Operation Desert Storm officially began on August 2, 1990, when Iraq invaded Kuwait. It officially ended on March 3, 1991 when Iraq accepted a cease-fire agreement.
Also of interest: By January 1991, more than 500,000 allied troops were deployed in Saudi Arabia and throughout the Gulf region. Intense diplomacy between U.S. and Iraqi officials did not lead to an Iraqi withdrawal. Thus, on January 16, 1991, Allied forces began the bombing of Iraq and Iraqi forces in Kuwait. On February 27, 1991, President George H. Bush had ordered a cease-fire, and any surviving Iraqi troops were permitted to return to southern Iraq.