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Operation Desert Storm Facts & Worksheets

Operation Desert Storm was a 42-day, US-led air offensive against Saddam Hussein after his invasion of Kuwait.

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Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, in early August 1990, launched the invasion and occupation of neighboring Kuwait. Alarmed by these measures, Arab states such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt urged the U.S. and other Western governments to intervene. Hussein disregarded United Nations Security Council orders to withdraw from Kuwait by mid-January 1991. The Persian Gulf War started with Operation Desert Storm, a vast air operation directed by the United States.

See the fact file below for more information on Operation Desert Storm or alternatively, you can download our 19-page Operation Desert Storm worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

Overview

  • Operation Desert Shield ended on January 17, 1991, when the air war of Operation Desert Storm commenced.
  • Task Force Normandy is composed of nine American AH-64 Apache helicopters. On January 17, the army’s 101st Aviation Regiment, 101st ABN DVN (Air Assault), escorted by four Air Force MH-53 Pave Low special operations helicopters flying fast and low, commenced fire around 0236 Baghdad time.
  • After destroying 27 Iraqi radar installations with Hellfire missiles, the Apaches followed up with 100 Hydra-70 rockets that eliminated the corresponding anti-aircraft weapons.
  • The raid opened a twenty-mile breach in the enemy’s air defense network, allowing the U.S. to fly through it. Fixed-wing aircraft and cruise missiles from the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coalition.
  • U.S. and coalition soldiers attacked Iraqi fortifications and supply lines practically with impunity. Massive B-52 bombing raids and deadly psychological operations leaflet drops sapped the Iraqis’ desire to fight.

Background of the Persian Gulf War

  • Even though the lengthy Iran-Iraq War ended in an August 1988 ceasefire negotiated by the United Nations, the two countries had yet to begin discussing a lasting peace deal by mid-1990.
  • When their ministers gathered in Geneva that July, chances for peace seemed to brighten, as Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein appeared to be willing to end the fight and return to the land that his soldiers had long controlled.
  • However, Hussein gave a speech two weeks later, accused neighboring Kuwait of funneling crude oil from the Ar-Rumaylah oil reserves on their shared border.
  • He insisted on canceling $30 billion of Iraq’s foreign debt. He accused Kuwait and Saudi Arabia of keeping the oil price down to appease Western oil-buying nations.

Beginning of the Gulf War

  • If Iraq did not withdraw from Kuwait by January 15, the Security Council of the U.N. approved the use of “all necessary measures” of force against it.
  • By January, the coalition forces ready to confront Iraq totaled around 750,000 people, including 540,000 Americans and lesser numbers from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the Soviet Union, Japan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, among many others.
  • Jordan (another susceptible neighbor), Algeria, Sudan, Yemen, Tunisia, and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) all backed Iraq.
  • January 17, 1991, a major US-led air strike struck Iraq’s air defenses, quickly moving on to its communications networks, weapons installations, oil refineries, and other targets.
  • The coalition campaign, dubbed Operation Desert Storm, benefited from cutting-edge military technology such as stealth bombers, cruise missiles, “Smart” explosives with laser-guidance systems, and infrared night-bombing devices.
  • Iraqi air force either was destroyed early or opted out of the campaign because of the continual bombardment, which attempted to achieve victory in the air while reducing ground confrontation as much as possible.

Ground Campaign

  • Eventually, on February 24, the ground combat started. Special reconnaissance groups from the 5th and 3d Special Forces Groups (Airborne), and 1st Special Forces, operating out of King Khalid Military City on specially equipped helicopters, were dispatched deep inside Iraqi lines to gather intelligence hours before the operation began. The XVIII Airborne Corps rapidly did an end pass around the exposed opposite wing of the Iraqi army as the primary offensive began in terrible weather.
  • At the same time, U.S. and ally troops in the east launched an offensive directly north into Kuwait City. With Marine Corps backup, British Tiger Brigade (1st Brigade, 2d Armored Division) advanced immediately north from Saudi Arabia across smoldering Kuwaiti oil fields set ablaze by retreating Iraqis.
  • In mid-afternoon on the first day of combat, units of the 101st and 82d Airborne Divisions had penetrated far into Iraq, in one case barely twenty-four miles south of the Euphrates.
  • The wars of the desert storm quickly came to an end against weakening the opposition. Only a ceasefire proclamation rescued the Iraqis, with the VII Corps set to defeat the last Republican Guard battalions. When troops of the Republican Guard’s Hammurabi Division fought the 1st Brigade, 24th Infantry Division, roughly north of Highway 8, Iraqis lost around 185 armored vehicles and 400 trucks in hours, two days after the ceasefire.
  • Ground troops from the United States and its allies effectively beat a conflict and dangerous opponent in Iraq and Kuwait in 100 hours. Approximately 3,000 tanks, 1,400 wheeled armored carriers, 2,200 artillery pieces, and numerous more vehicles got destroyed by U.S. and partner troops during air and ground operations. It came at a cost to the U.S. of 96 soldiers killed in combat, two died of wounds, and 105 non-hostile mortality.

