WAR OF THE DESERT: THE IRAN-IRAQ WAR

Soldier with a gas mask in the Iran-Iraq War (Credit: Wikipedia)

On September 22nd, 1980, the skies over Iran became filled with wooshes of foreign aircraft. Airbases and other important infrastructure was unexpectedly under attack. As Iran tried to mobilize a response, more news came from their shared border with Iraq. It became apparent what had happened: tensions with their western neighbour had imploded, and Iraq was invading. This move would trigger the start of a protracted conflict between the two nations, one which would be characterized by the use of trench warfare, human wave assaults, chemical warfare, and many more horrors not seen since World War I. This was the Iran-Iraq War, a conflict often neglected when talking This war held a massive impact on both Iraq and Iran, simply due to the sheer amount of people dead on both sides. This entry would explain the events from 1980 to the end of the war in 1988.

BACKGROUND

- Shatt al-Arab Conflict

A flashpoint of tension between Iran and Iraq began since as early as the late 1930s. The Shatt al-Arab waterway was a vital location, which enabled both countries to export oil to the world. Oil was something very valuable as many nations have begun industrializing, and the Middle East was abundant in them. Iraq and Iran mainly gained their revenues from this export of oil. Due to this important region, both countries sought to secure the Shatt al-Arab for themselves. Iraq had a lesser position in the dispute because they were a relatively new nation, having just received independence from Britain in 1936. In 1937, both nations signed a treaty which established the boundaries of the Shatt al-Arab between the two, and for sometime tensions cooled down. This state of peace remained for several decades.

Map of the Shatt al-Arab waterway (Credit: ResearchGate)

It was not until the 1960s that the question regarding the Shatt al-Arab flared again. Up until that point, a majority of the Shatt al-Arab belonged de facto to Iraq. When any foreign ship passed by, a majority of them Iranian, they had to pay a toll onto the Iraqi government. The Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, argued that this was unfair for Iran. Unlike most river borders in the world, the Shatt al-Arab did not abide to the thalweg principle that dictated international river borders. The thalweg principle stated that river borders should be established along the deepest part of said river. The Shatt al-Arab did not follow this rule, and so Iran demanded revisions to the 1937 treaty. Realizing Iraq would most likely refuse to back down, Iran decided to take matters into their own hands. In late April 1969, an Iranian tanker travelled through the waterway. However, this tanker was being escorted by Iranian warships, as part of Joint Operation Arvand, an act of defiance against the status quo in the Shatt al-Arab. Iraq was weaker than Iran, and did nothing to this move. However, it did spark a series of border skirmishes between 1974 and 1975 along the Iran-Iraq border. The fighting mainly broke out because Iraq had revealed that Iran was supporting Kurdish militias in northern Iraq. The Kurds were an ethnic group who have long wanted to establish an independent state, but Iraq was unwilling to see their northern regions secede. These skirmishes between the two countries escalated in 1975, when Iraq attacked their neighbour with tanks, but it was repelled by Iran's Western-supplied army. Ultimately, nearly 1,000 people died as a result of these border attacks, and it achieved nothing.

Faced with instability from the Kurdish populations, Iraq decided to withdraw and end its hostilities with Iran. A peace conference would be held in Algiers in 1975, which resulted in the Algiers Agreement. The terms of the agreement stipulated that Iraq had to make some territorial concessions to Iran. The entirety of the Shatt al-Arab would be ceded to Iran, in exchange for Iran terminating their support for the Kurdish rebels. The new border in the waterway was now adjusted to follow the thalweg principle.

- Iranian Revolution

Iran at the time was a Western-aligned nation, in great contrast to its image in the modern day. Iran was perceived as a bulwark against Soviet expansion in the context of the Cold War, and as a result it was stacked with Western equipment to ensure they blocked communist influence in the region. It held state-of-the-art tanks, aircraft, and other military weaponry, making it the fifth largest military in the world in the 1970s. They even possessed American F-4 Phantoms and F-14 Tomcats, both extremely reliable fighter jets of their era. Iranian pilots and military personnel received training from American trainers, and some even went to the US to receive direct and more formal training. All of this combined turned Iran into a regional powerhouse, easily outclassing their southern neighbours in the Persian Gulf. It was this key advantage that caused Iraq to lose so badly in the border conflicts.

Iran was headed by a monarchy, ruled by Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who was proclaimed as the Shah following a US-backed coup sometime in the post-World War II period. Pahlavi's regime ushered in a period of Westernization across the country, aiming to bring economic prosperity in the nation and pursue closer relations with the West; all those things had been largely accomplished. However, while Iran was prospering as a country, not many people agreed to the Pahlavi regime. His rule was tainted due to the presence of the SAVAK, Iran's dreaded secret police force. Moreover, political opposition against his rule was particularly strong, especially among conservative circles. One such opponent to the regime was Ruhollah Khomeini, a Muslim cleric. He had amassed a great following as many people aligned to his beliefs. Perceiving him as a threat, the Iranian government sent him to exile. Unbeknownst to Iran, this was only the beginning of the country's downfall.

As the political crisis widened, anti-government demonstrations broke out across the country. They protested the authoritarian nature of Pahlavi's reign, and wanted him deposed. These demonstrations increased in number in the late 1970s, and the catalyst for further violence came in the form of the Cinema Rex incident. During this incident, the cinema was burned by Islamist militants, burning 400 moviegoers alive. Many people were quick to blame the government for this incident, blaming the SAVAK as the true perpetrators of the incident. The misconception was fatal, as revolutionary ideals swept the nation coupled with protests erupting in major cities. Faced with overwhelming opposition, the Shah and his family was forced into exile in January 1979, granting the powers of the government to a regency council headed by Shapour Bakhtiar. The new government's fatal mistake was inviting Khomeini back from exile, and his arrival was showered by thousands who have become his loyal followers. Khomeini denounced the new government, viewing it as a continuation of the Pahlavi government. Within a matter of days, authority collapsed and fighting broke out between revolutionary guerillas and loyalist government forces in Tehran and other areas.

Photo of Khomeini in the revolution

(Credit: The New York Times)

In the aftermath of the 1979 revolution, the government collapsed, and in the interregnum, a referendum was held. An overwhelming majority approved for the government to become an Islamic republi

c, complete with a new constitution. This new government was a theocratic government centered around the beliefs of Shia Islam. Khomeini was sworn in as Iran's Supreme Leader, and it began to drift away from the Western sphere. Iran's Islamist ideology was fundamentally incompatible with Western ideologies, and as such the formerly star child of the West quickly became one of its hated. Relations with the US in particular began to deteriorate after a hostage crisis involving American civilians in the US embassy in Tehran. This had some negative effects for the new Islamic Republic of Iran. The revolution had caused chaos across the country, and to flee the anarchy that had engulfed the once-mighty superpower, many pilots and trained engineers have fled the country.

