1st Gulf War US Army general passes away at 78

, Dec 28: Norman Schwarzkopf Jr, the US

general who led his forces to defeat the

in the 1991 Gulf War, died at Tampa in Florida in the

on Thursday, according to US official sources. He was 78.

The cause of death of the four-star general was not confirmed immediately.

Schwarzkopf was born in New Jersey in the USA on Aug 22, 1934. A Vietnam War veteran, who was popularly known as Stormin' Norman, led more than 5,40,000 US troops and 2,00,000 allied forces during the six-week war that ousted Saddam Hussein's army from Kuwait in 1991.

Experts said the Army general's sweeping strategy to outflank Hussein's forces was one of the great military feats in history. The strategy terminated the ground war in only about 100 hours.

Former US President George Bush senior, who had built the international coalition to attack Hussein, said he and his wife mourned the loss of a true patriot and one of the greatest military leaders of their generation.

Schwarzkopf was frequently seen on international television during the Gulf War. He returned from the war and there was speculation of him contesting for a public office. The man, however, chose to serve as a military analyst. He penned an autobiography titled It Doesn't Take a Hero.

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