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Iran
THE IRAN-IRAQ WAR
As of June 1987, the major events of the war could generally
be divided into six overlapping phases: the original Iraqi offensive,
Iranian mobilization and resistance, the Iranian counteroffensive,
the war of attrition, Iraqi internationalization of the war, and
the surge in superpower involvement. In addition, there was the
tanker war in the Persian Gulf, which extended over several of
these phases.
The Original Iraqi Offensive
Baghdad originally planned a quick victory over Tehran. On September
22, 1980, Iraqi fighter aircraft attacked ten air bases in Iran.
Their aim was to destroy the Iranian air force on the ground--a
lesson learned from the Arab-Israeli June 1967 War. They succeeded
in destroying runways and fuel and ammunition depots, but much
of Iran's aircraft inventory was left intact. Simultaneously,
six Iraqi army divisions entered Iran on three fronts in an initially
successful surprise attack. On the northern front, an Iraqi mountain
infantry division captured Qasr-e Shirin, a border town in Bakhtaran
(formerly known as Kermanshahan) Province, and occupied territory
thirty kilometers eastward to the base of the Zagros Mountains.
This area was strategically significant because the main Baghdad-Tehran
highway traversed it. On the central front, Iraqi forces captured
Mehran, on the western plain of the Zagros Mountains in Ilam Province,
and pushed eastward to the mountain base. Mehran occupied an important
position on the major north-south road, close to the border on
the Iranian side. The main thrust of the attack, however, was
in the south. Iraqi armored units easily crossed the Shatt al
Arab waterway and entered the Iranian province of Khuzestan. While
some divisions headed toward Khorramshahr and Abadan, others moved
toward Ahvaz, the provincial capital and site of an air base.
Supported by heavy artillery fire, the troops made a rapid and
significant advance--almost eighty kilometers in the first few
days. In the battle for Dezful in Khuzestan, where a major air
base is located, the local Iranian army commander requested air
support in order to avoid a defeat. President Bani Sadr, therefore,
authorized the release from jail of many pilots, some of whom
were suspected of still being loyal to the shah. With the increased
use of the Iranian air force, the Iraqi progress was somewhat
curtailed .
The last major Iraqi territorial gain took place in early November
1980. On November 3, Iraqi forces reached Abadan but were repulsed
by a Pasdaran unit. Even though they surrounded Abadan on three
sides and occupied a portion of the city, the Iraqis could not
overcome the stiff resistance; sections of the city still under
Iranian control were resupplied by boat at night. On November
10, Iraq captured Khorramshahr after a bloody house-to-house fight.
The price of this victory was high for both sides, approximately
6,000 casualties for Iraq and even more for Iran.
Data as of December 1987
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