This was exasperated after Khomeini ordered a purge, taking place in all branches of the military. Military personnel that have served under the Pahlavi regime found themselves either exiled, imprisoned, or straight-up executed. This left Iran's impressive Western-made hardware to the hands of inexperienced people, making Iran a military power only on paper. In the end, 12,000 officers were purged, and all eyes were set on Iran as they awaited the next move of its unpredictable leadership.

- Preparation for War

Iran's revolution was met with widespread alarm in the Arab world. Particularly, its neighbour, Iraq. The country had by now been ruled by the Ba'athist Party of Saddam Hussein, who wished to reclaim the Shatt al-Arab and position Iraq as the regional power. His pan-Arab ideology was incompatible with Iran's pan-Islamist one, further made complicated when Khomeini actively called for an overthrow on Saddam's regimes. There were real fears that Iran's revolutionary ideals may leak into Iraqi borders. Ba'athist Iraq was a country that was officially secular but ruled by Sunni Muslims, while the country itself had a significant Shia Muslim population. Moreover, the Kurdish rebels continued to be an ever-present threat at Iraq's doorstep. Iraq's existential dread was overshadowed by the countless opportunities they could seize during the midst of the revolutionary chaos. Iran's military, always proving troublesome for Iraq's interests, was now in a state of disrepair. Practically overnight, Iraq had stolen the spotlight and its military was now superior. Saddam had widespread ambitions and dreams for this development. Firstly, he wanted to reclaim the Shatt al-Arab. Second, he sought to annex the Khuzestan province of Iran, which held an Arab majority and was rich in oil. If these objectives could be met, then Iraq would be one step closer to becoming the Persian Gulf's dominant country.

  Saddam Hussein and his generals

(Credit: SOFREP)

By 1980, Iraq possessed the second largest military in the Arab world. They had an army numbering more than 240,000 men, supplied with more than 2,000 tanks and 300 aircraft. It was an impressive military which easily overpowered Iran's. The threat of the Iranian Revolution spreading into the other Gulf states provided Iraq with the perfect casus belli for their invasion. They could simply reply that they were preventing the spread of the revolution. A couple months prior to the invasion, on July that year, Iraqi intelligence had reported that Iran was not planning on going on the offensive. This information bolstered confidence among the Iraqis that this war was going to be quick and decisive. The only major obstacle that Iraq identified would be Iran's air force. While indeed it was affected by the purge as well, it remained a largely effective combat force. It was useful in suppressing post-revolutionary rebellions and flexed its muscles during the hostage crisis with the US. As a result, Iraq's initial war strategy aimed to bomb key Iranian infrastructure that supported its air force, like airbases and the likes. As for the Shatt al-Arab, it proved no obstacle for the Iraqi army, which had river crossing equipment. The stage was set for the Iraqi invasion into Iran.

1980: THE IRAQI INVASION OF IRAN

On September 22nd, 1980, Iraq began their invasion of Iran. As per their plan, their incursion was preceded by an all-out Iraqi air attack across Iran. Their targets were airbases, airfields, and the likes to devastate the Iranian air force as much as possible. Such a strategy was replicated from Israel's during the Six-Day War a couple decades prior. A total of ten airfields were targetted by Iraq, but ultimately their efforts were futile. While it did damage some infrastructure like runways, it failed to destroy the aircraft themselves as they have been successfully protected by hardened aircraft shelters, shielding them from the airstrikes. Moreover, Iraq lacked the capabilities to launch an attack so deep into enemy territory. Most of Iran's air force remained relatively intact, and the damages inflicted on the airfields were soon quickly repaired.

Regardless of their failure to knock out the Iranian air force, Iraq continued their advance into Iranian territory. The disarray of the Iranian military meant that the response to the invasion would be slow, and those that initially responded to the Iraqi invasion would consist of the locals and police officers. Iraq opened the invasion by launching a three-pronged attack onto Iran. A majority of their forces were concentrated in the southern front, tasked with capturing and securing the Khuzestan province and encourage Arab rebellions against the Iranian government. Out of the six divisions sent to the frontlines, four of them were mobilized into the southern front. Important cities like Khorramshahr and Abadan were prime targets, being besieged. Unfortunately for them, their hopes of an Arab revolt in Khuzestan was a failure, as the Arab populations there remained loyal to Tehran. The remaining two were sent to the north and central fronts respectively. In the northern front, Iraqi forces only advanced a few miles into Iranian territory before stopping and setting up defensive positions. This part of the front needed to be defended because it was the site of the Kirkuk oil fields, a vital component for Iraq's oil production. In the central front, Iraqi forces managed to capture the city of Mehran and advance up until the foot of the Zagros Mountains.

Iraqi tanks began to run through the Khuzestan province, poised to seize the province. The Iraqi invaders soon reached the city of Khorramshahr. The ensuing battle for the city was not a quick ordeal as Iraq had hoped; instead, the battle became the single largest urban battle in the entire war, and unbeknownst to both sides, it would become exceptionally bloody. Despite their disorganization, the Iranians were able to mount effective defenses around the city, preparing dikes consisting of soldiers and heavy weaponry. On the first day, Iraqi tanks approached the city in a crescent-like formation, encountering stiff resistance from Iranian anti-tank outposts in the outskirts of the city. Iraqi artillery did their dirty work, bombarding the city's inner districts. In the aftermath of this relentless barrage, the city lay in ruins, covered in smoke and ash, while dead civilians litter the rubble. Much of the city's water supplies had been tainted and/or cut off, the train station was obliterated, and electricity was turned off due to the barrage. Meanwhile, the advance of Iraqi tanks were slowed down by the Iranian defenders, using recoilless rifles to damage tanks by the dozen. While a majority of the Iranian defenses would be neutralized, it slowed down the Iraqi advance considerably, allowing the Iranians to construct additional defenses.

Within the following days, Iraqi forces would continue to encircle the city and capture the roads leading to other cities like Abadan. With the outer defenses cleared and the city effectively besieged on all sides, Iraq began deploying thousands of troops, pouring into Khorramshahr via the southern ports. The first assault's objective included a barracks, a slaughterhouse, and the railway station. The invaders were oblivious to the incoming battle. Iranian troops began to ambush the Iraqis within roads and the suburbs, attacking them with Molotov cocktails and rocket-propelled grenades. Iran began to mobilize the few remaining British-made Chieftain tanks in their military to counter their Iraqi counterparts. They had much superior firepower, and foiled Iraq's hopes of a sweeping first assault. While the Iraqis heavily outnumbered the Iranians, they sustained heavy casualties and were unable to advance any further. While two of the three objectives were captured after brutal fighting, Iraqi forces quickly withdrew as Iranian tanks continued to be deployed on mass.

