War in the Persian Gulf: Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm August 1990-March 1991

CMH 70-117-1. Prepared by Richard Stewart. Based primarily on two works: "The Whirlwind War: The United States Army in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm," edited by Frank N. Schubert and Theresa L. Kraus; and a chapter from "U.S. Army, American Military History, vol. 2, The United States Army in a Global Era, 1917-2008" written by John Sloan Brown.

Twenty years ago, the Persian Gulf War captured the attention of the world as the first test of the U.S. Army since the Vietnam War and the first large-scale armor engagement since World War II. Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait and his subsequent ouster by the U.S.-led coalition are keys to understanding today’s situation in the Middle East. The coalition partnerships cemented in that initial operation and in the regional peacekeeping operations that followed provided the basis for a growing series of multinational efforts that have characterized the post–Cold War environment. Moreover, the growing interoperability of U.S. air, sea, and land forces coupled with the extensive employment of more sophisticated weapons first showcased in Desert Storm have become the hallmark of American military operations and the standard that other nations strive to meet.

Related items:

The Iraq & Persian Gulf Wars resources collection can be found here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/catalog/us-military-history/battles-wars/iraq-...

Table of Contents:
 
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
Strategic Setting: The Army on the Eve of War in the Gulf. . . . . . . . 1
Operations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
The First Deployments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Support of the Deployed Forces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Host-Nation Support and Contracting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Transportation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
“Deforger 90”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Mobilizing the Reserve Components. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Planning for the Offensive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Operation Desert Storm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Attack on Khafji. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
The 100-hour Ground War. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Day One: 24 February 1991. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Day Two: 25 February 1991. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Day Three: 26 February 1991. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Day Four: 27 February 1991. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Cease-fire. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Epilogue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Abbreviations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Map Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Further Readings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Historians, military members and scholars, Veterans, and members of the general public with an interest in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm may want a copy of this publication.

Military science, political science, and Middle Eastern studies students pursuing undergraduate or graduate degrees may be interested in this work.