Editing Gulf War (section)

==Coalition involvement==
{{Main|Coalition of the Gulf War|Naval organization of the U.S.-led coalition during the Gulf War}}
[[File:Various Arabic Troops during Operation Desert Storm.jpg|thumb|Coalition troops from Egypt, Syria, Oman, France, and Kuwait during Operation Desert Storm]]

Coalition members included Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Denmark,<ref>{{cite web |date=24 September 2010 |title=Den 1. Golfkrig |url=http://www.forsvaret.dk/SOK/Internationalt/Tidligere/Golf1/Pages/default.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110112215511/http://forsvaret.dk/SOK/Internationalt/Tidligere/Golf1/Pages/default.aspx |archive-date=12 January 2011 |access-date=1 February 2011 |publisher=Forsvaret.dk}}</ref> Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Honduras, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Morocco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Niger, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania,<ref>{{cite book |author-last1=Alexandrescu |author-first1=Grigore |url=https://cssas.unap.ro/ro/pdf_studii/operatii_militare_expeditionare.pdf |title=Operații militare expediționare |author-last2=Băhnăreanu |author-first2=Cristian |date=2007 |publisher=Editura Universității Naționale de Apărare "Carol I" |isbn=978-973-663-499-4 |place=[[Bucharest]] |page=33 |language=ro}}</ref> Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Syria, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States.<ref name="Tread">{{Cite book|last=Crocker III|first=H. W.|title=Don't Tread on Me|publisher=Crown Forum|year=2006|location=New York|page=[https://archive.org/details/donttreadonme40000croc/page/384 384]|isbn=978-1-4000-5363-6|url=https://archive.org/details/donttreadonme40000croc/page/384}}</ref> The United States had 700,000 troops.<ref>Gulf War coalition forces (latest available) by country {{cite web |title=www.nationmaster.com |url=http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/mil_gul_war_coa_for-military-gulf-war-coalition-forces |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105011128/http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/mil_gul_war_coa_for-military-gulf-war-coalition-forces |archive-date=5 November 2013 |access-date=2007-09-13}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Hersh |first=Seymour |title=Chain of Command |publisher=Penguin Books |year=2005 |page=181}}</ref>

Germany and Japan provided financial assistance<ref>{{cite web|title=Splitting the Check: When Allies Helped Pay for Middle East War|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/isis-terror/splitting-check-when-allies-helped-pay-middle-east-war-n203756|access-date=2021-03-25|website=NBC News|date=16 September 2014 |language=en}}</ref> and donated military hardware, although they did not send direct military assistance. This later became known as ''[[checkbook diplomacy]]''.{{Citation needed|date=February 2023}}

===Australia===
{{Main|Australia in the Gulf War}}

Australia contributed a Naval Task Group, which formed part of the multi-national fleet in the Persian Gulf and [[Gulf of Oman]], under Operation Damask. In addition, medical teams were deployed aboard a US [[hospital ship]], and a [[Clearance Diving Team (RAN)|naval clearance diving team]] took part in de-mining Kuwait's port facilities following the end of combat operations. Australian forces experienced a number of incidents in the first number of weeks of the Desert Storm Campaign including the detection of significant air threats from Iraq as a part of the outer perimeter of Battle Force Zulu; the detection of free sea floating mines and assistance to the aircraft carrier {{USS|Midway}}. The Australian Task Force was also placed at great risk with regard to the sea mine threat, with {{HMAS|Brisbane|D 41|6}} narrowly avoiding a mine. The Australians played a significant role in enforcing the sanctions put in place against Iraq following Kuwait's invasion. Following the war's end, Australia deployed a medical unit on [[Operation Habitat]] to northern Iraq as part of [[Operation Provide Comfort]].<ref>Odgers 1999, pp. 356–371.</ref>

===Argentina===
{{main|Operativo Alfil}}
[[File:An Alouette III helicopter of the Argentine navy onboard USNS Comfort (T-AH-20) during Operation Desert Storm.JPEG|thumb|Argentine Navy [[Alouette III]] helicopter on board {{USNS|Comfort}}, February 1991]]