Aftermath

  • With Iraqi resistance crumbling, Bush called for a ceasefire on February 28, concluding the Persian Gulf War.
  • According to the peace accords, Hussein later agreed that Iraq would acknowledge Kuwait’s sovereignty and destroy all its weaponry (such as nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons).
  • Estimates suggest that up to 10,000 Iraqi troops were killed, compared to barely 300 coalition troops.
  • The ousting of Saddam Hussein did not happen, and Kuwait and Iraq suffered massive devastation, although the alliance won the Gulf War.
  • Hussein’s army ruthlessly quashed the uprisings of Kurds in the north and Shi’ites in the south of Iraq in the initial aftermath of the war. Fearing that the uprisings might destabilize the Iraqi state, the US-led coalition refused to back them up.
  • In the years since, U.S. and British planes have continued to patrol the skies and enforce a no-fly zone across Iraq. In contrast, Iraqi officials have attempted to obstruct the implementation of the peace accords, particularly U.N. weapons inspections.
  • It led to a brief renewal of warfare in 1998, during which Iraq refused to allow weapons inspectors. Furthermore, the Iraqi forces frequently exchanged fire with U.S. and British aircraft above the no-fly zone.
  • By 2002, the Us (now commanded by President George W. Bush, the former president’s son) supported a new United Nations. U.N. resolution requesting the restoration of weapons inspectors to Iraq; That November, inspectors returned to Iraq.
  • Amid disagreements among Security Council members over how effectively Iraq had cooperated with the inspections, the U.S. and Britain began massing soldiers on Iraq’s border.
  • During fear of war, Bush issued a deadline on March 17, 2003, requesting that Saddam Hussein stand down from office and depart Iraq within 48 hours. Hussein resisted, and the second Persian Gulf War, often known as the Iraq War, began three days later.
  • Saddam Hussein was seized by U.S. troops on December 13, 2003, and hanged for crimes against humanity on December 30, 2006. The United States would not leave Iraq formally until December 2011.

Operation Desert Storm Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle that includes everything you need to know about Operation Desert Storm across 19 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Operation Desert Storm worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about Operation Desert Storm which was a 42-day, US-led air offensive against Saddam Hussein after his invasion of Kuwait. The United States was supported by the UN Security Council and by NATO allies.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Operation Desert Storm Facts
  • GPS Mapping
  • Infamous Hussein
  • Three Reasons Why
  • Famous Leaders
  • Before the Desert Storm
  • The United Nations
  • Technology and Warfare
  • World Wars
  • Daily Post!
  • Promoting Peace

Frequently Asked Questions

What was Operation Desert Storm?

Operation Desert Storm was a vast air operation directed by the United States.

Why did the U.S. start Operation Desert Storm?

Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, in early August 1990, launched the invasion and occupation of neighboring Kuwait. Alarmed by these measures, Arab states such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt urged the U.S. and other Western governments to intervene. 

Why did the U.S. defend Kuwait?

Hussein gave a speech two weeks later, accused neighboring Kuwait of funneling crude oil from the Ar-Rumaylah oil reserves on their shared border. He insisted on canceling $30 billion of Iraq’s foreign debt. He accused Kuwait and Saudi Arabia of keeping the oil price down to appease Western oil-buying nations.

Is Gulf War and Desert Storm the same thing?

On January 17, 1991, Operation Desert Storm was initiated when Iraqi soldiers invading neighbor Kuwait refused to retreat. The war is now popularly referred to as the Gulf War.

Was Operation Desert Storm a success?

With Iraqi resistance crumbling, Bush called for a ceasefire on February 28, concluding the Persian Gulf War. According to the peace accords, Hussein later agreed that Iraq would acknowledge Kuwait’s sovereignty and destroy all its weaponry (such as nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons).

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Use With Any Curriculum

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