Persian Gulf War

"Persian Gulf War" and "First Persian Gulf War" redirect here. For other uses, see Persian Gulf War (disambiguation).
"Operation Desert Storm" redirects here. For the video game by Bungie Software, see Operation Desert Storm (video game).
Persian Gulf War
Clockwise from top: USAF aircraft flying over burning Kuwaiti oil wells; British troops in Operation Granby; Camera view of a Lockheed AC-130; Highway of Death; M728 Combat Engineer Vehicle
Date
2 August 1990 – 28 February 1991 (Operation Desert Storm officially ended 30 November 1995[1])
Location
Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia
Result
Coalition victory
Imposition of sanctions against Iraq
Removal of Iraqi invasion force from Kuwait
Heavy Iraqi casualties and destruction of Iraqi and Kuwaiti infrastructure
Belligerents
Kuwait
United States Saudi Arabia United Kingdom France Egypt SyriaOther Coalition forces
Iraq
Commanders
Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah
Norman Schwarzkopf Colin Powell Khalid bin Sultan[2][3] Andrew Wilson Peter de la Billière
Saddam Hussein
Ali Hassan al-Majid Salah Aboud Mahmoud
Strength
959,600[4]1,820 Fighter aircraft and attack aircraft (1,376 American, 175 Saudi, 69 British, 42 French, 24 Canadian, 8 Italian)3,318 tanks (mainly M1 Abrams(U.S.),Challenger 1(UK), M60(U.S.))8 aircraft carriers2 battleships20 cruisers20 destroyers5 submarines[5]
545,000 (100,000 in Kuwait)+649 fighters4,500 tanks (Chinese Type-59s, Type-69s, & self produced T-55 T-62, about 500 Soviet Union T-72) [5]
Casualties and losses
379 killed
776 wounded[6]
20,000-35,000 casualties[7]
Civilian deaths:About 3,664 Iraqi civilians killed.[8]
2 Israeli civilians killed, 230 injured [9]1 Saudi civilian killed, 65 injured [10]Around 1,000 Kuwaiti civilians killed during the Iraqi occupation in addition to 300,000 refugees.[11]
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Recent wars and conflictsin the Persian Gulf
Iran-Iraq War – Opera – Al-Anfal Campaign – Gulf War – 1991 uprisings – Provide Comfort – Southern Watch – 1993 cruise missile strikes – Kurdish Civil War – Desert Strike – Northern Watch – Desert Fox – Kurdistan Islamist Conflict – Southern Focus – Iraq War
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Gulf War
Kuwait – Khafji – Wadi Al-Batin – 73 Easting – Al Busayyah – Phase Line Bullet – Medina Ridge – Kuwait City – Highway of Death – Norfolk
The Persian Gulf War (2 August 1990 – 28 February 1991), also known as the Gulf War, the First Gulf War[12][13], the Second Gulf War,[14][15] by Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein as The Mother of all Battles,[16] and commonly as Desert Storm for the military response, was the final conflict, which was initiated with United Nations authorization, by a coalition force from 34 nations against Iraq, with the expressed purpose of expelling Iraqi forces from Kuwait after its invasion and annexation on 2 August 1990.
The great majority of the military forces in the coalition were from the United States, with Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and Egypt as leading contributors, in that order. Around US$40 billion of the US$60 billion cost was paid by Saudi Arabia.[17][page needed]
The invasion of Kuwait by Iraqi troops was met with international condemnation, and brought both immediate economic sanctions against Iraq by members of the UN Security Council, and preparations for war by the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and Canada. The initial conflict to expel Iraqi troops from Kuwait began with an aerial bombardment on 17 January 1991, following the expiration of the UN deadline; this was followed by a ground assault on 23 February, which was a decisive victory for the coalition forces, who liberated Kuwait and advanced into Iraqi territory. The coalition ceased their advance, and declared a cease-fire 100 hours after the ground campaign started.
Aerial and ground combat was confined to Iraq, Kuwait, and areas on the border of Saudi Arabia. However, Iraq launched missiles against coalition military targets in Saudi Arabia, and at Israel, a non-combatant. The latter action was an attempt to precipitate Israeli retaliation, which would have destabilized the coalition by alienating its Arab members.
After Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, U.S. President George H. W. Bush deployed U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard units to Saudi Arabia as a part of Operation Desert Shield, while urging other countries to send their own forces to the scene. UN coalition-building efforts were so successful that by the time the fighting (Operation Desert Storm) began on 16 January 1991, twelve countries had sent naval forces, joining the regional states of Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf states, as well as the huge array of the U.S. Navy, which deployed six carrier battle groups.
Eight countries sent ground forces, joining the regional troops of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as the seventeen heavy and six light brigades of the U.S. Army and nine Marine regiments, with their large support and service forces. Four countries sent combat aircraft, joining the local air forces of Kuwait, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, as well as the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Marine aviation, for a grand total of 2,430 fixed-wing aircraft.
Iraq had only a few gunboats and small missile craft to match the coalition's armada, but approximately 1.2 million ground troops, 5,800 tanks, 5,100 other armoured vehicles, and 3,850 artillery pieces, which made for greater strength on the ground. Iraq also had 750 fighters and bombers, 200 other aircraft, and elaborate missile and gun defenses.
"Operation Desert Storm" was the U.S. name of the air and land operations, and is often incorrectly used to refer to the entire conflict; although the U.S. Postal Service issued a postage stamp reflecting Operation Desert Storm in 1992, and the U.S. military awarded campaign ribbons for service in Southwest Asia.
Each nation participating had its own operation name for its contribution: U.S. - Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm; UK - Operation Granby; Canada - Operation Friction; France - Operation Daguet, etc.

