7 AUGUST 1990 - OPERATION DESERT SHIELD BEGINS:

 7 AUGUST 1990 - OPERATION DESERT SHIELD BEGINS:








Operation DESERT SHIELD began on 7 August 1990 in response to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait.

 When completed, U.S. and coalition forces launched Operation DESERT STORM to liberate Kuwait, which resulted in an overwhelming victory in the Persian Gulf War.

On 7 August, a coalition of 35 nations began operations to defend Saudi Arabia and ultimately liberate Kuwait.

 The XVIII Airborne Corps, with its elite 82d Airborne Division, began to move to Saudi Arabia the next day, beginning a buildup of combat power in the region reaching at its peak about 600,000 U.S. personnel.

In rapid succession, the 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized), the 197th Infantry Brigade, and the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) moved to the Gulf.

 The U.S. Army Reserve began its largest mobilization since the Korean War.

 By early November, with the addition of the 1st Cavalry Division (Armored), the 2d Armored Division's 1st (or Tiger) Brigade, and the 3d ACR (armored cavalry regiment), a lethal force of over 100,000 soldiers was assembled for the defense of Saudi Arabia.

On 8 November 1990, President Bush announced that the U.S. VII Corps would move to the Gulf from its bases in Europe and the United States. 

This heavy corps, consisting of the 1st Infantry Division (Mechanized), the 1st and 3d Armored Divisions, and the 2d ACR, would give the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) commander, General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr., the armored fist he needed to take the offensive.

Operation Desert Shield transitioned to Operation Desert Storm on 17 January 1991 with the start of the air war.


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