Outbreak and Development of the War

On September 22, 1980, Iraqi forces launched a surprise attack. They advanced approximately 40 kilometers to Qasr Shirin in Khuzestan and another 10 kilometers inside the Mehran region. They then occupied some islands at the entrance of the Shat al Arab river. With this, Iraq had achieved its goal for the war in a week of starting the war. And on September 28, President Saddam Hussein expressed that he was willing to negotiate with Iran to end the war. At that time, Iraq had 200,000 regular troops and Iran had 150,000 regular troops. The Iranian troops had been reduced from 285,000 to 150,000 following the discharge of soldiers who were loyal to the former Pahlavi dynasty in the aftermath of the Islamic Revolution.

And the number of tanks and fighter jets are as follows; Iraq had 2,750 tanks, 332 fighter jets and Iran had 1,735 tanks, 445 fighter jets. Iran also had a fair share of experienced officers and soldiers that had newly retired.

However, when the war broke out, the Iranian army was filled with patriotism and became mentally strong. Officers who were previously forced to retire voluntarily returned to the army. Iraq had underestimated the spirit of Iran’s people and army.

On October 5, 1980, Iran rejected Iraq’s ceasefire offer and stepped up its counterattack. The main battlefield expanded into the Khuzestan region, the plain of southern Iran. Iraqi forces faced strong resistance from Iranian forces. On October 24, Kohramsar was captured by Iraqi forces after a battle so fierce that Iran called it “the Blood Street”. However, the

desperate efforts of Iranian soldiers and citizens led to a successful defense of the oil refinery city of Abadan. Iraqi forces had made the mistake of entering the city without sufficient tank defense equipment nor infantry cover, leading to the destruction of hundreds of Iraqi tanks by Iranian anti-tank weapons and conventional firebombs. Iraqi forces failed to occupy the city despite much bloodshed. Iran had poured out every available human resource―of men and women across all ages―from the city into the battlefield. The 20 month defense battle of Abadan was similar to that of Stalingrad or Leningrad during World War Ⅱ.

In December 1980, the Iranian army, which had been regrouping its battle lines, switched to an offensive position and launched a counterattack operation. On January 5, 1981, the Iranian army organized an offensive force with one armoured division, two infantry divisions, and two revolutionary guards in an attempt to crush the Iraqi forces. On January 10th took place the largest tank battle since the start of the war. The Iranian army was led by British-made Chieftain tanks, known as the best tanks in the West, while the Iraqi army was led by Soviet-made T62 tanks. About 250 tanks were deployed to battle on each side. In the earlier long-range artillery battles, Iran’s Chieftains, equipped with 120 millimeters cannons and thick armor plates, dominated the battle field. However, the heavyweight tank’s movements were hampered by the muddy terrain during the rainy season. On the other hand, the Iraqi T62 tanks, equipped with lightweight and wide caterpillars, used its superior mobility to lead the battle. The Iranian Armoured Division was defeated by Iraqi forces but continued its offensive and finally recaptured the region in May.

In May 1982, Iraqi forces were defeated in the battle and began their retreat across the border. The Iranian military’s success was not due to the improved operations or command capabilities, but rather due to the

sacrifice of young soldiers belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard.

They rushed out to the enemy shouting “Allahu Akhbar (God is Great)”

disregarding the fields filled with landmine. Iraqi forces were terrified of these deadly tactics and brought upon them psychological panic, which led to the collapse of the front line. Iraq had narrowed its operational scope to the concept of a limited war. Iran, on the contrary, had fought an all-out war. In fact, in the early days of the war, Iraq had limited its operational zone to only some parts of the Shat al Arab river and the Khuzestan region. And only five divisions, which comprise half the size of the full Iraqi Army, were deployed to the front lines. Iraqi forces had refrained from attacking urban and industrial facilities as well as equipment facilities in addition to the Counter Value Target. And they attacked only the Counter Force Target, which was the core military target. However, Iran took on the concept of an all-out war and actively attacked strategic targets in Iraq’s rear regions, leading to the expansion of the war. And in November 1980, the war stalled beyond Saddam Hussein’s original plans.

From July 1982 to January 1983, Iran broke through the Iraqi border with a strong offensive, expanding the end goal of the war to overthrow Saddam Hussein’s regime. Iran instigated Shiite Muslims in Iraq to occupy the holy places of Karbala and Najaf, and to march on to Jerusalem, leading to disorders inside Iraq. And, Iran launched the Ramadan operation which targeted Basra, the second largest port city in southern Iraq after Baghdad.

