Timeline of the Gulf War Begins in May 1990 and ends in March 1991.

Persian Gulf War Timeline1990

  • May 28-30: Iraqi President Saddam Hussein says that oil overproduction by Kuwait and United Arab Emirates is "economic warfare" against Iraq.
  • July 15: Iraq accuses Kuwait of stealing oil from Rumaylah oil field near the Iraqi-Kuwaiti border and warns of military action.
  • July 22: Iraq begins deploying troops to the Iraqi-Kuwaiti border and building a massive military buildup.
  • August 2: About 100,000 Iraqi troops invade Kuwait. Kuwait is in Iraqi control by the end of the day.
  • August 6: The U.N. Security Council imposes a trade embargo on Iraq in a 13-0 vote, with Cuba and Yemen abstaining.
  • August 7: The United States launches Operation Desert Shield. First U.S. troops arrive in Saudi Arabia.
  • August 8: Saddam Hussein proclaims the annexation of Kuwait.
  • August 12: Naval blockade of Iraq begins.
  • August 28: Iraq declares Kuwait as its 19th province and renames Kuwait City as al-Kadhima.
  • September 14: Great Britain and France announce the deployment of troops to Saudi Arabia.
  • November 29: The United Nations sets a deadline for Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait before January 15, 1991, or face military action.

Persian Gulf War Timeline 1991

  • January 9: Talks in Geneva, Switzerland, between U.S. Secretary of State James Baker and Iraqi Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz end with no progress.
  • January 16: First US government statement of Operation Desert Storm made.
  • January 17: The air war commences at 2:38 a.m. (local time) or January 16 at 6:38 p.m. EST due to an 8 hour time difference, with an Apache helicopter attack. US warplanes attack Baghdad, Kuwait and other military targets in Iraq.
  • January 18: Iraq strikes with Soviet-made SCUD missiles on Israel. The U.S. deploys Patriot missiles to Israel and Saudi Arabia.
  • January 22: Iraqi troops begin blowing up Kuwaiti oil wells.
  • January 25: Iraqi troops dump millions of gallons of crude oil into the Persian Gulf.
  • January 29: Iraqi forces invade the town of Khafji in Saudi Arabia. Iraqi forces are soon engaged by Saudi Arabian and Qatari troops with help from U.S. Marines.
  • January 31: Iraqi forces capture Melissa Rathbun-Nealy, the first female Prisoner of War since World War II.
  • February 1: Iraqi forces are driven out of Saudi Arabia. Allied Forces win the Battle of Khafji.
  • February 13: A bombing raid by U.S. forces kills 400 Iraqi civilians in an air raid shelter.
  • February 22: U.S. President George H. W. Bush issues a 24-hour ultimatum: Iraq must withdraw from Kuwait to avoid start of a ground war.
  • February 24: Allied Forces invade Iraq and Kuwait at around 4 a.m. Baghdad time. The British Special Air Service is the first to enter Iraqi territory.
  • February 25: An Iraqi SCUD missile hits U.S. barracks near Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, killing 28 U.S. troops.
  • February 26: Saddam Hussein orders the Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait. About 10,000 retreating Iraqi troops are killed when Allied aircraft bomb them. This is called the Highway of Death.
  • February 27: U.S. Marines and Saudi Arabian troops enter Kuwait City. The U.S. Army engages the Iraqi Republican Guard in several tank battles in Iraq, also known as the Battle of Medina Ridge
  • February 28: The Gulf War ends.
  • March 1: The cease-fire plan is negotiated in Safwan, Iraq.
  • March 17: First U.S. troops arrive home.