(February 15, 2026 at 7:43 am)Leonardo17 Wrote: Above is an interesting article about the 1991 Gulf War. Saddam’s army back then is said to be the world’s fourth largest military. It operated accordingly with the Soviet military doctrine. It was quite a modern army with the latest Soviet military equipment. Yet the US army that had air superiority + NATO military doctrine + newer technologies dismantled the whole thing within days.
"Fourth largest" is a bit of a misnomer, as Hussein discovered. The Iraqi army consisted of fresh conscripts that were poorly trained and ill-equipped. It had been hollowed out by years of fighting Iran, and Hussein tried to bulk it up with goat-herders. The Republican Guard was better-trained and better-equipped, but it was a much smaller fighting force. Simple number of warm bodies doesn't tell you much.
