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29/03/2024 11:37am

Saudi Arabian Medal For The Liberation Of Kuwait

Conflict
 
Gulf War 1900 - 1991.
 
Further relevant historical context can be found at the foot of this entry.
 
History
 
The Saudi Arabian medal for the liberation of Kuwait was a campaign medal presented by King Fahd ibn Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia to the forces of the coalition who took part in the liberation of Kuwait during the Gulf War. The medal was instituted in 1991 and awarded to those who participated in 'Operation Desert Storm' and the liberation of Kuwait between the dates of 17 January 1991 and 28 February 1991.
 
It is considered rarer than the Kuwaiti version of the medal, as it recognizes service in a relatively short period of time (only a few weeks) whereas the Kuwaiti version of the medal is granted for service over a much longer period.
 
The Saudi version is also senior in precedence, owing to its having been authorized for wear a number of years before the Kuwaiti version was offered
 
The Australian Government has authorised the medal to be worn with other international honours and awards after all other Australian medals.
 
The Canadian Government has decreed that the Canadian personnel may accept their medals as a keepsake but permission to wear them in uniform has so far been refused.
 
British servicemen have not been given permission by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to wear this medal. The wearing of the medal or the ribbon is strictly forbidden. It is accepted only as a ‘keepsake’.
 
Description
 
The medal is of a star design with fifteen rounded points (with shorter points in between them), 45mm wide and constructed of white metal surmounted by a gilt medallion which contains a wreath tied at its based and a crown at its top.
 
In the centre of the gilt medallion is a silver representation of the Earth, over which is superimposed a gilt representation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Above the gilt medallion are the crossed swords and palm tree taken from the Royal Cypher.
 
Beneath the gilt medallion is a swallow-tailed scroll with its ends folded back and point upward so they follow the contour of the gilt medallion. On the scroll is the inscription; ‘LIBERATION OF KUWAIT’ in English, and the same inscription above it in Arabic.
 
The ribbon bar to the medal bears a gilt device consisting of crossed swords (point up) superimposed over a palm tree. This device is taken from the Royal Cypher. The device is not used on the suspension ribbon to the actual medal.
 
The medal was issued un-named.
 
Ribbon
 
 
The ribbon is 36mm wide and is green in colour with narrow white, black and red stripes along either edge. The central green portion of the ribbon contains an emblem - a palm tree with crossed swords.
 
Bars/Clasps
 
None were authorised for this medal.
 
Further relevant historical context can be found at the foot of this entry.
 
Dealer Retail Value *
 
Saudi Arabian Medal For The Liberation Of Kuwait
£30.00
 
* 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.
 
Further Historical Context
 
This section contains information on:-
 
- The Liberation Of Kuwait.
 
The Liberation Of Kuwait - The Liberation of Kuwait was the campaign to retake Kuwait from Iraq after the massive air campaign, between 24-28 February 1991. U.S. troops and the Coalition entered to find the Iraqis surrendering en masse; however, pockets of resistance existed, particularly at Kuwait International Airport where Iraqi troops, seemingly unaware that a retreat order had been issued to them, continued to fight, resulting in a fierce battle over the airport itself. The majority of the fighting took place in Iraq, rather than Kuwait.
 
Days before the attack, an amphibious force made repeated feint attacks and landings at Kuwait City, attempting to fool the Iraqis into thinking the Coalition would attack via amphibious assault. Instead, the troops were to enter by the southern border of Kuwait. The Coalition forces based there were weary from constant Scud missile threats, chemical missile threats and near-constant shelling by Iraqi artillery. When the first troops began the assault, they were warned that casualties could be as many as one in three.
 
At 4 a.m. on February 24, after being shelled for months and under the constant threat of a gas attack, the U.S. 1st and 2nd Marine Divisions crossed into Kuwait. They manouverered around vast systems of barbed wire, minefields and trenches.
 
Once into Kuwait, they headed towards Kuwait City. The troops themselves encountered little resistance and, apart from several minor tank battles, were met primarily by surrendering soldiers. The general pattern was that Coalition troops would encounter Iraqi soldiers who would put up a brief fight before deciding to surrender.
 
On the 27th of February, Saddam Hussein issued a retreat order to his troops in Kuwait; however, one unit of Iraqi troops appeared to have not gotten the retreat order. When the U.S. Marines arrived at Kuwait International Airport, they encountered fierce resistance, and it took them several hours to gain control and secure the airport.
 
As part of the retreat order, the Iraqis carried out a 'scorched earth' policy that included setting hundreds of oil wells on fire in an effort to destroy the Kuwaiti economy. After the battle at Kuwait International Airport, the U.S. Marines stopped at the outskirts of Kuwait City, allowing their Coalition allies to take and occupy Kuwait City, effectively ending combat operations in the Kuwaiti theatre of the war.
 
After four days of fighting, all Iraqi troops were expelled from Kuwait, ending a nearly seven-month occupation of Kuwait by Iraq. A little over 1,100 casualties were suffered by the Coalition. Estimates of Iraqi casualties range from 30,000 to 150,000. Several U.S. and one Kuwaiti aircraft were shot down by Iraqi air defences, compared to no losses of Iraqi aircraft, though this was primarily because the Iraqi Air Force had already been almost entirely destroyed prior to the Coalition ground invasion, additionally, Iraq lost thousands of vehicles, while the advancing Coalition lost relatively few.
 
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.