President Bush Snr declared: "We will not fail."

Saddam Hussein announced: "The mother of all battles is under way.''

Cruise missiles were used for the first time in warfare, fired from US warships in the Gulf.

Footage filmed from the missiles' noses as they homed in on their targets was transmitted across the world.

US, British and Saudi Arabian fighter planes, bombers and helicopters set out to destroy hundreds of targets.

These ranged from military headquarters and airfields, to bridges, government buildings, media outlets, communications centres and power plants.

Allied planes flew more than 116,000 sorties over the following six weeks, dropping an estimated total of 85,000 tons of bombs.

About 10% of these were so-called smart bombs, which are guided to their targets by a laser beam pointed from a second aircraft.