Kuwaiti Liberation Medals

 

Gulf War 1900 - 1991.

 

Further relevant historical context can be found at the foot of this entry.

 

 

The Kuwaiti Liberation Medal was a campaign medal presented by the government of Kuwait to the forces of the coalition who took part in the liberation of Kuwait during the Gulf War. The medal was instituted in July 1991 and approved by the Kuwait Council of Ministers for award in five classes, generally according to the rank of the recipient.

 

The British Government decreed that British personnel may accept their medals as a ‘keepsake’ but they cannot be worn for ceremonial purposes.

 

The Kuwait version of the Kuwait Liberation Medal is considered junior in precedence to the Saudi Arabian version of the medal.

 

 

The medal is circular, and comes in various sizes and was struck in various metals. The obverse differs depending on the ‘class’ of the medal:-

 

Fifth Class - Intended for non-commissioned personnel is a bronze medal with enamel, 40 mm in diameter and suspended from a bar by a wreath.

 

The obverse bears the Coat of Arms of the State of Kuwait. The Coat of Arms consists of the shield of the flag design in color superimposed on a falcon with wings displayed. The falcon supports a disk containing a sailing ship (a traditional dhow) with the full name of the State written at the top of the disk (in Arabic). At the top of the medal is the inscription; ‘1991 LIBERATION MEDAL’ (also in Arabic).

 

The official symbolism of the colors is that black symbolizes battlefields, white is for heroic deeds, green is for the meadows, and red is for the blood of Kuwait's enemies.

 

The reverse side is the map of Kuwait on a rayed background.

 

Fourth Class - Intended for warrant and junior commissioned officers is a dull grey metal medal, suspended from a bar engraved with laurel leaves.

 

The obverse bears a fully sized, five pointed star over a pattern of engraved rays with the centre containing the same falcon and dhow emblem as the fifth class medal and the reverse the same map and rayed background.

 

Third Class - Intended for field-grade and equivalent officers is a bright gilt medal of similar design to the fourth class medal. The points of the star are considerably rounded and, instead of the rayed background, the medal is pierced between the star and the outer circle.

 

Second Class - Intended for one and two star officers is a golden star overlaying a laurel wreath. The central emblem is significantly smaller than for the lower classes of medal. There is Arabic writing above and below the central emblem. The star is suspended directly from the ribbon, by a ring attached to the wreath.

 

First Class - Intended for three and four star officers is a neck decoration of large pattern. Similar to the second class medal but the star is enameled in with red points and a white circle surrounding the central emblem. The white circle contains a geometric outer pattern in gold and Arabic writing above the centre.

 

Pierced rays, of differing lengths, lie behind the wreath. The star is suspended from its high point.

 

The medals were issued un-named.

 

 

 

The ribbon is 36mm wide and is made up of four separate coloured portions. The official symbolism of the colors is that black symbolizes battlefields, white is for heroic deeds, green is for the meadows, and red is for the blood of Kuwait's enemies.

 

Additionally, the 2nd class ribbon is identical to the ribbons for the lower orders, but also bears a miniature of the central emblem in gold-coloured metal and enamel.

 

The 1st class ribbon is also similar to that for the lower awards but double ended. It has no miniature emblem.

 

 

None were authorised for this medal.

 

Further relevant historical context can be found at the foot of this entry.

 

 

 

* It should be noted that the values quoted above reflect the average price that a medal dealer may expect to sell this medal for - please see the ‘things you should know’ web page for more details about valuing medals.

 

 

This section contains information on:-

 

- The Invasion Of Kuwait.

 

The Invasion Of Kuwait - On 2 August 1990, Iraq launched an invasion of Kuwait. It's opening offensive included the bombing of Kuwait's capital, Kuwait City.

 

At the time of the invasion, the Kuwaiti military was believed to have numbered 16,000 men, arranged into three armoured, one mechanised infantry and one under-strength artillery brigade.

 

The pre-war strength of the Kuwait Air Force was around 2,200 Kuwaiti personnel, with 80 aircraft and forty helicopters. In spite of Iraqi prior sabre-rattling, Kuwait didn't have its forces on alert; the army had been stood down on 19 July.

 

By 1988, at the Iran–Iraq War's end, the Iraqi Army was the world's fourth largest army; it consisted of 955,000 standing soldiers and 650,000 paramilitary forces in the Popular Army. According to John Childs and André Corvisier, a low estimate shows the Iraqi Army capable of fielding 4,500 tanks, 484 combat aircraft and 232 combat helicopters.

 

According to Michael Knights, a high estimate shows the Iraqi Army capable of fielding one million men and 850,000 reservists, 5,500 tanks, 3,000 artillery pieces, 700 combat aircraft and helicopters; and held 53 divisions, 20 special-forces brigades, and several regional militias, and had a strong air defence.

 

Iraqi commandos infiltrated the Kuwaiti border first to prepare for the major units which began the attack at midnight.

 

The Iraqi attack had two prongs, with the primary attack force driving south straight for Kuwait City down the main highway, and a supporting attack force entering Kuwait farther west, but then turning and driving east, cutting off Kuwait City from the country's southern half. The commander of a Kuwaiti armoured battalion, 35th Armoured Brigade, deployed them against the Iraqi attack and was able to conduct a robust defence (Battle of the Bridges), near Al Jahra, west of Kuwait City.

 

Kuwaiti aircraft scrambled to meet the invading force, but approximately 20% were lost or captured. A few combat sorties were flown against Iraqi ground forces.

 

The main Iraqi thrust into Kuwait City was conducted by commandos deployed by helicopters and boats to attack the city from the sea, while other divisions seized the airports and two airbases. The Iraqis attacked the Dasman Palace, the Royal Residence of Kuwait's Emir, Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, which was defended by the Emiri Guard supported with M-84 tanks. In the process, the Iraqis killed Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Emir's youngest brother.

 

Within 12 hours, most resistance had ended within Kuwait and the royal family had fled, leaving Iraq in control of most of Kuwait.

 

After two days of intense combat, most of the Kuwaiti military were either overrun by the Iraqi Republican Guard, or had escaped to Saudi Arabia. The Emir and key ministers were able to get out and head south along the highway for refuge in Saudi Arabia. Iraqi ground forces consolidated their control of Kuwait City, then headed south and redeployed along the Saudi border. After the decisive Iraqi victory, Saddam initially installed a puppet regime known as the 'Provisional Government of Free Kuwait' before installing his cousin Ali Hassan al-Majid as Kuwait's governor on 8 August.

 

This information was taken from ‘Wikipedia’. The original article and details of the authors can be found here. It is reproduced on this web-site under the ‘creative commons’ licence which can be found here.