On 2 August 1990, Iraq launched a military operation against its neighbour, Kuwait, resulting in a seven-month occupation that was condemned by all the great world powers. An international coalition led by the USA was put in place in September 1990 with UN approval to force the Iraqi forces to leave Kuwait.
After a long phase of installation and waiting in the Saudi desert, the allied forces launched Operation Desert Storm on 17 January 1991. An intense campaign of aerial bombardment followed by ground operations resulted in Iraq’s defeat on 28 February. In a coalition of over 930,000 men, France contributed the 14,500 
soldiers of the Daguet division. Their mission at the extremity of the allied forces was to take the town of Al-Salman and control the Texas road. They achieved this goal within 48 hours.
The armed forces photographers conveyed an image of Daguet as an operation with a heavy logistical focus. They bear witness to the French forces’ achievement in gathering several thousand men with all their equipment in the Gulf. The images do not fully reflect the considerable difficulty, which was keenly felt at the time, of assembling all these forces. However, they do reveal the power of the allied resources, the action of the French troops and their preparations to meet the feared chemical weapons, which ultimately never materialised.
Photos credits : © ECPAD / Yann le Jamtel; © ECPAD / Michel Riehl
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