Combat during the Battle of Khorramshahr (1980)

(Credit: Wikipedia)

The first assault was a devastating ordeal for Iraq. It forced their leadership to plan their attacks into the city more carefully. Their new strategy was now to attack key points within the city, such as ports and bridges. At the same time, Iraqi forces outside the city continued their artillery barrage to support the incoming infantry. The second assault commenced under the cover of darkness, but even then their advance would be foiled by the presence of Iranian snipers positioning themselves within buildings. Nevertheless, Iraqi combined arms attacks managed to overwhelm the defenders and eventually overpower the Iranian tanks. The second assault was a success; Iraqi special forces and commando units seized their intended objectives, now including police stations, and the highway leading to the Grand Mosque. The fighting during this phase became a bloody affair; the frontlines were measured within individual buildings, as house-to-house fighting and close-quarters combat became prevalent. The Iranians resorted to using anything they could find to be turned into a weapon.

The third assault proved to be the decisive offensive. Iraqi forces set their eyes on the final two objectives they deemed important: the government building and the last remaining bridge linking Khorramshahr to Abadan. Their goal was to secure these objectives within a span of 48 hours to finally take control of the entire city. The bridge saw heavy fighting between Iraqi and Iranian forces as the latter desperately defended their positions. However, within five hours, fighting ceased in the bridge as Iraqi forces successfully secured it. As Iraqi forces stormed through the neighbourhood, they soon encountered the last vestiges of Iranian resistance. Tank combat became increasingly obsolete due to the narrow spaces of the city streets. All the while, artillery rained from above, destroying anything in its path. By November, the Iranian defenders were exhausted, and their ammunitions ran dry. An evacuation order was officially issued among the remaining Iranian troops in the city, and the retreating soldiers were quickly shelled by Iraqi artillery. Those few that were either stubborn or stupid enough to stay behind fell quickly. On November 10th, 1980, the city of Khorramshahr had fallen. Over 7,000 people, civilians and soldiers alike, died during the battle. The nature of the battle led it to Khorramshahr earning the name "City of Blood."

The defeats suffered by Iran was hoped to cause a collapse of the Iranian government. Unfortunately for Saddam, it had the opposite effect. The invasion had practically united Iran against a foreign invader, momentarily silencing opposition as even supporters of the late Pahlavi regime amassed behind the Khomeinist banner. The previously defunct Iranian army was now slowly rebuilding itself, as many people eagerly joined the army in defense of their country. That was not to say that disagreements and fractures within the leadership were fixed. Within the ground forces, there was a developing rivalry between the regular Iranian army and the newly formed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (shortened to IRGC for simplicity purposes). This new branch of the military was intended as its elite fighting force and was assigned to spearhead offensive operations, with the army relegated to a more secondary, supportive role. This caused friction between the two branches of the military.

What was not fractured was Iran's air force, which remained strong. In fact, it immediately asserted its superiority during the second day of the war, as Iran launched their own retaliatory airstrikes on Iraqi airbases. In addition, oil fields and refineries were also targetted by squadrons of F-4 Phantoms and F-5 Tigers, Western-made jets still in Iran's disposal. To avoid detection from radar systems, Iranian fighter jets flew close to the ground sometimes being so low that they hit billboards or power lines. One of these bombing operations was Operation Scorch Sword, when Iran launched an airstrike on the Osirak nuclear reactor in Baghdad to prevent Iraq from using nuclear weapons in the war. These airstrikes irritated Saddam so much that he had some of his military leaders executed for the perceived failure to defend Iraqi airspace from Iran.

Iraq's air force was also heavily damaged. In short, Iraq dominated the ground invasion, but Iran had achieved aerial superiority. To ensure the balance of power remained on their side, the Iranian military began cannibalizing their own military equipment, taking spare parts and using them for other equipment.

1981: THE STALEMATE SETTLES

With the skies controlled by Iran and the Battle of Khorramshahr proving to be a costly victory for Iraq, their invasion began to stall. Attempting to take advantage of the situation, Iranian high command was willing to launch counteroffensives of their own to push back Iraq from Khuzestan and possibly pushing even further. Their offensive was codenamed Operation Nasr, or Operation Victory. This operation would be centered around the city of Dezful, which was also an important city in the province. Iran began discreetly gaining supplies from Israel, purely for pragmatic reasons as the war provided opportunities for them. Iraq, on the other hand, had support from the majority of the Arab world due to their shared fears of Iran as well as from the Soviet Union. Operation Victory would mobilize much of Iran's Western-made tanks against Iraq's Soviet-made ones, but the true factor of the battle would be strategy. Operation Nasr was fuelled by politics rather than military strategy. Its primary supporter was President Abulhassan Banisadr, whose popularity was waning as a result of the Army-IRGC feud. He was a staunch advocator for the regular army, but his opposition from the Islamic Republic Party (IRP) supported the IRGC. Banisadr hoped that the success of Operation Nasr would heal his political image and undermine supporters of the IRGC, restoring the army's prestige and securing his position. He could not foresee that the operation would culminate into the largest tank battle in the entire war.

An Iraqi T-62 tank

(Credit: Wikipedia)

Prior to the launching of the operation, Iran launched several diversionary attacks to fool Iraqi forces in early January. Their main attack relied primarily on surprise, but it proved to be too difficult of a task. This was because the ground around Susangerd, which the Iranian tanks needed to traverse, was very muddy due to rainfall. Naturally, this made it a natural obstacle for tanks as they would get bogged down in the mud or get stuck entirely. Iran deployed 300 tanks in total in this operation, and to avoid the muddy terrain, they had to use the paved roads. This created a narrow column that left the tanks exposed, while the infantry was positioned in the very back. As a result of their slow movement, it wasn't long until Iraqi reconnaissance revealed the coming Iranian attack. To prepare for the attack, they dug their tanks into the mud, utilizing them as static units to bombard the Iranians. Tank engagements between the two armies subsequently began. Immediately, Iran's attacking formation collapsed into chaos. The battle was one-sided as Iraq held their ground and annihilated the Iranian tanks, largely stuck in the mud. Iran tried to bomb enemy positions from the skies, but that did little to change the tide of the battle. The Iraqi forces were well-equipped, possessing anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons. They bombed the pontoon bridge over the river, effectively trapping the Iranians and preventing them from retreating.

