Kuwait–Najd War

The Kuwait-Najd War is the historical accumulation result of the support of the House of Sabah for members of the House of Saud against other members of the House of Saud. The House of Sabah hardly ever meddled with the internal affairs of other notable tribes such as the House of Saud; however, when foreign internal affairs start to compromise the security and integrity of Kuwait; historical alliances are sided to conserve the security of the country.

The conflicts surfaced during the reign of both blood brothers; Their Highnesses the 5th and 7th Rulers of Kuwait, Sheik Abdullah II Sabah II Al-Jaber I Al-Sabah and Sheikh Mubarak Sabah II Al-Jaber I Al-Sabah; supporting members of the House of Saud.

It began when His Highness, the 5th Ruler of Kuwait, Sheikh Abdullah II Sabah II Al-Jaber I Al-Sabah granted asylum to the sons of Faisal bin Turki bin Abdullah Al Saud. His Highness, the 5th Ruler of Kuwait, Sheikh Abdullah granted asylum to Prince Abdullah bin Faisal bin Turki Al-Saud of the House of Saud and his followers who took refuge in Kuwait due to a dispute over the rule of today's Saudi Arabia with his brother Prince Saud bin Faisal bin Turki; a dispute that lead to many wars between the two brothers. Prince Abdullah bin Faisal resided in Kuwait and was treated with full esteem, honor and grace.

The younger son of Faisal bin Turki bin Abdullah Al Saud; Prince Abdul Rahman bin Faisal took refuge in Kuwait during the reign of His Highness, the 5th Ruler of Kuwait, Sheikh Abdullah II Sabah II Al-Jaber I Al-Sabah when the Saudi Prince was in conflict with the Al Rashid tribe and fled to Kuwait in 1891. His son Ibn Saud recaptured Riyadh in 1902 at the age of 24 during the reign of His Highness, the 7th Ruler of Kuwait, Sheikh Mubarak Sabah II Al-Jaber I Al-Sabah. During that time, the House of Sabah engaged in many battles that would attempt to compromise the integrity of Kuwait and its patronage of solidarity to the House of Saud. The Kuwait–Najd War, the Battle of Hamdh 1919, the Battle of Jahra 1920 and the Battle of Al-Regeai 1928 were the result of the solidarity of the House of Sabah to the residents of Kuwait; whether they may be residing tribes from Saudi Arabia, other regional tribes or temporary guests of His Highness the Rulers of Kuwait. Similarly to the solidarity of the House of Sabah; many tribes originally from Saudi Arabia settled in Kuwait during that time and also partook in the defense of Kuwait. Hence, it was a very common unusual situation to witness Saudi tribes residing in Kuwait fighting along the House of Sabah against the same invading Saudi tribe. Many of these Saudi tribes defending Kuwait eventually took the Kuwaiti nationality with the forming of the Government of Kuwait in 1961 and served admirably in the Military of Kuwait throughout the generations.

As a result of the Kuwait-Najd War, the Uqair agreement was signed. Kuwait had no representative at the Uqair agreement, thus consequently lost more than 2/3'rds of its territory. Relations between Kuwait and Najd remained hostile after the Uqair agreement because Kuwait lost most of its original territory.

History
In 1915, during the reign of the 8th Ruler of Kuwait H.H. Sheikh Jaber II; Sheikh Abdullah Jaber Al-Abdullah II Al-Sabah (1898-1996) was requested by the yet appointed 9th Ruler of Kuwait Sheikh Salim Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah who was the Commander of Defense and Security Forces in the desert to join His Excellency as a knight and squadron leader under the command of His Excellency. Accordingly, Sheikh Abdullah Jaber Al-Abdullah II Al-Sabah (1898-19916) took on that assignment unitl His Excellency was officially appointed as His Highness the 9th Ruler of Kuwait in 1917. With the ascension of His Highness the 9th Ruler to the throne; a new Commander for Defense and Security Forces was appointed under which Sheikh Abdullah Jaber Al-Abdullah II Al-Sabah (1898-1996) operated until the Hamdh Battle in 1919.

Battle of Hamdh (1919)
In April of 1919, the Hamdh Battle took place during the reign of the 9th Ruler of Kuwait H.H. Sheikh Salim Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah ( reign: 1917-1921). The battle resulted from a village settlement built by the Ikhwan group within the Kuwaiti borders. This malpractice prompted H.H.Sheikh Salim Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah to dispatch the men of the Kuwaiti cavalry commanded by H.E.Sheikh Abdullah Jaber Al-Abdullah II Al-Sabah (1898-1996), the grandson of the 5th Ruler of Kuwait H.H. Sheikh Abdullah II Al-Sabah. The orders of the Kuwaiti cavalry were not to engage the ennemy at first. However, the Ikhwan group led by Faisal al-Duwaish, conducted a surpirse attack against the men of the Kuwaiti cavalry who had no intentions of engaging the ennemy in combat at first. The Ikhwan group consisted of five thousand cavalrymen against two thousand Kuwaiti cavalrymen. The battle took its course through six days of intense combat and resulted in heavy ijuries on both sides. The wounded were treated with salt and water as no medicine nor medic were then available.

Aftermath
Following the Battle of Jahra; the 1922 Treaty of Uqair set Kuwait's border with Saudis and also established the Saudi-Kuwaiti neutral zone, an area of about 5,180 km² adjoining Kuwait's southern border.