Gulf War One: Real Voices from the Front Line

by Hugh McManners, Rupert Smith (Foreword)

The first oral history of the Gulf War brings the conflict vividly to life through interviews with everyone from the former British Prime Minister, John Major, to the tank regiments who fought there

 

In 1988 Iraq was the region’s dominant military power and ambitious to become leader of the Arab world. Saddam Hussein’s war–experienced army were known to have used biological and chemical weapons in the past, and when 260,000 troops and 2,000 tanks crossed into Kuwait they met little resistance. Yet Iraq’s defeat at the hands of the coalition forces was the most devastatingly efficient in military history. It was the first war fought over a resource: oil. The UK committed 43,000 troops to this new "high tech" war, and initially expected high casualties. Yet on the Iraqi side, uncounted thousands of soldiers were killed, many poorly trained conscripts. Returning coalition soldiers have since found themselves dogged by health problems, likely caused by the new technologies that proved so effective in battle. Iraqi power was diminished, but Hussein was allowed to remain in power, laying the scene for the protracted suffering of the Iraq invasion over a decade later. Hugh McManners' original interviews for Gulf War One provide a compelling picture and explode many myths of how this war was carried out, and why. From military planners and politicians, to ordinary soldiers and Gulf War Syndrome sufferers, both those serving and those caught up in the war tell its history in their own words.

Genres: Military Fiction

388 pages, Hardcover

Published November 1, 2010

About the author

After 18 years in the British Army including the Falklands War working with the SBS, Hugh became a non-fiction author and television producer. He was the Defence Correspondent of The Sunday Times from 1995 -2000. Hugh started writing fiction in 2022.
Hugh says: "I'm a campaigner and enthusiast. Having written a wide variety of non-fiction books, I'm now writing fiction - "military historical thrillers".
He's starting with a five book series running from 1980 until the end of the Falklands War in 1982. The first book "The Sunday Service" about the SAS and PIRA in Northern Ireland, is now published.
"I'm writing fiction as with all my books, to explain the reality of extreme situations to people who haven't experienced it for themselves," Hugh says.
"Fiction that uses action and violence with military characters and settings needs to be accurately portrayed. The brave people who risk life and limb for our security deserve this.
"Plus, I really dislike the word 'thrill" -dictionary definition: "a sudden feeling of excitement and pleasure". It's superficial, vicarious and simple, totally unlike the reality of military operations. But if you've not been a soldier on operations, how could you know that?
"I'm not quite sure where this gets me with writing "thrillers". I'll leave further comment to my readers."

Hugh is also a musician: a guitarist and songwriter. He was Director of The Scars of War Foundation at the University of Oxford, a pioneering research into the cognitive neuroscience of combat-related PTSD and brain injury in war veterans.