IRAQI INVASION OF KUWAIT
An Iraqi invasion force, estimated at around 120,000 troops supported by about 2,000 tanks and armored vehicles, was assigned the job of conquering Kuwait. This gave Iraq an attacker-to-defender ratio of about six or seven to one and overwhelming superiority in tanks and artillery. The Iraqi air force also vastly outnumbered its Kuwaiti opponent. The Iraqi navy was of only marginal capability, except for a handful of top-notch Soviet-built Osa missile boats with Styx antiship missiles. Iraqi commandos were assigned the task of capturing the bases of the Kuwaiti naval force. Once these commandos had completed their tasks, the battle at sea would essentially be over.
Iraqi commandos began infiltrating the Kuwaiti border prior to midnight, in preparation for capturing the border crossing sites to facilitate the movement of Iraqi armor. Major units began the attack at the stroke of midnight, with most crossing the border around 1:00 a.m. The Iraqi attack had two prongs, with the primary attack force driving south straight for Kuwait City down the main highway, and a supporting attack entering Kuwait farther west, but then turning and driving due east, cutting off the capital city from Kuwaiti defensive positions in the southern half of the country.
In addition to the geographic objective of Kuwait City itself, Iraq’s military objectives were destruction of Kuwait’s armed forces and capture of the emir, the crown prince, and other key ministers. In support of this operation, several hundred Iraqi commandos had already infiltrated Kuwait and were poised to strike the Dasman Palace, home to the emir, and Kuwait’s key naval bases. This group also served as “pathfinders,” capturing the international airport and establishing additional landing zones for Iraqi infantry deployed by helicopter to fly directly into Kuwait City.
Kuwaiti defenders, unable to stem the onslaught, fell back rapidly. By 3:30 a.m., Iraqi tanks were in Jahra. By 4:00 a.m., Iraqi commandos, in civilian clothes, were attacking around Kuwait City. Their assault on the Dasman Palace was especially aggressive and continued into midafternoon. Despite a spirited defense by the Emiri Guard, the Iraqis eventually took the site. In the process, the Iraqis killed Sheikh Fahd al-Ahmad, a well-liked member of the ruling family. Sheikh Fahd, the emir’s youngest brother, was the only Al- Sabah to die in the invasion. The emir and many of his advisors had moved to General Headquarters much earlier that morning to follow the battle. From there, the emir and key ministers headed south along the highway for refuge in Saudi Arabia.
By about noon on August 2, Iraqi forces essentially controlled all of Kuwait City. Scattered Kuwaiti units, ships, and aircraft were still in the fight, but the Iraqis had only to mop up the rest of the small country before their victory was complete. After destroying Kuwait’s military forces and gaining control of the entire country, Iraqi ground forces redeployed along the border of Saudi Arabia. This indicated to many intelligence analysts that Kuwait was only a stepping-stone to the overall Iraqi goal of Saudi oil fields and oil terminals along the Arabian Gulf.
KUWAITI DEFENSE
As the new day began at midnight on August 2, 1990, the Kuwaiti defense force was ill-prepared to defend the country from an Iraqi assault. The muster rolls of the military carried about eighteen thousand names, but the length of the list was not indicative of the actual defense situation. Nor was the list of Kuwaiti army units, which included a mechanized infantry brigade, three armored brigades, and an artillery brigade, an accurate measure of combat capabilities. Had all those units been at full strength—but in fact, all were severely understrength—Kuwaiti military commanders still would have been hard-pressed to defend their nation. For one thing, overmatched militaries prefer to trade space for time. The tiny country of Kuwait had no strategic depth, meaning that Kuwaiti defenders could not engage in a fighting withdrawal, stalling for time while waiting for help from abroad. Kuwait’s defenders had to meet and defeat the Iraqi tanks right at the border if they wanted the chance to conduct a successful defense.
When war came to Kuwait in 1990, approximately one-fourth of Kuwait’s military personnel were on leave, many out of the country. Included in that group were several commanders and key staff officers. The situation below these officers was equally problematic. After independence, Kuwait had put in place a system of mandatory conscription. On paper, every Kuwaiti male was subject to military service. In practice, however, deferments were routine. In a country where every Kuwaiti was already assured of a government job and pension, there was little incentive to serve in the military.
