1. June 1967 War
Kuwait armed forces were on a full alert from 1961 until the fall of Qasim regime in 1963. The crisis forced the Army to adapt a reform workshop that included the renewal and expansion of manpower, arms and organization.
Israel took actions in a series of increasingly provocative and threatening steps. During May and early June of 1967, Israel threatened to attack Syria, and President Nasser deployed his armed forces against Israel. Israel launched an aggression against Egypt. According to Treaty of Joint Defense and Economic Cooperation Between the States of the Arab League, June 17, 1950, any [act of] armed aggression made against any one or more of them or their armed forces, to be directed against them all . Kuwait was part of that treaty after its independence in 1961. In 1967, Gamal Abd al-Nasser requested the withdrawal of international U.N. forces from the Straits of Tiran, and the U.N. Secretary General at that time, U Thant, when the troops were withdrawn; the door was open for war. Even today, some say that if U Thant had not hurried to comply with Nasser’s request, the face of history would have been changed or at the very least delayed its change[1].
Kuwait became the first Arab country to respond to the crisis, and its men became the first casualties on the battlefront from the first blaze. An Ameeri decree was issued on 5th of May 1967 declaring war on Israel. Another order was issued to send one brigade called the Kuwait Expeditionary Force (Yarmuk Brigade) commanded by Kuwait Army Chief of Operations and Deputy Chief of Staff Sheikh Saleh to Egypt .
First, a team headed by Abdullah Faraj Alghanem was sent to Egypt to prepare the ground for receiving and staging Kuwait force in Faied area. The decision was to send the Commando Battalion by air and the artilleries by sea.
The political situations were escalating towards war. Kuwait’s government gave orders to send Yarmuk Brigade in less than 72 hours. The challenges were greater than the army’s abilities, because the Yarmuk Brigade represented one third of Kuwait’s armed forces in men and equipments. It meant also, suspension of the training programs and the nightmare of logistics support to the force in Egypt.
A military parade took place on 28th of May 1967 at the Army Training School for the forces who were going to be leaving. The parade was attended by the Ameer and heads of government, where Sheikh Saleh AlSabah was given the flag of that force from his highness the Ameer.
Brigader Saleh was the Commander of that unit. Col. Abdullah Alghanem was his deputy along with Mohammed Albader for Operations and Lt. Col. SADI Mutlaq for armored. There was Major Omer Zuaiter for artillery, Dr. Haider Alagha for Medical Unit, Ali Gathfan for store as well as Musalem Alajmi for communications and Saud Bshara for logistics. Kuwait Air Ways took the role of lifting most of the force to Egypt and Kuwait Air Force Caribou cargo planes air lifted the heavy equipment,
The first expeditionary battalion left Kuwait by air on 29th of May1967. It was followed through the week by other units and by a HQ element under Brigadier Saleh. They shipped the armored units (composed of 15 Centurions), together with a regiment of Saladin’s, 12 Ferrets, a Battery of 25 ponders and an LAA troop, from Al-Ahmadi port by chartered freighter after a few days. The total forces were about 1200 men[2].
Kuwait infantry in Egypt were installed at Faied but the HQ was forward in the Gaza strip and was assigned a sector on the extreme left flank.
On May 29th 1967 Kuwait’s Commando Battalion containing three companies and a command unit completed its landing in Egypt, and its staff started long meetings with the Egyptian Security Units regarding the Israeli enemy. The battalions were moved on 4th of June 1967 by trains from Faied to Sinai Peninsula facing the Israeli lines.
Yarmuk Brigade was attached to the Egyptians 7th Division in Rafah –Alaraish sector. That division consisted of 4 infantry brigades and with it was a tank brigade of a hundred tanks from different Soviet types that included T34, Stalin and SU100 artillery.
In June 4th the Kuwaiti Commander took a helicopter tour, inspecting the front where he asked the Egyptian Commanders to change his unit’s locations to be facing the enemy in the Alarish area. The 5th of June was set by Skeikh Saleh to be the moving date for the Kuwait Force from Faied to Alarish by train. The location was 15 km away from Al arish itself. The first train left on the fourth of June with Kuwait force Commanded by Abdullah Faraj Alghanem, and major Omer Zuaiter to be followed by the second train carrying the equipment.
A British report noted that General Mubarak returned from Cairo pleased with his reception there and hoping that at least one good thing would come out of the crisis – that he would get more money to buy the extra tanks and armored cars he had been asking for.
The 1967 war started at the early hours of the 5th of June by the Israeli Air Force destroying the Egyptians air power, and leaving the land forces without an air cover, including the train that was carrying the Kuwaiti force, which ignored the attacks and decided to continue to AlArish instead of turning back to Cairo.
When the train reached AlArish it was attacked by the Israeli planes again, and that’s when Kuwait Commando Force took cover in the palm trees around the train line until the nightfall. In the morning the unit continued their withdrawal to Port Saied. Kuwait’s local sources noted that Sheikh Fahad Alahmad who was one of the Commandos used his gun to9 force the train driver to stop in the beginning of the Israeli air attack.
At the first attack Sheikh Fahad Alahmad lead a group of the Commandos and took cover near the beach. From there he organized two groups: one group was responsible for searching for the rest of the Kuwaiti unit that was separated from them during the attack and was commanded by Abdullah Faraj Alghanem. That missing group was already on their way to the canal trying to cross the water with 65% of them having no swimming skills.
Sheikh Fahad Alahmad with the 2nd Commandos group reached AlMazar on the 7th of June where an Egyptian unit was stationed, but it wasn’t long before they were attacked by the Israeli Air Force. This group became more than one group again, wandering in the desert trying with the help of Sinai Peninsula Bedouins to find their way to Ismailia. From there they marched with the retreating Egyptian forces to Mattla wa Aljadi Pass. But the Israeli forces near the canal forced them to change their retreating route back to the Sinai Peninsula carrying their weapons; then to the north reaching the Mediterranean, to Port Said after 18 days in which they were lost in the desert.
The equipment train that escaped destruction was reached by LT. Col Muhammed Albader and was stopped after crossing the Fardan Bridge near Qantara East. Because of Lt. Col Albader’s feat, Kuwait Force retained all its equipment in good condition. Yarmuk Brigade was regrouped again and staged on Dahshoor near Cairo awaiting another round of fighting with the enemy.
With 1967’s victory, Israel couldn't force the Arabs to sign a peace treaty. Instead, Israel was subjected to constant attacks along The Egyptian front and across the Suez Canal. Israel started to build a wall along the canal to give legitimacy to its occupation of the Sinai Peninsula.
To prevent Israel from establishing the ( Bar lev line) wall and other settlements, the Egyptians adapted what was known as the Preemptive Defense Strategy, or the Attrition War. The purpose of the Attrition War was to prevent Israel from creating facts on the ground by making them lose men and money. Believing that Israel would be unable to endure the economic burden; the Egyptians felt that all this along with the constant casualties would undermine Israeli morale.
The Attrition War began in March 1969 and ended with United States Secretary of state William Rogers’s proposal known as Rogers Plan which sets UNSC Res. 242 as the basis for negotiations in August 1970. Yarmuk Brigade was attached to the 16th Division in the Egyptian Army, with the mission of defending the FRSAN Island and TUMSAH Lake along the Suez Canal.
On April 11th, 1970 the Brigade was changing location, and on that evening only one Company was left when the Israeli artillery started shelling the Kuwaiti positions along the Suez Canal. That night lance corporal Falah Abdullah Alanzi was killed. He became the first Kuwait martyr since the Yarmuk Brigade’s military inception on 17th June 1970. A Kuwaiti bunker received a direct hit from the Israeli artillery and the Yarmuk Brigade lost 16 soldiers. This was the largest causality in its history. According to Israeli sources the Israeli death toll during the Attrition War was 1424 soldiers and more than 100 civilians. Another 2,000 soldiers and 700 civilians were wounded[3].
The 1967 war was the first real test for Kuwait Army. It was good training for its men and officers, but it also affected its readiness in Kuwait by losing two thirds of its size and most of its equipments.
At this point we can ask whether the aim was clear: either by maintaining Kuwait's armed forces to match the scale and ambition of our foreign policy then; or tailor our foreign policy to match the defense resources available. This failure to match commitments and resources has bedeviled Kuwait's defense policy since 1961.
2. Samitah Iraqi aggression 1973
After Qasim crisis the Baathist regime dealt Kuwait a series of unauthorized claims. The friendship treaty with the Soviet’s in the early seventies and the Soviet Navy’s vessels visits led to Baathist demands to secure a deep-water port in Umm Qasr. This led to demands of taking part of Kuwait’s territories around that area, but Kuwait’s refusal was clear and firm.
The area around Umm Qasr Port was a salty swamp; a treacherous place for Iraqi soldiers. However, from the Iraqi side, the area consisted of dry hills suitable for controlling the area in Kuwait’s territory.
In late 1972, Iraq began building a road Kuwaiti land to the south of Umm Qasr. Iraq had already strengthened its forces in the region since it had been centered there for the first time in 1969[4]. It also settled artillery and integrated facilities on the highland to the southwest of Umm Qasr and demanded the right to occupy the Kuwaiti highland. Iraq was again met with another Kuwaiti refusal.
Al Samitah, Kuwait’s frontier police station which was three kilometers a way from Umm Qasr was manned most of the time by the police and some times by the Army. On 18th of March 1973 some Iraqi troops came to visit the police station, and during their courtesy visit they were asking the Kuwaiti policemen about the size and equipment of the force manning the station, insisting during their friendly conversations that this land belonged to Iraq. The following day they came to ask the Kuwaitis to leave the border post claming that it was on the Iraqi side of the border.
At 3am, 20th of March 1973 a Kuwaiti solider noticed Iraqi troop movement only 400 meters away from their station. A battalion size of force was making an attack formation and in less than an hour the Iraqi mortars started shelling the police station, destroying the communications room and the station’s vehicles.
A full scale attack was launched by the Iraqi force, killing 1st LT. Saud Alsahali and Copral Zaal Althaferi from the Kuwait Police force, and wounding another two, forcing five policemen to retreat under the Iraqi fire. After a brave resistance of few policemen against an army battalion, Iraq occupied the station and penetrated 3 kilometers into Kuwait’s territory.
Immediately, Kuwait dispatched troops and the armed forces went on high alert. A forward command was formed under Muhammed Albader. That force included a Commando Unit led by Abdul Wahab Al muzain, and a battalion of Saladin tanks from the 15th Brigade led by Gazi Aradah which was moved to Rawdateen.
Iraq, still refusing to recognize the border, withdrew from Kuwait’s territory under pressure from Saudi Arabia, the Soviet Union, the Arab League, and Iran, and started asking Kuwait to lease Warba and Bubiyan Islands to Iraq for 99 years.
3. Ramadan 1973 war
To Arab and western military analysis Kuwait’s participation during the October 1973 War was nothing more than an oil embargo, financial aid or some token forces that hardly joined in the battles.
The truth was far from that. Kuwait gave financial aid and jeopardized its only source of income by the oil embargo. It sent two thirds of its army to the Egyptian front since 1967 and sent another third to the Syrian front in 1973, to become the only Arab army that sent forces to different fronts during the same war. It also had more than 40 martyrs and countless wounded.
Anwar Sadat, was resolved to fight Israel and his plan to attack with Syria was code-named Operation Badr. On October 3rd 1973 three officers from the 3rd Egyptian Army came to the Kuwaiti Fifth Battalion that was part of Yarmuk Brigade and commanded by Maj. Khalid Aljeran, informing them that an air exercise would take place in the next few days and that they should be careful not to shoot at any of the Egyptian airplanes. However, at 1 pm on October 6th a motorcyclist brought a message indicating that the 3rd Army was going to breach across the Suez Canal attacking the Israeli Army and destroying the Bar Lev Line. At 2pm the Egyptians smashed the Israeli Army with it smashing the myth of the invincibility of Israeli arms.
The Egyptians burst across the Suez Canal and had advanced up to 15 km into the Sinai Desert, with the combined forces of two army corps. They were opposed by the Israeli "Sinai" division, which they overcame with relative ease and whose counter-attacks they repelled. The Israeli counter-attacks in air and on land were unsuccessful due to the new anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles used effectively by the Arabs.
Kuwait forces were deployed at the canal when all this started, behind them were an Egyptian surface-to-air missile batteries and that made them a target for the Israeli air raids. The Israeli Air Force had suffered serious losses so the air defense batteries across the front became their main targets.
When the Israeli’s managed to hit the Egyptians surface-to-air missile batteries after a week from the start of the battles, Kuwait’s forces were relocated, but during the movement they lost their Commander Maj. Aljeran on an Israeli artillery raid in an Egyptian bunker. One movement for the Kuwaiti army was towards Suez City. On the road the Kuwaiti force were hit by another raid and lost most of its heavy equipment. In the area known as 101 km Kuwait lost 37 men that day.
The force managed to reach their destination but they had to send some men to bring the equipment that failed during the movement. The mission resulted in losing Lt Ali Alfahad and the wounding of Lt Alalban.
Israel was depending on its air power and the Arabs were counting on their land forces. The Egyptian and Syrian air forces together with their air defenses shot down 114 Israeli warplanes during the conflict. The Israelis managed to hit the Egyptian land force badly. According to Israeli sources [5],On October 15, a division led by Ariel Sharon managed to breach the line between the Second and the Third Egyptian armies and to create a bridgehead; on the night of October 16/17, an Israeli bridge was deployed across the Suez Canal. The divisions of Avraham Eden (Bren) and Sharon passed over this bridge into Africa advancing to within 101 kilometers of Cairo. They wreaked havoc on the lines of supply of the Third Army stretching to the south of them, cutting off and encircling the Third Army. With the Third Army's situation being hopeless, the intervention from the USSR and the United States stopped the war. On October 22, a disengagement agreement was reached by efforts of the US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and a cease-fire was declared. The Kuwaiti forces returned victorious to Kuwait in late 1974.
On the Syrian front Aljahra force was formed and moved by land on 27th October 1973. It was commanded by LT Col.Ali Almumen and Salem Turki. As 2nd in command it consisted of commandos, Saladin and Vickers armored vehicles, artillery, air defense, signal, reconnaissance, medical, anti-armor and a logistic unit with a total of 3000 men.
When the force first reached Syria it was given the task of defending Damascus the capital, but later it was moved to the northern mountains fighting along with the Syrian fifth division. Kuwait French artillery nicknamed (ABo Rdain) was the hero among all Arab forces that included Saudi and Moroccan forces. The Israeli forces suffered heavy loses from that artillery in the Golan Heights and Jabal Alsheikh. That artillery was the master of the battle field. Without any causality on the Syrian front the unit returned to Kuwait after one year as part of the 1973 war efforts.
4. Iran -Iraq War 1980-1988
In January 1979 the Shah of Iran was forced to flee Iran and Khomeini returned from France creating an Islamic Republic. In December 1979 The USSR invaded Afghanistan. To the American President, Jimmy Carter, that was a grave threat to the free movement of oil from the Middle East. In his speech he stated that the United States would use military force if necessary to defend its national interests in the Arabian Gulf region; that became the American policy in the Gulf under the Carter Doctrine. However, that Doctrine was mainly against the USSR and failed to monitor and detect the regional conflicts.
The Iran-Iraq war that lasted from September 22, 1980 until August 20, 1988 was the first major threat to the security of the Gulf since WWII. It had evolved through four phases. In the first phase, 1980-1982, Iran was on the defensive when full-scale warfare erupted as the Iraqi army swept across the Shatt AlArab waterway into Arabstan, the richest oil-producing province in Iran. In May 1981, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE banded together in the GCC to protect their interests and, if necessary, to defend themselves. In the war Kuwait and the GCC countries were backing Baghdad. At the second phase, 1982-1984, Iran's offensives alarmed Kuwait and the GCC States, which were concerned about containing the spread of Iran's Revolution. The third phase, 1985-1987, was characterized by Iranian efforts to win diplomatic support for its war aims. Then the fourth phase began in the spring of 1987 with the direct involvement of the United States in the Gulf.
First phase 1980-1982
A full emergency alert was declared for two months in the Kuwait armed forces. An emergency plan was activated with a light military presence at the border key points without deployment.
Brigegader Muhammed AlBader became head of Operations and new methods as a joint command center came into existence along with two new defensive plans to defend Kuwait without the help of our brothers or allies. The first plan was set to counter an Iranian attack from the north if the Iranian forces managed to defeat the Iraqi forces in their southern sector in Basra. While the other plan considered an Iranian flank from the east through Faw Peninsula. A third plan called the Islands Plan was also set, and consisted of defensive points in 12 posts from Subia to Ras algeed on the Bubian Island. There was also an infantry battalion to counter and control. It was assigned to this task stationed in Bubian Island.
Under an Iraqi request to have a footstep in Kuwait territory to counter an Iranian attack, the infantry battalion was reinforced by a company of Chieftain Tanks stationed at Subia. At the same time the first landmine field in Kuwait history was laid by Kuwait army engineers at Subia for one kilometer. As part of that third plan a unit of Commandos and a Hawk Air Defense system was sent, along with Sam 7 systems and an AR-1 early warning radar.
The Air Force command post was still a manual operated war room when the war started. Waiting for the already purchased automated command center, and with the help of civil aviation, the Air Force monitored Kuwait air space closely. With the cooperation of the brotherly and friendly nations, work became more intense in the fields of gathering and sharing intelligence information. Combat air patrols ran day and night and interceptors where on short notice alert duties. The air defense umbrella covered Kuwait’s key points.
The Navy, still in the building stages, was waiting for the arrival of speed boats. No naval activities where noticed then, except the coordination with the GCC navies.
Second Phase 1982-1984
After the pro-Iranian terrorist attacks in mid 1983, Kuwait responded to the bombings and other violence by intensifying its military cooperation with the GCC and by building up its own forces. The armed forces took the internal defense task of protecting the oil industry infrastructure, power and water stations and the key government buildings. Two planning teams were formed and came up with two plans. The first plan was to protect the area from Kuwait City to the northern borders and was called (ALjeran) meaning the neighbors. The other plan was called (Alnusar) meaning, the supporters. This plan covered the area from Kuwait City to the southern borders. According to the two plans, battalions from the land force and air defense took the task of defending the oil industry, and the 80th Brigade that was formed that year took charge of defending key government buildings, and a strong link of cooperation was established with the Ministry of Interior.
Fearful of the radical leadership in Iran, Kuwait aided Iraq during the war by permitting the trans-shipment of goods across its territory and by loans. During this phase, the Iraqis were trying desperately to gain a foot stand in Kuwaiti soil, claiming that was the only way to counter an Iranian attack against Iraq from the south.
To stop the Iraqi requests for entering Kuwaiti territory, a communication committee was formed under the command of Col. Yosef Obeed from Kuwaiti and Brig. Amer Aldoori from Iraq. Sultan Alramyan and Ahmad Alrahmani became members of this committee and the meetings according to a Kuwaiti request took place in Iraq.
Part of that cooperation covered the save and rescue of Iraqi pilots, sailors, and ships that faced difficulty in Kuwait territory. It included covering the logistic convoys that were leaving Kuwaiti ports in two hundred trucks per convoy two nights a week, supported and protected by the Military Police, the Ministry of Interior and the logistic command of the Kuwait Army.
In 1984 Iran reacted to Iraqi air attacks on Iran's main oil terminal on the island of Kharj by attacking ships destined for ports in Gulf countries that assisted Iraq's war effort.
Third phase 1985-1987
During this time the Iranian forces managed to capture Faw Peninsula. They were so close to Kuwait that their artillery started shelling Kuwaiti positions in the island and their surface/surface silkworms started targeting and destroying Kuwait oil installations. The Iranians started what was known as the Oil Tankers War and tried to infiltrate into Kuwaiti space and to land on Kuwait Island. To counter this, a land force forward command was established as one brigade stationed between the 6th Brigade and Alrawthateen. This unit was commanded by Jassim Shehab and Matar Saeed. This command took the task of protecting the eastern front of Kuwait’s northern border; a second unit of that brigade took the task of the area between Khor Sabia to Um Qasr, and another force between Bubian Island and the main land. In early 1987 Iran stepped up the tanker warfare by introducing high-speed small crafts armed with Italian Sea Killer missiles. Kuwait had already sought the protection of United States naval escorts through the Gulf by re-flagging Kuwaiti vessels. Determined to protect the flow of oil, the United States approved and began tanker convoys in May 1987. Eleven Kuwaiti ships--one-half of the Kuwaiti tanker fleet--were placed under the United States flag. Other Kuwaiti tankers sailed under Soviet and British flags. Although United States escorts were involved in a number of clashes with Iranian forces, and one tanker was damaged by a sea mine, but in general Iran avoided interfering with Kuwaiti ships sailing under United States protection.
Reflectors
In the second half of the war, An Iranian Scuds and Silkworm ballistic missile war started against Kuwait, fired from Iranian lands or from launchers in Iraqi occupied Faw Peninsula.
In Early 1987 China assisted Iran in manufacturing a short-range, solid-fueled ballistic missile named Nazeat or Iran-130[6]. Iran launched 79 surface-to-surface missiles at Iraq; 18 of the missiles were Scuds, then Iran assembled the Scud-B missile kits, imported from North Korea in 1987 and 1988, in the facility of Isfahan[7]. On 8 January 1987, Iran strikes (the World Dawn) with a Sea Killer ship-launched SSM during a night attack. The World Dawn ship flies a Panamanian flag and was hit off the coast of the United Arab Emirates while carrying oil from Kuwait bound for Italy. On 12 January 1987 Iran strikes the Atlantic Dignity with a Sea Killer ship-launched SSM during a night attack. The Atlantic Dignity, flying a Liberian flag, was sailing off the coast of Oman while carrying oil from Kuwait bound for Italy. On January 14, 1987US intelligence officials said that Iran hit the Subia, a vessel flying a Kuwaiti flag, off the coast of the United Arab Emirates while carrying oil from Kuwait to Pakistan. A Sea Killer ship-launched SSM strikes the Subia during a night attack. On 28 March 1987 an Iranian gunboat fires a missile into the Sedra, a Singapore-registered tanker sailing in the Arabian Gulf. According to shipping sources, the missile was an Italian-made Sea Killer. Iran has produced a medium-range surface-to-surface missile with technological help from China. The Iranians have targeted shipping in the Gulf during the six-and-a-half-year-old Iran-Iraq War.
The Iranians have attacked a dozen vessels owned by Kuwait or plying Kuwaiti ports since September 1986. On 13 July 1987 US Defense Secretary Casper Weinberger says US forces are ready to attack Iranian Silkworm missiles if Iran prepares to fire them at Kuwaiti oil tankers escorted by American warships, but that did not stop Iran from attacking Kuwait. On 4 September 1987 A Chinese-made Silkworm missile is fired from Iran and hits Kuwaiti territory. On 22 October 1987 Iran launched an attack by a Silkworm missile on a Kuwaiti oil terminal, the third time in a week that Iranian Silkworms have hit targets in Kuwaiti waters, the US military analysts suggest that the accuracy displayed by Iran's Silkworm missile attack on a Kuwaiti offshore oil terminal indicates that Iran has an advanced version of the missile, which has long been thought powerful but inaccurate[8]. On 12 December 1987 according to an article in the Beirut magazine Al-Shira, China plans to sell Iran 300 additional Silkworm missiles. Iran was reportedly using the missiles against Kuwait. China denies that it directly provided the Silkworm to Iran[9].
Kuwait reacted to the Silkworms threats during the tanker war or the ballistic missiles war against Kuwait’s land ships and sea based oil terminals with revolutionary methods.
Kuwait developed radar deflectors to neutralize this threat; these reflectors were stationed in the vicinity of Alahmadi port. These passive defensive measures were entirely effective, that was a necessary and proportionate response to any Missile threat in the area.
In late 1987 a meeting took place in the Minister's of Defense’s house. Sheikh Salem AlSubah ordered his commanders for a quick solution to stop the Scuds and Silkworms missiles. A committee was formed from the armed forces, Kuwait Oil Tankers Company, Shwaikh Port Authority. Kuwait Scientific Research Institute, Kuwait Shipyard Company, and Kuwait National Petroleum Company headed by Sheikh Ali Jaber Al Ali who was a great planner, supporter and organizer of the project .
Kuwait Oil Tankers Company was already involved with the Americans in the field of re flagging Kuwait’s oil fleet, and the cooperation continued to solve the ballistic missiles threat. A team of experts from the Pentagon suggested aluminum radar deflectors to neutralize this threat.
The committee proceeded in making one reflector on a wooden boat in front of the palace of his highness the Ameer in Dassman. The heavy weight and the wind caused the sinking of that first reflector in Shwaikh Port , but the experiment give the team an idea of the kind of weight and material that should be used when making the other reflectors .
Aluminum plates were imported from Holland and nine reflectors were made to be carried by old tug boats, the idea was simple: the aluminum plates will face the north like a mirror forming a triangle shape with an angle of 30 degrees. Each boat carried 3 reflectors giving the attacking missiles a target that looks 128 times larger than its actual size. Kuwait Scientific Research Institute war-gamed 450 missiles attacks on the reflectors by the simulators and computers.
In the end, 40 reflector carriers were made. Some were made locally and others brought from GCC countries. The Navy and Coastguards gave away some of their old boats to be reflector carriers and some citizens like Mustafa Budai gave away his yacht in support of the cause as a reflector station.
The American team made their own reflectors in Bahrain (nicknamed swinging barges), and were capable of attracting missiles from all directions. The reflectors were covering the area from Alseef Palace to the southern borders, and each reflector has its own photocell power provider. In Alzoor Oil Terminal, 6 reflectors were located there and sand barriers and nets were erected to protect the oil tanks. Reflector #12 was the hero of the whole project when it attracted a missile coming to the oil sea island. The cost of each reflector including the boat the aluminum reflectors, the photocells and the weight that tied down the boat to the sea bed never exceeded 2500 KD’s.
