Operation Vantage

Operation Vantage 1961
Part of Iraq-Kuwait relations and the 1961 Independence of Kuwait

HMS Victorious taking part in Operation Vantage in support of Kuwait in July 1961.
Date1 July-19 October 1961
Location
Kuwait
Result Bilateral withdrawal to demarcation line set by the Arab League[1][2][3]
Belligerents
Kuwait
United Kingdom United Kingdom		 Iraq
Commanders and leaders
Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah
Mubarak Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah
Saleh Mohammed Al-Sabah
United Kingdom Harold Macmillan
United Kingdom Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma
United Kingdom Brigadier Derek Horsford		 Abd al-Karim Qasim
Strength

HM's British Armed Forces

Kuwait Army, Air Force		 Iraqi Armed Forces

Operation Vantage was a British military operation in 1961 to support the newly independent state of Kuwait against territorial claims by its neighbour, Iraq. The UK reacted to a call for protection from Sheikh Abdullah III Al-Salim Al-Sabah of Kuwait, and air, sea and land forces were in place within days. Iraq did not attack and the British forces were replaced by the Arab League. Following a coup in Iraq, the new government recognised Kuwaiti independence in 1963, although it was never ratified thus remained unbinding and was later rejected by the revolutionary command leading to more border disputes in the future.[4]

  1. ^ A. Hassouna, Hussein (1975). The League of Arab States and Regional Disputes: A Study of Middle East Conflicts. Oceana Publications. ISBN 9780379002904.
  2. ^ White, Christopher J; Robinson, Peter (2008–2010). "Gulf War Part 1: Operation Vantage". Historical RFA. Archived from the original on 2010-04-18. Retrieved 16 Jan 2010.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference rrgp was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Khadduri, Majid (2001). War in the Gulf, 1990-91. Oxford University Press. pp. 71–72. ISBN 9780199923861.