“The Mother of All Battles” (“Desert Storm”), Phase One

Abstract

This chapter deals with the first phase of the Gulf War—called by the Coalition forces Operation “Desert Storm”, and by the Iraqis “The Mother of all Battles”—The air campaign (16 January – 28 February, 1991) and the surface-to-surface missile campaign. It describes the wide and extensive coalition air attacks on the Iraqi forces deployed in Kuwait and southern Iraq and the aerial bombings of infrastructures and military targets in all parts of Iraq. It describes also the surface to surface missiles campaign the Iraqis launched in response to the Coalition air campaign, especially against Israel and Saudi Arabia, and the Coalition forces’ efforts to destroy the Iraqi missile launchers in western Iraq.