Editing Gulf War (section)

===Coalition forces enter Iraq===
[[File:IrakDesertStorm1991.jpg|thumb|left|Aerial view of destroyed Iraqi [[T-72]] tank, [[BMP-1]] and [[Type 63 (armoured personnel carrier)|Type 63]] armored personnel carriers and trucks on Highway 8 in March 1991]]

Shortly afterwards, the US VII Corps, in full strength and spearheaded by the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, launched an armored attack into Iraq early on 24 February, just to the west of Kuwait, surprising Iraqi forces. Simultaneously, the [[XVIII Airborne Corps|US XVIII Airborne Corps]] launched a sweeping "left-hook" attack across southern Iraq's largely undefended desert, led by the US [[3d Armored Cavalry Regiment|3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment]] and the [[24th Infantry Division (United States)|24th Infantry Division (Mechanized)]]. This movement's left flank was protected by the French [[Division Daguet]]. The [[101st Airborne Division]] conducted a combat air assault into enemy territory.<ref name="ReferenceA" /> The 101st Airborne Division had struck {{convert|155|mi|km|order=flip|abbr=on}} behind enemy lines.<ref name="ReferenceA" /> It was the deepest air assault operation in history.<ref name="ReferenceA" /> Approximately 400 helicopters transported 2,000 soldiers into Iraq where they destroyed Iraqi columns trying to flee westward and prevented the escape of Iraqi forces.<ref>''Screaming Eagles: The 101st Airborne Division from D-Day to Desert Storm'' by Christopher J Anderson P.8</ref> The 101st Airborne Division travelled a further {{convert|50|to|60|mi|km|sigfig=1|order=flip|abbr=on}} into Iraq.<ref name="ReferenceA" /> By nightfall, the 101st cut off Highway 8 which was a vital supply line running between Basra and the Iraqi forces.<ref name="ReferenceA" /> The 101st had lost 16 soldiers in action during the 100-hour war and captured thousands of enemy prisoners of war.{{Citation needed|date=February 2023}}

The French force quickly overcame Iraq's 45th Infantry Division, suffering light casualties and taking a large number of prisoners, and took up blocking positions to prevent an Iraqi counterattack on the coalition's flank. The movement's right flank was protected by the United Kingdom's 1st Armoured Division. Once the allies had penetrated deep into Iraqi territory, they turned eastward, launching a flank attack against the elite Republican Guard before it could escape. The Iraqis resisted fiercely from dug-in positions and stationary vehicles, and even mounted armored charges.{{Citation needed|date=February 2023}}

Unlike many previous engagements, the destruction of the first Iraqi tanks did not result in a mass surrender. The Iraqis suffered massive losses and lost dozens of tanks and vehicles, while US casualties were comparatively low, with a single Bradley knocked out. Coalition forces pressed another {{Convert|10|km|abbr=on}} into Iraqi territory, and captured their objective within three hours. They took 500 prisoners and inflicted heavy losses, defeating Iraq's 26th Infantry Division. A US soldier was killed by an Iraqi land mine, another five by friendly fire, and 30 wounded during the battle. Meanwhile, British forces attacked Iraq's Medina Division and a major Republican Guard logistics base. In nearly two days of some of the war's most intense fighting, the British destroyed 40 enemy tanks and captured a division commander.{{Citation needed|date=February 2023}}

Meanwhile, US forces attacked the village of [[Muthanna Governorate|Al Busayyah]], meeting fierce resistance. The US force destroyed military hardware and took prisoners, while suffering no casualties.{{Citation needed|date=February 2023}}

On 25 February 1991, Iraqi forces fired a Scud missile at an American barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. The missile attack killed 28 US military personnel.<ref>''Twentieth Century Battlefields'', "The Gulf War".</ref>

The coalition's advance was much swifter than US generals had expected. On 26 February, Iraqi troops began retreating from Kuwait, after they had set 737 of its oil wells on fire. A long convoy of retreating Iraqi troops formed along the main Iraq–Kuwait highway. Although they were retreating, this convoy was bombed so extensively by coalition air forces that it came to be known as the [[Highway of Death]]. Thousands of Iraqi troops were killed. American, British, and French forces continued to pursue retreating Iraqi forces over the border and back into Iraq, eventually moving to within {{convert|150|mi|km|order=flip|abbr=on}} of Baghdad, before withdrawing back to Iraq's border with Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.<ref name="Holsti2011">{{cite book|last=Holsti|first=Ole R.|author-link=Ole R. Holsti|title=American Public Opinion on the Iraq War|page=20|chapter=The United States and Iraq before the Iraq War|date=2011-11-07|publisher=[[University of Michigan Press]]|isbn=978-0-472-03480-2|quote=Air attacks inflicted heavy casualties on retreating forces along what became known as 'the highway of death.' American, British, and French units pursued the Iraqis to within 150 miles of Baghdad.}}</ref>