Richard P. Hallion; illustrated by Adam Tooby. Desert Storm 1991: The Most Shattering Air Campaign in History. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing, 2022. Paperback, illustrated, 96pp.
Review by Peter L. Belmonte
Few military historians would doubt the importance of the Desert Storm air campaign relative to how air power can be used to shape future operations. In this book, air power historian Richard P. Hallion reviews the campaign and discusses its significance. Hallion is a military historian with deep experience in teaching and writing air power history. His narrative is augmented by illustrations by aviation artist Adam Tooby. The publisher’s format restrictions preclude an in-depth history of the air campaign. Instead, Hallion, who has written other works on the Desert Storm air war, covers the highlights, focusing on planning, initial execution, and coalition involvement.
After a brief introduction and chronology, Hallion devotes subsequent chapters to the attacker’s (coalition’s) capabilities and then to the defender’s (Iraqis’) capabilities. These chapters give a rough order of battle and similar information. Next, the author gives us an enlightening look at the planning phase of the campaign. The description of the air war itself forms the heart of the narrative. Hallion goes into sufficient detail to enable the reader to get an idea of the complexities and hazards of these missions in an extremely difficult airspace and with a high operations tempo. Some missions and sorties are explained in detail; among those of note are the initial B-52 strike sorties launched out of Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, prior to the opening of the air campaign.
Throughout the narrative, Hallion does a good job of addressing such things as innovative munitions, SCUD missiles and their political and military impact, electronic warfare, bunker busting, and other topics. He also addresses target selection and the impact of the attacks. A few specific air attacks are addressed in more detail. The Royal Air Force Tornado strikes against a petroleum storage site and a strike against As Salman Air Base North are just two examples.
Hallion’s interesting conclusion reflects on the fact that World War I launched a series of political, military, and cultural changes that are still being felt, and Desert Storm was one of the echoes of that distant conflict. As such, it was an evolutionary step in many ways: “One enduring lesson, too little appreciated, is not to go to war without a clear definition of the goals and the desired end-state after the bombing and shooting stops” (p. 92). This aspect of Desert Storm was a success not completely followed during the subsequent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Again reflecting on today’s multi-polar world, Hallion correctly concludes that a Desert Storm-type campaign “stands as the most reasonable, effective, and humane means of frustrating global aggressors” (p. 92). Carrying out this idea is, of course, fraught with difficulties.
This book covers all of the coalition partners and aircraft, at least in a summary fashion. Air Force, Army, and Naval airpower all find a place in the narrative. Sidebars and tables cover such important information as orders of battle, sortie totals, target information, and combat losses. Several maps help to orient the reader to the multifarious operations in the theater. Osprey has given us a nice, visually appealing and concise overview of the Desert Storm air campaign. Hallion’s narrative is engaging and clear, and the photographs and artwork are a fitting compliment to the text. This book is highly recommended to anyone interested in learning more about the air war.
Peter L. Belmonte is a retired U.S. Air Force officer, author, and historian. A veteran of Operation Desert Storm, he holds a master’s degree in history from California State University, Stanislaus. He has published articles, book chapters, reviews, and papers about immigration and military history. Pete’s books include: Italian Americans in World War II (Arcadia, 2001), Days of Perfect Hell: The U.S. 26th Infantry Regiment in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, October-November, 1918 (Schiffer, 2015), Forgotten Soldiers of World War I: America’s Immigrant Doughboys (with Alexander F. Barnes, Schiffer, 2018), Play Ball! Doughboys and Baseball during the Great War (with co-authors Alexander F. Barnes and Samuel O. Barnes, Schiffer Books, 2019), Chicago-Area Italians in World War I: A Case Study of Calabrians (Fonthill Media, 2019), and United States Army Depot Brigades in World War I (with co-author Alexander F. Barnes, McFarland, 2021). He is also working on a multi-volume history of Italian Americans in World War I. You may see his books at his webpage: https://www.amazon.com/author/peter.belmonte.
