Battle of Khafji

Battle of Khafji
Part of the Persian Gulf War
Map of military operations during the liberation of Khafji.
Date 29 January – 1 February 1991 (3 days) Location Khafji, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia 28°25′N 48°30′E / 28.417°N 48.500°E / 28.417; 48.500Coordinates: 28°25′N 48°30′E / 28.417°N 48.500°E / 28.417; 48.500 Result Coalition victory; Khafji captured by Iraqi forces but retaken two days later
Belligerents
Saudi Arabia United States  Qatar  United Kingdom	Iraq
Commanders and leaders
Khalid bin Sultan Turki Abdulmohsin al-Firmi Sultan Adi al-Mutairi Hamid Matar Fahd bin Abdul-Aziz Ali Saeed Norman Schwarzkopf	Saddam Hussein Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri Salah Aboud Mahmoud
Units involved
Saudi National Guard King Abdulaziz Mechanized Brigade 5th Battalion 7th Battalion 8th Battalion Joint Forces Command East Joint Forces Command 1st Marine Division 2nd Marine Division 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion 2nd Armored Division United States Army Special Forces	1st Mechanized Division 3rd Armored Division 5th Mechanized Division
Casualties and losses
Iraq claims: destroyed 4 helicopters, 30 tanks, and 58 armored personnel and capturing 13 prisoners. Coalition claims: 43 dead 52 wounded 2 captured 1 AC-130 shot down	Iraq claims: 71 dead, 148 wounded, 702 missing, 186 vehicles destroyed Coalition claims: 60–300 dead 400 captured 90 armored vehicles destroyed

Coalition victory;

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.

Although the invasion of Khafji was initially a propaganda victory for the Ba'athist Iraqi government, it was swiftly recaptured by Saudi and Qatari ground forces. 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.

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