The Gulf War 1990-91
After weeks of posturing, the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein sent his army into Kuwait, a sovereign territory he had long claimed belonged to Iraq.
The British government, along with an impressively large and diverse body of allies, decided that Saddam Hussein must not be allowed to get away with his actions and that, if necessary, his army should be expelled by force.
The Ministry of Defence announced that, in that event, the core of the British component of this assembling army would be the 7 Armoured Brigade.
The Queen’s Royal Irish Hussars deployed to the Gulf with the 7th Armoured Brigade in September 1990 as part of the United Nations ‘initial response’ to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait.
The Irish Hussars were brought up to war strength by the arrival of nearly fifty Challenger crewmen of the 17th/21st Lancers from Munster who manned a fourth troop in each of the tank squadrons.
They were joined a few months later by the 4th Armoured Brigade to form the 1st (UK) Armoured Division.
When the land war started on 25 February 1991 the Irish Hussars were the spearhead battlegroup for the Brigade in its mission to destroy the enemy’s reserves and remained at the forefront of the Division throughout the short but intense fighting that ended in the ceasefire on 28 February.
Iraqi troops had been comprehensively thrown out of Kuwait.
There were no casualties due to enemy fire.
Voices of the Gulf War
Voices of the Gulf War, is a special podcast produced by ABF The Soldiers Charity to mark the 30th Anniversary of the Gulf War – an episode in history that, to quote Maj Gen Arthur Denaro, was probably “the last really big high-speed manoeuvre war”.
Gallantry Awards
Battle Honours
Campaign Medal
The Gulf Medal was awarded to personnel for 30 days of continuous service between 2 August 1990 and 7 March 1991 in the areas of operations in the Middle East.
Those personnel who served 7 days continuous service between 16 Jan and 28 Feb 1991 were also awarded the clasp ’16 Jan to 28 Feb 1991′.
The clasp ‘2 Aug 1990’ was awarded to members of the Kuwait Liaison Team who served in Kuwait on 2 August 1990.
Medal Clasps:
- 2 Aug 1990
- 16 Jan to 28 Feb 1991
Kuwaiti Liberation Medal and the Saudi Liberation of Kuwait Medal
The governments of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia issued these medals to the allied personnel who had taken part in the liberation of Kuwait. The Queen granted permission for British service personnel to accept but not wear these medals.