In the aftermath of the slaughter, Iran lost 214 tanks, while Iraq only lost 45. Fortunately for Iran, the Iraqi victory received no follow-up. The Iraqis were too entrenched in their positions, and they were ultimately unable to capitalize on their success. However, it did have major implications in Iran's domestic situation. For one, it was a fatal blow to Banisadr's reputation. The failure of the operation accelerated his downfall, and the IRP and IRGC gradually established their positions of power. For his actions that led to such a devastating defeat, Banisadr was impeached by the Iranian government, a decision approved by Khomeini. He managed to flee and evade his punishment. In the wake of his fall from grace, Iran became a one-party state under the hegemon of the IRP. The sense of unity in the country shattered as anti-government activity and resistance increased. Political figures were assassinated, and it almost seemed like Iran was at the brink of civil war. Nevertheless, a compromise was settled between the Army and the IRGC. The latter would spearhead offensives while the former would be relegated to providing support and reinforcements.

The rest of 1981 would see the frontlines become a stalemate. Iraq had better weapons but they paled in comparison to Iran's manpower. Iran had the opposite problem; more manpower, less effective technology. Along the frontlines, trenches were dug in by both sides as they faced each other across a few yards of no man's land, reminiscent of World War I's Western Front. With their larger pool of manpower, Iran was able to launch offensives onto Iraqi trenches. They were supplied with the Basij, a group of militiamen that were composed of an entirely volunteer force. Many of these Basij militias were child soldiers, indoctrinated to join the war at such a young age. Iran's strategy was simple: human wave assaults. From their trenches, they would launch costly infantry assaults straight onto Iraqi trenches. The child soldiers would be placed at the forefront of the attack, being largely used as machine gun fodder to soak up Iraqi MGs and/or clear minefields to detonate them at the expense of their own lives. The IRGC followed behind, and the army advanced at the very back. Their sheer numbers meant that the Iraqis would be quickly overwhelmed, and when weakened, the IRGC and the army would sweep through the remains of the Iraqi defenses using their armored vehicles. Was this successful? Sometimes, and it was a very costly strategy. Thousands of men died crossing no man's land as they charge machine gun positions with practically no cover. Iraq committed their fair share of morally questionable military strategy: chemical warfare. While the use of poison gas was illegal according to the laws of the Geneva Convention, Saddam's regime continued anyway, deploying the gas along the front to some success. For now, either side were unable to gain as much territory, and so the front remained entrenched and deadlocked.

There were still various important battles that broke out during this period of trench warfare. Trying to reverse their failures from Operation Nasr, Iranian high command issued a new offensive aimed at liberating the city of Abadan, which had been under siege for nearly a year. This offensive was codenamed Operation Eighth Imam. Prior to the attack, several diversionary assaults were carried out. These diversions served to fool the Iraqi defenders that their main attack would be centered towards an advance to Basra, an important Iraqi city near the border. It was a success, and Iraq pooled in their manpower to Basra instead of Abadan. Airstrikes by the Iranian air force the day before the main attack began cleared the skies of Iraqi fighter jets. The main attack itself took place during nighttime, surprising the Iraqis as they were unprepared for such a sudden nighttime attack. Through strategic maneuver warfare, the Iranians shredded through the weakpoints of Iraqi positions and isolated several of the remaining Iraqi soldiers, encircling them using armored vehicles. The devastation of the Iranian attack forced the surviving Iraqi troops to make a hasty retreat across the river, abandoning several of their equipment free for Iran to take. The operation was a success, and Abadan was liberated.

In the air war, Iran scored another victory. As they gained aerial superiority, the Iraqis moved their main airbase to H-3 Airbase near the western border with Jordan. The Iranians launched a raid onto the airbase, destroying a significant portion of the Iraqi air force's remaining fighter jets. Without going into detail, the attack on H-3 Airbase is considered to be one of the most sophisticated aerial operations in the war and one of the most successful air raids in the history of aerial warfare.

1982: IRAQ ON THE RETREAT

Iran had massively prepared for their next counter-offensive, one designed to finally liberate Khuzestan. Several of its strategically important cities had been liberated, including Abadan and Bostan (the latter liberated during Operation Tariq al-Quds). Iran needed just one final offensive to kick the Iraqis out of the country and possibly advance into Iraqi territory if necessary. Iranian high command prepared Operation Fath ol-Mobin, or "Undeniable Victory." The offensive was opened with a surprise attack behind Iraqi lines as Iranian troops were deployed via helicopters. Behind enemy lines, the Iranians neutralized their artillery and even managed to capture one of the Iraqi military headquarters. The proper battle began as Iranian troops, both IRGC and Army, supported with their tanks, advanced across the desert for a two-pronged attack, aiming to execute a pincer maneuver on the Iraqis. Under threat of encirclement, Iraq launched a counterattack with their own tanks, but they were soon bombed to oblivion by Iranian airstrikes. The offensive became an overwhelming Iranian success; within six days, Iraq had lost 8,000 soldiers dead and another 20,000 captured. More than 300 of their tanks, 18 of their aircraft, and hundreds more vehicles were destroyed. Iran's losses were about 4,000 dead, with nearly 200 of their tanks destroyed.

Iran launched a follow-up operation called Operation Beit ol-Moqaddas, during which the Iranian air force continued to harass and obliterate their Iraqi counterparts. This offensive would be the one to push Iraq back to their borders. With a mix of human wave assaults, airstrikes, and a combined arms attack, the Iranians exerted an overwhelming amount of pressure on their Iraqi adversaries. Unable to sustain any further losses, the Iraqis were forced to retreat, vacating the Susangerd area. Again, thousands of Iraqi troops were lost, a majority of them captured along with their equipment and tanks. In the aftermath of these devastating offensives, Iraq was forced to pull back beyond the Karun River. Their occupation zones now only included Khorramshahr and other insignificant territory. The Iraqis tried their best to ensure that the city would never be captured, setting defenses around the perimeters and concentrating 70,000 troops. Saddam himself visited the city, vowing that they would never relinquish control over it.

The Second Battle of Khorramshahr, just two years after its first, would prove to be just as bloody. The only link tying the city to the rest of Iraqi supply lines was through the Shatt al-Arab. The Iranian air force subsequently bombed the bridges into the city while their artillery pounded on its districts. Through their sheer numbers, the Iranian forces were able to push the Iraqis out of the surrounding regions. The Iraqis desperately attempted a counterattack to prevent Iranian troops from entering the city, but that failed. The city found itself besieged on all sides, and just like its predecessor, intense urban combat followed as both sides battled it out within the streets and buildings, with Iran sluggishly making gains. Two days of fighting ensued, before the city finally fell to Iranian hands. The liberation of Khorramshahr was an overwhelming victory for Iran, as it boosted troop morale and effectively evicted Iraq from the country entirely. The day the city was liberated, May 24th, became a symbolic date in Iran. In total, Iraq suffered 8,000 dead and tens of thousands more captured and/or wounded. Iran lost comparatively more losses, suffering 15,000 dead and thousands more wounded.

