Canadian Army Forces in the Gulf War From: http://www.canadiansoldiers.com/history/wars/gulfwar.htm The Gulf War The Gulf War (1990–1991) (also called the Persian Gulf War, First Gulf War, or (erroneously, see below) Operation DESERT STORM) was a conflict between Iraq and a coalition approximately 20 nations led by the United States and mandated by the United Nations in order to liberate Kuwait. The war was precipitated by an Iraqi invasion of Kuwait on 2 Aug 1990. The invasion was met with economic sanctions by the United Nations and a military buildup along the Iraqi border with Saudi Arabia by coalition forces led by the United States, called Operation DESERT SHIELD. An aerial campaign against Iraqi forces began in Jan 1991, with a ground campaign liberating Kuwait in Feb. Background After an eight year war between Iran and Iraq with neither side being able to strike a decisive blow, a cease fire was arranged in 1988. Saddam Hussein, Iraq's leader, was left with the fourth largest standing army in the world - and a debt equal to 80 billion US dollars. Hussein looked to oil-rich Kuwait as a simple solution; citing border disputes real or imagined, and accusing the Kuwaitis of slant-drilling to obtain oil from Iraqi territory, he ordered an invasion for 1 Aug 1990. The country was quickly annexed. Political and economic sanctions were placed on Iraq, with the United Nations strongly objecting to the annexation of Kuwait. Iraq had been seen as an ally of the US; the overthrow of the pro-US Shah in 1979 and the yearlong hostage taking at the US embassy had resulted in Hussein becoming a "strange bedfellow" in the middle east for the US. Yet, when Kuwait was seized, fear that oil resources in the region would be controlled by an out of control dictator prompted the US to make hard decisions. Fewer than two weeks elapsed after Iraq's successful invasion before Operation DESERT SHIELD had established a strong US military presence in Saudi Arabia. The Saudis, also very much reliant on their oil production, were concerned that they, too, might become a victim of Iraqi aggression and despite their misgivings about large numbers of western troops using their country as a military base, agreed to host a large coalition of forces. Both sides began deploying troops to the region; nearly 500,000 Iraqi soldiers with 4,300 armoured vehicles were in southern Iraq by 1 Jan 1991; across the border were assembled 650,000 troops and 3,600 AFVs. Operation DESERT STORM - an aerial offensive - began on the night of 16/17 Jan 1991. Coalition air forces, augmented by Tomahawk cruise missiles fired from the sea, established air superiority over Iraq in four days, then turned their attention to tactical missions, destroying Iraqi ground forces in their well prepared defensive positions.
