Highway of Death

Sd. Cpl. Bojescu Marius

 Content
 About highway
 Army forces
 Used weapons
 Controversies
 Interesting fact
 Conclusion
 The Highway of Death
 isa six-lane highway
 between Kuwait and Iraq
 officially known as Highway 80
 During the American led coalition offensive in
the Persian Gulf War
 American, Canadian, British and French
aircraft and ground forces attacked retreating
Iraqi military personnel attempting to leave
Kuwait
 On the night of February 26–27, 1991
 The attack began when A-6 Intruder attack jets of
the United States Marine Corps blocked the head
and tail of the column on Highway 80

 Over the next 10 hours, scores of U.S. Marine and

U.S. Air Force aircraft and U.S. Navy pilots from USS
Ranger attacked the convoy using a variety of
weapons.
 This bombing was done with cluster bombs
and incendiary rounds.
 A cluster bomb is a weapon containing

multiple explosive submunitions.

 Vehicles surviving the air attacks were later
engaged by arriving coalition ground units, while
most of the vehicles that managed to evade the
traffic jam and continued to drive on the road north
were targeted individually.
The wreckage found on the highway
consisted from:
 At least 28 tanks and other armored vehicles.
 The great majority of vehicles were civilian types:
◦ cars
◦ buses
◦ milk trucks
◦ tractors
◦ ambulances
◦ and fire trucks
 Also it should be emphasized that they
The massacre of withdrawing Iraqi
were retreating. However, retreating does
soldiers violates the Geneva Conventions
not equal surrendered. If they didn’t
of 1949, Common Article III, which
surrender then they were enemy
outlaws the killing of soldiers who are
combatants. Moreover retreating or
out of combat,” wrote Joyce Chediac.
“falling back” is considered a tactical
“The Iraqi troops were not being driven
movement. The vast majority of the
out of Kuwait by U.S. troops as the Bush
casualties of war occur in the retreat, and
administration maintains. They were not
so effectively the object of battle is to
retreating in order to regroup and fight
force the opposing army into retreat, at
again. In fact, they were withdrawing,
which point you deal the true “’death
they were going home.”
blow”.
Controversies
Interesting fact:
 Most of the vehicles were abandoned by the time
they were struck.
 While high casualty counts are upwards of 10,000
for the entire battle, low end estimates are only
around 200-300. The final tally is probably in the
low 1000s.
 In total between 1800-2700 vehicles were
destroyed.
Conclusion
 After the carnage was over, some 2,000
mangled Iraqi vehicles, and charred and
dismembered bodies of Iraqi soldiers lay for
miles along what came to be known as the
“Highway of Death”.