Two reflectors sank near Messila beach and another two were lost in bad weather near the sea based island. The cooperation between the Army and the rest of the government agencies was the best achievement in the whole project. The Iraqis were impressed by the results, the military cooperation with the Americans expanded after this project to higher levels that included the information sharing and the early warning by the AWACS, also founding of logistic posts for US ships escorting the Kuwaiti oil tankers after re-flagging them.
Fourth phase 1988
In the spring of 1988, the freshly equipped Iraqi ground and air forces succeeded in retaking the Faw Peninsula. Iranian battlefield losses, combined with Iraqi air and missile attacks on Iranian cities forced Iran to accept a ceasefire, which took effect in August 1988, the 8-year Iran-Iraq war resulted in one million dead and heavy losses for both sides.
During the war Kuwait armed forces command made a serious study with a new national security strategy to address the war challenges, it required all the military services to change, and Kuwait had begun a modest program to upgrade the three Land Force brigades. The United States and western European nations had lost out when the Kuwaiti's decided, in early 1988, to buy Russian BMP IIs and Yugoslavian M-84s, (T-72 variant). This was attributed to the inexpensive deals both countries were offering in comparison to buying the more expensive and sophisticated U.S. and Western European arms. Kuwait also had a tendency to engage several countries for arms deals. Kuwait Army consisted of equipment from the U.S., Great Britain, France, Russia, Yugoslavia, and many others. It was a strategy to maintain friendship ties with many and show no favoritism towards one particular country. The result for the military was an absolute nightmare for interoperability. Kuwait Government also required that U.S. military personnel wear no uniforms or openly acknowledge their presence.
After the war, the Army's manpower strength was 16,000 officers and enlisted men. The principal combat formations were three armored brigades, one mechanized infantry brigade, and an artillery brigade with a regiment of self-propelled howitzers and a surface-to-surface missile (SSM) battalion. All the combat units were under strength; by one estimate, as of 1988 the army's entire fighting strength was the equivalent of only one Western brigade.
Kuwait’s first-line main battle tanks were M-84s, Yugoslav versions of the Soviet T-72 tank. The army has various models of British armored cars and armored personnel carriers (APCs). Its artillery consisted of 155mm self-propelled howitzers, mainly of French manufacture. It had a large inventory of antitank missile systems of British, French, and United States origin, including the improved TOW (tube-launched, optically sighted, wire-guided) missile from the United States. It has purchased the Soviet FROG-7, a mobile battlefield missile with a range of sixty kilometers, and in 1984 after the United States rejected a Kuwaiti order for Stinger shoulder-fired SAMs, Kuwait turned to Moscow.
5. The Iraqi Invasion 1990
During the Iraq-Iran War, Iraqi propaganda succeeded all over the Arab world, including the Kuwaiti street where public opinion showed the favoring of Iraq in general, ,one form of the Iraqi penetration to Kuwait was the strong influence in the media ,large Iraqi delegations to government ministries were another form of that penetration .
Kuwait military inelligence was aware of the Iraqi movements, its agents and sympathizers; they were also monitoring the Iraqi movements, and outlandish propaganda broadcasting from Baghdad Radio and TV to create a crisis in the early summer of 1990 when the storm clouds were gathering.
The Iraqi memo of 17 July to the Arab league in Tunisia was known to Kuwait military inteliegence, and deputy chief of staff informed kuwait government of its context before it reached the government by diplomatic channels.
A week before the invasion an American military man wrote "men of each Kuwaiti brigade were in their normal summertime routine (majority of the leadership on summer leave) and little to no activity. In fact, it was difficult to find anyone above the rank of major around, all units had authorized personnel to continue with their normal summer leave program, because August is normally the hottest month of the year and the traditional vacation time for Kuwaitis, something the Iraqis were well attuned to[10]."
Kuwait armed forces were monitoring the situation closely, informing the government of the developments in the front especially the Iraqi military build ups since 18th of June 1990.The deputy chief of staff gave his orders to reach a higher level of alert in the armed forces readiness. That was the first and only alert status, but after one week even with evidence of Iraqi troop movements became clearer Kuwaitis quickly called off their haphazard alert for fear of provoking Saddam Hussein, the government would not acknowledge there was a growing problem, and its orders came as a shock to lower ranks in all branches of the forces.
The Supreme Defense Council was briefed on the situation. The Iraqi Republican Guard formations were within sight of the border, and the stage was set for more than border clashes, but the government did not approve the Supreme Defense Council request of mobilization. Another meeting took place in the Air force HQ at the time, but the state of alert stayed in the lowest level.
Army Intelligence reports and signals from friendly nations came with information and with satellite Intel photos that the Iraqi's had placed their lead Republican Guard division along Kuwait's northern frontier, and that thousands of troops had massed in the southern region of Iraq and were within minutes of the border, but the government was unwilling to acknowledge the threat or to request assistance.
After meeting with Iraqis at the evening of 1 August, the Crown Prince returned from Jeddah with the news that Iraq walked out of the talks when Kuwait was unwilling to meet Saddam Hussein's demands. But Sheikh SAAD was hopeful that another meeting would be scheduled. A meeting took place at the airport upon his arrival, and another meeting at Dasman Palace with his highness the Ameer. Soldiers voted for the war but politicians did not. Hopes of a peaceful solution were supported by promises from President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and King Hussein of Jordan to persuade Iraq to at least meet with the Kuwaitis to discuss their problems. Both heads of states received assurances from Iraq that a peaceful solution could be found.
The Balloon radar at Muttla detected, on the afternoon of August 1st heavy Iraqi air traffic consisting mostly of helicopters. Kuwait Air Force operations room noticed a reconnaissance Iraqi Mig 25 flying at high altitude over Kuwait and the eastern parts of Saudi.
At the army HQ a meeting took place at 10:00 PM and all senior officers left the meeting at the war room with the general feeling that the situation was still controllable by political means.
At mid night signals started pouring in from border posts indicating abnormal movements for the Iraqi forces, then the Iraqi border guards prevented our patrols from patrolling the Kuwaiti side and drove them deep into our territory.
The state of readiness went to the highest level at 2220 PM. The messages indicated that the Iraqi army was occupying the Kuwaiti border posts at the early hours of 2nd of August 1990. The Crown Prince with the Minister of Defense went to the operations room at HQ along with all the other ministers. Sheikh SAAD gave orders to stop the invading forces but it was too late.
The Crown Prince left the operation room to the Air Force command post at the Air Defense Brigade. The news of the Iraqi penetrations forced him to change his rout to Dasman Palace. He had a hard time convincing the Ameer that to protect the legitimacy of the government they should not fall into enemy hands and with him they left at 4:20 AM to Nuwaseeb border post near Saudi Arabia.
At 5 AM Sheikh Subah Al Ahmad Minister of Foreign Affairs along with Sheikh Nawaf Minister of Defense went to Air Force command post. He left before the Iraqis reached Subhan area 2 miles away, followed by the Chief of Staff and his Deputy.
6. Confronting the Iraqi Aggression
After midnight on August 2, 1990, the Iraqi Army moved en masse towards a number of Kuwaiti areas and occupied five border centers, Iraq’s army then moved across Kuwait border in force, the Hammurabi and Nebuchadnezzar Republican Guard Divisions attacked from the north in Soviet-built t-72 main battle tanks, armored personnel BDRM and BTLB carriers. Hind attack helicopters, scout cars, and thousands of infantry swept down the six-lane highway through Abdaly road to Kuwait City. At the same time the Medina and Tawakalna Republican Guard Divisions attacked from the west across the Wadi al-Batin.
The fight for Kuwait City begins. The Iraqi operation was planned in detail and well organized. The invading forces would drive deep into Kuwait, with two of the Divisions striking directly against Kuwait City, while two others would execute an enveloping maneuver and try to cut off Kuwait City from the Saudi border. After the first counter-air strike against the Kuwaiti airfields would be executed by the Iraqi artillery and planes, Special Forces and the Republican Guards would execute a heli-borne operation directly into Kuwait City, with the task of capturing the head of government.
Orders were issued to confront the Iraqi aggression and put the army at the highest state of emergency. The battle between the Kuwaiti and Iraqi forces started at different levels; on land, air, and sea. Battles by the three branches of the Kuwaiti military were under the control of the General Chief of Staff and his Deputy from the Air Force's main operations center. Kuwait forces managed to engage in 15 battles with the enemy.
A. Kuwait Land Force Battles
1. Jal Al-Layah Battle by the 6th Brigade
Enemy forces: Mechanical division and armored division. The 6th Brigade Forces: One mechanical battalion (-)
At 3:15 AM on 2nd of august 1990, the 6th Brigade Commander received orders to send a force to Bubuian Island Bridge, and to Um ElEsh to defend them. Tank platoons were sent immediately to Guenees Hells and another mechanical infantry platoon was sent to Um ElEsh. At the same time intelligence reports came to indicate that the Iraqi forces were approaching through Abdaly – Kuwait’s main highway, and that when the brigade's artillery were deployed inside the camp the commander would lead another force consisting of a tanks platoon, a mechanical infantry platoon, and an anti armored platoon (-).Iraqi forces had the advantage of surprise, but at 3:30 AM they engaged with Kuwait’s 6th Brigade. Kuwait’s small forces managed to stop part of the large Iraqi force for 45 minutes and to destroy some of its tanks. At that encounter Kuwait lost two tanks and a BMB armored.
During the short battle the Iraqi forces tried to encircle the small force but failed, then the orders came from land force command to cut the contact with the enemy and march to support the 35th Brigade at Mutlla Ridge, and to carry that mission an infantry mechanical platoon was called from Um ElEsh,along with another artillery platoon from the camp. The gathering point was Um Rugeebah. At that time communications were lost with the tanks platoon in Guenees Hells area.
The Iraqi forces took Abdaly Highway, the high-speed avenue of approach, and advanced south, completely bypassing the 35th Brigade and the 6th Brigade, forcing the 35th to deploy without the knowledge of the Commander of the 6th Brigade which resulted in the loss of contact and support between the two Kuwaiti forces. The 6th Brigade then returned to its HQ but failed to stand against the large Iraqi forces and was encircled at the junkyard area but didn't surrender until Friday 3rd of august 1990 after forcing the enemy to lose 5 tanks, 3 buses and an unspecified number of vehicles.
2. East Jahra Battle by the 80th Brigade.
At 4:30 orders came to the 80th Brigade to send an infantry company along with Saladin Armored Company with the Brigade HQ to support the commandos who were under Iraqi attack at that time in the Mutlla area.
The Iraqi forces managed to bypass the 80th Brigade, but the Brigade attacked the second echelon of that force near the north eastern Jahara Bridge at 4:45 am. The battle lasted for an hour over that bridge, then The Iraqi army launched an attack with an armored brigade size and the battle expanded to cover all Jahra eastern and north eastern bridges, the eastern residential area of Jahra, the junk yard, and the northern military maintenance area camp.
After exhausting its tank ammunition at 11am, the Brigade withdrew in good order to the junk yard area and after a brief resistance they were surrounded by the large Iraqi forces.
On that day the 80th Brigade lost 6 martyrs, 6 Saladin armored cars, and the brigade commander with some of his men became prisoners of war. The Iraqi forces lost 25 soldiers, three buses, four light vehicles, and six tanks.
3. Jal Al-Atraf Battle of the Bridges by the 35th Brigade
The most notable encounter was that of the 35th Brigade, which is now known as the Martyrs' Brigade. Battle of the Bridges was the largest and the most single battle that really inflicted heavy casualties on the Iraqis and delayed their movement. Among all sources the best description of that battle was written by Major Robert A. Nelson[11] after interviewing some of the Kuwaiti officers who were part of that day[12].
The 35th Brigade, commanded by then-Colonel Salem Masoud Al Sorour, included the 7th and 8th Tank Battalions, 57th Mechanized Infantry, an antitank company, and the 51st Artillery Battalion. Both tank battalions were armed with Chieftain Tanks. While the 7th was in garrison, the 8th Tank Battalion was deployed without its tanks' on a routine mission guarding the northern oil fields. In the days prior to the invasion, the commander of the 8th Battalion brought the 3rd Company back from the oil fields.
The 57th infantry Battalion was equipped with a mix of M113S and BMPS. It also had two company’s deployed dismounted, one on Bubiyan Island, and one on Faylaka Island. The brigade antitank company had Improved TOW Vehicles and the 51st Artillery Battalion had M109A2 155-mrn self- propelled howitzers.
The Kuwaiti version of the Chieftain tank MK 5/2, although aging was still a formidable fighting platform. It mounted a 120-mm main gun with a laser rangefinder, ballistic computer, infrared night sight, and target designating capability. Although the Chieftain has a muzzle reference sensor, the 35th Brigade was unable to foresee the tanks on the day of the battle. The weakness of the Chieftain lies in the power train. The tank is underpowered; the engine will only achieve 720 bhp and is very prone to breakdown. Most Kuwaitis describe it as "Good gun, bad engine." The Chieftain was due to be replaced by the M84 in the Kuwaiti Land Forces.
Republican Guard units led the Iraqi forces. Originally, this force was Saddam Hussein's security force, but the Guards expanded into a full corps during the Iran-lraq war. By the end of that war, the Republican Guards emerged as Iraq's striking force, usually the main effort of offensive operations. The Hammurabi Mechanized and Medina Armored Divisions led the Iraqi attack. Each division had three brigades, two armored brigades and one mechanized in the armored division or two mechanized and one armored in the mechanized division. Each also included artillery, usually @ battalions of 2S I and one of 2S3, with an engineer, commando, air defense, and reconnaissance battalion plus logistics elements. Each maneuver brigade consisted of three tank battalions and one mechanized or three mechanized and one tank. The brigade also had a reconnaissance platoon and mortar battery.
The principal weapons of these divisions were the T-72 tank and BMP Infantry Fighting Vehicle. The T-72 is armed with a 125-mm smoothbore gun with laser rangefinder, ballistic computer, and infrared night vision equipment. The main gun is stabilized on two axes. The Iraqi version has the "Dazzler" device mounted on the turret to defeat ATGMS; however, it is not effective. The main advantages of the T72 are the low profile and ease of operation and maintenance. The Iraqis had both the BMP-1, with 73-rmn gun and AT-3 missile, and BMP-2, with a 30-mm -.on and capable of firing the AT-4 and 5.
At 2200 hours on 1August, the 35th Brigade Operations Officer learned of the impending invasion and placed the Brigade on alert. The officers and men, alerted by telephone, quickly assembled. Soldiers were on leave or unable to report so, in some cases, new crews were assembled on the spot. CPT Nasser, XO of 7th Battalion, took soldiers and checked their background. If a clerk had been previously trained as a tank gunner, CPT Nasser assigned him to a tank crew as a gunner.
The tanks and howitzers were not uploaded in normal peacetime routine. Ammo upload took most of the night. According to MAJ Khasan Dawud of the 51st Artillery Battalion, the officers and men worked side by side without any regard for rank. There was a great deal of confusion and speculation, and periodically the soldiers received updates on the situation. Many believed this would be a repeat of the 1973 Iraqi occupation of the border areas.
At 0030 on the 2nd, the Brigade received information the Iraqis occupied Al Ratka; by 0100, they’d occupied all of the frontier boundary centers in the north.
From the Brigade Commander's perspective, things were very confused. There were many tasks to be done and the situation was unclear. A significant number of personnel were still deployed executing routine peacetime guard missions and could not be recalled in time to fight with the Brigade. The subordinate units took about eight hours to upload ammunition and supplies. Unfortunately, they were unable, despite their haste, to load everything necessary in a limited time. The 8th Battalion did not load enough water, a critical item in Kuwait in August. The artillery battalion could only prepare seven of their 18 guns. Furthermore, the guns were not loaded with a complete mix of ammunition. This limited their options later when they executed fire missions. COL Salem departed the camp at 0430 and joined the antitank company. The rest of the units cleared the camp by 0600. They dispersed to
deny the Iraqis a good target.
The antitank company initially deployed in two sections, one section went to the Al Salem airbase to provide security, and the second to secure the intersection of the 6th Ring Road and the Salmi Road. During their move east along the Salmi Road, they witnessed an Iraqi air raid on the Al Salem airbase. The remaining forces of the brigade moved out of the camp as they completed assembly. The 7th Battalion assembled three companies with 9, 10 and 7 tanks in each company, plus the Battalion Commander's tank (which broke down during the movement east). The 3d Company of the 8th Battalion had 10 tanks, the single company from the 57th had about five BMP-2s plus several M113s and, finally, there was a composite firing battery from the 51st Artillery Battalion with seven guns.
(1)The Battle of the Bridges; First Phase
The 7th Tank Battalion led the remainder of the brigade. They moved east along the Salmi Road to the vicinity of the Al Ghanim Oasis and took positions near the graveyard north of the road. At about 0645, LTC Ahmad Al Wazan sent a reconnaissance vehicle forward to the vicinity of the police station on the Mullaa Ridge to investigate activity on the Abdaly Road. The recon party moved forward and identified Iraqi forces coming down the ridge attacking both east and west of Jahra. COL Salem contacted LTC. Al Wazan and directed him to occupy positions in the vicinity of the graveyard (See Map 1). When LTC Al Wazan arrived at the site, COL Salem gave him instructions and oriented him on the enemy force coming down from the Mutlaa Ridge. The Iraqis continued west in column along the 6th Ring Road. COL Salem directed the 7th Battalion to engage, LTC Al Wazan gave the order to open fire. The 7th Battalion began engaging the Iraqi column, the recon party, still forward, cut through the graveyard to escape back to friendly lines without being hit by either side.
The Iraqi forces were elements of the Hammurabi Division. Tthe lead division on the Iraqi northern axis. It attacked with two brigades south along the Abdaly Road and one brigade from Umm Qasr down the east coast. The division attacked directly south and east of Jahra along Highway 80 as well as west of Jahra on 6th Ring Road. The elements moving east of Jahra were briefly delayed by three Saladin armored cars from the 80th Brigade before continuing their attack into Kuwait City. Those elements moving down the 6th Ring Road apparently did not expect any opposition. They moved in column on the road and did not recon or secure their flanks.
The Chieftains, firing at a range of 1,000 to 1,500 meters, were very effective; the Kuwaitis hit numerous vehicles and caused the column to halt. However, due to confusion at higher echelons, LTC Al Wazan received an order to cease firing and return to garrison. After several minutes, he decided that the order was inappropriate and resumed engaging the Iraqis.
While the 7th Battalion engaged the Iraqis from the north side of the Salmi Road, the 8th Battalion arrived on the south side. The 3d Company commander, CPT Ali Abdulkareem, received an order to move his company across the 6th Ring Road and attempt to free the 80th Brigade, trapped in garrison by the Iraqis. The 6th Ring is a six lane divided highway with concrete barriers separating the north and south lanes and not easily crossed- The Iraqis controlled the two northern bridges and there was a long detour to reach the next bridges to the south. CPT Ali moved forward in his tank, covered by his company, to conduct a personal reconnaissance. Due to the difficulties in finding a crossing site and continued Iraqi movement south on the 6th Ring Road, the 8th Battalion was subsequently directed to tie in with the 7th Battalion and stop Iraqi movement along the 6th Ring.
When CPT Ali closed on the southern flank of the 7th Battalion, LTC Al Wazan at first did not recognize them. He thought the Iraqis were attempting to turn his flank from the south and directed a TOW platoon to move to cover his flank. He said later, "You know, I almost killed my friend. I gave the order to prepare to engage and we had our fingers on the trigger. But then, thank God, we saw the Chieftains and stopped." This was to be a very lucky day for CPT Ali.
CPT Ali positioned his company south of the Salmi Road to cover the two bridges over 6th Ring. A car pulled up driven by one of the battalion's gunners who were on leave. This soldier was one of the best tank gunners in the battalion and joined CPT Ali's crew. CPT Ali scanned the sector and identified an Iraqi command vehicle under the southern bridge that crosses 6th Ring Road. He gave the order to fire, but his company did not respond at first. He gave his gunner the order to fire and destroyed the vehicle under the bridge. (The burn marks are still visible underneath this bridge.) The Iraqis were now trapped on the road. The rest of the company, following CPT Ali's example, now began engaging the Iraqis (See Map 2). At first, all tanks fired at the same target, CPT Ali quickly directed his crews to distribute their fires across the entire front. The enemy did not respond aggressively, abandoning their vehicles and hiding along the road. A tank platoon attempted to maneuver against the 3rd Company by going around the artillery camp and attacking from the east. The company destroyed them.
While CPT Ali's company engaged the Iraqis on the road, a flight of 30 HIP helicopters flew across his front toward Jahra. Although CPT Ali wanted to engage them he was not able to elevate his gun high enough. He was not concerned until he saw a HIND at the trail of the formation. He recognized the threat but could not bring his gun to bear. The HIND turned and hovered as if it was preparing to engage. Again, CPT Ali's luck was with him. The HIND hovered for a few minutes, and then turned to follow the rest of the formation.
Iraqis continued to come down the 6th Ring Road, apparently unaware of the situation. A convoy of cargo trucks loaded with soldiers passed in front of 8th Battalion. The Kuwaitis engaged the trucks and several hundred troops dismounted. Instead of deploying to fight, most of the soldiers merely sat down on the side of the road to await the outcome of the day's events. Some Iraqi infantry moved into the ammunition camp on CPT Ali's right flank. His flank tanks received small arms and RPG fire, but took no losses. Ali also destroyed a 2S1 still mounted on a transport, indicating the Iraqis were still unaware and unable to react to the 35th Brigade's fires.
Events slowed down along the 6th Ring Road. The Kuwaiti artillery continued to engage the Iraqi soldiers sheltering among the wrecks and behind the embankment along 6th Ring Road. Some Iraqi soldiers attempted to surrender, but the Kuwaitis turned them back because they did not have enough soldiers to secure prisoners. The Kuwaitis took advantage of the lull in the fight to send vehicles back to the brigade camp to replenish ammunition.
(2)Battle of the Bridges, Phase Two
At about 1100 hours, the 35th Brigade received information about a force coming from the west towards Jaha. The Kuwaitis identified an armored force approaching from their rear. The Kuwaitis thought this was a Gulf Cooperation Council force moving up to reinforce them. Some of vehicles flew green flags that the Kuwaitis first took to be Saudi Arabian. CPT Khasan walked over to question the lead vehicles. As he approached he realized that this was an Iraqi force because it was equipped with T-72s and BMPs, but he was too committed to turn around. He asked the crew of the lead vehicle their identity and location of their ommander. The crew answered, Khasan turned around, walked back, and passed the information to the brigade. The Iraqis continued to drive east along the Salmi Road between the 7th and 8th Battalions. When the lead vehicles turned south on the 6th Ring, Kuwaitis fired into them. The 7th Battalion turned to engage along their right flank and rear while the 8th Battalion engaged a company-sized force to their front on 6th Ring Road.
These Iraqis were the lead brigade of the Medina Division. This division attacked from the west along the Salmi Road. Like the Hammurabi, they were still in column on the road and had no idea of the resistance by the 35th Brigade. Information found after the war indicated there was no direct contact between the Hanmurabi and the Medina Divisions. In fact, the Medina drove past the artillery firing positions and reserve tanks of the 35th Brigade who were south of the Salmi Road in the vicinity of the Al Salem Airfield.
The fires of the 7th and 8th Battalions caused heavy casualties and attrition in the lead brigade. The Kuwaitis captured six prisoners. The brigade operations officer, LTC Suleiman Al Huwail, questioned them and they identified themselves as members of the Medina Division.
The Iraqis withdrew towards the west along the Salmi Road, temporarily halting to regroup at a truck-weighing station located about three kilometers from the 7th and 8th Battalions positions (See Map 3). The Kuwaitis quickly brought effective artillery fires on this point, causing additional casualties and confusion among the Iraqis. LTC Fahad Ashush, the 51st Artillery Battalion commander and CPT Khasan Dawud, the 2d Battery Commander were forward acting as observers. The guns were manned by composite crews of all ranks because the battalion had not fully assembled. MAJ Nabil Saleh, the battalion XO, commanded the guns. These fires caused the Iraqis to continue to withdraw to the west over the Mutlaa Ridge. Unfortunately, the Iraqis established their own artillery in firing positions just north of the Salmi Road on the west end of the Mutlaa Ridge. They placed accurate fires on the Kuwaiti positions. Several rounds hit near the brigade command group, seriously wounding the Artillery Battalion Commander, LTC Fahad. MAJ Nabil, the Battalion XO, took command of the battalion.
While the 51st Battalion was engaging the Medina Division, a Kuwaiti A-4 Skyhawk appeared. It flew around the Kuwaiti artillery position twice and attacked the Iraqi columns just to the north along the Salmi Road. The artillerymen were concerned that they might also be targeted because they were close to the Iraqi force. They had good reason to be concerned. LTC Majed Al Abmad, an A-4 pilot, flew one of the strikes against the Iraqis along both the Abdaly and Salmi Roads. Due to the rapid pace of the invasion, he was not given a clear picture of events on the ground nor was a forward air controller or communications available with the ground forces. Under the control of the Al Salem Airbase controller, he hit both the Hammurabi and the Medina Divisions with a total of five MK-82 500 pound bombs. He was unaware of the positions of the 35th Brigade and could not identify the Chieftains during his bomb runs. MAJ Majed targeted the Iraqis because he was directed by the controller at Al Salem to hit the columns on the road. He returned to Al Saber Airfield after being hit by a surface-to-air missile.
The Iraqis threatened to attack the artillery with a company of BMPs and fired several rounds of 3Omm in their direction. Although several rounds hit the position, the Iraqis were firing armor-piercing instead of high explosive ammunition and did not get a direct hit or cause any casualties.
The gunners prepared to engage them with direct fire and the Iraqis did not continue the attack. The artillery moved south and east to new firing positions that were farther away from the Iraqis and less exposed.