Dead troops in the battle

(Credit: IRNA English)

The battle at Khorramshahr became the catalyst for ceasefire proposals. Saddam and the Iraqi leadership had found the war to be highly unfavorable to them. The war they thought was going to be a quick victory backfired spectacularly and brought tremendous economic strain; while a majority of Western and Arab countries declared their support for Iraq, declining oil revenues and increased war debt made it all the more difficult for the country's internal situation. There was also the threat of the Kurdish rebels, which were being supported by Iran, threatening instability. When Saddam offered a ceasefire to the Iranians, they flatly rejected it. Khomeini declared that he would not accept peace until the Ba'athist regime was overthrown and war reparations be paid. There were even calls to capture and put Saddam on trial as a war criminal once Iran got their hands on him. This was evident as Iran began to push deeper into Iraqi territory, launching an invasion of their own and bringing the war to Iraqi soil.

IRANIAN INVASION OF IRAQ

The Iraqi army began to shift their doctrine into a defensive one, because they were unwilling and unable to launch anymore offensives. Receiving additional Soviet and Chinese weaponry, Iraq began to lay the groundworks for the stalemate that would ensue for the next five years. The Iraqi soldiers would construct in-depth defenses that were designed to bleed the Iranian dry. Since the Iranians were more likely to launch mass infantry assaults and human wave charges, this would be proven effective. When the number of attacking Iranians proved too overwhelming, the Iraqis would retreat into better defensive trenches, and with the aid of artillery and armored vehicles, pin the Iranians into a death funnel and push them back. This was the strategy that Iraq pursued in the war. It was further helped by the fact that much of the fighting and the frontlines took place along the border and near military bases, meaning troops can be moved in and out with relative ease. On the other hand, the Iranians were fighting in foreign soil, and their supply lines were fragile due to it running along the mountainous border.

Iranian high command was aware of their logistical problems and planned for a full-scale offensive aimed to capture Baghdad while their supply lines were still intact. The methods to do so would take a more systematic approach rather than a blitzkrieg-like movement into the capital. Iran began their offensive, codenamed Operation Ramadan, on the southern Iraqi city of Basra. It involved over 180,000 Iranian troops. Iraqi intelligence had revealed the incoming attack, and the Iraqis responded accordingly, setting up defensive positions in areas targetted by the Iranians. To throw their assault into disarray, the Iraqis resorted to using tear gas on the enemy. They were entrenched into deep defensive positions, in accordance to their defensive strategy, and mowed down the countless human wave assaults conducted by the Iranians. The Iraqi defense was supported by an extensive series of bunkers and artillery placements. Eventually, however, fighting occurred in close-quarters, and by the eighth day of the offensive, Iran managed to make considerable gains into Iraqi territory.

Iranian fighter jets active in the war

(Credit: Medium)

The offensive came to a halt as the Iranians dug in to consolidate their gains. Iraq took the opportunity to bombard the fresh Iranian positions with their helicopters, destroying and harassing Iranian tank columns and other armored vehicles. The battle extended into the skies as both sides wrestled control over aerial supremacy. By the time Iran came dangerously close to Basra, their troops were severely underequipped and surrounded by the Iraqis, poised to attack on three sides. Utilizing heavy weaponry, the Iranians were annihilated and they were forced to retreat. The Iraqis were successful, but also suffered heavy losses in the process. Around 80,000 people, civilians and soldiers alike, became casualties of the offensive. The failure of Operation Ramadan limited Iran's attacks around the border regions, but they too met failure in that sector of the front as they only made limited gains.

1983 - 84: WAR OF ATTRITION

The year was 1983, and the war had lasted for three years. The two autocratic regimes of both sides refused to back down now, all while casualties mounted.

By early 1983, Iran shifted their focus onto the northern and central fronts, a change likely influenced by their failures the previous year. Subsequently, they launched Operation Before the Dawn, deploying 200,000 IRGC troops to attack a stretch of the front running along the city of Amarah  with the ultimate goal of reaching the highway connecting the northern and southern portions of Iraq. The attack was done in almost unfavorable terrain; the path ahead was riddled with hilly terrain and forests, but the Iraqis failed to stop the relentless Iranian advance. From their positions, the Iranians focused their artillery bombardments onto Amarah and Basra. Iran suffered heavy casualties, mainly during the suicidal attempts of their soldiers by detonating and clearing the mines scattered across the battlefield by the Iraqis. This battle began to see a change among the Iranian leadership as they began to reduce the usage of human wave assaults.

A child soldier serving for Iran

(Credit: Wikipedia)

As a follow-up to their offensive, Iran launched the Dawn Operations, a series of major Iranian offensives taking place that year. Operation Dawn-1 was launched first, with the aim of capturing the road connecting Basra to Baghdad in the central front. Fighting involved around 50,000 soldiers for both sides. The Iraqi air force, having slightly recovered from their losses in the early years of the war, carried out airstrikes onto the Iranian cities of Khorramshahr, Dezful, and Ahvaz as retaliation for their offensive. Operation Dawn-1 saw a majority of the fighting being spearheaded by IRGC troops, who launched human wave assaults on mass.

Ultimately, however, the Iranians failed to defeat the Iraqis. Operation Dawn-2 saw Iran enlarge their activities in the northern front, because they were helped by Kurdish separatists who allied with the Iranians. Insurgencies and rebellions conducted by the Kurds were funded by Iran, turning them into a de facto proxy to fight on their behalf. Iran managed to capture the town of Haj Omran with the help of their Kurdish allies. Iraq attempted to dislodge the Iranian positions by deploying chemical gas onto the town. As tensions with the Kurds increases, Iraqi authorities began a policy of ethnic cleansing on the Kurdish population, using chemical gas to dispose them. This policy expanded into what was known as the Anfal campaign, in which thousands of Kurdish civilians died due to Iraq's policies. Operation Dawn-3 was later launched, with the aim of liberating the Iranian border town of Mehran, which was still under Iraqi occupation along with some other towns. As part of their counterattack, Iraq installed chemical warheads onto their helicopters, but it was proven ineffective. By the end of these offensives, 17,000 people in total have died and neither side achieved a significant breakthrough.

Operation Dawn-4 was later launched, when Iran was again supported by the Kurds, as their combined troops began to approach the important Iraqi city of Suleimaniyah. Iran ordered the Kurds to seize control of the Banjuin Valley, a location which was relatively close to the city and to the Kirkuk oil fields. To prevent the attack, Iraq used chemical weapons again, using their bioweapon-equipped helicopters to both launch airstrikes and deploy gas on mass levels. These attacks proved sufficient in halting the Iranian advance. Nearly 8,000 soldiers in total died for both sides. The operation saw Iran regain most of its border regions, advance a little into Iraqi territory, and capture thousands of Iraqi soldiers while recovering the equipment that they abandoned. The complicated affair in the northern front became a factor of the Iraqi military's gradual weakening during the midpoint of the war.

