On August 2nd, 1990. Military forces from the nation of Iraq, rolled into the Gulf Emirate of Kuwait and claimed the small nation as the 28th Province of Iraq, according to Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein.
In response, the United Nations approved UN Resolution 660, condemning the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq and with UN Resolution 661, it put sanctions on Iraq. American President George HW Bush and British Prime Minister, Margareth Thatcher, quickly deployed military forces to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a buffer to prevent Iraq from further invasion into the kingdom, requesting other nations to join into the Coalition to prevent further aggression in the Middle East.
The United Nations Security Council signed Resolution 678, adopted on November 28th, 1990; demanding Iraq withdraw its military forces from Kuwait before January 15, 1991; threatening military force if Iraq failed to comply.
By late November 1990; the United States and Great Britain were joined by a massive 40-nation coalition of military forces, set to force Iraqi Forces from Kuwait.
The military operation was called OPERATION DESERT STORM by the United States, OPERATION GRANBY by British forces, and OPERATION DAGUET by French forces, OPERATION FRICTION by Canadian forces, OPERATION LOCUSTA by Italian forces and OPERATION ALFIL by Argentine forces.
This thread will focus on land assets of both the US-led coalition, as well as the Iraqi Army as they clashed in the open deserts of Kuwait and Southern Iraq. The first major armor campaign since the end of WW2.
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The United States fielded their newest 3rd Generation main battle tank, the M1A1 Abrams.
Along with the venerable M60A1 and A3 main battle tank.
The British fielded the Challenger 1 main battle tank, a tank with a record 300 enemy tanks destroyed without a single loss…
The French fielded the AMX-30B2 main battle tank.
; Qatari AMX-30 tanks engaged Iraqi forces during the battle of Al-Khafji, destroying 3 Iraqi tanks, while losing two tanks.
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And the longest range confirmed 1 round direct fire tank on tank kill.
This will be an interesting thread to follow and watch develop.
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4700 meters, or 2.9 miles.
By this tank… Call Sign “11 Bravo” of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards.
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Thank you Reynier I’ll be following along, I remember watching the raw news feeds in the data centre I then worked in at the time, for a large world wide news reporting company.
For those that want to visualise what was going on I can recommend the series of youtube videos by ‘The Operations room’. 9 videos in total in their series cover Desert Storm.
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I did the same. i was glued to CNN back when i was in High School in 1991. I joined the Army right after the end of the war and didn’t go to basic Training until 1992. My first duty assignment after AIT was with the 24th Infantry Division, who fought during the battles of Jalibah Airfield and Rumaila. General Barry McAffrey was the divisional commander during the war and later became the Director of Office of National Drug Control Policy under President Clinton.
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The pictured AMX-30B2 belonged to the French 6th Light Armored Division.
Another view :
H.P.
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More Operation Daguet AMX-30B2’s
Loading 105mm ammo rounds (port of Yanbu, Saudi Arabia) :
Loading the smoke grenade launchers
Most of the tanks above, if not all, belonged to the 4e Régiment de Dragons.
H.P.
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0B from C Sqn Life Guards … Attached to 14/20 KH
Note roughly hand painted ID chevrons and the add on armour which was fitted dockside after they unloaded.
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Some US armor (French MoD pics)
H.P.
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AMX-10 RC
Front add-on armor plates :
H.P.
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The Eat My Shorts Abrams was assigned to the 197th Infantry Brigade (The Buck and Change Brigade), which was attached to the 24th ID; hence the “V” on the front turret glacis - stands for “VICTORY”, which is the motto of the 24th ID (the Victory Division).
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Frenchy. I think the ITV is one from my Division. Can’t see the V on the side, but the one on the rear door is unmistakable. This one could be either a 7th Infantry (Coottonbalers) or a 15th Infantry (Can Do) vehicle.
It’s painted in NATOflage, so I’m not 100% sure of this, since AFAIK our vehicles were all painted in desert tan. Plus I don’t see the V on the soldier’s helmet cover, which has been used by the division since I can remember.
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Thanks for the info. There was no mention of the unit in the caption 
Another example of French-American cooperation 
ERC-90 Sagaie from the 1er RHP (Régiment de Hussards Parachutistes)
H.P.
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Here is the official US Army History Center webpage for Operation Desert Storm.
https://history.army.mil/html/bookshelves/resmat/desert-storm/index.html
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Some US Artillery from the conflict.
M102 105mm
M198 155mm
M109A3 155mm
M110A2 203mm/8"
M270 MLRS
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