The operation was supported by elite Iranian troops. Iraqi forces fought desperately to defend the city, fortifying a defense line 20 kilometers north of Basra. In front of the Iraqi defence line, a 20-meter-wide waterway was dug to draw water from the Shat al Arab river and set up a moat. Iraq, like the descendants of Mesopotamian civilization, had excellent civil engineering capabilities to control the two rivers of Tigris and Euphrates.

On the defense line outside Basra City, a killing zone was built to shoot down enemy troops. Iraqi forces deployed machine guns and tanks at each tochka of the two-meter-deep underground fortress to form a dense fire network. Both ends of the fortress were covered by wetlands. The two sides’ forces were similar in size at seven divisions, including the armoured division. Iran attempted a total of five attacks from July 15 to 28, 1982, in the month of Ramadan, an Islamic Feast, but all attacks failed. Iranian tanks had no choice but to approach closer to the Iraqi lines and attack directly. But the decision to approach closer left the tanks exposed and thus easier to target, as opposed to the Iraqi forces who were hidden away within the fortress with superior fire power. Moreover, Iran had no experience in modern tank warfare. At the Battle of Ramadan, Iran lost about half of its tanks and the operation ended in failure. Iraqi troops risked their lives to stop Iranian troops from using toxic gas at the Battle of Ramadan. As Iranian troops began to cross the border, Iraq attempted to block Iran’s ports to stop the oil trade. Iraqi fighter jets continuously bombed crude oil factories and storage facilities.

In August 1982, Iraq declared the northern waters of the Gulf as a

“No-Sailing Zone”. This was aimed at drawing attention from the international community to press for an end to the war. The indiscriminate attacks by Iraqi and Iranian air forces on the oil carriers entering and exiting ports continued and threatened the global energy economy. The war was becoming a war of exhaustion. On March 11, 1985, Iran launched Operation Badr to take an initiative of the war. It was a well-planned military operation by seasoned troops. Iran mobilized 15 divisions of elite units, and Iraqi forces also mobilized five divisions and six brigades for the battle.

It was the largest battle on both sides since the beginning of the war.

Finally, on March 13, Iranian troops succeeded in crossing the Tigris River.

When the Iraqi line of defense was breached by Iranian forces, President Saddam Hussein went to the front line to bring morale to the troops and Iraqi forces launched a desperate assault. The Iraqi fighter jets made 536 sorties and the helicopter gunships made 435 sorties in a day mobilizing Iraq’s air force to full capacity. Eventually, the Iranian military’s floating Bridges were destroyed and the landing boats were sunk, isolating the Iranian troops from the west coast of the Tigris River. The Iraqi Armored Division then successfully attacked Iranian forces thanks to the support of its air forces. In the operation, 27,200 Iranian troops were killed, and much broken equipment was left behind. Iran and Iraq clashed again in April 1987 by the Iranian initiative of the Operation Karbala. And from May 1987 to August 1988, the front lines stalled and there were no major battles between the two sides. Instead, the war turned into an exchange of missile attacks.

Iran attacked Iraq’s major oil city of Kirkuk and Baghdad by missiles in March 1988. Iraq also fired missiles to Tehran across the border.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Navy fleets began to convoy U.S. ships which sail in the Gulf under missile threats by the two countries. And, on September 21, 1987, a skirmish broke out between the Iranian Navy and the U.S.

Navy that was sailing the area. To make matters worse, on July 3, 1988, a U.S. Navy ship, Vincennes, shot down an Iranian commercial airliner IRA 655 and killed its 290 passengers, having mistaken it for a military aircraft. Amid these sensitive times, international pressure had grown, with the U.S. and the Soviet Union actively seeking to achieve peace. On July 18, 1988, the U.N. Security Council adopted the Resolution No. 598. And, Iran finally accepted the U.N. Security Council’s Resolution and agreed to end the war on August 20, 1988. The damage of the war was massive as follows; The death toll in Iraq was 100,000, the wounded 50,000, the war damage was $251.6 billion, and the economic loss was $170 billion.

And Iran was left with 250,000 people dead, 500,000 wounded, $503.2 billion in war damage, and $91.8 billion in economic losses.⁴