Wars

Gulf War

Contemporary

Citation Formats

General Reference

War and Military Atlas. "Gulf War." Accessed September 8, 2026. https://military.interactiveatlas.org/wars/gulf-war.

APA Style

War and Military Atlas. (n.d.). Gulf War. Retrieved September 8, 2026, from https://military.interactiveatlas.org/wars/gulf-war

BibTeX

@misc{warandmilitaryatlas-gulf-war,
  author = {War and Military Atlas},
  title = {Gulf War},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://military.interactiveatlas.org/wars/gulf-war},
  note = {Accessed September 8, 2026}
}

The Gulf War was an armed conflict between Iraq and a 42-country coalition led by the United States, fought after Saddam Hussein's Iraq invaded and annexed neighboring Kuwait on 2 August 1990. The coalition's campaign unfolded in two phases: Operation Desert Shield, the military buildup from August 1990 to January 1991, and Operation Desert Storm, the bombing campaign and ground offensive from 17 January to the liberation of Kuwait on 28 February 1991, ending in a decisive coalition victory.

Facts

Start Year

1990 1

End Year

1991 1

Combatants

A 42-country coalition led by the United States, United Kingdom, France, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Kuwait, against Iraq 1

Outcome

Coalition victory; Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait and establishment of a demilitarized zone and separation barrier along the Iraq-Kuwait border 1

Cross-Tradition Connections

Associated With

AirLand Battle

Operation Provide Comfort

Operation Provide Comfort, the 1991 humanitarian and no-fly-zone operation for Kurdish refugees, followed directly on the Gulf War

Source Wikipedia: Operation Provide Comfort

Sources

1. Wikipedia: Gulf War

Lead section, para 1

Quote, Lead section, para 1

The Gulf War was an armed conflict between Iraq and a 42-country coalition led by the United States in response to Saddam Hussein invading neighboring Kuwait on 2 August 1990.

View the Source

1. Wikipedia: Gulf War

Infobox: Date

Quote, Infobox: Date