The battle of Khafji was to be one of national prestige and as the area was Saudi soil, it was felt that the Saudi National Guard, with support from Qatari troops, should be given the role of driving the Iraqis out. These forces were under General Khalid, backed by US Marines and Coalition airpower. “Two British advisers from the British Military Mission to the National Guard accompanied the engagement,” Ambassador Alan Munro later admitted.
If the Coalition had given Saddam a breathing space, there is every reason to believe that he could have turned Khafji into a fortified stronghold. The Coalition knew from the Iran-Iraq War that the Iraqis were moderately competent in the offensive; of greater concern was the fact that they had fought eight years of almost continuous defensive action against the Iranians. The Iraqi Army was skilled in constructing defensive positions, berms, minefields and laying down artillery fire.
A vehicle destroyed during the Battle of Khafji
© Getty