The Medina regrouped and attacked again, this time with two brigades deployed. The unit commanders informed COL Salem they were running short of ammunition, in particular tank main gun rounds. Most tanks were down to two or three rounds of main gun ammunition. COL Salem requested reinforcements and support from headquarters, but there was no additional support available. To prevent the brigade from being encircled between the Hammurabi and now-deployed Medina Divisions, COL Salem directed a withdrawal to new positions south of the Salmi Road. The 8th Battalion covered the 7th Battalion's initial move (See Map 4).
The 51st Artillery Battalion set ten kilometers to the south and prepared to fire. They were delayed in firing while observers moved into position and then again by communications difficulties. MAJ Nabil had difficulty contacting the Brigade Commander to help cover the repositioning. CPT Nasser, XO of the 35th Brigade, took charge of the tanks of the two reserve platoons and prepared to attack the enemy.
Communication was re-established and the attack canceled.
While his company covered the movement of the 7th Battalion, CPT Ali stood on his turret to gain some relief from the heat. For no apparent reason, his driver moved the tank about ten or twenty meters. The driver had never moved the tank without specific directives before. As soon as the tank moved, an Iraqi main gun round hit the position they just vacated. After the 7th Battalion set, the 8th Battalion began to move and again, CPT Ali was misidentified as Iraqi and almost engaged.
The Brigade continued moving south to a subsequent position to escape the closing Iraqi pincers. While repositioning, they received a directive from higher headquarters to move toward the 15th Brigade camp to replenish and continue to defend. However, higher headquarters did not have an accurate picture of the battlefield and communication was tenuous at best. Joint headquarters informed COL Salem to take whatever action he considered necessary. He decided to withdraw to position his back against the Saudi border and secure his flanks and rear against envelopment during the night. Thus, the brigade continued to move south and set on the Saudi border, arriving at about 1630. The brigade remained in position through the night. LTC Ahmad Al Wazan, along with a recon element, moved into Saudi Arabia and made contact with the border police and informed them who they were and the brigade situation. The brigade entered Saudi Arabia the following morning. After the last units withdrew into Saudi Arabia, an Iraqi airstrike hit the vacated positions.
The Saudis assisted the Brigade in reorganizing and resupplying. While some units, such as the 7th Battalion, were relatively well supplied with water during the fight, others were suffering badly from
a lack of water and all suffered from fatigue. At one point, both Kuwaitis and Iraqis alternated purchasing water from the same roadside vendor, soldiers from both sides calmly lining up to pay.
The 35th Brigade was able to inflict heavy casualties on the Iraqis and delay the movement of two divisions. Had the Kuwait Army been able to organize the entire force into a cohesive defense, they may have delayed the Iraqis long enough to allow the Gulf Cooperation Council Forces to assemble and reinforce them.
The Kuwaitis of the 35th seem to have performed quite well considering many of them sub units happened to be on detached duty protecting oil sites or coastal islands when the order to deploy was received. The Kuwaiti armed forces continue to face this challenge today. Iraq and Iran both present a significant long-term threat to peace and stability in the region. Kuwait must look to the lessons of the Battle of the Bridges as it continues to modernize and develop its ability to defend itself.
5. Mutlla Ridge Battle by the Commandos
At 2:00am on August 2nd 1990 orders came to deploy Commandos company to protect Um alEsh satellite station, they assumed their mission until the arrival of a mechanical infantry company from the 6th brigade . The commando new mission was to control Muttla Pass. At 4:00am two platoons took up positions, with their elite nature in frequently prevailing against substantially larger forces. The Commandos engaged with the Iraqi forces. Raised and trained for reconnaissance, unconventional warfare and special operations, they caused a great delay to the enemy movement by attacking infantry buses, and the infantry on the top of the tanks.
Relying on stealth, speed and close teamwork and highly specialized equipment the Kuwaiti Commandos took advantage of the Muttla area battle field, and caused great damage to the invading force, but at the same time that hard area restricted the movement of the commandos and made them an easy target for the Iraqi mortar shelling.
To escape encirclement, the commandos withdrew to their camp for reorganization and re-equipment and to treat the wounded, but the camp was surrounded by the Iraqi large forces, followed by a short battle of encirclement. At this battle the Iraqi army lost at least a hundred men and five buses, then part of the Commando force managed to withdrew to Jahara but some Commandos became prisoners to the Iraqi forces after losing four martyrs and four wounded.
6. Al-Mubarakiya Camps and Al-Ruqaei Battle
The main Kuwait Army Operation Center is located at Al-Mubarakiya Camps. From the hospital area north of the camps the Iraqi forces tried to storm the camps, but the Kuwaiti army forces along with the National Guard succeeded in defending the camps and preventing the Iraqi army from advancing.
At 9:30 am a force of tanks in the size of a company along with an infantry company from 15th Brigade reached the camps to support the defending force under mortar attacks from the Iraqis in the hospitals area.
On the northern side of the camps Iraqi forces tried numerous types of battles to capture the camps and included a battle of encounter when both sides collided at the gates of the camps, and the Kuwait forces succeeded in driving the Iraqi forces back, then a short battle of attrition to inflict greater loss on the Kuwaiti side. And lastly the battle of breakthrough begins late 3rd of August 1990 to pierce the Kuwaiti's defenses, thereby exposing the vulnerable Kuwaiti small flanks.
On the southern side of the camp Kuwaiti forces decided to take an offensive position trying to cut the Iraqi forces line heading to the city through the 4th and 5th ring road. The plan was to attack the enemy in the inhabited territory of Al-Ruqaei. With the help of National Guard units, intensity of fighting reached the level of cold steel engagement, and direct confrontation with members of the enemy forces. Heroic deeds were performed by men of the Army and National Guard, yet some were martyred. The fight went on until it was certain that all buildings were free from Iraqi control. Soon the Kuwaiti forces predominated in its sectors. Points along the fourth ring road were set up to hinder any Iraqi advance. The enemy was held back from the road leading to the capital because of the protection of this road. But because of the enemy's size compared to the Kuwaiti forces in terms of manpower and equipment used, an order to withdraw was issued to save the men where they joined the resistance forces in Kefan area after losing 25 martyrs and 30 wounded. Costing the enemy hundreds of men damaged or destroyed equipment and 400 prisoners.
7. Dasman Palace Battle
From 3:00am on the 2nd of August 1990 the Ameri Guard controlled all avenues leading to Dasman Palace. In an attempt to capture or kill the Emir and the Royal Family, Iraqi infiltrators and Special Forces attacked the Dasman Palace at 5:00am, but the Ameri Guard drove them back and destroyed their equipment.
Small units of the Iraqi Special Forces managed to take positions on the roof of the buildings surrounding the entrance of Dasman Palace, shelling the defending force and killing some of the guards .
After two hours the Iraqi forces took hold of the palace gates, and other key facilities around the palace where they believed they could capture the Kuwaiti Royal Family. Although the Emir and most of the royal family were able to be saved, Sheikh Fahad Al Ahamad the Emir's brother stayed behind to fight and was eventually killed in the Iraqi assault.
Saladin Armored Cars Company arrived from the Ameri Guard Brigade and succeeded in breaking the Iraqi blockade, at the same time an infantry company coming from the Ameri Brigade camp fought a short battle of encounter with the Iraqi Special Forces when the opposing sides collided at the gates of Bayan Palace without one or the other having prepared their attack or defense. The result was capturing seventeen Iraqi pow and sending them to Ameri camps and continued their way to support the units in Dasman palace.
Bayan Palace stayed in the hands of the Kuwaiti Army utile 1:00 pm when the Iraqis launched their final assault. Their artillery was positioned along Gulf Road and was firing at the palace. The Ameri Guards put up a fight all morning. Their return fire often landed in and around civilian neighborhoods resulting in many of Kuwaiti citizens fleeing the area. By 2:00 pm, Bayan Palace was captured, and the Iraqi armored forces occupied the palace grounds[13].
A National Guard Mechanical Infantry Squad was called in to support the forces of the Ameri Guard at Dasman Palace. Arrangements were made to deal with any sort of aggression while the forces were heading for the palace. Thus a common plan between the squad and the Ameri Guard to drive the enemy away from the palace territory was set. The plan was to break into the palace with the help of the mechanical infantry forces of the National Guard, while the Ameri Guard Forces defended the interior front. The plan was successfully performed and the enemy force was destroyed at nine a.m. on the same day. After the enemy force was beaten, two mechanical infantry platoons from the National Guard gathered to defend the main gate, while the third platoon was centered inside the palace with the Ameri Guard forces[14].
By 12:00 am, the Iraqi forces attacking Dasman Palace were in the size of a mechanical infantry division, against a force that never more than a battalion from the Kuwaiti Ameri Guard and the National Guard. To avoid a massacre the Kuwaiti unit sent a team to negotiate the surrendering terms but the Iraqi forces took them prisoners, which led the rest of the force to withdraw to other locations leaving the palace to fall in the Iraqi forces hands. On the 3rd of August, 1990 after losing two men, 15 wounded and five P.O.W’s.
8. Failaka Island Battle
At 5:00 am, with 45 helicopters an Iraqi airborne operation started their attack with the mission to create a spearhead to land a brigade on Failaka Island. The invaders operation involved a combination of Special Forces and infantry units, but Kuwait air defense measures managed to destroy the first enemy attacking aircraft, and that led the rest of the Force to abort the mission. With this first victory supported by the arrival of 30 Kuwaiti soldiers who forced the commercial ship to leave them to the island , the situation was favorable to the Kuwaiti defending force; however, the Iraqis launched another air assault by helicopter and jet fighters, and again the Kuwaiti air defense powered by hawks systems managed to shoot down seven helicopter and two jet fighters .The defending force knew that the previous air assaults were only the first phase of a larger attack coming from the north by the Iraqi Navy. The Kuwaiti air defense unit were preparing themselves for the main attack by concentrating their fire power on that side of the island. It wasn’t long before approximately one hundred Iraqi small boats approached the island from the north. The defenders held their fire until the enemy came within their small arms range then they opened fire forcing the Iraqi boats to retreat and to change their direction to Kuwait City.
Low in ammunition and men the Kuwaiti force requested suppies but the hawk and tow missiles were confiscated in Rass Alarth Harbor. The clinic, police station and the citizens with their weapons became part of the defense efforts; by 10am two large Iraqi frigates started a heavy bombardment to tourists’ projects, assuming that that was the defending forces’ head quarters. At 13:00 they directed their fire to the force command post, cutting the communications by 16:00. The island fell into enemy hands in the early hours of 3rd of August.
B. Air Force Battles
In July1990, Iraqis accused Kuwait of stealing Iraqi oil and selling it at low prices, thus damaging the Iraqi economy. Soon after, Baghdad started a diplomatic offensive against the country, as well as several other Gulf States. With more readiness for negotiations, perhaps the armed conflict could have been averted already at the time, but neither Kuwait nor Iraq were ready to give up, and in the spring of 1990 the first concentrations of the Iraqi Army units were noticed along the northern Kuwaiti borders. By July, the situation was very tense, and the Iraqis finally understood the quiet stance of the USA in the matter as a sign that the Americans would not oppose their attack against Kuwait: indeed, despite warnings from own intelligence services and the Saudis about an Iraqi attack being imminent, the US government publicly sent the carrier battle group around the USS Independence (CV-62, with the carrier air wing CVW-14 aboard), away from the Persian Gulf, and would not change this decision even after the last round of negotiations between Iraq and Kuwait failed, on the evening of 1 August 1990.
We couldn’t find a better description of Kuwait air force battle against the Iraqi aggression than what Tom Cooper wrote:
The Iraqi plan for the operation against Kuwait was actually based on the combination of old British plans from the 1950s, "updated" on the basis of the lessons from the last 18 months of the war against Iran - with one exception: no chemical warheads were to be used (the use of chemical weapons was a standard part of Iraqi tactical doctrine already by late 1987). Therefore, after the first counter-air strike against the Kuwaiti airfields would be executed by the Iraqi long-range artillery and fighter-bombers of the Iraqi Air Force (IRAF), commando units of the Iraqi Army and the Republican Guards would execute a heli-borne operation directly into the Kuwait City, with the task of capturing the royal family. Simultaneously, four divisions of the Iraqi Republican Guards would drive deep into Kuwait, with two of them striking directly against the Kuwait City, while two others would execute an enveloping maneuver and try to cut off Kuwait City from the Saudi border.
The attack was initiated around 0200hrs AM on 2 August 1990, with the Iraqis shelling the main bases of the Kuwaiti Army and Air Force (foremost Ali al-Salim AB), while the first three divisions of the Republican Guards started grinding their way into Kuwait. In the shelling a number of KAF Mirages parked on apron of Ali al-Salim AB were damaged, including the F.1CK. Despite the increased tensions since weeks, the Kuwaiti armed forces were not in alerted condition, and initially there was some chaos before the first tanks drove out of their bases and the aircraft were prepared for the start. The Kuwaiti air defense units were actually the first to react: at dawn, as a large formation of over 50 Iraqi Army Air Corps (IRAAC) commandos-carrying Mi-8s, escorted by Mi-25s and Bo.105s, approached Kuwait City, at least two MIM-23B Improved HAWK SAM-batteries went into action. Not equipped even with the RWR’s, the Iraqi helicopters were an easy prey for the Kuwaiti missiles. Within just few minutes, no less but 14 Mi-8s and Mi-25s were chopped out of the skies. The losses of the Iraqi Special Forces were extensive, and the plan for the swift capture of the Kuwaiti royal family was immediately spoiled. But, that was still not all.
After the initial chaos on its air basses settled down, the KAF prepared a number of A-4KUs and Mirage F.1CKs for action, and these then joined the hunt for the Iraqi helicopters as well. At the time of the Iraqi invasion, the KAF had 25 operational Mirage F.1CKs and F.1BKs, 29 A-4KU Skyhawks, and 12 Hawk T.Mk.64s, and all the serviceable examples were now scrambled into a counter-attack.
With the surprising appearance of numerous Kuwait fighters at low level, and their own fighter-cover being too far away and at a medium level, the Iraqi helicopter-pilots found themselves in a terrible situation: there was no natural cover, and their helicopters were heavily loaded with troops and equipment. The only place they could hide was low between the buildings of the Kuwait City. But, in the cold morning air, not even this offered good protection against the KAF Mirages armed with advanced Matra R.550 Mk.2 all-aspect missiles. Several Mi-8s managed to get their troops off before being attacked, but then a wild helicopter vs. jet fighters dogfight developed, in which the Mi-8s and Mi-25s simply stood no chance. The Skyhawks of the 9th and 25th Sqn KAF claimed five, and the Mirages of the 18th and 61st Sqn then claimed 13 additional helicopters, while the Hawks of the 12th Sqn claimed two or three kills more: the Skyhawks and Hawks shot down all their victims by 20mm or 30mm gunfire, respectively, while the Mirages scored most of their kills using the Matra R.550 Mk.2 all-aspect, short-range, air-to-air missiles.
While the mass dogfight was going on in the air, on the ground a single brigade of Kuwait Chieftains - supported by only few pieces of artillery - stopped a whole Iraqi mechanized division from driving into Kuwait City. The Iraqis therefore turned one of the divisions that were to march in that direction around the city and sent it to capture the Kuwaiti oilfields. Then the IRAF MiG-23BNs and Su-22s finally appeared to strike Kuwaiti airfields, causing some slight damage as Kuwaiti airfields were heavily hardened: available reports indicate a destruction of only two or three Kuwaiti fighters on the ground during the Iraqi artillery and air strikes. In addition, the Kuwaiti air defenses have shot down 12 Iraqi fighter-bombers. The strikers were escorted by some MiG-29s and Mirage F.1EQs, and these actually meet Kuwaiti Skyhawks at least once, but there were no air combats
What happened subsequently is not completely clear. Apparently, the Ahmad al-Jaber AB was disabled by the next large IRAF strike, and the Skyhawks stationed there subsequently operated from the highway nearby: the road was so narrow, that during the operations in the following days, two Skyhawsk run aside of the asphalt, ending in the soft sand. Reportedly, due to their sturdy undercarriage, neither aircraft was damaged. At least six Hawks were evacuated from here and flown to Bahrain, where one was damaged on landing.
Small units of the Kuwaiti Army were fighting along several choke points until they ran out of ammunition. Those which could have then retreated towards the Saudi border, with plenty of their equipment had to be left back, while some were destroyed in new attacks of the IRAF fighter bombers and IRAAC helicopters. After the first series of combat sorties, the KAF also started to evacuate: most of the Mirages were swiftly flown out to Saudi Arabia, and only few Skyhawks and Gazelles were kept back, to operate from a strip of highway in southern Kuwait. Nevertheless, their fight enabled the royal family to be evacuated in time.
By the evening of 2 August, the Iraqis entered Kuwait City, and then overrun also the international airport nearby, in the process destroying a British Airways Boeing 747 ("G-AWND"), and capturing several KAF aircraft, including at least five Skyhawks, six Hawk T.Mk.64s, and eight Mirages ,and a single Lockheed L-100-30 transporter (a civilian version of the C-130 Hercules). Also captured was the whole equipment for four or five MIM-23B I-HAWK SAM-batteries. In the night from 2 to 3 August the KAF SA.532SC Super Pumas were used for transporting ammunition to isolated pockets of Kuwaiti Army still resisting the Iraqi onslaught. One of them was destroyed in an explosion while landing at Ali al-Salim AB, while two others - 541 and 544 - were lost on the same airfield under unknown circumstances.
The remaining Kuwaiti Skyhawks and Chieftain Tanks fought until the afternoon of 4 August; left without ammunition and fuel, they were then forced to pull back into Saudi Arabia as well. In total, the KAF came away in a pretty good condition, and only days later the exiled Kuwaiti government claimed that during the invasion a total of eight Mirages, three A-4KUs,, and two helicopters were lost in combat, while no less but 80% of KAF assets - including six Hawk T.MK.64s, three Lockheed L-100-30s, and most of the helicopters - were evacuated to Saudi Arabia, where they and their crews were to be reorganized into a "Free Kuwait Air Force".
Despite heavy losses in helicopters the overall success of the Iraqi invasion was never in question: it had to succeed already due to simple numbers. However, the failure to capture the Kuwaiti royal family and the government was to come back as a boomerang later.
Kuwait Air Force, Order of Battle as of 2 August, 1990
- 9 Sqn: A-4KU/TA-4KU Ahmed al-Jaber AB- 12 Sqn: Hawk T.Mk.64 Ahmed al-Jaber AB- 18 Sqn: Mirage F.1CK/F.1BK Ali al-Salem AB - 25 Sqn: A-4KU/TA-4KU Ahmed al-Jaber AB - 61 Sqn: Mirage F.1CK-2/F.BK-2 Ali al-Salem AB 1 Sqn: SA.342K Gazelle 1 Sqn: SA.330H Puma/SA.330F Super Puma 31 Transport Sqn: L-100-30
Iraqi Air Force Order of Battle
The Iraqi Air Force order of battle in Autumn 1989 consisted of two squadrons of bombers equipped with eight Tu-22s, four Tu-16s and four Chinese H-6Ds; Twenty two squadrons of fighter ground attack aircraft (equipped with ninety MiG-23BNs, sixty four Mirage F-1s, thirty Su-7s, seventy Su-20s, sixteen Su-24s and sixty Su-25s) and seventeen squadrons of air defence fighters (equipped with twenty five MiG-25s, forty J-7s, one hundred and fifty MiG-21s, thirty Mirage F-1s and thirty MiG-29s)[15].
C. Kuwait Navy battles
Under the darkness of early hours of the 2nd of August 1990, a Kuwaiti naval Ship radar detected five patrol boats, which turned out to be an Iraqi war ship heading east. Kuwait naval command ordered another boat to monitor the situation, and at the same time continued to raise readiness to a higher level on base.
Suddenly, two Iraqi boats changed their course, racing south, where the Iraqis wanted to launch an attack with a complete surprise, Kuwaiti guns opened fire from the shore but one Iraqi boat succeeded on landing some commandos on their objective the Kuwaiti naval base but the Kuwaiti boats managed to destroy the two boats later.
Those commandos succeeded on preventing the rest of the Kuwaiti war ships from leaving the harbor. The two Kuwaiti boats that were out of the base succeed on keeping a maritime battle for seven hours, destroying four Iraqi boats. The destruction of those boats meant the destruction of the only naval force the Iraqi had, and that action weakened them in the liberation naval battles. During the sea battle the Iraqi navy managed to land large groups of soldiers up the coast from the naval base on the south to Skuwaikh harbor near the city.
Cut off from their home base, the two Kuwaiti boats reorganized them-selves, re-supplying from one another and made the decision of attacking Iraqi forces around Dassman Palace, but they failed to have more ammunition from the cost guards who where still fighting the Iraqis, and by 16:00 they left Kuwait waters to Khafji naval base in Saudi territory.
7. Kuwait Armed Forces During Liberation
A. Kuwait army Land force
The military attaché in Saudi Arabia col. Riadh Al Saleh became Chief of Staff in Riyadh, On August 7, 1990, and attended an urgent Cooperation Council Chiefs of staff meeting in Riyadh as Kuwait's representative at the meeting. Then the minister of Defense issued a ministerial decree to form a military committee to reorganize the Kuwaiti military force in Saudi Arabia. Apparently, when the Iraqi armor/mechanized forces made it to Kuwait City, they decided to push their tanks and tracked vehicles through the city, only to become bogged down and often lost. This operational error of not bypassing Kuwait City permitted the bulk of the Kuwaiti 15th Brigade, located south of the city near the Al Ahmadi oil fields to escape to Saudi Arabia. It also bought time for the southern air base Ahmed al Jaber to partially mobilize and actually launch sorties throughout the day[16]. Some units of the 35th Brigades succeeded in reaching Saudi borders, among them were 18 chieftain tanks,2 M109 field artillery and a battalion of BMB carriers from the 15th brigade.
Since the first day of the invasion most of Kuwait’s military men were on leave. They started arriving in Saudi, among the first were General Rashed Seef, Colonel Fuad Hadad and Captain Faiez Alanzi who tried to join Peninsula Shield Force but failed to do so for the absence of orders from the GCC command. The three officers opened a recruiting office for the Kuwaiti soldiers at ALHAFAR HOTEL. On the 3rd of August the Saudi government ordered the evacuation of Khafji City and that meant moving the Kuwaiti Puma and Super Puma helicopters to Riyadh, then Taief , and the gazelles helicopters to King Abdul-Aziz Naval Base in Al-Jubail.
On December 30, 1990, a ministerial decree was issued for forming the Kuwaiti forces and their leadership in Riyadh. Six brigades were formed; two of them were mechanized. These six brigades are: Brigade 35 (Al-Shaheed), Brigade 15 (Mubarak), and Brigade 6 (Al-Tahrir) Al-Khuloud Brigade, Badr Brigade, and Al-Haq brigade. Three brigades were sent to the eastern sector, and the other three to the northern sector.
On 24th February, at 1am GMT just before dawn in the Gulf, the Army of the 28-nation alliance rolled into Kuwait and Iraq. The honor of being first across the border went to the remnants of the Kuwait Army as they advanced, backed by US Marines, straight into Kuwait City. In just 10 hours the Allied army conquered territory it was thought would take days to take. Ten thousand Iraqi prisoners were quickly taken and thousands more. The Martyr Brigade was the first of the Kuwaiti units of Joint Forces Command East in the drive paralleling the coast northward when the allied operation began on February 24, 1991. Along with Saudi, Qatari, and Bahraini forces, supported by United States Marines on their left flank, their assignment of liberating the city of Kuwait incurred little Iraqi resistance.
Kuwaiti forces participating in Operation Desert Storm in February 1991 included: the 35th Armored Brigade (renamed Martyr Brigade), the 15th Infantry Brigade, the lightly equipped Liberation Brigade, which was armed with .50-caliber machine guns mounted on trucks. Sources estimated that 7,000 Kuwaiti troops were involved.
Land force command:
Martyr (Al-Shaheed), 35th Brigade, Commanded by Col. Salem Masud.
Liberation (Al-Tahrir) 6th Brigade, Commanded by Col. Khaled Rudaini.
Alfateh, 15th Brigade, Commanded by Col.Fuad Hadad.
Al-Khuloud Brigade commanded by Col. Abdulwahab AlAnzi .
Bader Brigade commanded by Col. Abdul hadi Alrajhi .
Al-Haq Brigade, Commanded by Col. Ebrahim al Wasmi.
The special forces were commanded by Col.Abdulah Alshamri.
B. Kuwait Air Force
At the end of that black day at the 2nd of August1990, orders came to Kuwait Air Force pilots to fly to Saudi and that decision saved a good number of Kuwait air force planes to become later part of the liberation force. From the end of September until January 1991 pilots were re-qualified by training in Qatar, UAE and Saudi Arabia, along with training, rearmament, securing spare parts, and repairing tanks , plans were performed during this reorganization and planning phase.
Because of the large size of allied forces at Saudi air bases and for security reasons to prevent desperate Kuwaiti pilots from attacking Iraqi forces before the suitable time, the decision was made to move the planes to other bases, and Jeddah became the home base for the transportations plans. Taief air base became home base for the Mirages that happened to be the same as to the Iraqi’s F1s. and the Tucanos went to the UAE; the puma and the super puma helicopters at Taief air base and the gazelle helicopters at Al-Jubail naval base and the rest of the Sky hawk and the British hawk aircraft to Khamies Musheet in southern Saudi. The Skyhawks were moved back to Dhahran Air Base on 13 October 1991 and Kuwait Air Force came under the Command of the Royal Saudi Air Force in the east. Pilots were re-qualified by training with the Royal Saudi Air Force, the US Navy and the US Air Force.
