqi troops and took control of the bridge over Euphrates River, thus moving in closer to Baghdad. The US paratroopers along with soldiers of PUK opened the northern front.
By 29 March 1991, US troops moved further north and faced strong opposition. Guerilla warfare continued simultaneously in many locations. Bombing of Iraqi installations continued while Iraq tried hitting Kuwaiti targets using surface-to-surface missiles. The ‘Fidayeeens’ also commenced suicide attacks on the coalition troops.
By 3 April, US troops reached Saddam International Airport in Baghdad and by 5 April, Armored Forces started incursions which lasted several days. By 7 April, British forces took complete control of Basra.
Major win of Kirkuk by Kurdish troops allowed entry in to Mosul in the north. This was followed by control over Tikrit by 15 April. The war was effectively over, but guerrilla warfare simmered.
Udai and Qusay Hussein, the Saddam Hussein's sons, were killed by airborne troops on 22 July 2003 followed by the arrest of Saddam Hussein on 13 December 2004 which officially ended the war.
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The History Guy: The Persian Gulf War
http://www.historyguy.com/GulfWar.html
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The first Persian Gulf War, also called Operation Desert Storm, was a war fought between the Coalition Forces and Iraq. The time span of the war was from 2 August 1990 to 28 February 1991. The location of this theater was mainly in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait. The coalition forces were moved in on the behest of the United Nation and the US spearheaded the force. The coalition was composed of 32 nations. But the major players were the US, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and Egypt. 