Senior posts in the Kuwaiti defense establishment were filled by Kuwaitis, but, over time, many non-Kuwaitis, including bidun, were enlisted to fill critical needs in the enlisted ranks. Approximately one-quarter of Kuwait’s army consisted of non-Kuwaitis. For example, Palestinians filled many technical roles in the Kuwaiti military; when the war commenced and the PLO officially backed Iraq, the loyalties of some of those Palestinian soldiers became open to question. At a time when Kuwaiti forces suddenly found themselves fighting for their national existence, many of those non-Kuwaitis would think twice before dying in the attempt to stop Iraqi troops. Thus, some Kuwaiti units that were at fighting strength on paper were, in fact, not always able to put up a solid defense of their assigned positions.
The Kuwaiti government’s fateful decision to avoid arming and deploying its forces so as to avoid aggravating the situation meant that Kuwaiti tanks, warplanes, and guided-missile naval craft were without ammunition when the Iraqi forces crossed the border, invaded Kuwaiti airspace, and steamed into Kuwaiti waters, intent on overrunning the small country. As one example, the Kuwaiti naval force’s only two operational modern guided-missile craft had been fully armed and placed on alert a week before the invasion. As the policy to avoid appearances of belligerency filtered down from the government, Kuwaiti General Headquarters ordered the French-made Exocet antiship missiles removed from those two ships and returned to the ammunition depot. On the morning of the invasion, the two guided-missile craft could engage Iraqi warships only with guns; later in the day, after destroying as many Iraqi vessels and helicopters as possible under the circumstances, the two Kuwaiti missile boats had no choice but to withdraw from the battle as ordered into Saudi Arabian territorial waters.
The commander of a Kuwaiti armored battalion, on his own authority, had provisioned his vehicles and deployed them in readiness for the Iraqi attack several hours before other Kuwaiti units had begun to prepare. With little more than training ammunition, this battalion was able to conduct a robust defense near Mutla’a Ridge, perhaps the only defensible geographical line in the entire country. Those Kuwaiti troops, at heavy cost, managed to slow the Iraqi assault in their sector. The rest of Kuwait’s battle units were not officially put on alert until after the invasion was already under way.
This is not to suggest that no Kuwaiti units held their ground. Midgrade and senior Kuwaiti officers from all services were well trained and highly motivated. Under their leadership, despite overwhelming odds, some Kuwaiti units remained in place and held their ground, at least until the situation became untenable. Postwar analysis would indicate that 90 percent of Kuwait’s military installations had sustained combat damage during the initial Iraqi invasion. The Kuwaiti army’s 3rd Brigade, which included the aforementioned armored battalion, later became known as the Martyrs’ Brigade, in recognition of its spirited defense over the course of the first few days of the Iraqi invasion.
From two bases in southern Kuwait, Ali-al-Salem and al-Jaber, Kuwaiti air force fighters and helicopters were still flying sorties on the morning of August 3. The main runway at al-Jaber air base had been bombed and mined by Iraqi aircraft, so Kuwaiti pilots were using a perimeter road as their landing strip in order to continue the fight. In their defense, Kuwaiti pilots shot down a number of Iraqi helicopters. Kuwaiti defenders also used shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles (Soviet-made SAM-7) to shoot down several Iraqi warplanes and hold off the surrender of the two bases. When it was clear their position was untenable, the local commanders sent their remaining aircraft to Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. The Iraqis captured the two bases shortly thereafter. Soon even the remaining Kuwaiti military units were surrounded and out of ammunition. Though isolated skirmishes occurred throughout Kuwait for the next few days, it was clear that sporadic resistance was insufficient. Iraq had conquered Kuwait.
Beyond the numbers of killed and wounded, most of Kuwait’s troops were captured. Approximately seven thousand troops escaped into Saudi Arabia, along with about 40 tanks and other fighting vehicles. Along with the warships and aircraft already mentioned, these forces would make up the Kuwaiti contingent of the coalition that would soon attempt to overturn the results of the Iraqi invasion.
