Corgi Forward March CC59192 132 scale Desert Storm King Fahd with Schwarzkopf & de la Billiere

Description

Issued by Corgi in Nov 2006 as part of the Forward march series, the three figures at this meeting were generals Schwarzkopf and De La Billiere with King Fahd of Saudi Arabia. Sets were limited to 1000 worldwide and the box includes a card stating this and explaining the meeting. The figures have pins on the bottom of their feet to slot into the cast base.

The Gulf War was an armed campaign waged by a United States-led coalition of 35 countries against Iraq in response to the Iraqi invasion and annexation of Kuwait.

Desert Storm was an operation that lasted only 43 days and was the United States’ first major armed conflict with Iraq. On August 2, 1990, Iraqi forces invaded Kuwait and refused to disengage from the country. Former President George H. W. Bush, along with other coalition leaders, disapproved of the invasion.

Lt. Gen. Peter de la Billiere commanded British forces in the Persian Gulf region and in 1990 was the most decorated man in the British army.

Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf, the American commander in the region (nicknamed ‘Stormin’ Norman in the popular press) was called on to respond to the invasion of Kuwait, initially tasked with defending Saudi Arabia from Iraqi aggression, Schwarzkopf’s command eventually grew to an international force of over 750,000 troops. After diplomatic relations broke down, he planned and led Operation Desert Storm, an extended air campaign followed by a highly successful 100-hour ground offensive, which defeated the Iraqi Army and removed Iraqi troops from Kuwait in early 1991. Schwarzkopf was presented with military honours.

King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, in an unprecedented move, agreed to host American-led coalition troops in his Kingdom and later allowed American troops to be based there. This decision brought him considerable criticism and opposition from many Saudi citizens, who objected to the presence of foreign troops on Saudi soil; this was seen as a casus belli (or Act of War) against the Saudi royal family prominently cited by Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda. His decision was also objected to by his full brothers or the Sudairi Seven.