Operation Desert Storm
On January 17th 1991, Gulf War Allies carried out more than 400 bombing raids on Iraq after they refused to comply with an ultimatum to withdraw their troops from Kuwait. Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi president, said the 'mother of all battles' had begun.

In this photo, US soldiers wearing chemical warfare equipment stand in front of a French armoured vehicle in the Saudi Arabian desert. Operation Desert Storm lasted just over a month – by the 25th February Iraqis began to retreat and an allied victory was declared two days later.