By November a new command was formed for the air force in Riyadh headed by General Daoud AlGhanim with seven units. Unit 12 Commanded by Col.Y.Duwyan for Sky Hawk at Dhahran Air Base. Unit 20 Commanded by Col.Naser Juheel for Puma, Super Puma and Gazelle helicopters at Jebeel Naval Base. Unit 30, Commanded by Col.Ali.Hajji for transportations at Jeddah Air Base, Unit 8 Commanded by Col. E Al kandari for Mirages at Taief Air Base. Unit 25 Commanded by Lt.Col.B.Al Essa, for Hawk at UAE. Unit 40 Commanded by Col.Saud Alhazaa for DC 9 at Riyadh Air Base. Then there were the Marines Unit where a group of Air Force officers joined the American Commandos and Marines. This unit was commanded by Col.F alQahtani at the Marines HQ at Al-Jubail. .
On January 16, 1991, Kuwait was informed of zero hour. Sky Hawk pilots were notified and planes were armed. On the morning of January 17, twenty-four Kuwaiti aircraft participated in strikes against the Iraqi forces in three formations.
The first formation was led by Col.Y.Duwyan and consisted of Sky Hawk, the second formation was led by Ltcol Y. Almulla . The third formation was led by M. Mubarak and at this formation one A-4 Skyhawk was lost to enemy fire and M. Mubarak became the first and only Kuwaiti POW pilot, the fourth formation was led by Khamees Sultan which came back safe.
These formations were aimed at destroying ground-to-ground rocket bases to the south of Ali Al-Salem Air Base. The Air Force planes participated on a daily basis in the air battles that lasted for thirty-nine days. They also took part in the One-Hundred-Hour Land Battle.
Mirage jets did not participate in the air raid because the Iraqi Air Force had the same planes but after the allies air power gained supremacy and on February 5, 1991, Mirage jets, along with Sky Hawk jets, engaged in the first bombing mission.
When The Allied attack came under a news blackout as coalition forces, wearing full chemical protective gear, broke through Iraqi sand barriers with giant bulldozers to create an invasion, Kuwaiti officers were leading them. The Air Force officers were reassigned so that a group of them joined every naval unit and took part in the accomplishment of every task the naval units were assigned, starting from leading advanced exploration squads to translation tasks. Due to their knowledge of the Iraqi soldiers' psychology, the Kuwaiti soldiers also made plans to discourage Iraqi soldiers' morale. Kuwaiti troops, along with the American Marines, were among the first forces to liberate Kuwait.
Kuwaiti Air Force officers joined the American land force as they penetrated deeply into southern Iraq, as well as landing forces on Failaka Island, and participated in the reorganization of the internal security for the Kuwaitis and other residents of Kuwait at that time. In cooperation with civilian groups and the American Army's civil engineers, Kuwait International Airport was prepared for re-opening with the great work of Kuwait Air Force officers.
During Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm, Kuwait Air Force units were up to the task, the A-4 Sky hawk accomplished a successful 1796 hours and 1326 missions, the Mirage accomplished a successful 700 hours and 634 missions, the gazelle accomplished a successful 127 hours and 203 missions, the super puma accomplished a successful 406 hours and 281 missions and the Puma accomplished a successful 244 hours and 218 missions.
C. Kuwait Navy Force
The Kuwaiti Navy did not have time to deploy on the 2nd of August1990. Some ships fled to Saudi Arabia and Bahrain but Iraq captured The Kuwaiti Navy Force as well as eight missile patrol boats equipped with Exocet missiles.
The Navy took King Abdul-Aziz Naval Base in Al-Jubail as their home base, and from there Kuwait Navy performed joint training with the American Navy during the period of mobilization before the war. Along with the allied forces The Navy participated in clearing the international waterways leading to the Kuwaiti ports. The Command was assumed by Lt. Col Ahmad Al Mulla, and Lt. Col. M. Fairuz as his deputy.
The two surviving Kuwaiti missile craft, carrying small marine contingents, were able to join the Allies Navies in search and rescue missions picking up Allies pilots from the Arabian Gulf, along with destroying any enemy target. They were under the US air protection, but because of the Allies supremacy they didn’t need any air cover and because of that their missions changed to include capturing Kuwaiti Kubbar Island on 15th of January 1990,but the decision from the Allies Command was to abandon the island after one day. The Navy succeeded in destroying the Iraqi air defense insulations in Aldurah sea oil platform on 18th of Feb 1990 where the Kuwaiti Navy became the first unit among the Allies to capture Iraqi POW’s from that oil field. On the 19th of the same month the Navy managed to cut the enemy supply lines to the Iraqi soldiers on the Kuwaiti island which forced them to surrender on one week from the beginning of that sea blockade.
The Navy succeeded in making Kuwaiti Garouh Island the first liberated Kuwaiti soil when its ships and marines captured that island from the enemy, taking many POWs on the 25th of January 1990. After four days the Navy managed to capture Kuwaiti Um AlMaradem Island, and on the same day 29th of January the Navy took part in defending Khafji during the liberation of that border Saudi City. The Navy also forced the Iraqi fleeing forces to abandon plans to use the sea as a way out of Kuwait during 25th on Feb 1990. The Kuwaiti naval blockade transformed to become a sea based attack. The Navy managed to avoid the Iraqi sea mines and reached Ras Alardh in Salmia on the 28th on January 1990. On the 3rd of March the Navy joined the US Navy in capturing Kuwait’s Failka Island.
8. Kuwait Army After Liberation
Desert Shield /Desert Storm left Kuwait decimated. Every branch of service requires rebuilding. Kuwait went on a high-spending spree to have the armed forces outfitted with the latest and greatest equipment available from many nations. History is witness to the undying spirit of the Kuwaitis who fought all odds with their incredible tenacity and ability to survive. The destruction and torture that Kuwait was subjected to had few recent parallels. The process of rebuilding and reconstruction was an uphill task[17]. The percentage of destruction among the army units after liberation reached 95%. A reconstruction plan over several years was made. It aimed at changing the army organization. Rebuilding destroyed buildings, purchasing new weapons, training all forces, and concentrating on training with allied forces. By early 1994, Kuwait largely had succeeded in rebuilding its damaged military infrastructure.
A. Defense Review Group (DRG)
After liberation, a Defense Review Group (DRG) conducted a thorough review of Kuwait's defense needs and capabilities, and instituted a complete restructuring of military doctrine and resources. Three teams from France, the United Kingdom and USA came to study the Kuwaiti armed forces on the ground and issued three proposals. Kuwait accepted the American plan and a committee was formed, headed by General Ali AlMumen on the Kuwaiti side and General Nole from the American Army. After six months came the Defense Review Group study, at the core of this doctrine was a modernized, highly mobile defensive force comprised of planes, tanks, artillery, and support units manned by the Kuwaiti military. These units were being equipped and trained according to the DRG ten-year development plan.
B. Kuwait’s Mutual Defense Agreements (M D As)
In 1991 Kuwait signed security agreements with the United States, Britain, and France and two agreements on military cooperation with Russia and China. Kuwait's Mutual Defense Agreements or MDAs with leading world powers became a key to the defensive strategy. Most significant among these world powers agreements were the agreements with the United States and Great Britain. The agreement permits the US to pre-position weapons and conduct military exercises in Kuwait at Kuwaiti expense.
In 1992 Kuwaiti and United States forces carried out joint exercises under the defense agreement. Kuwait has backed up its formal security arrangements with a close political and economic relationship with the United States. It has given much of its postwar reconstruction business to United States firms, including civil reconstruction contracts that have been awarded through the United States Army Corps of Engineers and many contracts directly related to defense needs. The MDA with the United States represents a significant new direction for U.S. strategic doctrine as well as for Kuwait. This executive order calls for pre-positioning of equipment: war planes, tanks, armored personnel carriers, artillery systems, and support equipment enough for a U.S. heavy armored brigade. There was also a provision for frequent combined exercises between American and Kuwaiti forces. This allowed multiple teams of allied soldiers to come to Kuwait and train with their Kuwaiti counterparts, meeting the people they would fight alongside, and using the equipment they would use, in a real crisis[18].
C. Iraqi threats to Kuwait 1992-2003
(1). Operation Southern Watch 1992-1993
On Aug. 26, 1992, a coalition of U.N. forces began surveillance operations in Iraq below the 32nd parallel. The goal was to ensure Iraq’s compliance with UNSCR 688. Iraq directly challenged Operation Southern Watch flights over its territory. This crisis prompted the establishment of US. Taskforce -Kuwait. The US Army deployed a battalion task force to Kuwait to draw the pre positioned equipment at Camp Doha. The task force conducted exercises with Kuwaiti land forces and served as a ground deterrent force. This operation continued until April 1993. Later the same month, former President George Bush visited Kuwait and spoke to the deployed troops at Camp Doha. During the visit, the Iraqi government sponsored an assassination attempt on President Bush. This plot prompted a unilateral U.S. Tomahawk missile strike June 26, 1993. The Kuwaiti armed forces were on full alert during this crisis; Ahamad Aljaber Air Base became the home base of the US search and rescue team.
(2). October 1994 crisis
On October 1994 Iraq was attempting to influence the UN by signaling it was prepared to resort to extreme measures if convinced it has nothing to gain from restraint. Saddam easily believed he had little left to lose and that military action—if not quickly countered by a US response—offered a rapid way to gain concessions from the international community[19].
In October 1994, two Iraqi armored divisions massed on Kuwait's border. The only ground forces in position to stop the Iraqis were four Kuwaiti brigades—two armor, one mechanized infantry, and one motorized cavalry. Kuwaiti units mobilized on the northern border according to plan establishing a defensive line. The US Army deployed a brigade from the 24th Infantry Division along the Kuwait-Iraq border. There was substantial coalition air presence in the area of responsibility, but it was there as a part of Operation Southern Watch. The aircraft were enforcing the no-fly zone south of the 32nd parallel, and were not outfitted to stop an armor advance. US maritime presence in the AOR was more robust—five major combatant ships as well as the USS Tripoli Amphibious Ready Group (ARG). The 2000 Marines of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, exercising in the United Arab Emirates, promptly ceased operations there and re-embarked on the Tripoli ARG. The task of the CAT planners was straight forward—to get maximum combat power into the AOR as quickly as possible. When allied troops arrived, they fell in on the pre-positioned equipment and deployed to reinforce the front-line defenses. The Iraqi threat subsided after a few tense weeks. Operation Vigilant Warrior resulted in expansion of the American equipment in place to support a full brigade combat team contingency.
(3). OPERATION VIGILANT SENTINEL, AUGUST 1995
Less than one year later, Saddam Hussein would again deploy Iraqi forces close to its border with Kuwait. In August, Third Army/ARCENT provided command and control for a rapid deployment of a heavy brigade task force. Once more, Iraqi threats were decisively met. VIGILANT SENTINEL'S immediate, measured, and effective response to Iraqi aggression quickly convinced Hussein to withdraw his forces from the Kuwaiti border. On VIGILANT SENTINEL, TF-Kuwait was once again established and a brigade combat team was deployed to Kuwait. In addition to the equipment for a reinforced task force being issued from Camp Doha, Operation VIGILANT SENTINEL saw the deployment of a Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) Battery and a heavy brigade headquarters set. This diverse task force remained through the end of the crisis in December 1995.
(4). OPERATION DESERT STRIKE 1996
Kuwait army was deployed In September 1996 when Iraq intervened in the Kurdish conflict in the northern part of the country. This military action took place above the 36th parallel, the area defined by the United Nations as off limits to Iraqi forces. The US Central Command (USCENTCOM) conducted a series of air and missile attacks against selected targets in Iraq, called Operation Desert Strike. TF-Kuwait was activated and a brigade combat team from the 1st Cavalry Division was deployed to Kuwait until the crisis ended in December 1996.
Following Operation DESERT STRIKE, Kuwait agreed to a nearly continuous presence of a US battalion task force in Kuwait. These US Army INTRINSIC ACTION rotations and US Marine Corps EAGER MACE rotations conducted combined training with the Kuwaiti Land Forces and other coalition partners. In addition, Special Operations Forces conducted IRIS GOLD rotations to train and assist other Kuwaiti military units.
(5). OPERATION DESERT THUNDER1998
When Saddam Hussein blocked United Nations weapons inspections, tested the resolve of coalition commitment by violating the no-fly zone, and publicly threatened to shoot down U2 reconnaissance over-flights in the fall of 1997, Operation DESERT THUNDER took place in February 1998. Coalition/Joint Task Force-Kuwait was prepared to defend Kuwait with a ground force strength of more than 9,000 personnel, which consisted of forces from Argentina, Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Hungary, New Zealand, Poland, Romania, United Kingdom, and Kuwait rounded out the C/JTF by providing liaison teams, aircraft support, special operations elements, Chemical/Biological, Base Defense Units, MASH units, and medical personnel. With Kuwait Army 32d Army Air Missile Defense Command and Special Operations conducted joint training in the Kuwaiti desert to deter Iraqi aggression.
(6). OPERATION DESERT FOX 1998
In December 1998, Iraq's failure to allow UNSCOM inspectors to effectively perform their mission and to comply with U.N. resolutions established following Desert Storm, and when Iraqi aircraft began challenging the established no-fly zones, and Iraqi Air Defense systems fired on allied aircraft in Dec. 1998. During the campaign, US Third Army was deployed to defend Kuwait, and Allies in the Gulf region.
The U.S. and U.K. forces responded with a massive display of firepower. Allied Air Force and Navy aircraft and Cruise Missiles engaged command and control, communications, and selected Republican Guards targets on the morning of Dec. 16. These concentrated attacks against Iraqi targets continued until the early morning of Dec 19.
(7) Defending Kuwait in Dec 1999
Kuwaiti military defense council held a meeting chaired by Deputy Premier and Defense Minister Sheikh Salem Al-Sabah and adopted several resolutions and arrangements to help revive a defense plan in Kuwait, whereas certain units of the Kuwaiti army were put on maximum fighting alert. The Kuwaiti military defense council underlined the importance of preparations to summon reserve army soldiers and stressed the need of taking other relevant measures to strengthen the capabilities of defending Kuwait in line with the development of military positions. This Kuwaiti step came after several members of the Iraqi parliament and Iraqi Deputy Premier Tariq Aziz called for giving up "recognizing Kuwait as a state rather to consider it as an integral part of Iraq."
(4) Defense Budget during the 90’s
Kuwait Defense budget has two separate items. Established in 1992, the Defense Enhancement budget was funded at US$ 10.5 billion. These funds are to be spent over 10 years on major equipment and strategic military purchases.
A Military Procurement Committee was formed in 1994 with members from the Ministries of Finance and Defense. The MOD officials negotiate the technical aspects of the armaments, and the Ministry of Finance officials review tenders and negotiate prices. The USA is the main armed supplier to Kuwait. Kuwait signed a US$81 million Foreign Military Sales agreement
Sources of Anthony H. Cordesman, from Center for Strategic and International Studies,
indicated in December 28, 1998 that Kuwait abandoned plans to build a 4 brigade active army and much larger Air Force because of growing funding and manpower constraints[20].
Key Kuwaiti Equipment Developments in that report included giving up plans to replace its 150 low quality Yugoslav M-84 supplied tanks with 100-150 more M- 1A2s. Over half the M-84s in storage, plus the remaining M-84s and most BMP-2s and BMP-3s being put into reserves, but still unlikely that Kuwait can properly maintain its M-1 and Warrior purchases. Kuwait bought 218 M-1A2 US-made Abrams tanks. Also purchasing 254 British Warrior AIFVs ($918 million), but Kuwait has given up plans to standardize on the Warrior, and buy the 450-600 it once considered; then filling out its armored strength by buying 125 M-113 APCs, 40 BMP-2 and 20 BMP-3s. Kuwait had Plans then to procure up to 263 wheeled armored vehicles.
Kuwait started taking delivery on large numbers of TOW and HOT and at least 200 Carl Gustav 84 mm rocket launchers. It also began evaluating purchase of the Milan 3. Kuwait also reduced plans for major orders of new self-propelled artillery weapons, and a number of its existing weapons are not operational. Kuwait purchased 27 (one battalion) of the Chinese North Industries Corporation, 155mm PLZ45 self-propelled guns in an initial purchase of its requirement for up to 75 weapons and intends to purchase two fully equipped Paladin artillery battalions from the US. Paladin package includes 51 artillery pieces, 51 re- supply vehicles, 18 command post vehicles, 31 M113 fire-support team vehicles and six command variants of the M113 transport.
Kuwait was still considering purchasing British AS-90, and South African G-6. Kuwait was also attempting to sell its Auf-1s and replace them with the Giat Caesar 52 155 mm self-propelled or 155 TR towed weapon, and is considering a GIAT offer to modernize its AuF-3s.
Kuwait has ordered 27 Russian BM 30 9A52-2 Smirch multiple rocket launchers to equip three multiple launcher batteries in a separate regiment, but Kuwait may not implement the order. Kuwait also reported to be considering the purchase of the Russian SS-200 ground-to-ground missile, and/or Sakr-36 and Fatih rocket launchers from Egypt. It is also considering the purchase of a UAV for artillery targeting and surveillance purposes. Kuwait ordered 48 Shorts Starburst man portable anti-aircraft missile fire units and 300 missiles and is considering additional purchases of Starburst or Mistral Atlas. Also, it is considering the purchase of four batteries of ADATS, Roland-3 with VT-1 missiles, Alenia Aramais, or AdSAMS -- which fires the Aim-120 AMRAAM.
Kuwait also Ordered 8 Combatant-I 225-ton missile patrol boats which arrived in February 1999. It also bought British Sea Skua anti-ship missiles. Although Parliament is questioning the buy of the British missile system, instead of the French MM.15 system, which is compatible with the French Combatant-I class ships. Kuwait bought 5 South Korean Seagull class patrol boats. Kuwait also had plans to upgrade Al Jaber Air Base but was limited by funding. It ordered 32 US F/A-18C and 8 F/A-18D fighters, AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, AIM-7F Sparrows, AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missiles, and Maverick AGM-65G anti-ship/anti-hard point missiles
Cordesman also mentioned that Kuwait was discussing longer term plans to order up to 35 more fighters, and may make an initial buy of 12 F/A-18C/D aircraft and is seeking to buy the AMRAAM and is considering a possible buy of the Mirage 2000-5 multi-role fighters. It is also seeking to fund such purchases by selling its remaining Skyhawks and Mirage F-1CTKs
Kuwait is studying possible purchase of airborne alert aircraft and/or maritime patrol aircraft. It may purchase the E-2C. It would like to buy Hawk 100 trainers, or at least upgrade its Mark 64s.
It is also considering the purchase of six more transports, probably C-130s and/or Shorts Sherpas.
Kuwait originally examined the purchase of 16-20 AH-64A Apache attack helicopters. It decided on 16 Blackhawk UH- 60L helicopters with 500 Hellfire anti-armor missiles, 38 Hellfire launchers, 11,500 Hydra rockets, 200 mm guns pods, and night vision devices. It is considering a follow-on purchase of the AH-64A or additional UH-60Ls in the mid-term. It is also considering the purchase of AS-532 Cougar, Black Hawk, and IAR IAR-530 transport helicopters Kuwait is seeking 16 McDonnell Douglas AH-64D Longbow Apache Helicopters as part of an $800 million military acquisitions package. That package also includes 384 Lockheed Martin Hellfire anti-tank missiles and 19 918 Hydra-70 rockets. Four T-700 GE engines, 30mm ammunition, chaff systems, integrated helmet and display sight systems and spare parts. It is also seeking to replace its destroyed C4I system in an attempt to integrate its armed forces as part of a larger plan to coordinate the Gulf Arab Defense Systems. The contract is estimated at over $1 billion dollars.
Kuwait signed a contract with Hughes in December, 1992 to create a new land-based early warning system, refurbish an air operations center, and construct a new radar site. The first phase of the new system -- the Radar Preliminary Early Warning System (RPEWS) -- became operational in 1994, and the Kuwait Air Force accepted the entire system in November, 1995. The system is shelter mounted, and integrates two of Kuwait’s main search radars: a new AN/FPS-117 L-Band radar with a random antenna and an existing French TSR-2100 Tiger S-Band radar at Kuwait City.
Work is also underway to integrate airborne L-88 L-Band radar, mounted in an aerostat, into the system. Kuwait ordered long-range Thomson-CSF TRS 22XX S-Band radar.
Kuwait has bought TCOM surveillance aerostats with Lockheed-Martin L-88 radars to replace the system lost in 1990. It has signed a contract with Thomson-CSF to receive a single 22XX 3D air surveillance radar with a detection envelope of approximately 450 km. and a ceiling of 100 000 ft.
It has signed a contract with Thomson-CSF to receive a single 22XX 3D air surveillance radar with a detection envelope of approximately 450 km. and a ceiling of 100 000 ft. 5 batteries of Patriot surface-to-air missiles, with 210 MIM-104 PAC-2 GEMs (Guidance Enhancement Missiles). Kuwait has considered buying six new
batteries, 5 batteries of Patriot surface-to-air missiles, with 210 MIM-104 PAC-2 GEMs (Guidance Enhancement Missiles). Kuwait has considered buying six new batteries of I-Hawk Phase III fire units and 342 MIM-23B Hawk missiles as well, but delayed this decision pending a study of possible reconstruction of the equipment for four I Hawk batteries which Iraq returned after the war. According to some reports, is considering an order for Russian SA-10 or SA-12 (S-300PU) missiles. Finally Kuwait also considered buying an electric security fence to help defend 130 mile frontier with Iraq, and will supplement 15’ wide and 9’ deep trench.
[1] Samir ‘Ata Allah, Asharq al-Awsat, March 20, 2003.
[2] Report by J. A. N. Graham from British Embassy, Kuwait 4 June, 1967.
[3] Chaim Herzog, The Arab-Israeli Wars, (NY: Random House, 1984), pp. 195-221; Nadav Safran, Israel The Embattled Ally, (MA: Harvard University Press, 1981), p. 266. At:http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/myths/mf8.html#1
[4]Background Behind the Iraqi Will to Seize Kuwait. At:http://demo.sakhr.com/diwan/emain/Story_Of_Kuwait/Occupation/Occupation_historical_backgrou/occupation_historical_backgrou.html
[5] http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/1973-Yom-Kippur-War
[6] Kenneth R. Timmerman, Weapons of Mass Destruction: The Cases of Iran, Syria and Libya (Los Angeles: Simon Wiesenthal Center, 1992), p. 25.
[7] —Bates Gill, "Chinese Arms Exports to Iran," MERIA Journal, Vol. 2, No. 2, May 1998, http://www.biu.ac.il/Besa/meria/journal/1998/issue2/jv2n2a7.html.
[8] Peter Grier, "Surprising Accurate Hits; Iran may be using upgraded Silkworms, defense experts say," Christian Science Monitor, 23 October 1987, p. 6, in Lexis-Nexis, <http://www.lexis-nexis.com/.
[9] Missile Chronology :http://www.nti.org/e_research/profiles/Iran/Missile/1788_1802.html
[10] .Lt. Col. Fred L. Hart, Jr. advisor to the Kuwaiti Land Forces at: http://www.military.com/Content/MoreContent?file=hart02
[11] Nelson, Robert A. "The Battle of the Bridges: Kuwait's 35th Brigade on the 2d of August 1990." Armor, September-October 1995, pp. 26-32.
[12] Ahmad Al Wazan, Colonel Executive Officer. 35th Shaheed Armored Brigade. Colonel Al Wazan was a lieutenant colonel and commander of the 7th Tank Battalion at the time of the invasion.
Ali Abdulkareem, Major, Commander, 8thTank Battalion. Major Ali was a captain and commander of the 3d Company of the 8th Tank Battalion on the 2d of August. He had just returned to Kuwait after completing the U.S Army Armor Officer Advanced Course in June at the time of the invasion.Bader Al Dehani, Major Executive Officer. 63rd Battalion, currently acting as an Assistant Operations Officer in 26th Brigade. Major Bader was assigned to the 35th Brigade intelligence section during the invasion,Khasan Dawud, Major. Executive Officer, 51st Artillery Battalion. Major Khasan was a captain and commander of the 2d Battery, 51st Anillery Battalion during the invasion.Majed Al Ahmad. Lieutenant Colonel, Operations Officer at Al Jaber Airbase. Majed was a major at the time of the invasion. He flew A-4 Skyhawks from Al Jaber Airbase.
Nabil Saleh, Major, Commander of the 51st Artillery Battalion, also, serving as an assistant operations officer at Land Forces. Major Nabil was the XO of the 51st Artillery Battalion at the time of the invasion.Major Nabil had recently returned to Kuwait after completing the Field Artillery Advanced Course in the spring of 1990.Salem Masoud Al Sorour, Brigadier General Commander. Kuwait Land Forces General Salem was a colonel, commander of the 35th Brigade during the invasion. He lead the brigade back into Kuwait during Operation DESERT STORM.The following officers reviewed this article:
BG Salem Al Sorour, COL Ahmad Al Wazan, COt Nasser Khames Al Zaabi, MAJ Nabil Saleh,
MAJ.Nasser Dowailah,MAJ.Ali Abdulkareem,and MAJ.Suleiman Al Huwail.
[13] Lt. Col. Fred L. Hart, Jr .Advisor to the Kuwaiti Land Forces at: http://www.military.com/Content/MoreContent?file=hart02
[14] . The official website of the state of Kuwait at: http://demo.sakhr.com/diwan/emain/Story_Of_Kuwait/Oil_Era/New_era/national_guard.html
[15] IISS Military Balance 1990/1991
[16] www.desert-storm.com/Features/uslok6.doc
[17] www.kuwait-info.com/sidepages/gulfwar.recon.asp
[18] http://www.kuwait-info.org/Country_Profile/foreign_affairs_and_defense.html
[19] W. ERIC HERR, OPERATION VIGILANT WARRIOR,AIR UNIVERSITY ,MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, ALABAMA JUNE 1996
[20] Anthony H. Cordesman, Military Balance in The Middle East – XI/the Southern Gulf: Bahrain, and Kuwait, Military Expenditures and Arms Transfers, Major Arms by Country and Zone, Conventional Forces, and Qualitative Trends, December 28, 1998
Kuwait armed forces were on a full alert from 1961 until the fall of Qasim regime in 1963. The crisis forced the Army to adapt a reform workshop that included the renewal and expansion of manpower, arms and organization.
