The Gulf War was an armed conflict between Iraq and a 42-country coalition led by the United States. The coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: Operation Desert Shield, which marked the military buildup from August 1990 to January 1991; and Operation Desert Storm, which began with the aerial bombing campaign against Iraq on 17 January 1991 and came to a close with the American-led liberation of Kuwait on 28 February 1991.

Quick Facts Date, Location ...

Gulf War

From top to bottom, left to right:

U.S. Air Force F-15Es, F-16s, and an F-15C flying over burning Kuwaiti oil wells
a U.S. Army M1 Abrams laying down a smokescreen
British troops from the Staffordshire Regiment practicing casualty evacuation
wrecked and abandoned vehicles on the Highway of Death
camera view from a Lockheed AC-130

Date	2 August 1990 – 17 January 1991 (Operation Desert Shield) 17 January – 28 February 1991 (Operation Desert Storm) (6 months, 3 weeks and 5 days)
Location	Iraq Kuwait Saudi Arabia Persian Gulf Israel
Result	Coalition victory
Territorial changes	State of Kuwait resumes self-governance over all Kuwaiti sovereign territory Establishment of a demilitarized zone and construction of a separation barrier along the Iraq–Kuwait border

Belligerents

Iraq

Commanders and leaders

Strength

Over 950,000 soldiers
3,113 tanks
1,800 aircraft
2,200 artillery pieces

1,000,000+ soldiers (~600,000 in Kuwait)
5,500 tanks
700+ aircraft
3,000 artillery systems^[4]

Casualties and losses

Total:
13,488

Coalition:
292 killed (147 killed by enemy action, 145 non-hostile deaths)
776 wounded^[5] (467 wounded in action)
31 tanks destroyed/disabled^[6]^[7]^[8]^[9]
^[10]^[11]^[12]^[13]
28 Bradley IFVs destroyed/damaged
^[14]^[15]
1 M113 APC destroyed
2 British Warrior APCs destroyed
1 artillery piece destroyed
75 aircraft destroyed^{[citation needed]}
Kuwait:
420 killed
12,000 captured
≈200 tanks destroyed/captured
850+ other armored vehicles destroyed/captured
57 aircraft lost
8 aircraft captured (Mirage F1s)

17 ships sunk, 6 captured^[16]

Total:
175,000–300,000+

Iraqi:
20,000–50,000 killed^[17]^[18]
75,000+ wounded^[5]
80,000–175,000 captured^[17]^[19]^[20]
3,300 tanks destroyed^[17]
2,100 APCs destroyed^[17]
2,200 artillery pieces destroyed^[17]
110 aircraft destroyed^{[citation needed]}
137 aircraft flown to Iran to escape destruction^[21]^[22]
19 ships sunk, 6 damaged^{[citation needed]}

Kuwaiti civilian losses:
Over 1,000 killed^[23]
600 missing people^[24]
Iraqi civilian losses:
3,664 killed directly^[25]
Total Iraqi losses (including 1991 Iraqi uprisings):
142,500–206,000 deaths (According to Medact)^{[lower-alpha 1]}^[26]
Other civilian losses:
75 killed in Israel and Saudi Arabia, 309 injured

Close

On 2 August 1990, Iraq, governed by Saddam Hussein, invaded neighboring Kuwait and fully occupied the country within two days. The invasion was primarily over disputes regarding Kuwait's alleged slant drilling in Iraq's Rumaila oil field, as well as to cancel Iraq's large debt to Kuwait from the recently ended Iran-Iraq War. After Iraq briefly occupied Kuwait under a rump puppet government known as the "Republic of Kuwait", it split Kuwait's sovereign territory into the "Saddamiyat al-Mitla' District" in the north, which was absorbed into Iraq's existing Basra Governorate, and the "Kuwait Governorate" in the south, which became Iraq's 19th governorate.

The invasion of Kuwait was met with immediate international condemnation, including the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 660, which demanded Iraq's immediate withdrawal from Kuwait, and the imposition of comprehensive international sanctions against Iraq with the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 661. British prime minister Margaret Thatcher and U.S. president George H. W. Bush deployed troops and equipment into Saudi Arabia and urged other countries to send their own forces. An array of countries joined the American-led coalition, forming the largest military alliance since World War II. The bulk of the coalition's military power was from the United States, with Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, and Egypt as the largest lead-up contributors, in that order.

United Nations Security Council Resolution 678, adopted on 29 November 1990, gave Iraq an ultimatum, expiring on 15 January 1991, to implement Resolution 660 and withdraw from Kuwait, with member-states empowered to use "all necessary means" to force Iraq's compliance. Initial efforts to dislodge the Iraqis from Kuwait began with aerial and naval bombardment of Iraq on 17 January, which continued for five weeks. As the Iraqi military struggled against the coalition attacks, Iraq fired missiles at Israel to provoke an Israeli military response, with the expectation that such a response would lead to the withdrawal of several Muslim-majority countries from the coalition. The provocation was unsuccessful; Israel did not retaliate and Iraq continued to remain at odds with most Muslim-majority countries. Iraqi missile barrages against coalition targets in Saudi Arabia were also largely unsuccessful, and on 24 February 1991, the coalition launched a major ground assault into Iraqi-occupied Kuwait. The offensive was a decisive victory for the coalition, who liberated Kuwait and promptly began to advance past the Iraq–Kuwait border into Iraqi territory. A hundred hours after the beginning of the ground campaign, the coalition ceased its advance into Iraq and declared a ceasefire. Aerial and ground combat was confined to Iraq, Kuwait, and areas straddling the Iraq–Saudi Arabia border.

The conflict marked the introduction of live news broadcasts from the front lines of the battle, principally by the American network CNN. It has also earned the nickname Video Game War, after the daily broadcast of images from cameras onboard American military aircraft during Operation Desert Storm. The Gulf War has also gained fame for some of the largest tank battles in American military history: the Battle of Medina Ridge, the Battle of Norfolk, and the Battle of 73 Easting.