On 23 February 1991, the aerial bombardment campaign came to an end and the coalition began a large-scale ground offensive into Iraqi-occupied Kuwait and parts of Iraq. The Iraqi military was devastated in the fighting, and Kuwait was declared completely free of Iraqi troops on 28 February 1991.
Multinational group (Qatari F1 Mirage & Alpha Jet, French F1 Mirage, U.S. F-16, and Canadian CF-18 Air Forces) of fighter jets during Operation Desert Shield
Member states
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Argentina
Argentina contributed 500 troops, two corvettes, a destroyer, two cargo planes and three helicopters.[1] The operations of Argentinian forces were codenamed Operation Alfil.
Australia contributed at least one[clarification needed] guided missile frigate, one destroyer and one supply ship.[2] Limited numbers of Australian troops were imbedded in British and American formations, and RAAF photo interpreters were based in Saudi Arabia. Soldiers of the Royal Australian Artillery provided air defence to the Australian supply ships, as they had none of their own. [3]
Bahrain
Bahraini troops played a limited role in the conflict, with the Bahraini Army providing troops to the Gulf Cooperation Council contingent (exclusively embedded with Saudi Arabian and Kuwaiti troops), which played a support role in the conflict. The Bahraini government also allowed their territory to be used as a logistical hub for coalition forces.[4][5]
Bangladesh
The Bangladeshi contribution to the coalition contained about 2300 personnel.[6] Their operation was codenamed Operation Moruprantar and involved security personnel, including two field Ambulance teams. After the war, Bangladeshi forces inspected and cleared land mines lain by the Iraqi forces.[7] In 2015, there were still up to 5000 Bangladeshi troops stationed in Kuwait to aid with mine clearance.[8] The Bangladeshi commander was Zubayr Siddiqui.
Belgium
Belgium had a limited deployment of troops and aircraft to Türkiye, and several ships deployed to the gulf.[9]
Two minesweepers of the Tripartite class, the Iris and the Myostis along with the Command and Logistics ship Zinnia, deployed to the gulf, and conducted mine clearing operations. The Belgian government later decided to send an additional minesweeper, the Dianthus. When the ceasefire took place, clearing operations moved to the coast off Kuwait.[9]
Eighteen Mirage 5s of 8th Fighter Squadron and six C-130s of the 15th Air Transport Wing were deployed to Türkiye as part of the NATO preventative deployment of aircraft.
Medical personnel were attached to a British Field Hospital in Cyprus, and were also deployed in Türkiye alongside 75 soldiers.[10]
Canada's contribution included 4,600 personnel, and their activities were codenamed Operation Friction. Royal Canadian Navy vessels took part in the war, the Royal Canadian Air Force conducted patrols and bombing missions, and the army deployed a field hospital. Canadian aircraft and ground forces also attacked retreating Iraqi military forces along the Highway of Death.[11][12][13]
The Czechoslovak contribution included a specialised 200-man chemical defence unit and 150 medical personnel.[14] The lead Czechoslovak commander was Ján Való.[15] The war was notable as the first time Czechoslovakian troops had taken part in an armed conflict since the Second World War, and would be the last time before the breakup of Czechoslovakia in 1993.[16]
Denmark
Denmark deployed the HDMS Olfert Fischer (a Niels Juel-class Corvette) alongside 100 personnel.[14]
The French contingent consisted of around 20,000 personnel led by Lieutenant General Michel Roquejeoffre, and their activities were codenamed Opération Daguet. France also contributed 14 ships, more than 75 aircraft, and 350 tanks.[14]
Germany
Germany sent one fighter squadron to Türkiye to show solidarity with operations in Kuwait and make its presence felt on NATO's southern flank.[14][18] Restrictions on the use of NATO airbases in Germany were removed so they could be used for logistics. Germany also provided $6 billion in cash and materiel to aid the coalition.[19]
Greece
Greek forces included Hellenic Air Force pilots and ground support staff and the frigate Limnos in the Red Sea. The Greek Merchant Marine Service aided the Coalition in the movement of fuel and equipment with their large fleet, and most Greek airfields were made available for US and allied use.[20][21][14]
Honduras
Honduras sent 400 personnel to the join the coalition.[22]
Hungary
Hungary contributed approximately 40 personnel, including a medical team.[23]
The Italian contribution included about 1,950 personnel; their operation mostly involved aircraft, and the air operation was known as Operazione Locusta. Italy deployed eight Panavia Tornado aircraft, which conducted sorties over the 42 days of war, and a cell of RF-104G Starfighter tactical reconnaissance aircraft,[24] which operated from Turkey to monitor the coalition's flank. Six F-104s were stationed in Türkiye. 4 ships were sent to the gulf.[14] The Italian commander of the operation was Mario Arpino.[25]
Japan
Japan contributed no personnel or equipment to the coalition force as it was prohibited from doing so by its constitution. However, the Japanese government made a financial contribution of approximately $13bn to fund Coalition operations.[26]
Kuwait
The contribution of Kuwaiti forces in exile included around 9,900 personnel.[citation needed]
Luxembourg
Luxembourg provided financial support. After the war, Luxembourgish soldiers were deployed to deliver humanitarian aid to Kurdish civilians taking refuge in the mountains along the Turkish-Iraqi border.[27][28]
Morocco
Morocco contributed around 13,000 personnel.[citation needed]
The Dutch navy sent two frigates to help maintain the UN embargo on Iraq, and three minehunters to clear mines off the coast of Kuwait. The army provided a field hospital and medical team for the coalition, while the air force sent two MIM-23 Hawk squadrons and three MIM-104 Patriot squadrons - one of which was deployed in Israel to defend against Iraqi Scud missiles.[30]
Niger
Niger deployed about 480 troops to guard shrines in Mecca and Medina.[14]
Norway
Norway contributed 280 personnel, one naval vessel, a field hospital, and intelligence capabilities.[citation needed]
Beg predicted that popular opinion[where?] would favor Iraq, as anti-American sentiment in the Middle East was growing.[31]
Philippines
The Philippines sent around 200 medical personnel.[citation needed]
Poland
The Polish contribution included approximately 320 personnel.[citation needed] Poland also conducted intelligence operations, such as Operation Simoom.