Israel took actions in a series of increasingly provocative and threatening steps. During May and early June of 1967, Israel threatened to attack Syria, and President Nasser deployed his armed forces against Israel. Israel launched an aggression against Egypt. According to Treaty of Joint Defense and Economic Cooperation Between the States of the Arab League, June 17, 1950, any [act of] armed aggression made against any one or more of them or their armed forces, to be directed against them all . Kuwait was part of that treaty after its independence in 1961. In 1967, Gamal Abd al-Nasser requested the withdrawal of international U.N. forces from the Straits of Tiran, and the U.N. Secretary General at that time, U Thant, when the troops were withdrawn; the door was open for war. Even today, some say that if U Thant had not hurried to comply with Nasser’s request, the face of history would have been changed or at the very least delayed its change[1].
Kuwait became the first Arab country to respond to the crisis, and its men became the first casualties on the battlefront from the first blaze. An Ameeri decree was issued on 5th of May 1967 declaring war on Israel. Another order was issued to send one brigade called the Kuwait Expeditionary Force (Yarmuk Brigade) commanded by Kuwait Army Chief of Operations and Deputy Chief of Staff Sheikh Saleh to Egypt .
First, a team headed by Abdullah Faraj Alghanem was sent to Egypt to prepare the ground for receiving and staging Kuwait force in Faied area. The decision was to send the Commando Battalion by air and the artilleries by sea.
The political situations were escalating towards war. Kuwait’s government gave orders to send Yarmuk Brigade in less than 72 hours. The challenges were greater than the army’s abilities, because the Yarmuk Brigade represented one third of Kuwait’s armed forces in men and equipments. It meant also, suspension of the training programs and the nightmare of logistics support to the force in Egypt.
A military parade took place on 28th of May 1967 at the Army Training School for the forces who were going to be leaving. The parade was attended by the Ameer and heads of government, where Sheikh Saleh AlSabah was given the flag of that force from his highness the Ameer.
Brigader Saleh was the Commander of that unit. Col. Abdullah Alghanem was his deputy along with Mohammed Albader for Operations and Lt. Col. SADI Mutlaq for armored. There was Major Omer Zuaiter for artillery, Dr. Haider Alagha for Medical Unit, Ali Gathfan for store as well as Musalem Alajmi for communications and Saud Bshara for logistics. Kuwait Air Ways took the role of lifting most of the force to Egypt and Kuwait Air Force Caribou cargo planes air lifted the heavy equipment,
The first expeditionary battalion left Kuwait by air on 29th of May1967. It was followed through the week by other units and by a HQ element under Brigadier Saleh. They shipped the armored units (composed of 15 Centurions), together with a regiment of Saladin’s, 12 Ferrets, a Battery of 25 ponders and an LAA troop, from Al-Ahmadi port by chartered freighter after a few days. The total forces were about 1200 men[2].
Kuwait infantry in Egypt were installed at Faied but the HQ was forward in the Gaza strip and was assigned a sector on the extreme left flank.
On May 29th 1967 Kuwait’s Commando Battalion containing three companies and a command unit completed its landing in Egypt, and its staff started long meetings with the Egyptian Security Units regarding the Israeli enemy. The battalions were moved on 4th of June 1967 by trains from Faied to Sinai Peninsula facing the Israeli lines.
Yarmuk Brigade was attached to the Egyptians 7th Division in Rafah –Alaraish sector. That division consisted of 4 infantry brigades and with it was a tank brigade of a hundred tanks from different Soviet types that included T34, Stalin and SU100 artillery.
In June 4th the Kuwaiti Commander took a helicopter tour, inspecting the front where he asked the Egyptian Commanders to change his unit’s locations to be facing the enemy in the Alarish area. The 5th of June was set by Skeikh Saleh to be the moving date for the Kuwait Force from Faied to Alarish by train. The location was 15 km away from Al arish itself. The first train left on the fourth of June with Kuwait force Commanded by Abdullah Faraj Alghanem, and major Omer Zuaiter to be followed by the second train carrying the equipment.
A British report noted that General Mubarak returned from Cairo pleased with his reception there and hoping that at least one good thing would come out of the crisis – that he would get more money to buy the extra tanks and armored cars he had been asking for.
The 1967 war started at the early hours of the 5th of June by the Israeli Air Force destroying the Egyptians air power, and leaving the land forces without an air cover, including the train that was carrying the Kuwaiti force, which ignored the attacks and decided to continue to AlArish instead of turning back to Cairo.
When the train reached AlArish it was attacked by the Israeli planes again, and that’s when Kuwait Commando Force took cover in the palm trees around the train line until the nightfall. In the morning the unit continued their withdrawal to Port Saied. Kuwait’s local sources noted that Sheikh Fahad Alahmad who was one of the Commandos used his gun to9 force the train driver to stop in the beginning of the Israeli air attack.
At the first attack Sheikh Fahad Alahmad lead a group of the Commandos and took cover near the beach. From there he organized two groups: one group was responsible for searching for the rest of the Kuwaiti unit that was separated from them during the attack and was commanded by Abdullah Faraj Alghanem. That missing group was already on their way to the canal trying to cross the water with 65% of them having no swimming skills.
Sheikh Fahad Alahmad with the 2nd Commandos group reached AlMazar on the 7th of June where an Egyptian unit was stationed, but it wasn’t long before they were attacked by the Israeli Air Force. This group became more than one group again, wandering in the desert trying with the help of Sinai Peninsula Bedouins to find their way to Ismailia. From there they marched with the retreating Egyptian forces to Mattla wa Aljadi Pass. But the Israeli forces near the canal forced them to change their retreating route back to the Sinai Peninsula carrying their weapons; then to the north reaching the Mediterranean, to Port Said after 18 days in which they were lost in the desert.
The equipment train that escaped destruction was reached by LT. Col Muhammed Albader and was stopped after crossing the Fardan Bridge near Qantara East. Because of Lt. Col Albader’s feat, Kuwait Force retained all its equipment in good condition. Yarmuk Brigade was regrouped again and staged on Dahshoor near Cairo awaiting another round of fighting with the enemy.
With 1967’s victory, Israel couldn't force the Arabs to sign a peace treaty. Instead, Israel was subjected to constant attacks along The Egyptian front and across the Suez Canal. Israel started to build a wall along the canal to give legitimacy to its occupation of the Sinai Peninsula.
To prevent Israel from establishing the ( Bar lev line) wall and other settlements, the Egyptians adapted what was known as the Preemptive Defense Strategy, or the Attrition War. The purpose of the Attrition War was to prevent Israel from creating facts on the ground by making them lose men and money. Believing that Israel would be unable to endure the economic burden; the Egyptians felt that all this along with the constant casualties would undermine Israeli morale.
The Attrition War began in March 1969 and ended with United States Secretary of state William Rogers’s proposal known as Rogers Plan which sets UNSC Res. 242 as the basis for negotiations in August 1970. Yarmuk Brigade was attached to the 16th Division in the Egyptian Army, with the mission of defending the FRSAN Island and TUMSAH Lake along the Suez Canal.
On April 11th, 1970 the Brigade was changing location, and on that evening only one Company was left when the Israeli artillery started shelling the Kuwaiti positions along the Suez Canal. That night lance corporal Falah Abdullah Alanzi was killed. He became the first Kuwait martyr since the Yarmuk Brigade’s military inception on 17th June 1970. A Kuwaiti bunker received a direct hit from the Israeli artillery and the Yarmuk Brigade lost 16 soldiers. This was the largest causality in its history. According to Israeli sources the Israeli death toll during the Attrition War was 1424 soldiers and more than 100 civilians. Another 2,000 soldiers and 700 civilians were wounded[3].
The 1967 war was the first real test for Kuwait Army. It was good training for its men and officers, but it also affected its readiness in Kuwait by losing two thirds of its size and most of its equipments.
At this point we can ask whether the aim was clear: either by maintaining Kuwait's armed forces to match the scale and ambition of our foreign policy then; or tailor our foreign policy to match the defense resources available. This failure to match commitments and resources has bedeviled Kuwait's defense policy since 1961.
2. Samitah Iraqi aggression 1973
After Qasim crisis the Baathist regime dealt Kuwait a series of unauthorized claims. The friendship treaty with the Soviet’s in the early seventies and the Soviet Navy’s vessels visits led to Baathist demands to secure a deep-water port in Umm Qasr. This led to demands of taking part of Kuwait’s territories around that area, but Kuwait’s refusal was clear and firm.
The area around Umm Qasr Port was a salty swamp; a treacherous place for Iraqi soldiers. However, from the Iraqi side, the area consisted of dry hills suitable for controlling the area in Kuwait’s territory.
In late 1972, Iraq began building a road Kuwaiti land to the south of Umm Qasr. Iraq had already strengthened its forces in the region since it had been centered there for the first time in 1969[4]. It also settled artillery and integrated facilities on the highland to the southwest of Umm Qasr and demanded the right to occupy the Kuwaiti highland. Iraq was again met with another Kuwaiti refusal.
Al Samitah, Kuwait’s frontier police station which was three kilometers a way from Umm Qasr was manned most of the time by the police and some times by the Army. On 18th of March 1973 some Iraqi troops came to visit the police station, and during their courtesy visit they were asking the Kuwaiti policemen about the size and equipment of the force manning the station, insisting during their friendly conversations that this land belonged to Iraq. The following day they came to ask the Kuwaitis to leave the border post claming that it was on the Iraqi side of the border.
At 3am, 20th of March 1973 a Kuwaiti solider noticed Iraqi troop movement only 400 meters away from their station. A battalion size of force was making an attack formation and in less than an hour the Iraqi mortars started shelling the police station, destroying the communications room and the station’s vehicles.
A full scale attack was launched by the Iraqi force, killing 1st LT. Saud Alsahali and Copral Zaal Althaferi from the Kuwait Police force, and wounding another two, forcing five policemen to retreat under the Iraqi fire. After a brave resistance of few policemen against an army battalion, Iraq occupied the station and penetrated 3 kilometers into Kuwait’s territory.
Immediately, Kuwait dispatched troops and the armed forces went on high alert. A forward command was formed under Muhammed Albader. That force included a Commando Unit led by Abdul Wahab Al muzain, and a battalion of Saladin tanks from the 15th Brigade led by Gazi Aradah which was moved to Rawdateen.
Iraq, still refusing to recognize the border, withdrew from Kuwait’s territory under pressure from Saudi Arabia, the Soviet Union, the Arab League, and Iran, and started asking Kuwait to lease Warba and Bubiyan Islands to Iraq for 99 years.
3. Ramadan 1973 war
To Arab and western military analysis Kuwait’s participation during the October 1973 War was nothing more than an oil embargo, financial aid or some token forces that hardly joined in the battles.
The truth was far from that. Kuwait gave financial aid and jeopardized its only source of income by the oil embargo. It sent two thirds of its army to the Egyptian front since 1967 and sent another third to the Syrian front in 1973, to become the only Arab army that sent forces to different fronts during the same war. It also had more than 40 martyrs and countless wounded.
Anwar Sadat, was resolved to fight Israel and his plan to attack with Syria was code-named Operation Badr. On October 3rd 1973 three officers from the 3rd Egyptian Army came to the Kuwaiti Fifth Battalion that was part of Yarmuk Brigade and commanded by Maj. Khalid Aljeran, informing them that an air exercise would take place in the next few days and that they should be careful not to shoot at any of the Egyptian airplanes. However, at 1 pm on October 6th a motorcyclist brought a message indicating that the 3rd Army was going to breach across the Suez Canal attacking the Israeli Army and destroying the Bar Lev Line. At 2pm the Egyptians smashed the Israeli Army with it smashing the myth of the invincibility of Israeli arms.
The Egyptians burst across the Suez Canal and had advanced up to 15 km into the Sinai Desert, with the combined forces of two army corps. They were opposed by the Israeli "Sinai" division, which they overcame with relative ease and whose counter-attacks they repelled. The Israeli counter-attacks in air and on land were unsuccessful due to the new anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles used effectively by the Arabs.
Kuwait forces were deployed at the canal when all this started, behind them were an Egyptian surface-to-air missile batteries and that made them a target for the Israeli air raids. The Israeli Air Force had suffered serious losses so the air defense batteries across the front became their main targets.
When the Israeli’s managed to hit the Egyptians surface-to-air missile batteries after a week from the start of the battles, Kuwait’s forces were relocated, but during the movement they lost their Commander Maj. Aljeran on an Israeli artillery raid in an Egyptian bunker. One movement for the Kuwaiti army was towards Suez City. On the road the Kuwaiti force were hit by another raid and lost most of its heavy equipment. In the area known as 101 km Kuwait lost 37 men that day.
The force managed to reach their destination but they had to send some men to bring the equipment that failed during the movement. The mission resulted in losing Lt Ali Alfahad and the wounding of Lt Alalban.
Israel was depending on its air power and the Arabs were counting on their land forces. The Egyptian and Syrian air forces together with their air defenses shot down 114 Israeli warplanes during the conflict. The Israelis managed to hit the Egyptian land force badly. According to Israeli sources [5],On October 15, a division led by Ariel Sharon managed to breach the line between the Second and the Third Egyptian armies and to create a bridgehead; on the night of October 16/17, an Israeli bridge was deployed across the Suez Canal. The divisions of Avraham Eden (Bren) and Sharon passed over this bridge into Africa advancing to within 101 kilometers of Cairo. They wreaked havoc on the lines of supply of the Third Army stretching to the south of them, cutting off and encircling the Third Army. With the Third Army's situation being hopeless, the intervention from the USSR and the United States stopped the war. On October 22, a disengagement agreement was reached by efforts of the US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and a cease-fire was declared. The Kuwaiti forces returned victorious to Kuwait in late 1974.
On the Syrian front Aljahra force was formed and moved by land on 27th October 1973. It was commanded by LT Col.Ali Almumen and Salem Turki. As 2nd in command it consisted of commandos, Saladin and Vickers armored vehicles, artillery, air defense, signal, reconnaissance, medical, anti-armor and a logistic unit with a total of 3000 men.
When the force first reached Syria it was given the task of defending Damascus the capital, but later it was moved to the northern mountains fighting along with the Syrian fifth division. Kuwait French artillery nicknamed (ABo Rdain) was the hero among all Arab forces that included Saudi and Moroccan forces. The Israeli forces suffered heavy loses from that artillery in the Golan Heights and Jabal Alsheikh. That artillery was the master of the battle field. Without any causality on the Syrian front the unit returned to Kuwait after one year as part of the 1973 war efforts.
4. Iran -Iraq War 1980-1988
In January 1979 the Shah of Iran was forced to flee Iran and Khomeini returned from France creating an Islamic Republic. In December 1979 The USSR invaded Afghanistan. To the American President, Jimmy Carter, that was a grave threat to the free movement of oil from the Middle East. In his speech he stated that the United States would use military force if necessary to defend its national interests in the Arabian Gulf region; that became the American policy in the Gulf under the Carter Doctrine. However, that Doctrine was mainly against the USSR and failed to monitor and detect the regional conflicts.
The Iran-Iraq war that lasted from September 22, 1980 until August 20, 1988 was the first major threat to the security of the Gulf since WWII. It had evolved through four phases. In the first phase, 1980-1982, Iran was on the defensive when full-scale warfare erupted as the Iraqi army swept across the Shatt AlArab waterway into Arabstan, the richest oil-producing province in Iran. In May 1981, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE banded together in the GCC to protect their interests and, if necessary, to defend themselves. In the war Kuwait and the GCC countries were backing Baghdad. At the second phase, 1982-1984, Iran's offensives alarmed Kuwait and the GCC States, which were concerned about containing the spread of Iran's Revolution. The third phase, 1985-1987, was characterized by Iranian efforts to win diplomatic support for its war aims. Then the fourth phase began in the spring of 1987 with the direct involvement of the United States in the Gulf.
First phase 1980-1982
A full emergency alert was declared for two months in the Kuwait armed forces. An emergency plan was activated with a light military presence at the border key points without deployment.
Brigegader Muhammed AlBader became head of Operations and new methods as a joint command center came into existence along with two new defensive plans to defend Kuwait without the help of our brothers or allies. The first plan was set to counter an Iranian attack from the north if the Iranian forces managed to defeat the Iraqi forces in their southern sector in Basra. While the other plan considered an Iranian flank from the east through Faw Peninsula. A third plan called the Islands Plan was also set, and consisted of defensive points in 12 posts from Subia to Ras algeed on the Bubian Island. There was also an infantry battalion to counter and control. It was assigned to this task stationed in Bubian Island.
Under an Iraqi request to have a footstep in Kuwait territory to counter an Iranian attack, the infantry battalion was reinforced by a company of Chieftain Tanks stationed at Subia. At the same time the first landmine field in Kuwait history was laid by Kuwait army engineers at Subia for one kilometer. As part of that third plan a unit of Commandos and a Hawk Air Defense system was sent, along with Sam 7 systems and an AR-1 early warning radar.
The Air Force command post was still a manual operated war room when the war started. Waiting for the already purchased automated command center, and with the help of civil aviation, the Air Force monitored Kuwait air space closely. With the cooperation of the brotherly and friendly nations, work became more intense in the fields of gathering and sharing intelligence information. Combat air patrols ran day and night and interceptors where on short notice alert duties. The air defense umbrella covered Kuwait’s key points.
The Navy, still in the building stages, was waiting for the arrival of speed boats. No naval activities where noticed then, except the coordination with the GCC navies.
Second Phase 1982-1984
After the pro-Iranian terrorist attacks in mid 1983, Kuwait responded to the bombings and other violence by intensifying its military cooperation with the GCC and by building up its own forces. The armed forces took the internal defense task of protecting the oil industry infrastructure, power and water stations and the key government buildings. Two planning teams were formed and came up with two plans. The first plan was to protect the area from Kuwait City to the northern borders and was called (ALjeran) meaning the neighbors. The other plan was called (Alnusar) meaning, the supporters. This plan covered the area from Kuwait City to the southern borders. According to the two plans, battalions from the land force and air defense took the task of defending the oil industry, and the 80th Brigade that was formed that year took charge of defending key government buildings, and a strong link of cooperation was established with the Ministry of Interior.
Fearful of the radical leadership in Iran, Kuwait aided Iraq during the war by permitting the trans-shipment of goods across its territory and by loans. During this phase, the Iraqis were trying desperately to gain a foot stand in Kuwaiti soil, claiming that was the only way to counter an Iranian attack against Iraq from the south.
To stop the Iraqi requests for entering Kuwaiti territory, a communication committee was formed under the command of Col. Yosef Obeed from Kuwaiti and Brig. Amer Aldoori from Iraq. Sultan Alramyan and Ahmad Alrahmani became members of this committee and the meetings according to a Kuwaiti request took place in Iraq.
Part of that cooperation covered the save and rescue of Iraqi pilots, sailors, and ships that faced difficulty in Kuwait territory. It included covering the logistic convoys that were leaving Kuwaiti ports in two hundred trucks per convoy two nights a week, supported and protected by the Military Police, the Ministry of Interior and the logistic command of the Kuwait Army.
In 1984 Iran reacted to Iraqi air attacks on Iran's main oil terminal on the island of Kharj by attacking ships destined for ports in Gulf countries that assisted Iraq's war effort.
Third phase 1985-1987
During this time the Iranian forces managed to capture Faw Peninsula. They were so close to Kuwait that their artillery started shelling Kuwaiti positions in the island and their surface/surface silkworms started targeting and destroying Kuwait oil installations. The Iranians started what was known as the Oil Tankers War and tried to infiltrate into Kuwaiti space and to land on Kuwait Island. To counter this, a land force forward command was established as one brigade stationed between the 6th Brigade and Alrawthateen. This unit was commanded by Jassim Shehab and Matar Saeed. This command took the task of protecting the eastern front of Kuwait’s northern border; a second unit of that brigade took the task of the area between Khor Sabia to Um Qasr, and another force between Bubian Island and the main land. In early 1987 Iran stepped up the tanker warfare by introducing high-speed small crafts armed with Italian Sea Killer missiles. Kuwait had already sought the protection of United States naval escorts through the Gulf by re-flagging Kuwaiti vessels. Determined to protect the flow of oil, the United States approved and began tanker convoys in May 1987. Eleven Kuwaiti ships--one-half of the Kuwaiti tanker fleet--were placed under the United States flag. Other Kuwaiti tankers sailed under Soviet and British flags. Although United States escorts were involved in a number of clashes with Iranian forces, and one tanker was damaged by a sea mine, but in general Iran avoided interfering with Kuwaiti ships sailing under United States protection.
Reflectors
In the second half of the war, An Iranian Scuds and Silkworm ballistic missile war started against Kuwait, fired from Iranian lands or from launchers in Iraqi occupied Faw Peninsula.
In Early 1987 China assisted Iran in manufacturing a short-range, solid-fueled ballistic missile named Nazeat or Iran-130[6]. Iran launched 79 surface-to-surface missiles at Iraq; 18 of the missiles were Scuds, then Iran assembled the Scud-B missile kits, imported from North Korea in 1987 and 1988, in the facility of Isfahan[7]. On 8 January 1987, Iran strikes (the World Dawn) with a Sea Killer ship-launched SSM during a night attack. The World Dawn ship flies a Panamanian flag and was hit off the coast of the United Arab Emirates while carrying oil from Kuwait bound for Italy. On 12 January 1987 Iran strikes the Atlantic Dignity with a Sea Killer ship-launched SSM during a night attack. The Atlantic Dignity, flying a Liberian flag, was sailing off the coast of Oman while carrying oil from Kuwait bound for Italy. On January 14, 1987US intelligence officials said that Iran hit the Subia, a vessel flying a Kuwaiti flag, off the coast of the United Arab Emirates while carrying oil from Kuwait to Pakistan. A Sea Killer ship-launched SSM strikes the Subia during a night attack. On 28 March 1987 an Iranian gunboat fires a missile into the Sedra, a Singapore-registered tanker sailing in the Arabian Gulf. According to shipping sources, the missile was an Italian-made Sea Killer. Iran has produced a medium-range surface-to-surface missile with technological help from China. The Iranians have targeted shipping in the Gulf during the six-and-a-half-year-old Iran-Iraq War.
The Iranians have attacked a dozen vessels owned by Kuwait or plying Kuwaiti ports since September 1986. On 13 July 1987 US Defense Secretary Casper Weinberger says US forces are ready to attack Iranian Silkworm missiles if Iran prepares to fire them at Kuwaiti oil tankers escorted by American warships, but that did not stop Iran from attacking Kuwait. On 4 September 1987 A Chinese-made Silkworm missile is fired from Iran and hits Kuwaiti territory. On 22 October 1987 Iran launched an attack by a Silkworm missile on a Kuwaiti oil terminal, the third time in a week that Iranian Silkworms have hit targets in Kuwaiti waters, the US military analysts suggest that the accuracy displayed by Iran's Silkworm missile attack on a Kuwaiti offshore oil terminal indicates that Iran has an advanced version of the missile, which has long been thought powerful but inaccurate[8]. On 12 December 1987 according to an article in the Beirut magazine Al-Shira, China plans to sell Iran 300 additional Silkworm missiles. Iran was reportedly using the missiles against Kuwait. China denies that it directly provided the Silkworm to Iran[9].
Kuwait reacted to the Silkworms threats during the tanker war or the ballistic missiles war against Kuwait’s land ships and sea based oil terminals with revolutionary methods.
Kuwait developed radar deflectors to neutralize this threat; these reflectors were stationed in the vicinity of Alahmadi port. These passive defensive measures were entirely effective, that was a necessary and proportionate response to any Missile threat in the area.
In late 1987 a meeting took place in the Minister's of Defense’s house. Sheikh Salem AlSubah ordered his commanders for a quick solution to stop the Scuds and Silkworms missiles. A committee was formed from the armed forces, Kuwait Oil Tankers Company, Shwaikh Port Authority. Kuwait Scientific Research Institute, Kuwait Shipyard Company, and Kuwait National Petroleum Company headed by Sheikh Ali Jaber Al Ali who was a great planner, supporter and organizer of the project .
Kuwait Oil Tankers Company was already involved with the Americans in the field of re flagging Kuwait’s oil fleet, and the cooperation continued to solve the ballistic missiles threat. A team of experts from the Pentagon suggested aluminum radar deflectors to neutralize this threat.
The committee proceeded in making one reflector on a wooden boat in front of the palace of his highness the Ameer in Dassman. The heavy weight and the wind caused the sinking of that first reflector in Shwaikh Port , but the experiment give the team an idea of the kind of weight and material that should be used when making the other reflectors .
Aluminum plates were imported from Holland and nine reflectors were made to be carried by old tug boats, the idea was simple: the aluminum plates will face the north like a mirror forming a triangle shape with an angle of 30 degrees. Each boat carried 3 reflectors giving the attacking missiles a target that looks 128 times larger than its actual size. Kuwait Scientific Research Institute war-gamed 450 missiles attacks on the reflectors by the simulators and computers.
In the end, 40 reflector carriers were made. Some were made locally and others brought from GCC countries. The Navy and Coastguards gave away some of their old boats to be reflector carriers and some citizens like Mustafa Budai gave away his yacht in support of the cause as a reflector station.
The American team made their own reflectors in Bahrain (nicknamed swinging barges), and were capable of attracting missiles from all directions. The reflectors were covering the area from Alseef Palace to the southern borders, and each reflector has its own photocell power provider. In Alzoor Oil Terminal, 6 reflectors were located there and sand barriers and nets were erected to protect the oil tanks. Reflector #12 was the hero of the whole project when it attracted a missile coming to the oil sea island. The cost of each reflector including the boat the aluminum reflectors, the photocells and the weight that tied down the boat to the sea bed never exceeded 2500 KD’s.
