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Operation Granby was the UK Armed Forces' contribution to the First Gulf War, which was also known as Operation Desert Storm. In 1990 the Iraqi Dictator, Saddam Hussein, illegally invaded neighbouring Kuwait. When negotiations failed to resolve the crisis one million troops, from a coalition of 30 countries, assembled in the Saudi Arabian desert to forcibly remove the Iraqi troops and liberate Kuwait.
The
First Gulf War (2 August 1990 – 28 February 1991) was a war waged by
coalition forces from 35 nations led by the United States against
Iraq in response to Iraq's
invasion and annexation of Kuwait arising from oil pricing and production disputes. It was codenamed
Operation Desert Shield (2 August 1990 – 17 January 1991) for operations leading to the buildup of troops and
defense of
Saudi Arabia and
Operation Desert Storm (
17 January 1991 – 28 February 1991) in its
combat phase.
On 2 August 1990, the
Iraqi Army invaded and occupied
Kuwait, which was met with international condemnation and brought immediate
economic sanctions against Iraq by members of the
UN Security Council. UK prime minister
Margaret Thatcher[29] and US president
George H. W. Bush deployed forces into Saudi Arabia, and urged other countries to send their own forces to the scene. An array of nations joined the coalition, forming the largest military alliance since
World War II. Most of the coalition's military forces were from the US, with Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and
Egypt as leading contributors, in that order. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia paid around US$32 billion of the US$60 billion cost.
The war marked the introduction of live news broadcasts from the front lines of the battle, principally by the US network
CNN. The war has also earned the nickname Video Game War after the daily broadcast of images from cameras on board U.S.
bombers during Operation Desert Storm.
The initial conflict to expel Iraqi troops from Kuwait began with an aerial and naval bombardment on 17 January 1991, continuing for five weeks. This was followed by a ground assault on 24 February. This was a decisive victory for the coalition forces, who liberated Kuwait and advanced into Iraqi territory. The coalition ceased its advance and declared a ceasefire 100 hours after the ground campaign started. Aerial and ground combat was confined to Iraq, Kuwait, and areas on Saudi Arabia's border. Iraq launched
Scud missiles against
Israel and coalition targets in Saudi Arabia.
The
United Kingdom committed the
largest contingent of any European state that participated in the war's combat operations.
Operation Granby was the code name for the operations in the Persian Gulf.
British Army regiments (mainly with the
1st Armoured Division),
Royal Air Force,
Naval Air Squadrons and
Royal Navy vessels were mobilized in the Persian Gulf. Both Royal Air Force and
Naval Air Squadrons, using various aircraft, operated from
airbases in Saudi Arabia and
Naval Air Squadrons from various vessels in the Persian Gulf. The United Kingdom played a major role in the
Battle of Norfolk where its forces destroyed over 200 Iraqi tanks and a large quantity of other vehicles. After 48 hours of combat the British 1st Armoured Division destroyed or isolated four Iraqi infantry divisions (the 26th, 48th, 31st, and 25th) and overran the Iraqi 52nd Armored Division in several sharp engagements.
Chief Royal Navy vessels deployed to the Persian Gulf included
Broadsword-class frigates, and
Sheffield-class destroyers; other R.N. and
RFA ships were also deployed. The light aircraft carrier
HMS Ark Royal was deployed to the
Mediterranean Sea.
Several
SAS squadrons were deployed.
A British
Challenger 1 achieved the longest range confirmed tank kill of the war, destroying an Iraqi tank with an
armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding-sabot (APFSDS) round fired over 4,700 metres (2.9 mi)—the longest tank-on-tank kill shot recorded.