The Battle of Al-Regeai was the final significant military engagement in Kuwait's early history and the first Kuwaiti battle to employ motorized vehicles.
Key Facts
- Date
- 28 January 1928
- Ikhwan force size
- approximately 500 horsemen
- First use of vehicles in Kuwaiti combat
- Yes — motorized vehicles deployed for first time
- Kuwaiti ruler at the time
- Sheikh Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah (10th ruler)
- Ikhwan raid location
- Umm Al-Ruweisat, northwest of Al Jahra
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Ikhwan raiders, approximately 500 horsemen strong, launched an incursion into Kuwaiti territory, attacking and occupying farms at Umm Al-Ruweisat northwest of Al Jahra. The raid was part of broader Ikhwan expansionist activities in the Arabian Peninsula during the late 1920s, threatening the stability of the Sheikhdom of Kuwait under Sheikh Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.
On 28 January 1928, Kuwaiti defense and security forces, organized by General Commander Sheikh Ali Salim Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah and led by multiple sheikhs, engaged the Ikhwan raiders near Al Jahra. The battle is historically notable as the first Kuwaiti military engagement to use motorized vehicles, with soldiers and vehicles mobilized from both Al Jahra and Kuwait City.
The Battle of Al-Regeai marked the final significant military engagement in Kuwait's early historical period, halting the Ikhwan's advance. The use of motorized vehicles in combat set a precedent for modernizing Kuwaiti military forces and demonstrated the Sheikhdom's capacity to defend its territory with evolving military technology.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Sheikh Ali Salim Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah, Sheikh Ali Khalifa Al-Abdullah II Al-Sabah, Sheikh Salman Al-Humoud Al-Sabah, Sheikh Ali Al-Salem Al-Sabah.
Side B
1 belligerent