Two reflectors sank near Messila beach and another two were lost in bad weather near the sea based island. The cooperation between the Army and the rest of the government agencies was the best achievement in the whole project. The Iraqis were impressed by the results, the military cooperation with the Americans expanded after this project to higher levels that included the information sharing and the early warning by the AWACS, also founding of logistic posts for US ships escorting the Kuwaiti oil tankers after re-flagging them.
Fourth phase 1988
In the spring of 1988, the freshly equipped Iraqi ground and air forces succeeded in retaking the Faw Peninsula. Iranian battlefield losses, combined with Iraqi air and missile attacks on Iranian cities forced Iran to accept a ceasefire, which took effect in August 1988, the 8-year Iran-Iraq war resulted in one million dead and heavy losses for both sides.
During the war Kuwait armed forces command made a serious study with a new national security strategy to address the war challenges, it required all the military services to change, and Kuwait had begun a modest program to upgrade the three Land Force brigades. The United States and western European nations had lost out when the Kuwaiti's decided, in early 1988, to buy Russian BMP IIs and Yugoslavian M-84s, (T-72 variant). This was attributed to the inexpensive deals both countries were offering in comparison to buying the more expensive and sophisticated U.S. and Western European arms. Kuwait also had a tendency to engage several countries for arms deals. Kuwait Army consisted of equipment from the U.S., Great Britain, France, Russia, Yugoslavia, and many others. It was a strategy to maintain friendship ties with many and show no favoritism towards one particular country. The result for the military was an absolute nightmare for interoperability. Kuwait Government also required that U.S. military personnel wear no uniforms or openly acknowledge their presence.
After the war, the Army's manpower strength was 16,000 officers and enlisted men. The principal combat formations were three armored brigades, one mechanized infantry brigade, and an artillery brigade with a regiment of self-propelled howitzers and a surface-to-surface missile (SSM) battalion. All the combat units were under strength; by one estimate, as of 1988 the army's entire fighting strength was the equivalent of only one Western brigade.
Kuwait’s first-line main battle tanks were M-84s, Yugoslav versions of the Soviet T-72 tank. The army has various models of British armored cars and armored personnel carriers (APCs). Its artillery consisted of 155mm self-propelled howitzers, mainly of French manufacture. It had a large inventory of antitank missile systems of British, French, and United States origin, including the improved TOW (tube-launched, optically sighted, wire-guided) missile from the United States. It has purchased the Soviet FROG-7, a mobile battlefield missile with a range of sixty kilometers, and in 1984 after the United States rejected a Kuwaiti order for Stinger shoulder-fired SAMs, Kuwait turned to Moscow.
5. The Iraqi Invasion 1990
During the Iraq-Iran War, Iraqi propaganda succeeded all over the Arab world, including the Kuwaiti street where public opinion showed the favoring of Iraq in general, ,one form of the Iraqi penetration to Kuwait was the strong influence in the media ,large Iraqi delegations to government ministries were another form of that penetration .
Kuwait military inelligence was aware of the Iraqi movements, its agents and sympathizers; they were also monitoring the Iraqi movements, and outlandish propaganda broadcasting from Baghdad Radio and TV to create a crisis in the early summer of 1990 when the storm clouds were gathering.
The Iraqi memo of 17 July to the Arab league in Tunisia was known to Kuwait military inteliegence, and deputy chief of staff informed kuwait government of its context before it reached the government by diplomatic channels.
A week before the invasion an American military man wrote "men of each Kuwaiti brigade were in their normal summertime routine (majority of the leadership on summer leave) and little to no activity. In fact, it was difficult to find anyone above the rank of major around, all units had authorized personnel to continue with their normal summer leave program, because August is normally the hottest month of the year and the traditional vacation time for Kuwaitis, something the Iraqis were well attuned to[10]."
Kuwait armed forces were monitoring the situation closely, informing the government of the developments in the front especially the Iraqi military build ups since 18th of June 1990.The deputy chief of staff gave his orders to reach a higher level of alert in the armed forces readiness. That was the first and only alert status, but after one week even with evidence of Iraqi troop movements became clearer Kuwaitis quickly called off their haphazard alert for fear of provoking Saddam Hussein, the government would not acknowledge there was a growing problem, and its orders came as a shock to lower ranks in all branches of the forces.
The Supreme Defense Council was briefed on the situation. The Iraqi Republican Guard formations were within sight of the border, and the stage was set for more than border clashes, but the government did not approve the Supreme Defense Council request of mobilization. Another meeting took place in the Air force HQ at the time, but the state of alert stayed in the lowest level.
Army Intelligence reports and signals from friendly nations came with information and with satellite Intel photos that the Iraqi's had placed their lead Republican Guard division along Kuwait's northern frontier, and that thousands of troops had massed in the southern region of Iraq and were within minutes of the border, but the government was unwilling to acknowledge the threat or to request assistance.
After meeting with Iraqis at the evening of 1 August, the Crown Prince returned from Jeddah with the news that Iraq walked out of the talks when Kuwait was unwilling to meet Saddam Hussein's demands. But Sheikh SAAD was hopeful that another meeting would be scheduled. A meeting took place at the airport upon his arrival, and another meeting at Dasman Palace with his highness the Ameer. Soldiers voted for the war but politicians did not. Hopes of a peaceful solution were supported by promises from President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and King Hussein of Jordan to persuade Iraq to at least meet with the Kuwaitis to discuss their problems. Both heads of states received assurances from Iraq that a peaceful solution could be found.
The Balloon radar at Muttla detected, on the afternoon of August 1st heavy Iraqi air traffic consisting mostly of helicopters. Kuwait Air Force operations room noticed a reconnaissance Iraqi Mig 25 flying at high altitude over Kuwait and the eastern parts of Saudi.
At the army HQ a meeting took place at 10:00 PM and all senior officers left the meeting at the war room with the general feeling that the situation was still controllable by political means.
At mid night signals started pouring in from border posts indicating abnormal movements for the Iraqi forces, then the Iraqi border guards prevented our patrols from patrolling the Kuwaiti side and drove them deep into our territory.
The state of readiness went to the highest level at 2220 PM. The messages indicated that the Iraqi army was occupying the Kuwaiti border posts at the early hours of 2nd of August 1990. The Crown Prince with the Minister of Defense went to the operations room at HQ along with all the other ministers. Sheikh SAAD gave orders to stop the invading forces but it was too late.
The Crown Prince left the operation room to the Air Force command post at the Air Defense Brigade. The news of the Iraqi penetrations forced him to change his rout to Dasman Palace. He had a hard time convincing the Ameer that to protect the legitimacy of the government they should not fall into enemy hands and with him they left at 4:20 AM to Nuwaseeb border post near Saudi Arabia.
At 5 AM Sheikh Subah Al Ahmad Minister of Foreign Affairs along with Sheikh Nawaf Minister of Defense went to Air Force command post. He left before the Iraqis reached Subhan area 2 miles away, followed by the Chief of Staff and his Deputy.
6. Confronting the Iraqi Aggression
After midnight on August 2, 1990, the Iraqi Army moved en masse towards a number of Kuwaiti areas and occupied five border centers, Iraq’s army then moved across Kuwait border in force, the Hammurabi and Nebuchadnezzar Republican Guard Divisions attacked from the north in Soviet-built t-72 main battle tanks, armored personnel BDRM and BTLB carriers. Hind attack helicopters, scout cars, and thousands of infantry swept down the six-lane highway through Abdaly road to Kuwait City. At the same time the Medina and Tawakalna Republican Guard Divisions attacked from the west across the Wadi al-Batin.
The fight for Kuwait City begins. The Iraqi operation was planned in detail and well organized. The invading forces would drive deep into Kuwait, with two of the Divisions striking directly against Kuwait City, while two others would execute an enveloping maneuver and try to cut off Kuwait City from the Saudi border. After the first counter-air strike against the Kuwaiti airfields would be executed by the Iraqi artillery and planes, Special Forces and the Republican Guards would execute a heli-borne operation directly into Kuwait City, with the task of capturing the head of government.
Orders were issued to confront the Iraqi aggression and put the army at the highest state of emergency. The battle between the Kuwaiti and Iraqi forces started at different levels; on land, air, and sea. Battles by the three branches of the Kuwaiti military were under the control of the General Chief of Staff and his Deputy from the Air Force's main operations center. Kuwait forces managed to engage in 15 battles with the enemy.
A. Kuwait Land Force Battles
1. Jal Al-Layah Battle by the 6th Brigade
Enemy forces: Mechanical division and armored division. The 6th Brigade Forces: One mechanical battalion (-)
At 3:15 AM on 2nd of august 1990, the 6th Brigade Commander received orders to send a force to Bubuian Island Bridge, and to Um ElEsh to defend them. Tank platoons were sent immediately to Guenees Hells and another mechanical infantry platoon was sent to Um ElEsh. At the same time intelligence reports came to indicate that the Iraqi forces were approaching through Abdaly – Kuwait’s main highway, and that when the brigade's artillery were deployed inside the camp the commander would lead another force consisting of a tanks platoon, a mechanical infantry platoon, and an anti armored platoon (-).Iraqi forces had the advantage of surprise, but at 3:30 AM they engaged with Kuwait’s 6th Brigade. Kuwait’s small forces managed to stop part of the large Iraqi force for 45 minutes and to destroy some of its tanks. At that encounter Kuwait lost two tanks and a BMB armored.
During the short battle the Iraqi forces tried to encircle the small force but failed, then the orders came from land force command to cut the contact with the enemy and march to support the 35th Brigade at Mutlla Ridge, and to carry that mission an infantry mechanical platoon was called from Um ElEsh,along with another artillery platoon from the camp. The gathering point was Um Rugeebah. At that time communications were lost with the tanks platoon in Guenees Hells area.
The Iraqi forces took Abdaly Highway, the high-speed avenue of approach, and advanced south, completely bypassing the 35th Brigade and the 6th Brigade, forcing the 35th to deploy without the knowledge of the Commander of the 6th Brigade which resulted in the loss of contact and support between the two Kuwaiti forces. The 6th Brigade then returned to its HQ but failed to stand against the large Iraqi forces and was encircled at the junkyard area but didn't surrender until Friday 3rd of august 1990 after forcing the enemy to lose 5 tanks, 3 buses and an unspecified number of vehicles.
2. East Jahra Battle by the 80th Brigade.
At 4:30 orders came to the 80th Brigade to send an infantry company along with Saladin Armored Company with the Brigade HQ to support the commandos who were under Iraqi attack at that time in the Mutlla area.
The Iraqi forces managed to bypass the 80th Brigade, but the Brigade attacked the second echelon of that force near the north eastern Jahara Bridge at 4:45 am. The battle lasted for an hour over that bridge, then The Iraqi army launched an attack with an armored brigade size and the battle expanded to cover all Jahra eastern and north eastern bridges, the eastern residential area of Jahra, the junk yard, and the northern military maintenance area camp.
After exhausting its tank ammunition at 11am, the Brigade withdrew in good order to the junk yard area and after a brief resistance they were surrounded by the large Iraqi forces.
On that day the 80th Brigade lost 6 martyrs, 6 Saladin armored cars, and the brigade commander with some of his men became prisoners of war. The Iraqi forces lost 25 soldiers, three buses, four light vehicles, and six tanks.
3. Jal Al-Atraf Battle of the Bridges by the 35th Brigade
The most notable encounter was that of the 35th Brigade, which is now known as the Martyrs' Brigade. Battle of the Bridges was the largest and the most single battle that really inflicted heavy casualties on the Iraqis and delayed their movement. Among all sources the best description of that battle was written by Major Robert A. Nelson[11] after interviewing some of the Kuwaiti officers who were part of that day[12].
The 35th Brigade, commanded by then-Colonel Salem Masoud Al Sorour, included the 7th and 8th Tank Battalions, 57th Mechanized Infantry, an antitank company, and the 51st Artillery Battalion. Both tank battalions were armed with Chieftain Tanks. While the 7th was in garrison, the 8th Tank Battalion was deployed without its tanks' on a routine mission guarding the northern oil fields. In the days prior to the invasion, the commander of the 8th Battalion brought the 3rd Company back from the oil fields.
The 57th infantry Battalion was equipped with a mix of M113S and BMPS. It also had two company’s deployed dismounted, one on Bubiyan Island, and one on Faylaka Island. The brigade antitank company had Improved TOW Vehicles and the 51st Artillery Battalion had M109A2 155-mrn self- propelled howitzers.
The Kuwaiti version of the Chieftain tank MK 5/2, although aging was still a formidable fighting platform. It mounted a 120-mm main gun with a laser rangefinder, ballistic computer, infrared night sight, and target designating capability. Although the Chieftain has a muzzle reference sensor, the 35th Brigade was unable to foresee the tanks on the day of the battle. The weakness of the Chieftain lies in the power train. The tank is underpowered; the engine will only achieve 720 bhp and is very prone to breakdown. Most Kuwaitis describe it as "Good gun, bad engine." The Chieftain was due to be replaced by the M84 in the Kuwaiti Land Forces.
Republican Guard units led the Iraqi forces. Originally, this force was Saddam Hussein's security force, but the Guards expanded into a full corps during the Iran-lraq war. By the end of that war, the Republican Guards emerged as Iraq's striking force, usually the main effort of offensive operations. The Hammurabi Mechanized and Medina Armored Divisions led the Iraqi attack. Each division had three brigades, two armored brigades and one mechanized in the armored division or two mechanized and one armored in the mechanized division. Each also included artillery, usually @ battalions of 2S I and one of 2S3, with an engineer, commando, air defense, and reconnaissance battalion plus logistics elements. Each maneuver brigade consisted of three tank battalions and one mechanized or three mechanized and one tank. The brigade also had a reconnaissance platoon and mortar battery.
The principal weapons of these divisions were the T-72 tank and BMP Infantry Fighting Vehicle. The T-72 is armed with a 125-mm smoothbore gun with laser rangefinder, ballistic computer, and infrared night vision equipment. The main gun is stabilized on two axes. The Iraqi version has the "Dazzler" device mounted on the turret to defeat ATGMS; however, it is not effective. The main advantages of the T72 are the low profile and ease of operation and maintenance. The Iraqis had both the BMP-1, with 73-rmn gun and AT-3 missile, and BMP-2, with a 30-mm -.on and capable of firing the AT-4 and 5.
At 2200 hours on 1August, the 35th Brigade Operations Officer learned of the impending invasion and placed the Brigade on alert. The officers and men, alerted by telephone, quickly assembled. Soldiers were on leave or unable to report so, in some cases, new crews were assembled on the spot. CPT Nasser, XO of 7th Battalion, took soldiers and checked their background. If a clerk had been previously trained as a tank gunner, CPT Nasser assigned him to a tank crew as a gunner.
The tanks and howitzers were not uploaded in normal peacetime routine. Ammo upload took most of the night. According to MAJ Khasan Dawud of the 51st Artillery Battalion, the officers and men worked side by side without any regard for rank. There was a great deal of confusion and speculation, and periodically the soldiers received updates on the situation. Many believed this would be a repeat of the 1973 Iraqi occupation of the border areas.
At 0030 on the 2nd, the Brigade received information the Iraqis occupied Al Ratka; by 0100, they’d occupied all of the frontier boundary centers in the north.
From the Brigade Commander's perspective, things were very confused. There were many tasks to be done and the situation was unclear. A significant number of personnel were still deployed executing routine peacetime guard missions and could not be recalled in time to fight with the Brigade. The subordinate units took about eight hours to upload ammunition and supplies. Unfortunately, they were unable, despite their haste, to load everything necessary in a limited time. The 8th Battalion did not load enough water, a critical item in Kuwait in August. The artillery battalion could only prepare seven of their 18 guns. Furthermore, the guns were not loaded with a complete mix of ammunition. This limited their options later when they executed fire missions. COL Salem departed the camp at 0430 and joined the antitank company. The rest of the units cleared the camp by 0600. They dispersed to
deny the Iraqis a good target.
The antitank company initially deployed in two sections, one section went to the Al Salem airbase to provide security, and the second to secure the intersection of the 6th Ring Road and the Salmi Road. During their move east along the Salmi Road, they witnessed an Iraqi air raid on the Al Salem airbase. The remaining forces of the brigade moved out of the camp as they completed assembly. The 7th Battalion assembled three companies with 9, 10 and 7 tanks in each company, plus the Battalion Commander's tank (which broke down during the movement east). The 3d Company of the 8th Battalion had 10 tanks, the single company from the 57th had about five BMP-2s plus several M113s and, finally, there was a composite firing battery from the 51st Artillery Battalion with seven guns.
(1)The Battle of the Bridges; First Phase
The 7th Tank Battalion led the remainder of the brigade. They moved east along the Salmi Road to the vicinity of the Al Ghanim Oasis and took positions near the graveyard north of the road. At about 0645, LTC Ahmad Al Wazan sent a reconnaissance vehicle forward to the vicinity of the police station on the Mullaa Ridge to investigate activity on the Abdaly Road. The recon party moved forward and identified Iraqi forces coming down the ridge attacking both east and west of Jahra. COL Salem contacted LTC. Al Wazan and directed him to occupy positions in the vicinity of the graveyard (See Map 1). When LTC Al Wazan arrived at the site, COL Salem gave him instructions and oriented him on the enemy force coming down from the Mutlaa Ridge. The Iraqis continued west in column along the 6th Ring Road. COL Salem directed the 7th Battalion to engage, LTC Al Wazan gave the order to open fire. The 7th Battalion began engaging the Iraqi column, the recon party, still forward, cut through the graveyard to escape back to friendly lines without being hit by either side.
The Iraqi forces were elements of the Hammurabi Division. Tthe lead division on the Iraqi northern axis. It attacked with two brigades south along the Abdaly Road and one brigade from Umm Qasr down the east coast. The division attacked directly south and east of Jahra along Highway 80 as well as west of Jahra on 6th Ring Road. The elements moving east of Jahra were briefly delayed by three Saladin armored cars from the 80th Brigade before continuing their attack into Kuwait City. Those elements moving down the 6th Ring Road apparently did not expect any opposition. They moved in column on the road and did not recon or secure their flanks.
The Chieftains, firing at a range of 1,000 to 1,500 meters, were very effective; the Kuwaitis hit numerous vehicles and caused the column to halt. However, due to confusion at higher echelons, LTC Al Wazan received an order to cease firing and return to garrison. After several minutes, he decided that the order was inappropriate and resumed engaging the Iraqis.
While the 7th Battalion engaged the Iraqis from the north side of the Salmi Road, the 8th Battalion arrived on the south side. The 3d Company commander, CPT Ali Abdulkareem, received an order to move his company across the 6th Ring Road and attempt to free the 80th Brigade, trapped in garrison by the Iraqis. The 6th Ring is a six lane divided highway with concrete barriers separating the north and south lanes and not easily crossed- The Iraqis controlled the two northern bridges and there was a long detour to reach the next bridges to the south. CPT Ali moved forward in his tank, covered by his company, to conduct a personal reconnaissance. Due to the difficulties in finding a crossing site and continued Iraqi movement south on the 6th Ring Road, the 8th Battalion was subsequently directed to tie in with the 7th Battalion and stop Iraqi movement along the 6th Ring.
When CPT Ali closed on the southern flank of the 7th Battalion, LTC Al Wazan at first did not recognize them. He thought the Iraqis were attempting to turn his flank from the south and directed a TOW platoon to move to cover his flank. He said later, "You know, I almost killed my friend. I gave the order to prepare to engage and we had our fingers on the trigger. But then, thank God, we saw the Chieftains and stopped." This was to be a very lucky day for CPT Ali.
CPT Ali positioned his company south of the Salmi Road to cover the two bridges over 6th Ring. A car pulled up driven by one of the battalion's gunners who were on leave. This soldier was one of the best tank gunners in the battalion and joined CPT Ali's crew. CPT Ali scanned the sector and identified an Iraqi command vehicle under the southern bridge that crosses 6th Ring Road. He gave the order to fire, but his company did not respond at first. He gave his gunner the order to fire and destroyed the vehicle under the bridge. (The burn marks are still visible underneath this bridge.) The Iraqis were now trapped on the road. The rest of the company, following CPT Ali's example, now began engaging the Iraqis (See Map 2). At first, all tanks fired at the same target, CPT Ali quickly directed his crews to distribute their fires across the entire front. The enemy did not respond aggressively, abandoning their vehicles and hiding along the road. A tank platoon attempted to maneuver against the 3rd Company by going around the artillery camp and attacking from the east. The company destroyed them.
While CPT Ali's company engaged the Iraqis on the road, a flight of 30 HIP helicopters flew across his front toward Jahra. Although CPT Ali wanted to engage them he was not able to elevate his gun high enough. He was not concerned until he saw a HIND at the trail of the formation. He recognized the threat but could not bring his gun to bear. The HIND turned and hovered as if it was preparing to engage. Again, CPT Ali's luck was with him. The HIND hovered for a few minutes, and then turned to follow the rest of the formation.
Iraqis continued to come down the 6th Ring Road, apparently unaware of the situation. A convoy of cargo trucks loaded with soldiers passed in front of 8th Battalion. The Kuwaitis engaged the trucks and several hundred troops dismounted. Instead of deploying to fight, most of the soldiers merely sat down on the side of the road to await the outcome of the day's events. Some Iraqi infantry moved into the ammunition camp on CPT Ali's right flank. His flank tanks received small arms and RPG fire, but took no losses. Ali also destroyed a 2S1 still mounted on a transport, indicating the Iraqis were still unaware and unable to react to the 35th Brigade's fires.
Events slowed down along the 6th Ring Road. The Kuwaiti artillery continued to engage the Iraqi soldiers sheltering among the wrecks and behind the embankment along 6th Ring Road. Some Iraqi soldiers attempted to surrender, but the Kuwaitis turned them back because they did not have enough soldiers to secure prisoners. The Kuwaitis took advantage of the lull in the fight to send vehicles back to the brigade camp to replenish ammunition.
(2)Battle of the Bridges, Phase Two
At about 1100 hours, the 35th Brigade received information about a force coming from the west towards Jaha. The Kuwaitis identified an armored force approaching from their rear. The Kuwaitis thought this was a Gulf Cooperation Council force moving up to reinforce them. Some of vehicles flew green flags that the Kuwaitis first took to be Saudi Arabian. CPT Khasan walked over to question the lead vehicles. As he approached he realized that this was an Iraqi force because it was equipped with T-72s and BMPs, but he was too committed to turn around. He asked the crew of the lead vehicle their identity and location of their ommander. The crew answered, Khasan turned around, walked back, and passed the information to the brigade. The Iraqis continued to drive east along the Salmi Road between the 7th and 8th Battalions. When the lead vehicles turned south on the 6th Ring, Kuwaitis fired into them. The 7th Battalion turned to engage along their right flank and rear while the 8th Battalion engaged a company-sized force to their front on 6th Ring Road.
These Iraqis were the lead brigade of the Medina Division. This division attacked from the west along the Salmi Road. Like the Hammurabi, they were still in column on the road and had no idea of the resistance by the 35th Brigade. Information found after the war indicated there was no direct contact between the Hanmurabi and the Medina Divisions. In fact, the Medina drove past the artillery firing positions and reserve tanks of the 35th Brigade who were south of the Salmi Road in the vicinity of the Al Salem Airfield.
The fires of the 7th and 8th Battalions caused heavy casualties and attrition in the lead brigade. The Kuwaitis captured six prisoners. The brigade operations officer, LTC Suleiman Al Huwail, questioned them and they identified themselves as members of the Medina Division.
The Iraqis withdrew towards the west along the Salmi Road, temporarily halting to regroup at a truck-weighing station located about three kilometers from the 7th and 8th Battalions positions (See Map 3). The Kuwaitis quickly brought effective artillery fires on this point, causing additional casualties and confusion among the Iraqis. LTC Fahad Ashush, the 51st Artillery Battalion commander and CPT Khasan Dawud, the 2d Battery Commander were forward acting as observers. The guns were manned by composite crews of all ranks because the battalion had not fully assembled. MAJ Nabil Saleh, the battalion XO, commanded the guns. These fires caused the Iraqis to continue to withdraw to the west over the Mutlaa Ridge. Unfortunately, the Iraqis established their own artillery in firing positions just north of the Salmi Road on the west end of the Mutlaa Ridge. They placed accurate fires on the Kuwaiti positions. Several rounds hit near the brigade command group, seriously wounding the Artillery Battalion Commander, LTC Fahad. MAJ Nabil, the Battalion XO, took command of the battalion.
While the 51st Battalion was engaging the Medina Division, a Kuwaiti A-4 Skyhawk appeared. It flew around the Kuwaiti artillery position twice and attacked the Iraqi columns just to the north along the Salmi Road. The artillerymen were concerned that they might also be targeted because they were close to the Iraqi force. They had good reason to be concerned. LTC Majed Al Abmad, an A-4 pilot, flew one of the strikes against the Iraqis along both the Abdaly and Salmi Roads. Due to the rapid pace of the invasion, he was not given a clear picture of events on the ground nor was a forward air controller or communications available with the ground forces. Under the control of the Al Salem Airbase controller, he hit both the Hammurabi and the Medina Divisions with a total of five MK-82 500 pound bombs. He was unaware of the positions of the 35th Brigade and could not identify the Chieftains during his bomb runs. MAJ Majed targeted the Iraqis because he was directed by the controller at Al Salem to hit the columns on the road. He returned to Al Saber Airfield after being hit by a surface-to-air missile.
The Iraqis threatened to attack the artillery with a company of BMPs and fired several rounds of 3Omm in their direction. Although several rounds hit the position, the Iraqis were firing armor-piercing instead of high explosive ammunition and did not get a direct hit or cause any casualties.
The gunners prepared to engage them with direct fire and the Iraqis did not continue the attack. The artillery moved south and east to new firing positions that were farther away from the Iraqis and less exposed.
