Saddam Hussein
President of Iraq, Commander-in-Chief
"The mother of battles has begun."
Biography
Saddam Hussein's decision to invade Kuwait on August 2, 1990, was one of the most catastrophic miscalculations in modern military history. Having emerged from the Iran-Iraq War (1980–1988) deeply in debt — Kuwait held billions in Iraqi IOUs — and convinced that the United States would not intervene in 'Arab affairs,' Saddam ordered his Republican Guard into Kuwait. He was wrong on both counts. The resulting coalition of 35 nations and six weeks of the most intensive air campaign since Vietnam left his army shattered. Saddam compounded his errors strategically: he made no serious effort to withdraw from Kuwait before the deadline, deployed his forces in static defensive positions vulnerable to the 'Left Hook,' and failed to use chemical weapons — which he possessed — apparently fearing nuclear retaliation. He survived the war, however, suppressed Kurdish and Shia uprisings with brutal efficiency, and remained in power until the American invasion of 2003.
Did you know?
Saddam was obsessed with being compared to Nebuchadnezzar, the ancient Babylonian king. He had bricks stamped with his name laid alongside ancient Babylonian ruins — mimicking the practice of the king himself.
Key Battles
Iraqi Invasion of Kuwait
Iraq victoryAugust 2, 1990 · 715 total casualties
The invasion that started it all — Saddam Hussein's gamble to seize Kuwait's oil wealth and forgive Iraq's wartime debts triggered a UN-authorized coalition of 35 nations and ultimately led to his military defeat and the seeds of his eventual overthrow.
The SCUD War
Coalition Forces victoryJanuary 18, 1991 · 74 total casualties
Iraq's SCUD campaign was the war's great strategic miscalculation — it failed to fracture the coalition, brought US Patriot missiles into action, and turned world opinion further against Saddam while killing more coalition soldiers than any ground engagement.
Battle of Khafji
Coalition Forces victoryJanuary 29, 1991 · 943 total casualties
The Battle of Khafji — the only Iraqi offensive action of the war — ended as a decisive coalition victory, demonstrating that Iraqi forces were no match for the combination of Western air power and Arab ground forces fighting on home soil.
Liberation of Kuwait City
Coalition Forces victoryFebruary 26, 1991 · 523 total casualties
The liberation of Kuwait City fulfilled the coalition's stated war aim — restoring Kuwaiti sovereignty — and produced some of the war's most iconic images, both of joyous liberation and of the scorched oil fields Iraq left behind.
Life Journey
Timeline
April 28, 1937
🌅 Birth
Born in Al-Awja, a village near Tikrit, to a peasant family
1959
📍 Posting
Participated in failed assassination attempt on PM Abd al-Karim Qasim; fled to Egypt
July 16, 1979
📍 Posting
Became President of Iraq, immediately purging Ba'ath Party rivals
September 1980
⚔️ Battle
Launched invasion of Iran, beginning the Iran-Iraq War (1980–1988)
August 2, 1990
⚔️ Battle
Ordered invasion of Kuwait — the act that triggered the Gulf War coalition
January 1991
⚔️ Battle
Directed SCUD missile attacks on Israel and Saudi Arabia from Baghdad
December 13, 2003
🕊️ Postwar
Captured by US forces hiding in a hole near his birthplace of Tikrit
December 30, 2006
✝️ Death
Executed by hanging at a former military intelligence facility in Baghdad