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Chargement... U. S. Marines In Battle - Al-Khafji 28 January-1 February 1991 Operation Desert Storm [Illustrated Edition]par Paul W. Westermeyer
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Includes over 20 maps, diagrams and illustrations. "The Battle of Khafji was the first major ground engagement of the Gulf War. It took place in and around the Saudi Arabian city of Khafji, from 29 January to 1 February 1991 and marked the culmination of the Coalition's air campaign over Kuwait and Iraq, which had begun on 17 January 1991. Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, who had already tried and failed to draw Coalition troops into costly ground engagements by shelling Saudi positions and oil storage tanks and firing Scud surface-to-surface missiles at Israel, ordered the invasion of Saudi Arabia from southern Kuwait. The 1st and 5th Mechanized Divisions and 3rd Armored Division were ordered to conduct a multi-pronged invasion toward Khafji, engaging American, Saudi and Qatari forces along the coastline. These three divisions, which had been heavily damaged by Coalition aircraft in the preceding days, attacked on 29 January. Most of their attacks were repulsed by U.S. Marines as well as U.S. Army Rangers and Coalition aircraft, but one of the Iraqi columns occupied Khafji on the night of 29-30 January. Between 30 January and 1 February, two Saudi Arabian National Guard battalions and two Qatari tank companies attempted to retake control of the city, aided by Coalition aircraft and American artillery. By 1 February, the city had been recaptured at the cost of 43 Coalition servicemen dead and 52 wounded. Iraqi Army fatalities numbered between 60 and 300, while an estimated 400 were captured as prisoners of war. The battle serves as a modern demonstration that air power in a supporting role to ground forces can be of great assistance in halting and defeating a major ground operation. It was also a major test of the Saudi and Qatari armies. Although the capture of Khafji was a propaganda victory for the Ba'athist Iraqi government, its subsequent recapture by Saudi and Qatari ground forces provided a major morale boost for Coalition forces."-Wiki Aucune description trouvée dans une bibliothèque |
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 Google Books — Chargement...GenresClassification décimale de Melvil (CDD)359.9609730904Social sciences Public Administration, Military Science Navy; Naval ScienceClassification de la Bibliothèque du CongrèsÉvaluationMoyenne: (3)
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The narrative is presented chronologically. Westermeyer proceeds with a background to the battle to include the political background to the war, the Desert Shield deployments and the reasons for the organization of forces in the al-Khafji area prior to the battle. The author goes into some depth describing the complex Saudi military organization along with a review of Saudi-U.S. military relations. Westermeyer also provides some views from the other side of the hill as he appears to have accessed some translations of material captured from Iraqi official archives in the course of Operation Iraqi Freedom some five years before this book was published.
What makes this account unusual was the sheer variety of units involved in the al-Khafji action--Marine light armored infantry, Marine reconnaissance and surveillance, joint Navy/Marine ANGLICO, Navy SEALs, Saudi National Guard, Saudi MODA, and Qatari, not to mention aviation units. Westermeyer proceeds carefully in his examination of Saudi actions during the battle--other authors have not been as kind in their description of Saudi actions during this battle. However, this being an official history, the kid glove treatment is not unexpected.
What is also not unexpected was the brevity of the coverage of the friendly fire incidents that plagued the Marines during this battle. The destruction of two vehicles and the deaths of 11 Marines due to identification errors and weapons malfunctions did not deserve the short shrift that they received in this book. Atkinson in "Crusade", a much more general history, spends much more time describing this incident. Westermeyer, more than 15 years after the incident, should have spent more effort in the description. It is unfortunate that a Marine historian (or perhaps HQ USMC History Division leadership) chose to minimize this aspect of the al-Khafji battle. After all, one must learn as much or more from the failures as from the successes. (