73 Easting: Episode 1 — August 2, 1990

Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait on August 2, 1990, set the Gulf War in motion and returned large-scale armored warfare to the center of world affairs. This opening chapter places the Battle of 73 Easting in its true strategic context, showing how Iraqi tanks and mechanized infantry overwhelmed Kuwait, threatened Saudi Arabia, and forced the United States and its allies to prepare for a major ground campaign. Listeners learn why the road to 73 Easting began months before the first cavalry troop crossed a map grid line, with oil, debt, regional power, and armored coercion shaping the crisis. The episode also introduces the Iraqi army’s strengths and weaknesses after the Iran-Iraq War. For more military history writing and books, visit MilitaryAuthor.me, and for magazines, galleries, and a massive archive of military photos and video, visit Trackpads.com.