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War, was a Cold War military conflict that may be said to have occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from September 26, 1959[1] to April 30, 1975. The war was fought between the communist North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of South Vietnam, supported by the United States and other anti-communist nations.[12]
The Viet Cong, a lightly armed South Vietnamese communist-controlled common front, largely fought a guerrilla war against anti-communist forces in the region. The North Vietnamese Army engaged in a more conventional war, at times committing large units into battle. U.S. and South Vietnamese forces relied on air superiority and overwhelming firepower to conduct search and destroy operations, involving ground forces, artillery and airstrikes.
The United States entered the war to prevent a communist takeover of South Vietnam as part of their wider strategy of containment. Military advisors arrived beginning in 1950. U.S. involvement escalated in the early 1960s, with U.S. troop levels tripling in 1961 and tripling again in 1962.[13] U.S. combat units were deployed beginning in 1965. Involvement peaked in 1968 at the time of the Tet Offensive. After this, U.S. ground forces were withdrawn as part of a policy called Vietnamization. Despite the Paris Peace Accords, signed by all parties in January 1973, fighting continued.
The Case-Church Amendment, passed by the U.S. Congress in response to the anti-war movement, prohibited direct U.S. military involvement after August 15, 1973. U.S. military and economic aid continued until 1975.[14] The capture of Saigon by North Vietnamese army in April 1975 marked the end of Vietnam War. North and South Vietnam were reunified the following year.
The war exacted a huge human cost in terms of fatalities, including 3 to 4 million Vietnamese from both sides, 1.5 to 2 million Laotians and Cambodians, and 58,159 U.S. soldiers.[15]

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War[1] (often abbreviated WWII or WW2), was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. The war involved the mobilization of over 100 million military personnel, making it the most widespread war in history. In a state of "total war", the major participants placed their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities at the service of the war effort, erasing the distinction between civilian and military resources. Over seventy million people, the majority civilians, were killed, making it the deadliest conflict in human history.[2]
The start of the war is generally held to be September 1, 1939, with the German invasion of Poland and subsequent declarations of war on Germany by most of the countries in the British Empire and Commonwealth, and by France. Subsequently, the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east side. Many countries were already at war before this date, such as Ethiopia and Italy in the Second Italo-Abyssinian War and Nationalist China and Japan in the Second Sino-Japanese War. Many who were not initially involved joined the war later, as a result of events such as the German invasion of the Soviet Union, the attacks on Pearl Harbor and British colonies, and subsequent declarations of war on Japan by the Dutch[3] and British Commonwealth.[4]
In 1945 the war ended in a victory for the Allies. The Soviet Union and the United States subsequently emerged as the world's superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. The United Nations was formed in the hope of preventing another world conflict. The acceptance of the principle of self-determination accelerated decolonization movements in Asia and Africa, while Western Europe itself began moving toward integration.

World War I

Great War" redirects here. For other uses, see Great War (disambiguation).
"World War One" redirects here. For other uses, see World War One (disambiguation).