Argentina was the only South American country to participate in the 1991 Gulf War. It sent a destroyer, [[ARA Almirante Brown (D-10)]], a corvette, [[ARA Spiro (P-43)]] (later replaced by another corvette, [[ARA Rosales (P-42)]]) and a supply ship, [[ARA Bahía San Blas (B-4)|ARA ''Bahía San Blas'' (B-4)]] to participate on the [[United Nations]] blockade and sea control effort of the Persian Gulf. The success of "Operación Alfil" (English: "Operation Bishop") with more than 700 interceptions and {{convert|25000|nmi|km}} sailed in the theatre of operations helped to overcome the so-called "[[Malvinas syndrome]]".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fuerzasnavales.com/magazine/mekosgolfo.html|title=La Armada Argentina en el Golfo|trans-title=The Argentine Armed Forces in the Gulf|publisher=Fuerzas Navales Magazine|access-date=14 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180624194606/http://www.fuerzasnavales.com/magazine/mekosgolfo.html|archive-date=24 June 2018|language=es}}</ref>

Argentina was later classified by the US as a [[major non-NATO ally]] due to its contributions during the war.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://commdocs.house.gov/committees/intlrel/hfa44953.000/hfa44953_0.htm |title=Overview of U.S. Policy Toward South America and the President's Upcoming Trip to the Region|access-date=14 January 2020}}</ref>

===Canada===
{{main|Operation Friction}}

Canada was one of the first countries to condemn Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, and it quickly agreed to join the US-led coalition. In August 1990, Prime Minister [[Brian Mulroney]] committed the [[Canadian Forces]] to deploy a Naval Task Group. The destroyers {{HMCS|Terra Nova|DDE 259|6}} and {{HMCS|Athabaskan|DDG 282|6}} joined the maritime interdiction force supported by the supply ship {{HMCS|Protecteur|AOR 509|6}} in [[Operation Friction]]. The Canadian Task Group led the coalition's maritime logistics forces in the Persian Gulf. A fourth ship, {{HMCS|Huron|DDG 281|6}}, arrived in-theater after hostilities had ceased and was the first allied ship to visit Kuwait.{{Citation needed|date=February 2023}}

Following the UN-authorized use of force against Iraq, the Canadian Forces deployed a [[McDonnell Douglas CF-18 Hornet|CF-18 Hornet]] and [[Sikorsky CH-124 Sea King|CH-124 Sea King]] squadron with support personnel, as well as a [[field hospital]] to deal with casualties from the ground war. When the air war began, the CF-18s were integrated into the coalition force and provided air cover and attacked ground targets. This was the first time since the [[Korean War]] that the [[Canadian Armed Forces]] had participated in an offensive. The only CF-18 Hornet to record an official victory during the conflict was an aircraft involved in the beginning of the [[Battle of Bubiyan]] against the Iraqi Navy.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Morin|last2=Gimblett|first1=Jean H.|first2=Richard Howard|title=Operation Friction, 1990–1991: The Canadian Forces in the Persian Gulf|url=https://archive.org/details/operationfrictio0000mori|url-access=registration|year=1997|publisher=Dundurn Press|isbn=978-1-55002-257-5|page=[https://archive.org/details/operationfrictio0000mori/page/170 170]}}
The Canadian Commander in the Middle East was Commodore [[Kenneth J. Summers]].</ref>

===France===
{{main|Opération Daguet}}
[[File:Iraqi Type 69 destroyed by the French 6th Light Armored Division during the Gulf War.JPEG|thumb|French and American soldiers inspecting an Iraqi [[Type 69/79|Type 69]] tank destroyed by the French [[Division Daguet]] during Operation Desert Storm]]

The second largest European contingent was from France, which committed 18,000 troops.<ref name="Tread"/> Operating on the left flank of the US XVIII Airborne Corps, the French Army force was the Division Daguet, including troops from the [[French Foreign Legion]]. Initially, the French operated independently under national command and control, but coordinated closely with the Americans (via CENTCOM) and Saudis. In January, the Division was placed under the tactical control of the XVIII Airborne Corps. France also deployed several combat aircraft and naval units. The French called their contribution [[Opération Daguet]].{{Citation needed|date=February 2023}}

