Armies of the Gulf War

Osprey Elite #45

by Gordon L. Rottman, Ronald B. Volstad (Illustrator)

Osprey's examination of US troops during the Persian Gulf War (1990-1991). Besides continuing a long history of world-wide peacekeeping, the commitment of US troops to the Gulf reunified the country and restored a national pride lost in the aftermath of Vietnam. It also proved that the US armed forces were again the most capable military force in the world. This volume by veteran Osprey author Gordon L. Rottman focuses on the structure, equipment, effectiveness, and employment of the 680,000 coalition troops which fought in the Gulf War, covering not only the US forces, but also those of Britain, France, the Arab League and Iraq.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Military History

64 pages, Paperback

First published March 27, 1993

About the author

Gordon L Rottman served for 26 years in the US Army in Special Forces, airborne infantry, long-range reconnaissance patrol, and military intelligence assignments in the Regular Army, Army National Guard, and Army Reserve. He has worked as a Special Operations Forces scenario writer for 14 years at the Army' s Joint Readiness Training Center, Fort Polk , Louisiana where he developed training exercises for Special Forces.
Gordon began writing military history books in 1984 and is currently a full-time author. He has written 50 books for Osprey.He is married with four children and lives in Cypress, Texas.

Reviews

[Martin Koenigsberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published in 1993, only two years after the Second Gulf War, Gordon Rottman's "Armies of the Gulf War" has so much information about the combatant to impart that it assumes you already know the history of the war. For those who might have forgotten, this was the war about the expulsion of Saddam Hussein's Iraqi army from Kuwait, that it had occupied in late 1990. Saddam- in need of cash after the long First Gulf War with Khomeini's Iran, invaded Kuwait in a straight money grab- and was faced down by a quirky Coalition of NATO powers, Saudi Arabia, and an assortment of other Allies like Syria, Egypt, and Pakistan. Rottman has a ton of information on each country's military organisation and equipment, supported in the classic Osprey way with a ton of black and white photos, graphs, maps, and of course a wonderful center colour plate section of 12 great plates by Ron Volsted- who has a way with modern Uniforms as an illustrator. Coalition warfare is hard- but Mr. Rottman does a creditable job in explaining so many militaries, and of course the Iraqis - who are not the Soviet Clone Army many might have thought. It's a good package- but I'd have liked little more history of the conflict packed in there...

This was the apex of US "Chocolate Chip" camouflage- and you get a lot of it in the colour -plates. But did you know the US Marines used British DPM NBC Suits? All through the book are interesting tidbits on organisation, gear, and especially uniform that will help all but the most experienced military history reader. I found the chapter on the Iraqi army really interesting - having forgotten the cornucopia of western and eastern gear they purchased with their oil money and credit. How it was divvied out between the various levels of Baathist military orgs was a good read. I also found the sections on Pre-invasion Kuwaiti forces and the Free Kuwaiti army that gathered in Saudi Arabia to be very illuminating. The width and breadth of the Coalition was really unique and not likely to be seen again.

There are few adult themes and no graphic injury passages, so this is a fine read for a junior reader over 11/12 years of age. For the Gamer/Modeler/Military Enthusiast audience- this is a great little resource if you want to focus on this period- but you will need another source for actual historical context or scenario development. This is more about a smorgasbord of who was there, what they used, and what they wore. So better for the modeling part- less useful for the gamer part. The Military Enthusiast will also get a great grasp of the in theatre resources- but will need other sources for the what happened part. I did go on a nostalgia mental trip - remembering all those MERDC/DPM/Lizard patterns - and how dapper those French FFL soldiers looked. A good package on a unique era of international cooperation.

[Giovanni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recensisco/catalogo un solo volumetto per tutta la collana. "Eserciti e Battaglie" è un'opera interessante, di buona qualità e che fornisce spunti tematici per ulteriori letture e approfondimenti. Nei suoi volumetti, agili e riccamente illustrati, tocca i più disparati conflitti e periodi storici, tracciandone un quadro generale sul piano tecnologico, storico e politico, oltre che, come prevedibile, tattico e strategico. I singoli volumi non superano il centinaio di pagine, ragion per cui non si può pretendere da essi l'esaustività di un saggio corposo, ma costituiscono un'eccellente base di partenza e fonte di informazioni.

[Indah Threez Lestari · Rating 2 out of 5]

51st - 2011