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The Persian Gulf War, commonly referred to simply as the Gulf War, was a war waged by a United Nations authorized coalition force from thirty-four nations, led by the United States and Great Britain, against Iraq. It began on August 2, 1990. Former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's called it "the Mother of All Battles" and the war is also sometimes erroneously called Operation Desert Storm, although technically, that was the operational name for the military response.
On August 2, 1990, Iraqi troops invaded Kuwait. This was met with international condemnation, and brought immediate economic sanctions against Iraq by members of the UN Security Council. U.S. President George H. W. Bush deployed American forces to Saudi Arabia, and urged other countries to send their own forces to the scene. An array of nations joined the Coalition. The great majority of the military forces in the coalition were from the United States, with Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and Egypt as leading contributors, in that order. Around $36 billion of the $60 billion cost was paid by Saudi Arabia.
The initial conflict to expel Iraqi troops from Kuwait began with an aerial bombardment on January 17, 1991. This was followed by a ground assault on February 23rd. This resulted in a decisive victory for the coalition forces, who liberated Kuwait and advanced into Iraqi territory. The coalition ceased their advance, and declared a cease-fire 100 hours after the ground campaign started. Aerial and ground combat was confined to Iraq, Kuwait, and areas on the border of Saudi Arabia. However, Iraq launched Scud missiles against coalition military targets in Saudi Arabia and against Israel.
On February 23, 1991, the 1st Marine Division, 2nd Marine Division, and the 1st Light Armored Infantry crossed into Kuwait and headed toward Kuwait City. They encountered trenches, barbed wire, and minefields but were able to reach their objective in a few hours. Several tank battles took place, but apart from that, Coalition troops encountered minimal resistance, as most Iraqi troops surrendered. The general pattern was that the Iraqis would put up a short fight before surrendering. However, Iraqi air defenses shot down nine American aircraft. Meanwhile, forces from Arab countries advanced into Kuwait from the east, encountering little resistance and suffering few casualties.
British armored forces went into Kuwait fifteen hours ahead of schedule, and American forces were sent after the Iraqi Republican Guard. Despite the intense combat, the Americans repulsed the Iraqis and continued to advance towards Kuwait city. Kuwaiti forces were tasked with liberating the city. Iraqi troops offered only light resistance. The Kuwaitis lost one soldier killed and one plane shot down, and quickly liberated the city. On February 27th, Saddam Hussein ordered a retreat from Kuwait. However, an Iraqi unit at Kuwait International Airport appeared not to have gotten the message, and fiercely resisted. U.S. Marines had to fight for hours before securing the airport, after which Kuwait was declared secure. After four days of fighting, Iraqi forces were expelled from Kuwait. As part of a scorched-earth policy, they set fire to nearly 700 oil wells, and placed land mines around the wells to make extinguishing the fires more difficult.
Bush's approval ratings skyrocketed following the victory. His popularity scared many front-running Democratic contenders like New York Governor Mario Cuomo from seeking the Democratic nomination for President in the upcoming 1992 election. Bush went on to face a lesser-known opponent, the Governor of Arkansas, in the 1992 election. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Following is a YouTube Video of President Bush speaking to Congress following the end of the war.