The Gulf War was an armed conflict between Iraq and a 42-country coalition led by the United States. The coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: Operation Desert Shield, which marked the military buildup from August 1990 to January 1991; and Operation Desert Storm, which began with the aerial bombing campaign against Iraq on 17 January 1991 and came to a close with the American-led liberation of Kuwait on 28 February 1991.
The 2003 invasion of Iraq was the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion began on 20 March 2003 and lasted just over one month, including 26 days of major combat operations, in which a United States-led combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded the Republic of Iraq. Twenty-two days after the first day of the invasion, the capital city of Baghdad was captured by coalition forces on 9 April after the six-day-long Battle of Baghdad. This early stage of the war formally ended on 1 May when U.S. President George W. Bush declared the "end of major combat operations" in his Mission Accomplished speech, after which the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) was established as the first of several successive transitional governments leading up to the first Iraqi parliamentary election in January 2005. U.S. military forces later remained in Iraq until the withdrawal in 2011.
The Battle of Baghdad, also known as the Fall of Baghdad, was a military engagement that took place in Baghdad in early April 2003, as part of the invasion of Iraq.
The following is a timeline of major events during the Iraq War, following the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
The 4th Infantry Division is a division of the United States Army based at Fort Carson, Colorado. It is composed of a division headquarters battalion, three brigade combat teams, a combat aviation brigade, a division sustainment brigade, and a division artillery.
Saddam Hussein, the deposed president of Iraq, was captured by the United States military in the town of Ad-Dawr, Iraq on 13 December 2003. Codenamed Operation Red Dawn, this military operation was named after the 1984 American film Red Dawn.
Ad-Dawr is a small agricultural town in Saladin Governorate, Iraq, near Tikrit. It includes a great number of people from four tribes, al-Shuwaykhat, al-Mawashet, al-Bu Haydar and al-Bu Mdallal. Al-Mawashet tribe is famous for supporting Saddam Hussein.
The Iraqi Special Republican Guard (SRG), also known as the Special Forces Brigade of the Presidential Palace, Republican Guard Special Protection Forces, or the Golden Division, was an Iraqi personal security force founded in either early 1992 or March 1995 in Ba'athist-era Iraq. The Special Republican Guard was controlled by the Special Security Organization and charged with protecting President Saddam Hussein, presidential sites, Baghdad, and responding to any rebellion, coup, or other threat to his power.
During Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Planet X was a US Army mechanized raid conducted on a village near Ad-Dawr in Salah Al-Din province 11 miles (18 km) north of Tikrit on the night of 15 May 2003 by elements of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, U.S. 4th Infantry Division and Task Force Ironhorse in search of Ba'ath party members and militants.
The Battle of Khafji was the first major ground engagement of the Gulf War. It took place in and around the Saudi Arabian city of Khafji, from 29 January to 1 February 1991.
The Iraqi Ground Forces, also referred to as the Iraqi Army, is the ground force component of the Iraqi Armed Forces. It was formerly known as the Royal Iraqi Army up until the coup of July 1958. The current commander is Lieutenant General Qassim Muhammad Salih.
The 325th Infantry Regiment is an infantry regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division. The regiment serves as the 82nd Airborne's light infantry parachute insertion fighting force of the United States Army, with a long and distinguished history, having taken part in World War I, World War II, the Vietnam War, the invasions of Grenada and Panama, as well as the Gulf and Iraq Wars. The subordinate units of the regiment constitute the bulk of the infantry elements assigned to the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division.
The Iraqi Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of Iraq. They consist of the Ground forces, the Army Aviation Command, the Iraqi Air Force, the Air Defence Command and the Iraqi Navy. Along with these primary service branches, there exists the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service and the Popular Mobilization Forces. The Prime Minister of Iraq acts as the commander-in-chief according to Article 78 of the constitution of Iraq. The president of Iraq according to Article 73 of the constitution is the ‘high command’ for ceremonial and honorary purposes, such as approving the appointment of the chief of the general staff. The armed forces are administered by the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
Below is an estimated list of the major units deployed within the Multi-National Force – Iraq and other United States military units that were operating in Iraq under the U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) in 2009, during the Iraq War.
Operation River Falcon was a military operation in the Iraq War. From 25 to 27 July 2006, elements of the United States Army 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division conducted Operation River Falcon in and around the town of Sayifiyeh in Iraq. The operation was aimed at denying terrorists the use of the town as a safe haven, disrupting insurgent attacks on Coalition and Iraqi Army/Police, and on collecting and destroying insurgent munitions.
The 3rd Battalion, 29th Field Artillery is a unit of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team of the 4th Infantry Division, United States Army. The battalion is currently garrisoned at Fort Carson, Colorado.
The 4th Division Sustainment Brigade (DSB) is a sustainment brigade of the United States Army. It provides logistical support to the 4th Infantry Division and it consists of the following units:
Operation Vigilant Warrior was a military operation from 8 October 1994 to 15 December 1994 by the United States in response to two divisions of Iraqi Republican Guard troops moving toward the Kuwaiti border. A quick response by U.S. president Bill Clinton allowed USCENTAF command and staff to deploy to Riyadh within days.
FOB Paliwoda or Camp Paliwoda was a US forward operating base (FOB) in Balad, Iraq. The base was named for Captain Eric Paliwoda, an Engineer Officer and West Point Graduate from Farmington, Connecticut serving with the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, who was killed in an enemy mortar attack in Balad on 2 January 2004; it had formerly been called FOB Eagle.
The 42nd Field Artillery Regiment is a field artillery regiment of the United States Army, first constituted 5 July 1918 in the National Army. The 4th Battalion was nicknamed the Straight Arrows. The Regimental motto is Festina Lente.
United States Army 
New Iraqi Army 
Iraqi insurgency 