The Medina regrouped and attacked again, this time with two brigades deployed. The unit commanders informed COL Salem they were running short of ammunition, in particular tank main gun rounds. Most tanks were down to two or three rounds of main gun ammunition. COL Salem requested reinforcements and support from headquarters, but there was no additional support available. To prevent the brigade from being encircled between the Hammurabi and now-deployed Medina Divisions, COL Salem directed a withdrawal to new positions south of the Salmi Road. The 8th Battalion covered the 7th Battalion's initial move (See Map 4).
The 51st Artillery Battalion set ten kilometers to the south and prepared to fire. They were delayed in firing while observers moved into position and then again by communications difficulties. MAJ Nabil had difficulty contacting the Brigade Commander to help cover the repositioning. CPT Nasser, XO of the 35th Brigade, took charge of the tanks of the two reserve platoons and prepared to attack the enemy.
Communication was re-established and the attack canceled.
While his company covered the movement of the 7th Battalion, CPT Ali stood on his turret to gain some relief from the heat. For no apparent reason, his driver moved the tank about ten or twenty meters. The driver had never moved the tank without specific directives before. As soon as the tank moved, an Iraqi main gun round hit the position they just vacated. After the 7th Battalion set, the 8th Battalion began to move and again, CPT Ali was misidentified as Iraqi and almost engaged.
The Brigade continued moving south to a subsequent position to escape the closing Iraqi pincers. While repositioning, they received a directive from higher headquarters to move toward the 15th Brigade camp to replenish and continue to defend. However, higher headquarters did not have an accurate picture of the battlefield and communication was tenuous at best. Joint headquarters informed COL Salem to take whatever action he considered necessary. He decided to withdraw to position his back against the Saudi border and secure his flanks and rear against envelopment during the night. Thus, the brigade continued to move south and set on the Saudi border, arriving at about 1630. The brigade remained in position through the night. LTC Ahmad Al Wazan, along with a recon element, moved into Saudi Arabia and made contact with the border police and informed them who they were and the brigade situation. The brigade entered Saudi Arabia the following morning. After the last units withdrew into Saudi Arabia, an Iraqi airstrike hit the vacated positions.
The Saudis assisted the Brigade in reorganizing and resupplying. While some units, such as the 7th Battalion, were relatively well supplied with water during the fight, others were suffering badly from
a lack of water and all suffered from fatigue. At one point, both Kuwaitis and Iraqis alternated purchasing water from the same roadside vendor, soldiers from both sides calmly lining up to pay.
The 35th Brigade was able to inflict heavy casualties on the Iraqis and delay the movement of two divisions. Had the Kuwait Army been able to organize the entire force into a cohesive defense, they may have delayed the Iraqis long enough to allow the Gulf Cooperation Council Forces to assemble and reinforce them.
The Kuwaitis of the 35th seem to have performed quite well considering many of them sub units happened to be on detached duty protecting oil sites or coastal islands when the order to deploy was received. The Kuwaiti armed forces continue to face this challenge today. Iraq and Iran both present a significant long-term threat to peace and stability in the region. Kuwait must look to the lessons of the Battle of the Bridges as it continues to modernize and develop its ability to defend itself.
5. Mutlla Ridge Battle by the Commandos
At 2:00am on August 2nd 1990 orders came to deploy Commandos company to protect Um alEsh satellite station, they assumed their mission until the arrival of a mechanical infantry company from the 6th brigade . The commando new mission was to control Muttla Pass. At 4:00am two platoons took up positions, with their elite nature in frequently prevailing against substantially larger forces. The Commandos engaged with the Iraqi forces. Raised and trained for reconnaissance, unconventional warfare and special operations, they caused a great delay to the enemy movement by attacking infantry buses, and the infantry on the top of the tanks.
Relying on stealth, speed and close teamwork and highly specialized equipment the Kuwaiti Commandos took advantage of the Muttla area battle field, and caused great damage to the invading force, but at the same time that hard area restricted the movement of the commandos and made them an easy target for the Iraqi mortar shelling.
To escape encirclement, the commandos withdrew to their camp for reorganization and re-equipment and to treat the wounded, but the camp was surrounded by the Iraqi large forces, followed by a short battle of encirclement. At this battle the Iraqi army lost at least a hundred men and five buses, then part of the Commando force managed to withdrew to Jahara but some Commandos became prisoners to the Iraqi forces after losing four martyrs and four wounded.
6. Al-Mubarakiya Camps and Al-Ruqaei Battle
The main Kuwait Army Operation Center is located at Al-Mubarakiya Camps. From the hospital area north of the camps the Iraqi forces tried to storm the camps, but the Kuwaiti army forces along with the National Guard succeeded in defending the camps and preventing the Iraqi army from advancing.
At 9:30 am a force of tanks in the size of a company along with an infantry company from 15th Brigade reached the camps to support the defending force under mortar attacks from the Iraqis in the hospitals area.
On the northern side of the camps Iraqi forces tried numerous types of battles to capture the camps and included a battle of encounter when both sides collided at the gates of the camps, and the Kuwait forces succeeded in driving the Iraqi forces back, then a short battle of attrition to inflict greater loss on the Kuwaiti side. And lastly the battle of breakthrough begins late 3rd of August 1990 to pierce the Kuwaiti's defenses, thereby exposing the vulnerable Kuwaiti small flanks.
On the southern side of the camp Kuwaiti forces decided to take an offensive position trying to cut the Iraqi forces line heading to the city through the 4th and 5th ring road. The plan was to attack the enemy in the inhabited territory of Al-Ruqaei. With the help of National Guard units, intensity of fighting reached the level of cold steel engagement, and direct confrontation with members of the enemy forces. Heroic deeds were performed by men of the Army and National Guard, yet some were martyred. The fight went on until it was certain that all buildings were free from Iraqi control. Soon the Kuwaiti forces predominated in its sectors. Points along the fourth ring road were set up to hinder any Iraqi advance. The enemy was held back from the road leading to the capital because of the protection of this road. But because of the enemy's size compared to the Kuwaiti forces in terms of manpower and equipment used, an order to withdraw was issued to save the men where they joined the resistance forces in Kefan area after losing 25 martyrs and 30 wounded. Costing the enemy hundreds of men damaged or destroyed equipment and 400 prisoners.
7. Dasman Palace Battle
From 3:00am on the 2nd of August 1990 the Ameri Guard controlled all avenues leading to Dasman Palace. In an attempt to capture or kill the Emir and the Royal Family, Iraqi infiltrators and Special Forces attacked the Dasman Palace at 5:00am, but the Ameri Guard drove them back and destroyed their equipment.
Small units of the Iraqi Special Forces managed to take positions on the roof of the buildings surrounding the entrance of Dasman Palace, shelling the defending force and killing some of the guards .
After two hours the Iraqi forces took hold of the palace gates, and other key facilities around the palace where they believed they could capture the Kuwaiti Royal Family. Although the Emir and most of the royal family were able to be saved, Sheikh Fahad Al Ahamad the Emir's brother stayed behind to fight and was eventually killed in the Iraqi assault.
Saladin Armored Cars Company arrived from the Ameri Guard Brigade and succeeded in breaking the Iraqi blockade, at the same time an infantry company coming from the Ameri Brigade camp fought a short battle of encounter with the Iraqi Special Forces when the opposing sides collided at the gates of Bayan Palace without one or the other having prepared their attack or defense. The result was capturing seventeen Iraqi pow and sending them to Ameri camps and continued their way to support the units in Dasman palace.
Bayan Palace stayed in the hands of the Kuwaiti Army utile 1:00 pm when the Iraqis launched their final assault. Their artillery was positioned along Gulf Road and was firing at the palace. The Ameri Guards put up a fight all morning. Their return fire often landed in and around civilian neighborhoods resulting in many of Kuwaiti citizens fleeing the area. By 2:00 pm, Bayan Palace was captured, and the Iraqi armored forces occupied the palace grounds[13].
A National Guard Mechanical Infantry Squad was called in to support the forces of the Ameri Guard at Dasman Palace. Arrangements were made to deal with any sort of aggression while the forces were heading for the palace. Thus a common plan between the squad and the Ameri Guard to drive the enemy away from the palace territory was set. The plan was to break into the palace with the help of the mechanical infantry forces of the National Guard, while the Ameri Guard Forces defended the interior front. The plan was successfully performed and the enemy force was destroyed at nine a.m. on the same day. After the enemy force was beaten, two mechanical infantry platoons from the National Guard gathered to defend the main gate, while the third platoon was centered inside the palace with the Ameri Guard forces[14].
By 12:00 am, the Iraqi forces attacking Dasman Palace were in the size of a mechanical infantry division, against a force that never more than a battalion from the Kuwaiti Ameri Guard and the National Guard. To avoid a massacre the Kuwaiti unit sent a team to negotiate the surrendering terms but the Iraqi forces took them prisoners, which led the rest of the force to withdraw to other locations leaving the palace to fall in the Iraqi forces hands. On the 3rd of August, 1990 after losing two men, 15 wounded and five P.O.W’s.
8. Failaka Island Battle
At 5:00 am, with 45 helicopters an Iraqi airborne operation started their attack with the mission to create a spearhead to land a brigade on Failaka Island. The invaders operation involved a combination of Special Forces and infantry units, but Kuwait air defense measures managed to destroy the first enemy attacking aircraft, and that led the rest of the Force to abort the mission. With this first victory supported by the arrival of 30 Kuwaiti soldiers who forced the commercial ship to leave them to the island , the situation was favorable to the Kuwaiti defending force; however, the Iraqis launched another air assault by helicopter and jet fighters, and again the Kuwaiti air defense powered by hawks systems managed to shoot down seven helicopter and two jet fighters .The defending force knew that the previous air assaults were only the first phase of a larger attack coming from the north by the Iraqi Navy. The Kuwaiti air defense unit were preparing themselves for the main attack by concentrating their fire power on that side of the island. It wasn’t long before approximately one hundred Iraqi small boats approached the island from the north. The defenders held their fire until the enemy came within their small arms range then they opened fire forcing the Iraqi boats to retreat and to change their direction to Kuwait City.
Low in ammunition and men the Kuwaiti force requested suppies but the hawk and tow missiles were confiscated in Rass Alarth Harbor. The clinic, police station and the citizens with their weapons became part of the defense efforts; by 10am two large Iraqi frigates started a heavy bombardment to tourists’ projects, assuming that that was the defending forces’ head quarters. At 13:00 they directed their fire to the force command post, cutting the communications by 16:00. The island fell into enemy hands in the early hours of 3rd of August.
B. Air Force Battles
In July1990, Iraqis accused Kuwait of stealing Iraqi oil and selling it at low prices, thus damaging the Iraqi economy. Soon after, Baghdad started a diplomatic offensive against the country, as well as several other Gulf States. With more readiness for negotiations, perhaps the armed conflict could have been averted already at the time, but neither Kuwait nor Iraq were ready to give up, and in the spring of 1990 the first concentrations of the Iraqi Army units were noticed along the northern Kuwaiti borders. By July, the situation was very tense, and the Iraqis finally understood the quiet stance of the USA in the matter as a sign that the Americans would not oppose their attack against Kuwait: indeed, despite warnings from own intelligence services and the Saudis about an Iraqi attack being imminent, the US government publicly sent the carrier battle group around the USS Independence (CV-62, with the carrier air wing CVW-14 aboard), away from the Persian Gulf, and would not change this decision even after the last round of negotiations between Iraq and Kuwait failed, on the evening of 1 August 1990.
We couldn’t find a better description of Kuwait air force battle against the Iraqi aggression than what Tom Cooper wrote:
The Iraqi plan for the operation against Kuwait was actually based on the combination of old British plans from the 1950s, "updated" on the basis of the lessons from the last 18 months of the war against Iran - with one exception: no chemical warheads were to be used (the use of chemical weapons was a standard part of Iraqi tactical doctrine already by late 1987). Therefore, after the first counter-air strike against the Kuwaiti airfields would be executed by the Iraqi long-range artillery and fighter-bombers of the Iraqi Air Force (IRAF), commando units of the Iraqi Army and the Republican Guards would execute a heli-borne operation directly into the Kuwait City, with the task of capturing the royal family. Simultaneously, four divisions of the Iraqi Republican Guards would drive deep into Kuwait, with two of them striking directly against the Kuwait City, while two others would execute an enveloping maneuver and try to cut off Kuwait City from the Saudi border.
The attack was initiated around 0200hrs AM on 2 August 1990, with the Iraqis shelling the main bases of the Kuwaiti Army and Air Force (foremost Ali al-Salim AB), while the first three divisions of the Republican Guards started grinding their way into Kuwait. In the shelling a number of KAF Mirages parked on apron of Ali al-Salim AB were damaged, including the F.1CK. Despite the increased tensions since weeks, the Kuwaiti armed forces were not in alerted condition, and initially there was some chaos before the first tanks drove out of their bases and the aircraft were prepared for the start. The Kuwaiti air defense units were actually the first to react: at dawn, as a large formation of over 50 Iraqi Army Air Corps (IRAAC) commandos-carrying Mi-8s, escorted by Mi-25s and Bo.105s, approached Kuwait City, at least two MIM-23B Improved HAWK SAM-batteries went into action. Not equipped even with the RWR’s, the Iraqi helicopters were an easy prey for the Kuwaiti missiles. Within just few minutes, no less but 14 Mi-8s and Mi-25s were chopped out of the skies. The losses of the Iraqi Special Forces were extensive, and the plan for the swift capture of the Kuwaiti royal family was immediately spoiled. But, that was still not all.
After the initial chaos on its air basses settled down, the KAF prepared a number of A-4KUs and Mirage F.1CKs for action, and these then joined the hunt for the Iraqi helicopters as well. At the time of the Iraqi invasion, the KAF had 25 operational Mirage F.1CKs and F.1BKs, 29 A-4KU Skyhawks, and 12 Hawk T.Mk.64s, and all the serviceable examples were now scrambled into a counter-attack.
With the surprising appearance of numerous Kuwait fighters at low level, and their own fighter-cover being too far away and at a medium level, the Iraqi helicopter-pilots found themselves in a terrible situation: there was no natural cover, and their helicopters were heavily loaded with troops and equipment. The only place they could hide was low between the buildings of the Kuwait City. But, in the cold morning air, not even this offered good protection against the KAF Mirages armed with advanced Matra R.550 Mk.2 all-aspect missiles. Several Mi-8s managed to get their troops off before being attacked, but then a wild helicopter vs. jet fighters dogfight developed, in which the Mi-8s and Mi-25s simply stood no chance. The Skyhawks of the 9th and 25th Sqn KAF claimed five, and the Mirages of the 18th and 61st Sqn then claimed 13 additional helicopters, while the Hawks of the 12th Sqn claimed two or three kills more: the Skyhawks and Hawks shot down all their victims by 20mm or 30mm gunfire, respectively, while the Mirages scored most of their kills using the Matra R.550 Mk.2 all-aspect, short-range, air-to-air missiles.
While the mass dogfight was going on in the air, on the ground a single brigade of Kuwait Chieftains - supported by only few pieces of artillery - stopped a whole Iraqi mechanized division from driving into Kuwait City. The Iraqis therefore turned one of the divisions that were to march in that direction around the city and sent it to capture the Kuwaiti oilfields. Then the IRAF MiG-23BNs and Su-22s finally appeared to strike Kuwaiti airfields, causing some slight damage as Kuwaiti airfields were heavily hardened: available reports indicate a destruction of only two or three Kuwaiti fighters on the ground during the Iraqi artillery and air strikes. In addition, the Kuwaiti air defenses have shot down 12 Iraqi fighter-bombers. The strikers were escorted by some MiG-29s and Mirage F.1EQs, and these actually meet Kuwaiti Skyhawks at least once, but there were no air combats
What happened subsequently is not completely clear. Apparently, the Ahmad al-Jaber AB was disabled by the next large IRAF strike, and the Skyhawks stationed there subsequently operated from the highway nearby: the road was so narrow, that during the operations in the following days, two Skyhawsk run aside of the asphalt, ending in the soft sand. Reportedly, due to their sturdy undercarriage, neither aircraft was damaged. At least six Hawks were evacuated from here and flown to Bahrain, where one was damaged on landing.
Small units of the Kuwaiti Army were fighting along several choke points until they ran out of ammunition. Those which could have then retreated towards the Saudi border, with plenty of their equipment had to be left back, while some were destroyed in new attacks of the IRAF fighter bombers and IRAAC helicopters. After the first series of combat sorties, the KAF also started to evacuate: most of the Mirages were swiftly flown out to Saudi Arabia, and only few Skyhawks and Gazelles were kept back, to operate from a strip of highway in southern Kuwait. Nevertheless, their fight enabled the royal family to be evacuated in time.
By the evening of 2 August, the Iraqis entered Kuwait City, and then overrun also the international airport nearby, in the process destroying a British Airways Boeing 747 ("G-AWND"), and capturing several KAF aircraft, including at least five Skyhawks, six Hawk T.Mk.64s, and eight Mirages ,and a single Lockheed L-100-30 transporter (a civilian version of the C-130 Hercules). Also captured was the whole equipment for four or five MIM-23B I-HAWK SAM-batteries. In the night from 2 to 3 August the KAF SA.532SC Super Pumas were used for transporting ammunition to isolated pockets of Kuwaiti Army still resisting the Iraqi onslaught. One of them was destroyed in an explosion while landing at Ali al-Salim AB, while two others - 541 and 544 - were lost on the same airfield under unknown circumstances.
The remaining Kuwaiti Skyhawks and Chieftain Tanks fought until the afternoon of 4 August; left without ammunition and fuel, they were then forced to pull back into Saudi Arabia as well. In total, the KAF came away in a pretty good condition, and only days later the exiled Kuwaiti government claimed that during the invasion a total of eight Mirages, three A-4KUs,, and two helicopters were lost in combat, while no less but 80% of KAF assets - including six Hawk T.MK.64s, three Lockheed L-100-30s, and most of the helicopters - were evacuated to Saudi Arabia, where they and their crews were to be reorganized into a "Free Kuwait Air Force".
Despite heavy losses in helicopters the overall success of the Iraqi invasion was never in question: it had to succeed already due to simple numbers. However, the failure to capture the Kuwaiti royal family and the government was to come back as a boomerang later.
Kuwait Air Force, Order of Battle as of 2 August, 1990
- 9 Sqn: A-4KU/TA-4KU Ahmed al-Jaber AB- 12 Sqn: Hawk T.Mk.64 Ahmed al-Jaber AB- 18 Sqn: Mirage F.1CK/F.1BK Ali al-Salem AB - 25 Sqn: A-4KU/TA-4KU Ahmed al-Jaber AB - 61 Sqn: Mirage F.1CK-2/F.BK-2 Ali al-Salem AB 1 Sqn: SA.342K Gazelle 1 Sqn: SA.330H Puma/SA.330F Super Puma 31 Transport Sqn: L-100-30
Iraqi Air Force Order of Battle
The Iraqi Air Force order of battle in Autumn 1989 consisted of two squadrons of bombers equipped with eight Tu-22s, four Tu-16s and four Chinese H-6Ds; Twenty two squadrons of fighter ground attack aircraft (equipped with ninety MiG-23BNs, sixty four Mirage F-1s, thirty Su-7s, seventy Su-20s, sixteen Su-24s and sixty Su-25s) and seventeen squadrons of air defence fighters (equipped with twenty five MiG-25s, forty J-7s, one hundred and fifty MiG-21s, thirty Mirage F-1s and thirty MiG-29s)[15].
C. Kuwait Navy battles
Under the darkness of early hours of the 2nd of August 1990, a Kuwaiti naval Ship radar detected five patrol boats, which turned out to be an Iraqi war ship heading east. Kuwait naval command ordered another boat to monitor the situation, and at the same time continued to raise readiness to a higher level on base.
Suddenly, two Iraqi boats changed their course, racing south, where the Iraqis wanted to launch an attack with a complete surprise, Kuwaiti guns opened fire from the shore but one Iraqi boat succeeded on landing some commandos on their objective the Kuwaiti naval base but the Kuwaiti boats managed to destroy the two boats later.
Those commandos succeeded on preventing the rest of the Kuwaiti war ships from leaving the harbor. The two Kuwaiti boats that were out of the base succeed on keeping a maritime battle for seven hours, destroying four Iraqi boats. The destruction of those boats meant the destruction of the only naval force the Iraqi had, and that action weakened them in the liberation naval battles. During the sea battle the Iraqi navy managed to land large groups of soldiers up the coast from the naval base on the south to Skuwaikh harbor near the city.
Cut off from their home base, the two Kuwaiti boats reorganized them-selves, re-supplying from one another and made the decision of attacking Iraqi forces around Dassman Palace, but they failed to have more ammunition from the cost guards who where still fighting the Iraqis, and by 16:00 they left Kuwait waters to Khafji naval base in Saudi territory.
7. Kuwait Armed Forces During Liberation
A. Kuwait army Land force
The military attaché in Saudi Arabia col. Riadh Al Saleh became Chief of Staff in Riyadh, On August 7, 1990, and attended an urgent Cooperation Council Chiefs of staff meeting in Riyadh as Kuwait's representative at the meeting. Then the minister of Defense issued a ministerial decree to form a military committee to reorganize the Kuwaiti military force in Saudi Arabia. Apparently, when the Iraqi armor/mechanized forces made it to Kuwait City, they decided to push their tanks and tracked vehicles through the city, only to become bogged down and often lost. This operational error of not bypassing Kuwait City permitted the bulk of the Kuwaiti 15th Brigade, located south of the city near the Al Ahmadi oil fields to escape to Saudi Arabia. It also bought time for the southern air base Ahmed al Jaber to partially mobilize and actually launch sorties throughout the day[16]. Some units of the 35th Brigades succeeded in reaching Saudi borders, among them were 18 chieftain tanks,2 M109 field artillery and a battalion of BMB carriers from the 15th brigade.
Since the first day of the invasion most of Kuwait’s military men were on leave. They started arriving in Saudi, among the first were General Rashed Seef, Colonel Fuad Hadad and Captain Faiez Alanzi who tried to join Peninsula Shield Force but failed to do so for the absence of orders from the GCC command. The three officers opened a recruiting office for the Kuwaiti soldiers at ALHAFAR HOTEL. On the 3rd of August the Saudi government ordered the evacuation of Khafji City and that meant moving the Kuwaiti Puma and Super Puma helicopters to Riyadh, then Taief , and the gazelles helicopters to King Abdul-Aziz Naval Base in Al-Jubail.
On December 30, 1990, a ministerial decree was issued for forming the Kuwaiti forces and their leadership in Riyadh. Six brigades were formed; two of them were mechanized. These six brigades are: Brigade 35 (Al-Shaheed), Brigade 15 (Mubarak), and Brigade 6 (Al-Tahrir) Al-Khuloud Brigade, Badr Brigade, and Al-Haq brigade. Three brigades were sent to the eastern sector, and the other three to the northern sector.
On 24th February, at 1am GMT just before dawn in the Gulf, the Army of the 28-nation alliance rolled into Kuwait and Iraq. The honor of being first across the border went to the remnants of the Kuwait Army as they advanced, backed by US Marines, straight into Kuwait City. In just 10 hours the Allied army conquered territory it was thought would take days to take. Ten thousand Iraqi prisoners were quickly taken and thousands more. The Martyr Brigade was the first of the Kuwaiti units of Joint Forces Command East in the drive paralleling the coast northward when the allied operation began on February 24, 1991. Along with Saudi, Qatari, and Bahraini forces, supported by United States Marines on their left flank, their assignment of liberating the city of Kuwait incurred little Iraqi resistance.
Kuwaiti forces participating in Operation Desert Storm in February 1991 included: the 35th Armored Brigade (renamed Martyr Brigade), the 15th Infantry Brigade, the lightly equipped Liberation Brigade, which was armed with .50-caliber machine guns mounted on trucks. Sources estimated that 7,000 Kuwaiti troops were involved.
Land force command:
Martyr (Al-Shaheed), 35th Brigade, Commanded by Col. Salem Masud.
Liberation (Al-Tahrir) 6th Brigade, Commanded by Col. Khaled Rudaini.
Alfateh, 15th Brigade, Commanded by Col.Fuad Hadad.
Al-Khuloud Brigade commanded by Col. Abdulwahab AlAnzi .
Bader Brigade commanded by Col. Abdul hadi Alrajhi .
Al-Haq Brigade, Commanded by Col. Ebrahim al Wasmi.
The special forces were commanded by Col.Abdulah Alshamri.
B. Kuwait Air Force
At the end of that black day at the 2nd of August1990, orders came to Kuwait Air Force pilots to fly to Saudi and that decision saved a good number of Kuwait air force planes to become later part of the liberation force. From the end of September until January 1991 pilots were re-qualified by training in Qatar, UAE and Saudi Arabia, along with training, rearmament, securing spare parts, and repairing tanks , plans were performed during this reorganization and planning phase.
Because of the large size of allied forces at Saudi air bases and for security reasons to prevent desperate Kuwaiti pilots from attacking Iraqi forces before the suitable time, the decision was made to move the planes to other bases, and Jeddah became the home base for the transportations plans. Taief air base became home base for the Mirages that happened to be the same as to the Iraqi’s F1s. and the Tucanos went to the UAE; the puma and the super puma helicopters at Taief air base and the gazelle helicopters at Al-Jubail naval base and the rest of the Sky hawk and the British hawk aircraft to Khamies Musheet in southern Saudi. The Skyhawks were moved back to Dhahran Air Base on 13 October 1991 and Kuwait Air Force came under the Command of the Royal Saudi Air Force in the east. Pilots were re-qualified by training with the Royal Saudi Air Force, the US Navy and the US Air Force.
