Operation Desert Storm
$61B
Cost
697,000
Troops Deployed
383
US Casualties
3,500
Civilian Deaths
Overview
The US-led coalition air and ground campaign to liberate Kuwait from Iraqi occupation. A 38-day air campaign followed by a 100-hour ground war demolished the world's fourth-largest army in under six weeks.
Outcome
Kuwait liberated. Iraqi military devastated. But Saddam Hussein remained in power, setting the stage for the 2003 invasion.
Key Fact
Coalition forces destroyed 3,847 Iraqi tanks while losing only 31 of their own — a 124:1 kill ratio unprecedented in modern warfare.