The first Gulf War was a huge success for the Allies. Nigel Burton looks back

OPERATION Desert Storm began on Wednesday, January 16, 1991, at precisely 7pm Eastern Standard Time. It was 3am in Baghdad when the massive air and missile bombardment began.

A few minutes after the onslaught began, a visibly strained President Bush Snr addressed the American people. His message was simple: "We will not fail."

Unsurprisingly, Saddam Hussein was not about to give up without a fight. As dawn broke after the first wave of bombing, he told his people: "The great showdown has begun - the mother of all battles is under way."

Shortly afterwards, US spy satellites reported several Scud missiles heading for Israel. Missiles were also fired at Saudi Arabia.

During the war, about 39 Scuds were fired at the Jewish state. They caused heavy damage but few casualties.

The success of the US Patriot anti-missile missile was patchy, for reasons of propaganda, blown out of all proportion at the time.

Twelve years later and again the Allies are racing to identify Saddam's missile sites in an effort to avoid a strike on Israel.

George Bush Jnr and Tony Blair are desperate to avoid dragging Israel into the conflict. To do so would inflame radical opinion across the Arab world, with potentially destabilising consequences.

On day nine of the first Gulf War, allied intelligence spotted a huge oil slick moving south off Kuwait. Iraqi officers had ordered the oil wells uncapped in an act of environmental vandalism.

Despite switching bombing raids to the oil terminals, the pollution went on. The cost to Saudi Arabia of dealing with the oil lapping at its shores was more than $1bn in six months.

Arab Governments have drawn up plans this time in case Saddam blows up Iraq's oil wells in revenge for an invasion. Previously, the Iraqi troops caused the world's worst environmental disaster when they destroyed about 600 oil wells during the retreat from Kuwait.

In 1991, more than eight million barrels of oil were released into the Gulf and a further 60m were set on fire.

The Allied ground attack against Iraqi forces in Kuwait did not begin until Saturday, February 23 - day 39 of the Allied offensive. By then the Iraqi military machine was close to collapse.

In the first day of fighting, more than 5,500 enemy soldiers were captured, despite a radio speech by Saddam in which he urged them to kill "with all your might".

Two days later, the Iraqi army disintegrated - thousands fleeing the battle field, many more surrendering to the Allies. By Day 42 of the conflict, more than 30,000 PoWs were in makeshift camps guarded by a far smaller number of US, British and allied soldiers. The eventual number captured was 63,000.

The following day, Wednesday, February 27, 1991, the Emirates flag once again flew over Kuwait city.

Gulf War One was over but Saddam had survived and would live to fight another day.

20/03/2003