Both sides had prepared for a protracted war, but now it began to enter a phase of attrition warfare. Iran enjoyed a larger population than Iraq and could replace their personnel losses, but Iraq with a comparatively smaller population was still able to pose a challenge to Iran due to their better weaponry and foreign support.

The frontline of the Iran-Iraq War

(Credit: Wikimedia Commons)

Moreover, the Dawn Operations taught Iranian high command to begin to abandon their use of mass infantry charges and to form more complex offensive strategies as Iraq began to ramp up their military spending. Iran began to play their hands in maneuver warfare, sometimes launching small-scale attacks meant to chip away the Iraqi lines and inflict as many casualties as possible. Iran's strategy was to deplete Iraq's economy into ruin, while funding rebels and separatist militias in the north to cause further discontent in the country. To counter the usage of in-depth defenses used by Iraq, Iran began to launch their attacks in areas where their enemy was unable to use their heavy weapons, i.e. marshes, valleys, and mountains. As such, soldiers from both the Army and the IRGC received extensive training to prepare them for combat in the muddy marshes of southern Iraq, where they would soon focus the brunt of their offensives in.

The stage was set for the so-called "Battle of the Marshes", gaining its name due to the environment where the battles took place. In early 1984, Iran made their offensive in Operation Kheibar, conducted by well-trained troops. Iran launched attacks on the central front, aiming to once again capture Basra and secure the highways. Their primary attack was to be done on the marshlands located in the north of the city, which Iraqi high command had falsely believed would provide a natural defense. The ensuing battle was almost evenly matched; both sides mustered around 250,000 troops. As per Iran's new offensive strategy, the marshlands made Iraqi vehicles difficult to move around, and negated the damage usually inflicted by artillery. Prior to the main assault, Iran carried out Operation Dawn-5 and Dawn-6, while landing behind enemy lines to destroy artillery. Operation Kheibar subsequently began with Iranian troops crossing the marshes with motorboats and helicopters.

The Iranians planned to land their troops onto the Majnoon Island, which was rich with oil and served as a communication line for Iraqi troops. They encountered stiff resistance from the Iraqi air force, but managed to land troops on the island regardless of the losses. The Iraqis actually began to dominate the skies by intercepting Iranian transport helicopters. Meanwhile, in the fighting on the ground, the mud and the waters reached around 2 meters deep, or around 7 feet. The Iraqi troops had a sinister yet smart strategy to counter the Iranian troops; they dipped live wires onto the water, electrocuting the Iranians crossing the marshes. After brutal fighting in the marshes, Iranian troops finally reached open ground as they began advancing into the town of Qurna and rapidly approaching the Baghdad-Basra highway. However, the Iraqis immediately counterattacked with practically every weapon imaginable in their arsenal. The heavy Iraqi counterattack forced the Iranians back to the marshes.

The Battle of the Marshes became the site of brutal combat. The Iraqis set up layered defenses, preventing the Iranians from advancing any further even if they broke the first defensive line. The slow movement of Iranian troops allowed the Iraqis to annihilate them, inflicting 20,000 deaths onto the Iranians. Nevertheless, the marshes remained under Iranian control, and was used as a springboard for other attacks.

THE TANKER WAR

Unable to achieve a breakthrough in the main frontlines, Iraq began to carry out strategic bombing campaigns to damage and cripple Iranian infrastructure and potentially weaken morale. Iraq also tried to bait Iran into provoking the great powers like the US. This mindset led to the outbreak of a theatre of the war dubbed as the "Tanker War." To choke Iran's economy and trade capabilities, Iraq began attacking Iranian shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. The most critical of these targets were the oil tankers and terminals in Kharg Island. In risk of provoking the United States – which had several times warned the two warring countries that if the strait was closed, they would intervene – Iran began to concentrate their attacks solely on Iraqi shipping.

A damaged ship, one of many that are victim to the war

(Credit: History Today)

Nevertheless, the strait had now become an active warzone, and any ship found within the strait risked being attacked and sunk. Armed by Soviet weaponry, Iraq continued their bombing campaign onto Kharg Island, critically damaging several of its infrastructure. As retaliation, Iran sunk an oil tanker belonging to neutral Kuwait, which was transporting Iraqi oil. Moreover, a Saudi tanker was also sunk. Since Iraq had become landlocked as a result of the war, it relied on its trusted neighbours to sell its oil abroad. If Iran wanted to cripple Iraq's oil exports, it needed to target neutral shipping. Iran expanded their operations by stating that any ship that belonged to a country sympathetic to Iraq was subjected to an attack. For the rest of the Tanker War, both Iran and Iraq attacked neutral ships in an effort to starve one another of economic resources. The war escalated when Iranian fighter jets trespassed into Saudi airspace to sink their tankers. Saudi Arabia responded by sending their own fighter jets to shoot down their Iranian counterparts.

Iran aimed to enact a naval blockade on the rest of Iraq. Soldiers of the IRGC's naval branch would often hop on speedboats, armed with rocket launchers and machine guns, to raid any tanker ships. The Iraqi air force was unable to lift the blockade since they lacked proper training against naval targets. The Tanker War saw a new phase when a US ship, Stark, was sunk by Iraqi fighters. Their ship's radar did not detect the missiles until it was too late, and as a result the ship sunk, killing nearly 40 sailors.

Throughout the entirety of the Tanker War, nearly 550 merchant ships were sunk. Many of these attacks were perpetrated by Iraq, who attacked three times more than Iran. When Iran began attacking Kuwaiti tankers, Kuwait formally asked for foreign intervention in order to protect their merchant ships. The US intervened by launching operations Earnest Will and Prime Chance. These operations aimed to ensure neutral merchant ships were not attacked by flying the US flag on them. This fooled Iran and Iraq that it was an American ship, and thus they wouldn't risk attacking it. Due to the threats of entering the waters in the strait, less and less ships entered Iran, prompting them to accuse the US of aiding Iraq.

WAR OF THE CITIES

In addition to the Tanker War, another theatre of the conflict also became infamously known as the "War of the Cities." As more and more Soviet and Western aid flooded into Iraq, the country's air force began to recover from their repeated losses with newer and sophisticated military equipment. Sanctions placed on Iran as well as the lack of spare parts in the country meant that the Iranian air force heavily limited their operations to preserve their forces. Taking advantage of this weakness, Iraq began to launch strategic bombing campaigns over major Iranian cities. Previously in the war, Iranian border towns and the occasional urban city was targetted for bombing, but those attacks were smaller in scale. The Iraqi air force began bombing Tehran and other such cities, with the goal of damaging Iran's industrial sectors to choke their economy and terrorize the population, potentially lowering morale. Some of the Iraqi attacks also involved chemical gas as usual. In response, Iran increased their focus on anti-air defenses during the later stages of the war. They also retaliated by launching bombings of their own over Baghdad, Basra, and other cities. Thousands of civilians died in these air raids, only amounting to the destructiveness of the war.

