Editing Republican Guard (Iraq) (section)

===Invasion of Kuwait===
[[File:Insignia of the Iraqi Anti Aircraft Unit of the Republican Guard.svg|left|thumb|The insignia of the [[Anti-aircraft warfare|anti-aircraft]] unit of the Republican Guard.]]
By 1 August 1990, there were more than 100,000 Iraqi troops with up to 700 tanks on the Kuwaiti border.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/2/newsid_2526000/2526937.stm |title=1990: Iraq invades Kuwait |work=[[BBC News]]}}</ref>

On 2 August 1990, the Republican Guard units commenced the invasion of Kuwait, which lasted two days.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA484530.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130702225459/http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ada484530 |url-status=live |archive-date=July 2, 2013 |title=Iraqi Perspectives Project Phase II Um Al-Ma'arik (The Mother of All Battles): Operational and Strategic Insights from an Iraqi Perspective |work=[[Institute for Defense Analyses]] |date=May 2008 |page=123}}</ref>  The Kuwait army strength was 16,000,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA484530.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130702225459/http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ada484530 |url-status=live |archive-date=July 2, 2013 |title=Iraqi Perspectives Project Phase II Um Al-Ma'arik (The Mother of All Battles): Operational and Strategic Insights from an Iraqi Perspective |work=Institute for Defense Analyses |date=May 2008 |page=118}}</ref> so on paper Iraqi forces outnumbered the Kuwaitis 7 to 1. However, the actual ratio was far worse; the initial attack was swift,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA484530.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130702225459/http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ada484530 |url-status=live |archive-date=July 2, 2013 |title=Iraqi Perspectives Project Phase II Um Al-Ma'arik (The Mother of All Battles): Operational and Strategic Insights from an Iraqi Perspective |work=[[Institute for Defense Analyses]] |date=May 2008 |pages=90–95}}</ref> swift enough for the [[Kuwaiti Armed Forces|Kuwaiti military]] personnel on leave to be unable to report on time.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.military.com/Content/MoreContent?file=hart01 |title=The Iraqi Invasion of Kuwait: An Eyewitness Account |work=[[Military.com]] |pages=3–4}}</ref>

The attack was conducted by eight RGFC divisions (two armoured, two mechanized, three motorised infantry and one special forces). The main thrust was conducted from the north down the main Iraq-Kuwait road, later famous as the [[Highway of Death]], by the [[1st Hammurabi Armoured Division]], with the ''Nebuchadnezzar'' Infantry division following; the ''Tawakalna'' Mechanised and ''Al Faw'' Infantry Divisions advanced on the flanks. The supporting attack from the west was led by the ''Medina'' Armoured Division, followed by the ''Adnan'' Infantry Division and the ''Baghdad'' Mechanised Division. [[Commando]]s deployed by helicopters joined the attack on [[Kuwait City]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA484530.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130702225459/http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ada484530 |url-status=live |archive-date=July 2, 2013 |title=Iraqi Perspectives Project Phase II Um Al-Ma'arik (The Mother of All Battles): Operational and Strategic Insights from an Iraqi Perspective |work=[[Institute for Defense Analyses]] |date=May 2008 |pages=92–95}}</ref>

After the invasion, the Republican Guard was withdrawn and redeployed into strategic reserve positions in northern Kuwait and southern and central Iraq.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA484530.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130702225459/http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ada484530 |url-status=live |archive-date=July 2, 2013 |title=Iraqi Perspectives Project Phase II Um Al-Ma'arik (The Mother of All Battles): Operational and Strategic Insights from an Iraqi Perspective |work=[[Institute for Defense Analyses]] |date=May 2008 |page=169}}</ref>