1991: The Battle of Khafji was the first major ground engagement of the Gulf War. It took place in and around the Saudi Arabian city of Khafji, from 29 January to 1 February 1991. Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, who had already tried and failed to draw Coalition forces into costly ground engagements by shelling Saudi Arabian positions and oil storage tanks and firing Scud surface-to-surface missiles at Israel, ordered the invasion of Saudi Arabia from southern Kuwait. The USAF suffered its greatest loss of the war, when the Iraqis shot down an AC-130H Spectre gunship, killing all 14 crewmembers on board. Tactical air strikes by coalition air forces, however, routed the invaders in three days. (MAP, Public Domain)