Military Model Scene

Title: Desert Storm 1991
Author: Richard P. Hallion
Publisher: Osprey
ISBN: 978-1-4728-4696-9

Desert Storm 1991, the first Gulf War, is the topic for Air Campaign 25 from Osprey. A 96-page softcover book, which is also available in a couple of e-book formats. It covers the First Gulf War, when the application of a well planned air campaign was an enabling factor in the speed of the ground assault, which was over in just 100 hours.
As ever, it starts with an Introduction to set the scene, followed by a Chronology of the main events of the campaign. The analysis begins by looking at both the Attacker's and Defender's Capabilities, such as the command structure of the coalition, their varied aircraft types and types of ordnance available to them. It does the same for the Iraqi side, including their modern, sophisticated air defence systems. All that is followed by the specific Campaign Objectives before getting into the detail of the conduct of the air campaign itself. The whole thing is rounded off with a section on the Aftermath & Analysis. including some useful data tables for various statistics. Throughout the book there are excellent archive photos, helpful maps and diagrams along with some fine artwork from Adam Tooby.
At the time, Iraq had the world's fourth-largest army and the sixth-largest air force. They were also experienced, having fought several years at war with their neighbours, Iran. The coalition air attacks were the first real use of precision guided munitions to accurately hit specific targets, minimising civilian casualties. That modern, precision weaponry was used very successfully, a new era of high-tech warfare. The air campaign of the Gulf War was very successful, enabling the ground war that followed to be completed incredibly quickly considering the size, equipment and experience of their opponents. Well worth reading, giving detail which would have not been released at the time, all in a good value reference.
Thanks to Osprey for the review copy.

Robin