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Qatar, not Kuwait, participated |
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Iraqi leader [[Saddam Hussein]], who had already tried and failed to draw Coalition troops into costly ground engagements by shelling Saudi Arabian positions and oil storage tanks and firing [[Scud]] surface-to-surface missiles at [[Israel]], ordered the invasion of Saudi Arabia from southern Kuwait. The [[1st Division (Iraq)|1st]] and [[5th Division (Iraq)|5th Mechanized Division]]s and [[3rd Division (Iraq)|3rd Armored Division]] were ordered to conduct a multi-pronged invasion toward Khafji, engaging Saudi Arabian, [[Kuwait]]i, and U.S. forces along the coastline, with a supporting Iraqi commando force ordered to infiltrate further south by sea and harass the Coalition's rear.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a360696.pdf|title=The Battle of Khafji: An Overview and Preliminary Analysis|last=Titus|first=James|date=1996|website=Defense Technical Information Center|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=11 September 2019}}</ref>
These three divisions, which had been heavily damaged by Coalition aircraft in the preceding days, attacked on 29 January. Most of their attacks were repulsed by [[United States Marine Corps|U.S. Marines]] as well as [[United States Army Rangers|U.S. Army Rangers]] and Coalition aircraft, but one of the Iraqi columns occupied Khafji on the night of 29–30 January. Between 30 January and 1 February, two [[Saudi Arabian National Guard]] battalions and two
Although the invasion of Khafji was initially a propaganda victory for the [[Ba'ath Party (Iraq)|Ba'athist]] [[Ba'athist Iraq|Iraq]]i regime, it was swiftly recaptured by Saudi Arabian ground forces. The battle demonstrated the ability of air power to support ground forces.
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