THE OFFENSIVES OF 1985 - 86

Near the end of 1984, the military losses of both sides were staggering. Iran had endured the loss of 300,000 soldiers while Iraq lost half that number. The war remained a stalemate apart from a minor Iranian advance in Mehran, one of their border towns which had been occupied since the start of the war. A critical reason to why the war was a stalemate was simply because both sides were inept with modern military equipment and failed to implement modern strategies. Equipment and vehicles were oftentimes abandoned by either side due to their engineers being unable to repair them. While the war on land was raging, the Tanker War was also a thorn on both sides.

The years 1985 and 1986 would see Iraq regain the initiative, however. Now supplied with more equipment and materiel from the Arab world, Iraq began to be more confident and launched offensives of their own. Their first primary objective was the capture of Majnoon Island, held by Iran following the battle of the marshes. Their advance was soon stopped by the Iranians, who, numbering 200,000 troops, reinforced their positions. Nevertheless, Iraqi forces managed to secure a foothold on the island's southern tip.

As retaliation for the Iraqi attacks, Iran launched an offensive codenamed Operation Badr. It was named after a pivotal moment in Islamic history, when the Prophet Muhammad achieved his first victory in the Battle of Badr. Iran aimed to replicate their successes at Operation Kheibar, aiming to take the fight onto the marshlands once more. Around 100,000 troops were committed for the operation, with another 60,000 awaiting for action in reserve. This offensive saw extensive planning conducted by the Iranian high command. They noted areas in which tanks could be safely landed and began building pontoon bridges across the marshlands for easier troop movement. When the Iranians launched their operation, Iraq was unable to hold their advance. Eventually, their defensive lines were shattered and they were forced to retreat. Meanwhile, north of Qurna, the IRGC launched their own attack, managing to achieve a similar breakthrough in the front. Iranian troops managed to reach the Baghdad-Basra Highway 6, an objective that they had failed to capture during their previous Dawn Operations.

Unbeknownst to Iran, Iraq was preparing for a massive counterattack. The Iraqi army began attacking Iranian positions in the highway by releasing poison gas onto their positions. Moreover, Saddam ordered for an intensification of the strategic bombing campaign over Iran. The Iraqi air force, now led by competent commanders, launched airstrikes onto Iranian positions, pinning them down and making them vulnerable to further attacks. Weak and unable to maneuver, the Iranians were now at the mercy of the main Iraqi counterattack. With armored vehicles and artillery, the Iraqis initiated a pincer maneuver onto the Iranians. More poison gas was released, and Iranian trenches were cleverly flooded by diverting water from the nearby Tigris River through pipes leading to their trenches. The Iranians fled, losing the highway and being pushed back to the marshes. Operation Badr was a failure, and more or less 15,000 soldiers died from both sides.

In the air war, the Iranian air force's quality began to deteriorate. Much of their equipment were either replaced or under extensive repair. Iran began experimenting with new weapons and technologies at a time when the Iraqi air force was ascendant. The Iraqis integrated more sophisticated and advanced weaponry onto their air force, allowing them to bypass Iranian anti-air defenses. Iraq also began to use modified Scud missiles, which usually possessed too short of a range to hit cities like Tehran. However, with the enlisted help of East German engineers, they were able to remodel these missiles into al-Husayn missiles. These missiles were divided and cut up into three parts and reattached together. With the modified Scuds, the Iraqis were able to ramp up their "War of the Cities" campaign and outrun Iranian anti-air response. To balance the playing field, Iran also toyed with Scud missiles and attacked their Iraqi enemies. Iran's offensives continued to be hampered by the lack of reliable equipment. As a result, they began capturing abandoned Iraqi equipment, but even these, too, were not readily operational and required repairs.

In early 1986, Iran launched Operation Dawn-8 under the cover of midnight. Iran deployed 30,000 troops with the aim of capturing the al-Faw Peninsula, located in southern Iraq. The Iranians advanced in a two-pronged attack, heavily committed to its capture as it was one of the operational objectives for the Iranian high command. They also launched another minor attack towards Basra, which was expectedly stopped by the Iraqis.

The Battle of al-Faw formally began when Iranian troops landed on the southern tip of the peninsula in an amphibious operation. The Iraqi defenders on the peninsula were poorly trained, and largely fled. The Iranians successfully established a foothold and constructed pontoon bridges across the Shatt al-Arab waterway. This allowed their troops to safely and swiftly pass through. They advanced northwards, capturing the entire peninsula after almost a day of fighting. To consolidate their gains, they settled into defensive positions. The capture of the peninsula was a major surprise for Iraq. They had falsely believed it would be impossible for Iran to capture it. Iraq launched two counterattacks meant to liberate the peninsula, but both attempts had failed and resulted in many of their tanks and aircraft being destroyed. Iran's next target was the port of Umm Qasr, which if captured, would completely place the Persian Gulf under Iranian control. However, this attack failed because Iran lacked adequate armored vehicles. Meanwhile, the fighting in the al-Faw Peninsula lasted until the end of the war in 1988, with neither side able to break the deadlock.

The al-Faw Peninsula

(Credit: Wikipedia)

In response to the capture of al-Faw, Iraq launched an offensive onto the Iranian border city of Mehran. Located near the Zagros Mountains, Iraqi forces launched an attack onto the city, supported with helicopters. With their overwhelming force, the Iraqis managed to capture the city. With their victory, the Iraqis seek to advance deeper into Iranian territory. Their attempts to push further failed as Iraq launched a counterattack with their air force, damaging a significant proportion of their tanks. The Iranians began setting up positions in the mountainside, and conducted mountain warfare against the Iraqis. Through their tactics, Iran successfully retook Mehran. With the Iraqi army crippled due to the defeat, the Iranians were able to advance into Iraqi territory. The defeats at al-Faw and Mehran destabilized Saddam's regime. By this point in the war, many believed Iran was going to win. This encouraged the US, the Western powers, and the Arab world to ramp up their support for Iraq and prevent an Iranian victory. Finally hearing the pleas of his military leaders, Saddam began to grant more freedom in the Iraqi military, letting his generals do whatever was best to secure victory.