===Italy===
{{main|Operazione Locusta}}

Following the invasion and annexation of [[Kuwait]] by [[Iraq]], on September 25, 1990, the Italian Government sent eight multirole fighter bombers [[Panavia Tornado#Tornado IDS|Tornado IDS]] (plus two spare) in the Persian Gulf, belonging to the [[6th Stormo|6º]], [[36º Stormo|36º]] and [[50º Stormo]], which were deployed at the [[Al Dhafra Air Base]], near [[Abu Dhabi]], in the United Arab Emirates.<ref name="difesaonline.it">{{cite web |url=http://en.difesaonline.it/news-forze-armate/cielo/25-anni-dalloperazione-locusta|title=25 years from the &quot;Locust&quot; operation|work=Difesa Online |date=25 September 2015}}</ref><ref name="difesa.it">{{cite web |url=http://www.aeronautica.difesa.it/missione/attivitaoperative/operazioni_concluse/opr_internazionali_concluse/Pagine/Iraq(1990).aspx|title=Iraq (1990)|work=Minestero Della Difesa| language=it-IT}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.aviation-report.com/celebrato-93-anniversario-aeronautica-militare/| title=Celebrato il 93° Anniversario dell'Aeronautica Militare – Aviation Report| access-date=2018-02-01| language=it-IT}}</ref> During the 42 days of war, Italian fighters made 226 sorties for a total of 589 flight hours. The Italian Air Force recorded the loss of a single aircraft in the Gulf War. The use of Italian aircraft as part of the Desert Storm operation represented the first operational employment in combat missions of Italian Air Force aircraft since the end of World War II.{{Citation needed|date=February 2023}}

===United Kingdom===
{{Main|Operation Granby}}
[[File:British Army convoy during the Gulf War.JPEG|thumb|British Army convoy during the Gulf War]]

The United Kingdom committed the largest contingent of any European state that participated in the war's combat operations. Operation Granby was the code name for the operations in the Persian Gulf. [[British Army]] regiments (mainly with the 1st Armoured Division), [[Royal Air Force]], [[Fleet Air Arm|Naval Air Squadrons]] and [[Royal Navy]] vessels were mobilized in the Persian Gulf. Both Royal Air Force and Naval Air Squadrons, using various aircraft, operated from [[Military airbase|airbases]] in Saudi Arabia and Naval Air Squadrons from various vessels in the Persian Gulf. The United Kingdom played a major role in the Battle of Norfolk, where its forces destroyed over 200 Iraqi tanks and a large quantity of other vehicles.{{sfnp|Bourque|2001|p=275}}{{sfnp|Bourque|2001|p=377}} After 48 hours of combat the British 1st Armoured Division destroyed or isolated four Iraqi infantry divisions (the 26th, 48th, 31st, and 25th) and overran the Iraqi 52nd Armored Division in several sharp engagements.{{sfnp|Bourque|2001|p=377}}

Chief Royal Navy vessels deployed to the Persian Gulf included [[Type 22 frigate|''Broadsword''-class frigates]], and [[Type 42 destroyer|''Sheffield''-class destroyers]]; other R.N. and [[Royal Fleet Auxiliary|RFA]] ships were also deployed. The light aircraft carrier [[HMS Ark Royal (R07)|HMS ''Ark Royal'']] was deployed to the [[Mediterranean Sea]].{{Citation needed|date=February 2023}}

Several SAS squadrons were deployed.{{Citation needed|date=February 2023}}

A British Challenger 1 achieved the longest range confirmed tank kill of the war, destroying an Iraqi tank with an [[armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding-sabot]] (APFSDS) round fired over {{convert|4700|m|mi}}—the longest tank-on-tank kill shot recorded.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://britisharmyblog.wordpress.com/2016/02/28/desert-storm-part-22-charge-of-the-heavy-brigade/ |title=Desert Storm Part 22: Charge of the Heavy Brigade |publisher=British Army Official Blog |date=28 February 2016 |access-date=27 December 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://britisharmyblog.wordpress.com/2016/03/11/desert-storm-part-24-back-to-germany/ |title=Desert Storm Part 24: Back to Germany |publisher=British Army Official Blog |date=11 March 2016 |access-date=27 December 2016}}</ref>