Ras Al Khafji was historically the principle town in the neutral zone between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. It was only when the Japanese-owned Arabian Oil Company Ltd discovered substantial oil deposit off shore of Khafji that a permanent demarcation was established, and with Khafji being formally located within Saudi Arabia. However the agreement conclued that both states would still maintain joint rights to all natural resources within the designated neutral zone. With the termination of the Arabian Oil Company lease to explore and extract within the area, operations within the Khafji Fields reverted to a joint venture between shareholder companies representing both states, and with production being split on a 50:50 agreement between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia
Khafji’s notoriety however is due to the Battle of Khafji which took place in and around the town in 1991, and marks the high tide of Iraq’s advance through Kuwait and into Saudi Arabia. Khafji today remains a provincial and under developed town lacking many of the amenities you would associate with other oil towns of compariable size within the kingdom. The Battle of Khafji was the first major ground engagement of the Gulf War It took place in the Saudi Arabian city of Khafji. ...
On one level, Khafji "proved, once again, that an unsupported army moving in the field is highly vulnerable to airpower," concluded Maj. Daniel Clevenger, one of the AFSAA study's leaders.
The Battle of Khafji also suggested that the amount of attrition needed to seize the initiative from a maneuvering enemy force and stop the offensive was very different from the level of attrition commanders want to inflict on an enemy force in defensive positions.
Khafji demonstrated to all but the most ingrained skeptic the ability of deep air attacks to shape and control the battle and yield advantages for engaged ground forces.
The contribution of Spirit 03 and her sister AC-130 gunships in this regard cannot be overstated, and has contributed to a wholly new understanding of the role of close air support in defense of ground forces.
With all turrets pointed to the rear in the international military sign of surrender, the small number of Saudi forces defending the town permitted the enemy force to draw close, in anticipation of their surrender.
This surprise attack proved to be the spearhead of an invasion of Khafji and in a short time the Iraqis drove out the joint force defending the town, occupied it, and began the formation of a defensive posture in anticipation of a counterattack.
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