World War I
Clockwise from top: Trenches on the Western Front; a British Mark IV Tank crossing a trench; Royal Navy battleship HMS Irresistible sinking after striking a mine at the Battle of the Dardanelles; a Vickers machine gun crew with gas masks, and German Albatros D.III biplanes
Date
28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918 (Armistice Treaty)
Treaty of Versailles signed 28 June 1919
Location
Europe, Africa and the Middle East (briefly in China and the Pacific Islands)
Result
Allied victory; end of the German, Russian, Ottoman, and Austro-Hungarian Empires; foundation of new countries in Europe and the Middle East; transfer of German colonies to other powers; establishment of the League of Nations.
Belligerents
Allied (Entente) Powers
Central Powers
Commanders
Leaders and commanders
Leaders and commanders
Casualties and losses
Military dead:5,525,000Military wounded:12,831,500Military missing:4,121,000Total:22,477,500 KIA, WIA or MIA ...further details.
Military dead:4,386,000Military wounded:8,388,000Military missing:3,629,000Total:16,403,000 KIA, WIA or MIA ...further details.
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Theatres of World War I
EuropeanBalkans – Gallipoli – Western Front – Macedonian Front – Eastern Front – Italian FrontMiddle EasternCaucasus – Mesopotamia – Sinai and Palestine – Persia – Arab RevoltAfricanSouth-West Africa – West Africa – East Africa – North AfricaAsian and PacificOtherAtlantic Ocean – Mediterranean – Naval – Aerial
World War I (abbreviated as WW-I, WWI, or WW1), also known as the First World War, the Great War, the World War (prior to the outbreak of the Second World War), and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers,[1] assembled in two opposing alliances: the Allies of World War I centred around the Triple Entente and the Central Powers, centred around the Triple Alliance.[2] More than 70 million military personnel were mobilized in one of the largest wars in history.[3] More than 15 million people were killed, making it one of the deadliest conflicts in history.[4] During the conflict, the industrial and scientific capabilities of the main combatants were entirely devoted to the war effort.
The assassination, on 28 June 1914, of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, is seen as the immediate trigger of the war, though long-term causes, such as imperialistic foreign policy, played a major role. The archduke's assassination at the hands of Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip resulted in demands against the Kingdom of Serbia.[5] Several alliances that had been formed over the past decades were invoked, so within weeks the major powers were at war; with all having colonies, the conflict soon spread around the world.
The military intervention of the United States of America is generally considered to have been decisive. By the war's end, four major imperial powers—the German, Russian, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires—had been militarily and politically defeated, with the last two ceasing to exist as autonomous entities.[6] The revolutionized Soviet Union emerged from the Russian Empire, while the map of central Europe was completely redrawn into numerous smaller states.[7] The League of Nations was formed in the hope of preventing another such conflict. The European nationalism spawned by the war, the repercussions of Germany's defeat, and the Treaty of Versailles would eventually lead to the beginning of World War II in 1939.[8]

Korean War

The Korean War is a war between North Korea (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea, ROK) that started on 25 June 1950 and paused with an armistice signed 27 July, 1953. To date, the war has not been officially ended through treaty, and occasional skirmishes have been reported in the border region.
The Korean peninsula was politically divided as a legacy of the geopolitics of defeating the Japanese Empire on the peninsula in 1945. Soviet forces fighting the Japanese advanced up to the 38th Parallel, which later became the political border between the two Koreas. Despite talks in the months preceding open warfare, continual cross-border skirmishes and raids at the 38th Parallel, and the political frustration of failed all-Korea elections in 1948, escalated to warfare.[31] The reunification negotiations ceased when North Korea invaded South Korea on 25 June 1950.[32]
The United States and the United Nations intervened on the side of the South. After a rapid UN counteroffensive that repelled North Koreans past the 38th Parallel and almost to the Yalu River, the People's Republic of China (PRC) came to the aid of the North.[32] With the PRC's entry into the conflict, the fighting eventually ceased with an armistice that restored the original border between the Koreas at the 38th Parallel and created the Korean Demilitarized Zone, a 2.5 mile wide buffer zone between the two Koreas. North Korea unilaterally withdrew from the armistice on 27 May 2009, thus returning to a de facto state of war; as of this date, no conflicts have erupted.[33]
During the war, both North and South Korea were sponsored by external powers, thus facilitating the war's metamorphosis from a simple civil war to a proxy war between power involved in the larger Cold War.
From a military science perspective, the Korean War combined strategies and tactics of World War I and World War II — swift infantry attacks followed by air bombing raids. The initial mobile campaign transitioned to trench warfare, lasting from January 1951 until the 1953 border stalemate and armistice.

Due Wednesday

Read and complete notes on 7.4
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Due Tuesday

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