By November a new command was formed for the air force in Riyadh headed by General Daoud AlGhanim with seven units. Unit 12 Commanded by Col.Y.Duwyan for Sky Hawk at Dhahran Air Base. Unit 20 Commanded by Col.Naser Juheel for Puma, Super Puma and Gazelle helicopters at Jebeel Naval Base. Unit 30, Commanded by Col.Ali.Hajji for transportations at Jeddah Air Base, Unit 8 Commanded by Col. E Al kandari for Mirages at Taief Air Base. Unit 25 Commanded by Lt.Col.B.Al Essa, for Hawk at UAE. Unit 40 Commanded by Col.Saud Alhazaa for DC 9 at Riyadh Air Base. Then there were the Marines Unit where a group of Air Force officers joined the American Commandos and Marines. This unit was commanded by Col.F alQahtani at the Marines HQ at Al-Jubail. .
On January 16, 1991, Kuwait was informed of zero hour. Sky Hawk pilots were notified and planes were armed. On the morning of January 17, twenty-four Kuwaiti aircraft participated in strikes against the Iraqi forces in three formations.
The first formation was led by Col.Y.Duwyan and consisted of Sky Hawk, the second formation was led by Ltcol Y. Almulla . The third formation was led by M. Mubarak and at this formation one A-4 Skyhawk was lost to enemy fire and M. Mubarak became the first and only Kuwaiti POW pilot, the fourth formation was led by Khamees Sultan which came back safe.
These formations were aimed at destroying ground-to-ground rocket bases to the south of Ali Al-Salem Air Base. The Air Force planes participated on a daily basis in the air battles that lasted for thirty-nine days. They also took part in the One-Hundred-Hour Land Battle.
Mirage jets did not participate in the air raid because the Iraqi Air Force had the same planes but after the allies air power gained supremacy and on February 5, 1991, Mirage jets, along with Sky Hawk jets, engaged in the first bombing mission.
When The Allied attack came under a news blackout as coalition forces, wearing full chemical protective gear, broke through Iraqi sand barriers with giant bulldozers to create an invasion, Kuwaiti officers were leading them. The Air Force officers were reassigned so that a group of them joined every naval unit and took part in the accomplishment of every task the naval units were assigned, starting from leading advanced exploration squads to translation tasks. Due to their knowledge of the Iraqi soldiers' psychology, the Kuwaiti soldiers also made plans to discourage Iraqi soldiers' morale. Kuwaiti troops, along with the American Marines, were among the first forces to liberate Kuwait.
Kuwaiti Air Force officers joined the American land force as they penetrated deeply into southern Iraq, as well as landing forces on Failaka Island, and participated in the reorganization of the internal security for the Kuwaitis and other residents of Kuwait at that time. In cooperation with civilian groups and the American Army's civil engineers, Kuwait International Airport was prepared for re-opening with the great work of Kuwait Air Force officers.
During Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm, Kuwait Air Force units were up to the task, the A-4 Sky hawk accomplished a successful 1796 hours and 1326 missions, the Mirage accomplished a successful 700 hours and 634 missions, the gazelle accomplished a successful 127 hours and 203 missions, the super puma accomplished a successful 406 hours and 281 missions and the Puma accomplished a successful 244 hours and 218 missions.
C. Kuwait Navy Force
The Kuwaiti Navy did not have time to deploy on the 2nd of August1990. Some ships fled to Saudi Arabia and Bahrain but Iraq captured The Kuwaiti Navy Force as well as eight missile patrol boats equipped with Exocet missiles.
The Navy took King Abdul-Aziz Naval Base in Al-Jubail as their home base, and from there Kuwait Navy performed joint training with the American Navy during the period of mobilization before the war. Along with the allied forces The Navy participated in clearing the international waterways leading to the Kuwaiti ports. The Command was assumed by Lt. Col Ahmad Al Mulla, and Lt. Col. M. Fairuz as his deputy.
The two surviving Kuwaiti missile craft, carrying small marine contingents, were able to join the Allies Navies in search and rescue missions picking up Allies pilots from the Arabian Gulf, along with destroying any enemy target. They were under the US air protection, but because of the Allies supremacy they didn’t need any air cover and because of that their missions changed to include capturing Kuwaiti Kubbar Island on 15th of January 1990,but the decision from the Allies Command was to abandon the island after one day. The Navy succeeded in destroying the Iraqi air defense insulations in Aldurah sea oil platform on 18th of Feb 1990 where the Kuwaiti Navy became the first unit among the Allies to capture Iraqi POW’s from that oil field. On the 19th of the same month the Navy managed to cut the enemy supply lines to the Iraqi soldiers on the Kuwaiti island which forced them to surrender on one week from the beginning of that sea blockade.
The Navy succeeded in making Kuwaiti Garouh Island the first liberated Kuwaiti soil when its ships and marines captured that island from the enemy, taking many POWs on the 25th of January 1990. After four days the Navy managed to capture Kuwaiti Um AlMaradem Island, and on the same day 29th of January the Navy took part in defending Khafji during the liberation of that border Saudi City. The Navy also forced the Iraqi fleeing forces to abandon plans to use the sea as a way out of Kuwait during 25th on Feb 1990. The Kuwaiti naval blockade transformed to become a sea based attack. The Navy managed to avoid the Iraqi sea mines and reached Ras Alardh in Salmia on the 28th on January 1990. On the 3rd of March the Navy joined the US Navy in capturing Kuwait’s Failka Island.
8. Kuwait Army After Liberation
Desert Shield /Desert Storm left Kuwait decimated. Every branch of service requires rebuilding. Kuwait went on a high-spending spree to have the armed forces outfitted with the latest and greatest equipment available from many nations. History is witness to the undying spirit of the Kuwaitis who fought all odds with their incredible tenacity and ability to survive. The destruction and torture that Kuwait was subjected to had few recent parallels. The process of rebuilding and reconstruction was an uphill task[17]. The percentage of destruction among the army units after liberation reached 95%. A reconstruction plan over several years was made. It aimed at changing the army organization. Rebuilding destroyed buildings, purchasing new weapons, training all forces, and concentrating on training with allied forces. By early 1994, Kuwait largely had succeeded in rebuilding its damaged military infrastructure.
A. Defense Review Group (DRG)
After liberation, a Defense Review Group (DRG) conducted a thorough review of Kuwait's defense needs and capabilities, and instituted a complete restructuring of military doctrine and resources. Three teams from France, the United Kingdom and USA came to study the Kuwaiti armed forces on the ground and issued three proposals. Kuwait accepted the American plan and a committee was formed, headed by General Ali AlMumen on the Kuwaiti side and General Nole from the American Army. After six months came the Defense Review Group study, at the core of this doctrine was a modernized, highly mobile defensive force comprised of planes, tanks, artillery, and support units manned by the Kuwaiti military. These units were being equipped and trained according to the DRG ten-year development plan.
B. Kuwait’s Mutual Defense Agreements (M D As)
In 1991 Kuwait signed security agreements with the United States, Britain, and France and two agreements on military cooperation with Russia and China. Kuwait's Mutual Defense Agreements or MDAs with leading world powers became a key to the defensive strategy. Most significant among these world powers agreements were the agreements with the United States and Great Britain. The agreement permits the US to pre-position weapons and conduct military exercises in Kuwait at Kuwaiti expense.
In 1992 Kuwaiti and United States forces carried out joint exercises under the defense agreement. Kuwait has backed up its formal security arrangements with a close political and economic relationship with the United States. It has given much of its postwar reconstruction business to United States firms, including civil reconstruction contracts that have been awarded through the United States Army Corps of Engineers and many contracts directly related to defense needs. The MDA with the United States represents a significant new direction for U.S. strategic doctrine as well as for Kuwait. This executive order calls for pre-positioning of equipment: war planes, tanks, armored personnel carriers, artillery systems, and support equipment enough for a U.S. heavy armored brigade. There was also a provision for frequent combined exercises between American and Kuwaiti forces. This allowed multiple teams of allied soldiers to come to Kuwait and train with their Kuwaiti counterparts, meeting the people they would fight alongside, and using the equipment they would use, in a real crisis[18].
C. Iraqi threats to Kuwait 1992-2003
(1). Operation Southern Watch 1992-1993
On Aug. 26, 1992, a coalition of U.N. forces began surveillance operations in Iraq below the 32nd parallel. The goal was to ensure Iraq’s compliance with UNSCR 688. Iraq directly challenged Operation Southern Watch flights over its territory. This crisis prompted the establishment of US. Taskforce -Kuwait. The US Army deployed a battalion task force to Kuwait to draw the pre positioned equipment at Camp Doha. The task force conducted exercises with Kuwaiti land forces and served as a ground deterrent force. This operation continued until April 1993. Later the same month, former President George Bush visited Kuwait and spoke to the deployed troops at Camp Doha. During the visit, the Iraqi government sponsored an assassination attempt on President Bush. This plot prompted a unilateral U.S. Tomahawk missile strike June 26, 1993. The Kuwaiti armed forces were on full alert during this crisis; Ahamad Aljaber Air Base became the home base of the US search and rescue team.
(2). October 1994 crisis
On October 1994 Iraq was attempting to influence the UN by signaling it was prepared to resort to extreme measures if convinced it has nothing to gain from restraint. Saddam easily believed he had little left to lose and that military action—if not quickly countered by a US response—offered a rapid way to gain concessions from the international community[19].
In October 1994, two Iraqi armored divisions massed on Kuwait's border. The only ground forces in position to stop the Iraqis were four Kuwaiti brigades—two armor, one mechanized infantry, and one motorized cavalry. Kuwaiti units mobilized on the northern border according to plan establishing a defensive line. The US Army deployed a brigade from the 24th Infantry Division along the Kuwait-Iraq border. There was substantial coalition air presence in the area of responsibility, but it was there as a part of Operation Southern Watch. The aircraft were enforcing the no-fly zone south of the 32nd parallel, and were not outfitted to stop an armor advance. US maritime presence in the AOR was more robust—five major combatant ships as well as the USS Tripoli Amphibious Ready Group (ARG). The 2000 Marines of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, exercising in the United Arab Emirates, promptly ceased operations there and re-embarked on the Tripoli ARG. The task of the CAT planners was straight forward—to get maximum combat power into the AOR as quickly as possible. When allied troops arrived, they fell in on the pre-positioned equipment and deployed to reinforce the front-line defenses. The Iraqi threat subsided after a few tense weeks. Operation Vigilant Warrior resulted in expansion of the American equipment in place to support a full brigade combat team contingency.
(3). OPERATION VIGILANT SENTINEL, AUGUST 1995
Less than one year later, Saddam Hussein would again deploy Iraqi forces close to its border with Kuwait. In August, Third Army/ARCENT provided command and control for a rapid deployment of a heavy brigade task force. Once more, Iraqi threats were decisively met. VIGILANT SENTINEL'S immediate, measured, and effective response to Iraqi aggression quickly convinced Hussein to withdraw his forces from the Kuwaiti border. On VIGILANT SENTINEL, TF-Kuwait was once again established and a brigade combat team was deployed to Kuwait. In addition to the equipment for a reinforced task force being issued from Camp Doha, Operation VIGILANT SENTINEL saw the deployment of a Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) Battery and a heavy brigade headquarters set. This diverse task force remained through the end of the crisis in December 1995.
(4). OPERATION DESERT STRIKE 1996
Kuwait army was deployed In September 1996 when Iraq intervened in the Kurdish conflict in the northern part of the country. This military action took place above the 36th parallel, the area defined by the United Nations as off limits to Iraqi forces. The US Central Command (USCENTCOM) conducted a series of air and missile attacks against selected targets in Iraq, called Operation Desert Strike. TF-Kuwait was activated and a brigade combat team from the 1st Cavalry Division was deployed to Kuwait until the crisis ended in December 1996.
Following Operation DESERT STRIKE, Kuwait agreed to a nearly continuous presence of a US battalion task force in Kuwait. These US Army INTRINSIC ACTION rotations and US Marine Corps EAGER MACE rotations conducted combined training with the Kuwaiti Land Forces and other coalition partners. In addition, Special Operations Forces conducted IRIS GOLD rotations to train and assist other Kuwaiti military units.
(5). OPERATION DESERT THUNDER1998
When Saddam Hussein blocked United Nations weapons inspections, tested the resolve of coalition commitment by violating the no-fly zone, and publicly threatened to shoot down U2 reconnaissance over-flights in the fall of 1997, Operation DESERT THUNDER took place in February 1998. Coalition/Joint Task Force-Kuwait was prepared to defend Kuwait with a ground force strength of more than 9,000 personnel, which consisted of forces from Argentina, Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Hungary, New Zealand, Poland, Romania, United Kingdom, and Kuwait rounded out the C/JTF by providing liaison teams, aircraft support, special operations elements, Chemical/Biological, Base Defense Units, MASH units, and medical personnel. With Kuwait Army 32d Army Air Missile Defense Command and Special Operations conducted joint training in the Kuwaiti desert to deter Iraqi aggression.
(6). OPERATION DESERT FOX 1998
In December 1998, Iraq's failure to allow UNSCOM inspectors to effectively perform their mission and to comply with U.N. resolutions established following Desert Storm, and when Iraqi aircraft began challenging the established no-fly zones, and Iraqi Air Defense systems fired on allied aircraft in Dec. 1998. During the campaign, US Third Army was deployed to defend Kuwait, and Allies in the Gulf region.
The U.S. and U.K. forces responded with a massive display of firepower. Allied Air Force and Navy aircraft and Cruise Missiles engaged command and control, communications, and selected Republican Guards targets on the morning of Dec. 16. These concentrated attacks against Iraqi targets continued until the early morning of Dec 19.
(7) Defending Kuwait in Dec 1999
Kuwaiti military defense council held a meeting chaired by Deputy Premier and Defense Minister Sheikh Salem Al-Sabah and adopted several resolutions and arrangements to help revive a defense plan in Kuwait, whereas certain units of the Kuwaiti army were put on maximum fighting alert. The Kuwaiti military defense council underlined the importance of preparations to summon reserve army soldiers and stressed the need of taking other relevant measures to strengthen the capabilities of defending Kuwait in line with the development of military positions. This Kuwaiti step came after several members of the Iraqi parliament and Iraqi Deputy Premier Tariq Aziz called for giving up "recognizing Kuwait as a state rather to consider it as an integral part of Iraq."
(4) Defense Budget during the 90’s
Kuwait Defense budget has two separate items. Established in 1992, the Defense Enhancement budget was funded at US$ 10.5 billion. These funds are to be spent over 10 years on major equipment and strategic military purchases.
A Military Procurement Committee was formed in 1994 with members from the Ministries of Finance and Defense. The MOD officials negotiate the technical aspects of the armaments, and the Ministry of Finance officials review tenders and negotiate prices. The USA is the main armed supplier to Kuwait. Kuwait signed a US$81 million Foreign Military Sales agreement
Sources of Anthony H. Cordesman, from Center for Strategic and International Studies,
indicated in December 28, 1998 that Kuwait abandoned plans to build a 4 brigade active army and much larger Air Force because of growing funding and manpower constraints[20].
Key Kuwaiti Equipment Developments in that report included giving up plans to replace its 150 low quality Yugoslav M-84 supplied tanks with 100-150 more M- 1A2s. Over half the M-84s in storage, plus the remaining M-84s and most BMP-2s and BMP-3s being put into reserves, but still unlikely that Kuwait can properly maintain its M-1 and Warrior purchases. Kuwait bought 218 M-1A2 US-made Abrams tanks. Also purchasing 254 British Warrior AIFVs ($918 million), but Kuwait has given up plans to standardize on the Warrior, and buy the 450-600 it once considered; then filling out its armored strength by buying 125 M-113 APCs, 40 BMP-2 and 20 BMP-3s. Kuwait had Plans then to procure up to 263 wheeled armored vehicles.
Kuwait started taking delivery on large numbers of TOW and HOT and at least 200 Carl Gustav 84 mm rocket launchers. It also began evaluating purchase of the Milan 3. Kuwait also reduced plans for major orders of new self-propelled artillery weapons, and a number of its existing weapons are not operational. Kuwait purchased 27 (one battalion) of the Chinese North Industries Corporation, 155mm PLZ45 self-propelled guns in an initial purchase of its requirement for up to 75 weapons and intends to purchase two fully equipped Paladin artillery battalions from the US. Paladin package includes 51 artillery pieces, 51 re- supply vehicles, 18 command post vehicles, 31 M113 fire-support team vehicles and six command variants of the M113 transport.
Kuwait was still considering purchasing British AS-90, and South African G-6. Kuwait was also attempting to sell its Auf-1s and replace them with the Giat Caesar 52 155 mm self-propelled or 155 TR towed weapon, and is considering a GIAT offer to modernize its AuF-3s.
Kuwait has ordered 27 Russian BM 30 9A52-2 Smirch multiple rocket launchers to equip three multiple launcher batteries in a separate regiment, but Kuwait may not implement the order. Kuwait also reported to be considering the purchase of the Russian SS-200 ground-to-ground missile, and/or Sakr-36 and Fatih rocket launchers from Egypt. It is also considering the purchase of a UAV for artillery targeting and surveillance purposes. Kuwait ordered 48 Shorts Starburst man portable anti-aircraft missile fire units and 300 missiles and is considering additional purchases of Starburst or Mistral Atlas. Also, it is considering the purchase of four batteries of ADATS, Roland-3 with VT-1 missiles, Alenia Aramais, or AdSAMS -- which fires the Aim-120 AMRAAM.
Kuwait also Ordered 8 Combatant-I 225-ton missile patrol boats which arrived in February 1999. It also bought British Sea Skua anti-ship missiles. Although Parliament is questioning the buy of the British missile system, instead of the French MM.15 system, which is compatible with the French Combatant-I class ships. Kuwait bought 5 South Korean Seagull class patrol boats. Kuwait also had plans to upgrade Al Jaber Air Base but was limited by funding. It ordered 32 US F/A-18C and 8 F/A-18D fighters, AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, AIM-7F Sparrows, AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missiles, and Maverick AGM-65G anti-ship/anti-hard point missiles
Cordesman also mentioned that Kuwait was discussing longer term plans to order up to 35 more fighters, and may make an initial buy of 12 F/A-18C/D aircraft and is seeking to buy the AMRAAM and is considering a possible buy of the Mirage 2000-5 multi-role fighters. It is also seeking to fund such purchases by selling its remaining Skyhawks and Mirage F-1CTKs
Kuwait is studying possible purchase of airborne alert aircraft and/or maritime patrol aircraft. It may purchase the E-2C. It would like to buy Hawk 100 trainers, or at least upgrade its Mark 64s.
It is also considering the purchase of six more transports, probably C-130s and/or Shorts Sherpas.
Kuwait originally examined the purchase of 16-20 AH-64A Apache attack helicopters. It decided on 16 Blackhawk UH- 60L helicopters with 500 Hellfire anti-armor missiles, 38 Hellfire launchers, 11,500 Hydra rockets, 200 mm guns pods, and night vision devices. It is considering a follow-on purchase of the AH-64A or additional UH-60Ls in the mid-term. It is also considering the purchase of AS-532 Cougar, Black Hawk, and IAR IAR-530 transport helicopters Kuwait is seeking 16 McDonnell Douglas AH-64D Longbow Apache Helicopters as part of an $800 million military acquisitions package. That package also includes 384 Lockheed Martin Hellfire anti-tank missiles and 19 918 Hydra-70 rockets. Four T-700 GE engines, 30mm ammunition, chaff systems, integrated helmet and display sight systems and spare parts. It is also seeking to replace its destroyed C4I system in an attempt to integrate its armed forces as part of a larger plan to coordinate the Gulf Arab Defense Systems. The contract is estimated at over $1 billion dollars.
Kuwait signed a contract with Hughes in December, 1992 to create a new land-based early warning system, refurbish an air operations center, and construct a new radar site. The first phase of the new system -- the Radar Preliminary Early Warning System (RPEWS) -- became operational in 1994, and the Kuwait Air Force accepted the entire system in November, 1995. The system is shelter mounted, and integrates two of Kuwait’s main search radars: a new AN/FPS-117 L-Band radar with a random antenna and an existing French TSR-2100 Tiger S-Band radar at Kuwait City.
Work is also underway to integrate airborne L-88 L-Band radar, mounted in an aerostat, into the system. Kuwait ordered long-range Thomson-CSF TRS 22XX S-Band radar.
Kuwait has bought TCOM surveillance aerostats with Lockheed-Martin L-88 radars to replace the system lost in 1990. It has signed a contract with Thomson-CSF to receive a single 22XX 3D air surveillance radar with a detection envelope of approximately 450 km. and a ceiling of 100 000 ft.
It has signed a contract with Thomson-CSF to receive a single 22XX 3D air surveillance radar with a detection envelope of approximately 450 km. and a ceiling of 100 000 ft. 5 batteries of Patriot surface-to-air missiles, with 210 MIM-104 PAC-2 GEMs (Guidance Enhancement Missiles). Kuwait has considered buying six new
batteries, 5 batteries of Patriot surface-to-air missiles, with 210 MIM-104 PAC-2 GEMs (Guidance Enhancement Missiles). Kuwait has considered buying six new batteries of I-Hawk Phase III fire units and 342 MIM-23B Hawk missiles as well, but delayed this decision pending a study of possible reconstruction of the equipment for four I Hawk batteries which Iraq returned after the war. According to some reports, is considering an order for Russian SA-10 or SA-12 (S-300PU) missiles. Finally Kuwait also considered buying an electric security fence to help defend 130 mile frontier with Iraq, and will supplement 15’ wide and 9’ deep trench.
[1] Samir ‘Ata Allah, Asharq al-Awsat, March 20, 2003.
[2] Report by J. A. N. Graham from British Embassy, Kuwait 4 June, 1967.
[3] Chaim Herzog, The Arab-Israeli Wars, (NY: Random House, 1984), pp. 195-221; Nadav Safran, Israel The Embattled Ally, (MA: Harvard University Press, 1981), p. 266. At:http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/myths/mf8.html#1
[4]Background Behind the Iraqi Will to Seize Kuwait. At:http://demo.sakhr.com/diwan/emain/Story_Of_Kuwait/Occupation/Occupation_historical_backgrou/occupation_historical_backgrou.html
[5] http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/1973-Yom-Kippur-War
[6] Kenneth R. Timmerman, Weapons of Mass Destruction: The Cases of Iran, Syria and Libya (Los Angeles: Simon Wiesenthal Center, 1992), p. 25.
[7] —Bates Gill, "Chinese Arms Exports to Iran," MERIA Journal, Vol. 2, No. 2, May 1998, http://www.biu.ac.il/Besa/meria/journal/1998/issue2/jv2n2a7.html.
[8] Peter Grier, "Surprising Accurate Hits; Iran may be using upgraded Silkworms, defense experts say," Christian Science Monitor, 23 October 1987, p. 6, in Lexis-Nexis, <http://www.lexis-nexis.com/.
[9] Missile Chronology :http://www.nti.org/e_research/profiles/Iran/Missile/1788_1802.html
[10] .Lt. Col. Fred L. Hart, Jr. advisor to the Kuwaiti Land Forces at: http://www.military.com/Content/MoreContent?file=hart02
[11] Nelson, Robert A. "The Battle of the Bridges: Kuwait's 35th Brigade on the 2d of August 1990." Armor, September-October 1995, pp. 26-32.
[12] Ahmad Al Wazan, Colonel Executive Officer. 35th Shaheed Armored Brigade. Colonel Al Wazan was a lieutenant colonel and commander of the 7th Tank Battalion at the time of the invasion.
Ali Abdulkareem, Major, Commander, 8thTank Battalion. Major Ali was a captain and commander of the 3d Company of the 8th Tank Battalion on the 2d of August. He had just returned to Kuwait after completing the U.S Army Armor Officer Advanced Course in June at the time of the invasion.Bader Al Dehani, Major Executive Officer. 63rd Battalion, currently acting as an Assistant Operations Officer in 26th Brigade. Major Bader was assigned to the 35th Brigade intelligence section during the invasion,Khasan Dawud, Major. Executive Officer, 51st Artillery Battalion. Major Khasan was a captain and commander of the 2d Battery, 51st Anillery Battalion during the invasion.Majed Al Ahmad. Lieutenant Colonel, Operations Officer at Al Jaber Airbase. Majed was a major at the time of the invasion. He flew A-4 Skyhawks from Al Jaber Airbase.
Nabil Saleh, Major, Commander of the 51st Artillery Battalion, also, serving as an assistant operations officer at Land Forces. Major Nabil was the XO of the 51st Artillery Battalion at the time of the invasion.Major Nabil had recently returned to Kuwait after completing the Field Artillery Advanced Course in the spring of 1990.Salem Masoud Al Sorour, Brigadier General Commander. Kuwait Land Forces General Salem was a colonel, commander of the 35th Brigade during the invasion. He lead the brigade back into Kuwait during Operation DESERT STORM.The following officers reviewed this article:
BG Salem Al Sorour, COL Ahmad Al Wazan, COt Nasser Khames Al Zaabi, MAJ Nabil Saleh,
MAJ.Nasser Dowailah,MAJ.Ali Abdulkareem,and MAJ.Suleiman Al Huwail.
[13] Lt. Col. Fred L. Hart, Jr .Advisor to the Kuwaiti Land Forces at: http://www.military.com/Content/MoreContent?file=hart02
[14] . The official website of the state of Kuwait at: http://demo.sakhr.com/diwan/emain/Story_Of_Kuwait/Oil_Era/New_era/national_guard.html
[15] IISS Military Balance 1990/1991
[16] www.desert-storm.com/Features/uslok6.doc
[17] www.kuwait-info.com/sidepages/gulfwar.recon.asp
[18] http://www.kuwait-info.org/Country_Profile/foreign_affairs_and_defense.html
[19] W. ERIC HERR, OPERATION VIGILANT WARRIOR,AIR UNIVERSITY ,MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, ALABAMA JUNE 1996
[20] Anthony H. Cordesman, Military Balance in The Middle East – XI/the Southern Gulf: Bahrain, and Kuwait, Military Expenditures and Arms Transfers, Major Arms by Country and Zone, Conventional Forces, and Qualitative Trends, December 28, 1998
