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70 free Gulf War trivia questions with answers — history quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This Gulf War trivia quiz covers the 1990-91 conflict from Saddam Hussein's 2 August 1990 invasion of Kuwait to the ceasefire that ended the 100-hour ground war on 28 February 1991. It takes in the diplomacy (Resolutions 660 and 678, James Baker's 'Tin Cup Trip', Margaret Thatcher telling George H. W. Bush not to go wobbly), the buildup of Operation Desert Shield, and the 42-day air campaign and ground offensive of Operation Desert Storm. You will find questions on the commanders and politicians, from Norman Schwarzkopf and Colin Powell to Tariq Aziz and April Glaspie; on the weapons and technology that defined the war, including the F-117 stealth fighter, the Patriot and the Scud, GPS and the M1A1 Abrams; on the battles of Khafji, 73 Easting and Medina Ridge; and on the aftermath, from the Highway of Death and the Kuwaiti oil fires to Gulf War syndrome, the uprisings and the no-fly zones. It ranges from questions any news-watcher of 1991 will remember to details for serious military history buffs. Every answer has been checked against primary sources, chiefly the Wikipedia articles on the war and its battles, and each explanation adds one further detail. Play, see your score, and share it with the history buffs in your group chat.
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Q 01On what date in 1990 did Iraq invade Kuwait?
2 August
Iraqi forces occupied the country within two days and later annexed it as Iraq's 19th province.
Q 02How many countries made up the US-led coalition against Iraq?
42
It was the broadest military alliance since World War II, with the US, Saudi Arabia, the UK and Egypt as its largest contributors.
Q 03What was the US operational name for the defensive buildup in Saudi Arabia before the fighting began?
Operation Desert Shield
Desert Storm was the name for the air-land war that followed from 17 January 1991.
Q 04What name did Iraqi officials give the war?
Mother of all battles
In Arabic it was Umm al-Ma'arik; Kuwait and the Arab coalition states called the war the Liberation of Kuwait.
Q 05What was the British name for its military operations in the Gulf War?
Operation Granby
Daguet was the French name, Friction the Canadian and Locusta the Italian.
Q 06Iraq's debts to Kuwait at the end of the Iran-Iraq War amounted to roughly how much?
$14 billion
Iraq pressured both Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to forgive its war debts, and both refused.
Q 07Iraq accused Kuwait of slant-drilling across the border into which oil field?
Rumaila
At the Jeddah talks Iraq demanded $10 billion for lost Rumaila revenue; Kuwait offered $500 million, and the invasion followed.
Q 08Which US ambassador told Saddam Hussein the US had 'no opinion on the Arab-Arab conflicts' in 1990?
April Glaspie
Tariq Aziz later insisted Iraq had 'no illusion' about how America would respond, whatever she said.
Q 09Which cousin of Saddam Hussein was installed as governor of occupied Kuwait less than a week after the invasion?
Ali Hassan al-Majid
He was already notorious for the chemical attacks on the Kurds that earned him the nickname 'Chemical Ali'.
Q 10Which UN resolution set Iraq a 15 January 1991 deadline and authorized 'all necessary means'?
678
Resolution 660 condemned the invasion, 661 imposed sanctions and 665 authorized a naval blockade.
Q 11Which British prime minister famously urged President Bush not to 'go wobbly' over Kuwait?
Margaret Thatcher
She reminded him that appeasement in the 1930s had led to war and that Saddam would control 65% of the world's oil.
Q 12What did the press nickname James Baker's September 1990 tour seeking money for the war?
The Tin Cup Trip
King Fahd agreed to $15 billion on condition that Baker ask Kuwait's exiled emir for the same amount, which he did the next day.
Q 13Which country pledged up to 100,000 troops to the coalition after Baker visited Damascus?
Syria
President Hafez Assad had a personal enmity toward Saddam, who 'had been trying to kill him for years'.
Q 21The coalition air campaign lasted how many consecutive days and nights?
42
More than 100,000 sorties dropped 88,500 tonnes of bombs, and only 75 coalition aircraft were lost.
Q 22Which stealth aircraft made its large-scale combat debut in the Gulf War?
F-117 Nighthawk
Analysts also called it the 'first space war' for its reliance on satellite reconnaissance, communications and navigation.
Q 23Which unit's AH-64 helicopters fired the first shots of the Gulf War on 17 January 1991?
101st Airborne Division
The same division later staged the deepest air assault in military history, 249 km behind enemy lines.
Q 14Which two countries contributed no troops but paid the largest financial contributions toward the war?
Japan and Germany
Germany's constitution barred military involvement outside its borders, so Chancellor Kohl paid instead.
Q 15Which US Army general commanded the coalition forces?
Norman Schwarzkopf
'Stormin' Norman' had grown up partly in Iran and taken over Central Command in 1988.
Q 16Where was the coalition's commanding general born?
Trenton, New Jersey
He grew up in the US and later in Iran, and won three Silver Stars in Vietnam.
Q 17Who was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the Gulf War?
Colin Powell
His 'Powell Doctrine' calls for overwhelming force, clear national interest and broad public support before committing troops.
Q 18Which PR firm did Citizens for a Free Kuwait pay about $11 million to sway US opinion?
Hill & Knowlton
Its most notorious product was the false 'incubator babies' testimony before Congress.
Q 19'Nayirah', who told Congress Iraqi soldiers pulled babies from incubators, turned out to be what?
A member of Kuwait's royal family
She was the daughter of Kuwait's ambassador to the US, and Amnesty International retracted its own version of the story.
Q 20By what margin did the US Senate vote to support military action against Iraq?
52–47
Six congressmen said the incubator testimony alone was enough to win their support.
Q 24How many Scud missiles did Iraq fire during the war's seven weeks?
88
Two Israeli civilians died directly from Scud hits, while dozens more died from heart attacks and misused gas masks and atropine.
Q 25Which Israeli prime minister was pressured by President Bush not to retaliate for the Scud attacks?
Yitzhak Shamir
Washington feared Israeli involvement would drive Arab states out of the coalition or into Iraq's camp.
Q 26How many US soldiers died when a Scud hit a Dhahran barracks a day into the ground war?
28
The Patriot battery had failed to engage because of a floating-point timing error that had grown over 100 hours of continuous operation.
Q 27The 14th Quartermaster Detachment hit at Dhahran was a reserve unit from which state?
Pennsylvania
It was the largest single loss of life among coalition forces in the war.
Q 28Later analysis put the Patriot missile's success rate against Scuds as low as what?
9%
45% of the 158 Patriot launches were against debris or false targets, though the Army maintained it was a 'miracle performance'.
Q 29Which lightly defended Saudi city did Iraqi forces attack and briefly occupy on 29 January 1991?
Khafji
Saudi and Qatari forces backed by US Marines drove them out in two days, and coalition air power shredded the following Iraqi columns.
Q 30Which ill-fated SAS patrol was sent into Iraq to hunt Scud launchers?
Bravo Two Zero
It was one of three eight-man B Squadron patrols; the launchers hid under bridges and camouflage netting by day.