1991
Operation Desert Storm (Gulf War Air and Ground Campaign)
The setting
Iraq, Kuwait, and the Saudi Arabia-Iraq/Kuwait border region
Open desert with minimal cover, favorable to armored maneuver, standoff sensors, and airpower
Reveal the outcome
Recorded sideIraq
Recorded resultrouted; expelled from Kuwait
A roughly five-week air campaign systematically destroyed Iraqi command, air defenses, and fielded forces, followed by a 100-hour ground offensive. Coalition forces executed a 'left hook' (Schwarzkopf's flanking envelopment through the western desert) that enveloped Iraqi forces in Kuwait, liberating it and shattering much of the Iraqi army with minimal coalition losses.
How the atlas explains it
AirLand Battle doctrine, air supremacy, precision munitions, superior sensors and night-fighting capability, and a deception plan (feinting an amphibious/frontal assault while flanking wide to the west) let the coalition win an overwhelmingly lopsided victory. Iraqi command-and-control collapsed under sustained air attack before the ground war began.
What followed
Showcased post-Vietnam US military reform, precision-guided weapons, and the AirLand Battle concept; the swift, low-casualty victory reshaped perceptions of modern conventional warfare and US military dominance.