The Gulf War 1991

The Gulf War 1991

The Air war begin on 17th Jan 1991, The Air attacks had five main target areas; Command and Control, Air Superiority, Interdiction, destruction of NBC weapons, and the Republican Guard. The plan was to carry out strategic bombing, gain Air superiority, bomb the Iraqi artillery, troops and trenches and then finally launch a ground offensive. Make no mistake despite the impression given in the media of smart bombs they were not overly accurate for example the F-117 had a hit rate of 55%, while the older F-111 hit the target 70% of the time with laser guided bombs. The most important part was the ground offensive. Only ground forces in particular infantry can take and hold ground, although airpower was vital in softening up the Iraqi trenches and forces, it is nearly impossible to dislodge or destroy an opposing force without the use of ground troops.

Air Superiority was soon won, with 116 Iraqi aircraft fleeing to Iran were they were seized. To have complete dominance over the air is very rare in warfare and it allowed normally vulnerable helicopter Gunships to roam at will across the open battlefield.

This is what is called the Air land battle or Deep battle where due to modern weapons with extended range an attack does not just attack the enemy front lines but his whole military organisation, his front, his art, his reserves and importantly his C&C, without this his troops are blind and helpless.

The ground assault began on 24th Feb 1991 and lasted exactly 100 hours; the pace of operations was intense. The plan was a general attack along the line with dummy and decoy attacks on the right and the left flank swing around like a huge left hook. 2 US armoured divisions under Gen Franks were to drive north then east and pin the Republican Guard against the Sea and destroy it. If it went south the British forces were to form the anvil and the 2 US divisions would swing back like a hammer.

The first day went very well, the Iraqis who were expected to fight stubbornly were steam rollered by the Coalition forces, with no recon, poor supplies and their Armour being completely outclassed progress was rapid Coalition casualties on the first day were 8 dead and 27 wounded.

On day two sandstorms stopped many of the air resupply missions but thanks to GPS the Coalition forces kept advancing, although not fast, frequently taking Iraqi units by surprise in the poor weather conditions. Heavy rain started to fall and in the darkness the British forces encountered the 12th Iraqi Armoured Division, after calling down support fire they attacked and drove the Iraqis off, inflicting heavy casualties.

On the third day cloud was limiting air recon and the advance continued, now a race to catch and destroy the Republican Guard. On first light the British forces attacked a large enemy position with a two pronged armoured attack and 1 Stafford's attacking them from the rear clearing out the prepare position.

It was during this afternoon that two US A-10s accidentally fired on 2 British Warriors AFV's of the Royal Fusiliers, nine men died and 11 were wounded. By the end of the War the British division had in 66 hours wrecked the better part of three armoured divisions and captured more than 7,000 prisoners in an advance of over 180 miles, a testament to both our ability and the speed of modern warfare.

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