The previous day Iraq had failed to meet a deadline for withdrawal and had set fire to hundreds of Kuwaiti oil wells.

Allied troops swept into Iraq and Kuwait from several points along the Saudi Arabian border. Hundreds of tanks raced north to take on the Iraqi Republican Guard.

The "Highway of Death" "The allied Blitzkrieg has gone like clockwork" The BBC's Brian Barron "The bombers overhead caught the flood of escaping soldiers" Kate Adie, Basra Road

More forces took control of the highway running south from Basra to Kuwait, cutting off supply lines to Iraqi troops in Kuwait as marines and Saudi-led coalition troops pushed into the emirate itself.

By 26 February, Iraq had announced it was withdrawing its forces from Kuwait, but still refused to accept all the UN resolutions passed against it.

Iraqi tanks, armoured vehicles, trucks and troops fleeing the allied onslaught formed huge queues on the main road north from Kuwait to the southern Iraqi city of Basra.

Allied forces bombed them from the air, killing thousands of troops in their vehicles in what became known as the “Highway of Death”.

An estimated 25,000 to 30,000 Iraqis were killed during the ground war alone.