Singapore sent 30 personnel to provide medical and humanitarian services under Operation Nightingale, as well as nine military support teams.[41]
South Korea
The South Korean contingent was 314-strong, including medical and logistical support.[citation needed]
Spain
Spain deployed 500 ground troops (mostly engineers) with another 3,000 participating in naval operations: two corvettes and one destroyer patrolled near the strait of Bab al Mandeb.[14]
Syria
Coalition troops from Egypt, France, Oman, Syria, and Kuwait stand for review during Operation Desert Storm.
The Swedish contingent numbered about 525 and included a field hospital.[42]
Turkey
Turkey contributed to the air campaign against Iraq.[43]
United Arab Emirates
The UAE contributed one army battalion and a squadron of Mirage fighters. They also provided facilities to deploy over 255 aircraft, and gave the coalition access to practically all of their ports and shipyards. [44]
According to sources, 300 members of the anti-communist militias, Afghan mujahideen, joined the coalition towards the end of the war on 11 February 1991.[47][48] Iraqi Kurdish rebel groups also reportedly rebelled against Saddam.[49]
1 MEKO 360 (Almirante Brown class): ARA Almirante Brown (D-10) (CF A. Tierno). ARA Almirante Brown navigated 25.000 NM in the designated area for operations, as part of GT 88, together with ARA Spiro. Returned to Argentina on 25 April, 1991.
Frigates
2 MEKO 140 A16 (Espora class): ARA Spiro (P-43) (CF O. Gonzalez), ARA Rosales (P-42) (CC Tebaldi / CC Rossi). ARA Spiro returned to Argentina on 23 May 1991, together with ARA Almirante Brown (D-10). It had navigated 23000 NM in the operations area during the conflict.
Amphibious cargo ships
1Costa Sur class: ARA Bahia San Blas (B-5). Loaded with medicine and food, for humanitarian aid. This ship along with ARA Rosales (P-42) formed GT 88.1, and replaced GT 88.0 formed by ARA Almirante Brown and ARA Spiro.
Helicopters
2 Alouette III (3-H-109 and 3-H-112), from 1° Esc. Aeronaval de Helicopteros (EA1H) (C.C. Alomar). Totalling 67 flights. Operated initially with P-43 and D-10. One of the Alouette suffered an accident, with no casualties.
^Hossain, Ishtiaq (April 1997). "Bangladesh and the Gulf War: Response of a Small State". Pakistan Horizon. 50 (2). Pakistan Institute of International Affairs: 42. JSTOR41393571.
^Taylor, Scott (2004). Among the Others: Encounters with the Forgotten Turkmen of Iraq. Esprit de Corps Books. p. 92. ISBN978-1-895896-26-8. Canadian CF-18 fighters based in Qatar were only equipped with air-to-air missiles, as their role was to provide rear area combat air patrols. However, upon hearing from allied pilots that there was a massive 'turkey shoot' taking place in Kuwait, unofficial arrangements were made to equip the Canadians with U.S. bombs.
^Curtis, Glenn.E (December 1994). Greece a country study (4th ed.). US: Federal Research Division. pp. 258 & 288 & 300. ISBN0844408565.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
^[General Mario ARPINO "General Mario ARPINO"]. Ministero dello Difesa. 4 September 2024. Retrieved 4 September 2024. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
^Hiro, Dilip (2003). Desert shield to desert storm : the second Gulf war. New York: Authors Choice Press. ISBN0-595-26904-4.
^ abGhareeb, Majid Khadduri, Edmund (2001). War in the Gulf, 1990–91: the Iraq-Kuwait conflict and its implications. Oxford [u.a.]: Oxford University Press, Ghareeb. ISBN0-19-514979-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Petre, H. Norman Schwarzkopf, written by Peter (1993). It doesn't take a hero : the autobiography (Bantam paperback ed.). New York: Bantam Books. ISBN0-553-56338-6.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Alexandrescu, Grigore; Băhnăreanu, Cristian (2007). Operații militare expediționare(PDF) (in Romanian). Bucharest: Editura Universității Naționale de Apărare "Carol I". p. 33. ISBN9789736634994. Archived(PDF) from the original on 2022-10-05. Retrieved 2023-04-23.
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