XVIII Airborne Corps, commanded by Lieutenant Gary E. Yeosock, had operational control of most U.S. The Army component command under Schwarzkopf, Army Forces Central Command (ARCENT), also designated Third Army, commanded by Lieutenant General John J. Central Command (CENTCOM), led by General H. American, British, and French ground, air, naval, and special operations forces came under U.S. Most of the Islamic ground forces were controlled by Saudi Arabian Lieutenant General Prince Khalid ibn Sultan. Army)Ĭommand of the growing and diverse coalition forces was split. This photograph shows Franks after the Persian Gulf War after his promotion to four-star rank and appointment to command U.S. Franks, Jr., commanded VII Corps during Operation DESERT STORM. Nevertheless, coalition forces could not relax their vigilance as Iraq also sent reinforcements into Kuwait and to the Iraq-Saudi border to the west, reaching a strength of 400,000 soldiers manning 3,600 tanks, 2,300 armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles, and over 1,300 artillery pieces by 16 November. The Arab nations of Egypt and Syria deployed three divisions.īy the end of October, the build-up of forces for the defense of Saudi Arabia was sufficient for everyone to breathe a sigh of relief. The French provided the 6th Light Armored Division, while the British sent their 7th Armoured Brigade (later joined by the 4th Armoured Brigade to form the 1st Armoured Division). In addition to providing its own forces, the United States sought to put together a coalition to oppose Hussein. forces arrived, including the 1st Marine Division, the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), the 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized), the 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment (ACR), and the 1st Cavalry Division (CD).
From August until the end of October, additional U.S. Air Force F-15C fighters were on station by 9 August. 82d Airborne Division began arriving in Saudi Arabia. Bush declared that Iraq’s aggression would not be allowed to stand and, following a Saudi agreement on 6 August to allow forces to be stationed on Saudi soil, the buildup, eventually designated Operation DESERT SHIELD, began. Was Saudi Arabia Hussein’s next target? If so, the small Saudi army would not be able to stop such an attack by itself. Spearheaded by the elite Republican Guards Forces Command (RGFC), Iraqi forces overran Kuwait by the evening of 3 August and were poised on the Kuwait-Saudi Arabian border. Just over twenty-five years ago, on 2 August 1990, Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein unleashed his army on his neighbor to the south, the small, oil-rich country of Kuwait.
0 kommentar(er)
