Highway of Death
Headline Wednesday: Highway of Death, Gulf War takes you onto the northbound lanes of Highway 80, where Iraqi forces tried to escape Kuwait under cover of darkness and ran straight into coalition air power. In this episode we trace the long, jammed column of tanks, trucks, and buses on the road to Basra, the pilots and planners watching it on their scopes, and the moment a retreat turned into a killing ground. Headline Wednesday is the Wednesday feature of Dispatch: U.S. Military History Magazine, and the series is developed by Trackpads.com to bring pivotal moments like this to life in clear, human terms.
From the first warning signs in August 1990 to the burned-out convoys at dawn, you will follow the full arc of the story: Iraq’s occupation of Kuwait, the Desert Shield build-up, the Desert Storm air campaign, the chaotic night withdrawal, and the debate that followed over proportionality and restraint. We walk through how air superiority, ground maneuver, and traffic choices combined to trap an army on a single road, and why the images of that highway still show up in staff rides, reading lists, and museum exhibits. Use this episode as a focused refresher for your own Gulf War study, classroom work, or informal staff-ride preparation.
From the first warning signs in August 1990 to the burned-out convoys at dawn, you will follow the full arc of the story: Iraq’s occupation of Kuwait, the Desert Shield build-up, the Desert Storm air campaign, the chaotic night withdrawal, and the debate that followed over proportionality and restraint. We walk through how air superiority, ground maneuver, and traffic choices combined to trap an army on a single road, and why the images of that highway still show up in staff rides, reading lists, and museum exhibits. Use this episode as a focused refresher for your own Gulf War study, classroom work, or informal staff-ride preparation.