THE OFFENSIVES OF 1987 - 88

While the Iraqi army was reorganizing and putting more emphasis on the air and Tanker War, Iran launched another offensive in the land war. By the dawn of 1987, Iran renewed their human wave offensives, using them in the northern and southern fronts. In anticipation of another offensive, Iraq had constructed a ring of fortifications around Basra, incorporating natural barriers like the Shatt al-Arab as part of their defenses. One of the Iraqi defenses was nicknamed Fish Lake, and contrary to what its name may suggest, this lake was entirely full of underwater mines, barbed wire, sensors, and the likes. Sitting comfortably behind these defenses were helicopters and artillery loaded with both chemical or conventional warheads. Iran's offensive strategy required its army to achieve a breakthrough in the Iraqi defenses, encircle Basra, and isolate it as well as the al-Faw Peninsula from the rest of Iraq. Around 200,000 troops were committed to this offensive. They planned for three attacks to take place: a diversionary one near Basra, the main attack, and another diversionary one to lure Iraqi armor to the north and away from the city.

Iran then launched their operations, first with Operation Karbala-4, which was the diversionary attack. They launched their attack on the Iraqi island of Umm al-Rassas, located in the Shatt al-Arab. With their engineers building pontoon bridges across the waterway, Iranian soldiers were able to eventually capture and overwhelm the island. Unfortunately, their success was quickly overshadowed by mounting casualties, with the Iranians unable to advance any further. It was a heavily disproportionate loss; Iran suffered 60,000 casualties while Iraq lost merely 9,500. However, this number may have been exaggerated by Iraqi commanders in their attempt to please Saddam. As a result, they had fooled themselves into believing that the main attack on Basra must have been cancelled due to the Iranian losses, and it was expected that the Iranian army would have to recover for six months to replenish their numbers. When the Iranians launched their main attack, Karbala-5, many of the Iraqi troops were put on leave due to their perceived victory.

Operation Karbala-5, which would later be known as the Siege of Basra, began under cover of midnight in early 1987. It would soon become the largest battle of the entire war, and one of the bloodiest. Troops of the IRGC carefully crossed the Fish Lake, numbering 35,000 troops for the crossing. Overrunning Iraqi forces, they were able to capture the irrigation canal of Duaji, which was utilized as a springboard for the Iranians to push further. Supported by their tanks, Iranian forces were able to penetrate through the first and second Iraqi defenses. With this success, the Iranians reinforced their attacks with an additional 60,000 troops, tasked with clearing out the defenses from any remaining stragglers. Being notified of a breach in the defense line, Iraq mounted an immediate counteroffensive. They began using everything available as a weapon to fight the Iranians. Iranian air defenses managed to shoot down several Iraqi planes, while Iranian aircraft provided air support from above. The Iraqi tanks were mostly stuck in the marshlands and were easily destroyed as a result. Iraq intensified the battle for the skies and mobilized their entire air force, evening the playing field with the Iranian air force. Iraq's defensive strategy had caused a huge dent to Iran's numbers; again, the casualties were disproportionate, with Iran suffering 50,000 losses while Iraq only lost a fifth of that number.

Iraqi tank during the Siege of Basra

(Credit: Reddit; r/TankPorn)

Such a staggering casualty count made the Iranian attack lose steam, and they were ultimately unable to overcome Iraqi defenses. With added reinforcements, however, Iran was able to breach the third line after regrouping. The fourth line was eventually breached as the Iranians crossed the river. The outskirts of Basra were within sight; from their current position, Iran was just 15 km (~9 miles) away from the city. However, just like their previous attacks, Iran had suffered tremendous losses, allowing Iraq to launch another devastating counterattack. Nearing the end of the battle, Iran only managed to hold the Fish Lake area. The battle for Basra soon became a stalemate as both sides resorted to trench warfare, with mere inches of land being wrestled back and forth at a bloody cost.

The Siege of Basra had failed disastrously for Iran. Many consider this to be the true turning point of the war as it draws to a close. The losses Iran suffered in the battle severely impacted morale, and Iraq's continued bombings on Iranian cities left thousands of civilians dead. Iran responded by launching their own missiles on Iraqi cities, killing hundreds. The number of people volunteering into the Iranian military began to dwindle. That was not to say everything was glorious for Iraq; while they had lost less soldiers, they lost a lot of their equipment and materiel. The fighting in Basra became exceptionally brutal, and earned it a comparison to the Battle of the Somme in World War I.

While hell was raging in the outskirts of Basra, Iran launched Operation Karbala-6 to complete the trilogy of their planned offensives. This attack was meant to divert Iraqi armor from Basra towards the north. It was almost entirely carried out by volunteer units, who still managed to capture Iraqi positions. However, they were critically underequipped, and Iraq was able to push the Iranians out using tanks and other armored vehicles. The overwhelming number of the Iraqis encircled the Iranians into a pocket. As they rapidly moved in to kill off the trapped Iranians, armored reinforcements came and helped to relieve the encircled Iranian forces. While the attack did divert some of Iraq's armor, it was not enough to make the Iranian attack on Basra succeed.

THE FINAL YEAR OF THE WAR

As 1987 reached its end and 1988 dawned, Iran began to slowly realize the true extent of their home front. The brutality at Basra and the failure to capture the city had a severe blow to the military and overall morale. While the war initially succeeded in strengthening the Islamic government, the public had lost their enthusiasm as the war dragged on with no end in sight. As mentioned, the number of volunteers joining the IRGC began to decrease. Iran relied on its large manpower to accommodate its offensives, but since less people were willing to throw themselves into the war, it became a problem for Iranian high command. Operation Karbala-5 became the final major Iranian offensive due to their manpower problems. As the IRGC dwindled, the regular army took the initiative, but due to their conscription policy, many Iranian civilians began trying to escape being drafted into the war. Anti-war demonstrations erupted in Tehran, which were brutally suppressed by the government. Their economy continued to decline due to the Tanker War and ongoing Iraqi attacks.

With the central and southern fronts becoming a stalemate, Iranian high command began putting more emphasis on the northern fronts. Attacks were now more limited in scale and almost always involved Kurdish militias. In the mountains of northern Iraq, Iranian and Kurdish troops engaged the Iraqis in guerilla warfare. Together, they launched Operation Karbala-9, where Iranian forces managed to capture the regions near the city Suleimaniyah. The Iraqis retaliated by deploying poison gas. Nevertheless, the Iranians continued their advance in Karbala-10, and subsequently launch Operation Nasr-4 which saw the entire city surrounded by the Iranians. Iran and their Kurdish allies were now poised to capture the Kirkuk oil fields and other similar locations in the north.

Meanwhile for Iraq, its strength had only increased. Many nations began sending volunteer forces, most of them from Arab countries, to prevent an Iranian victory, which would have undesirable consequences on the Middle East. Its economy was supported by foreign aid, ensuring that it did not collapse from within. Stronger than ever before, Iraq began to gain the initiative and launched offensives into Iranian-held territory. The War of the Cities became more intense as the "Scud Duel" broke out between the two sides. Iraq installed their missiles with chemical gas, causing 30% of Tehran's population to evacuate out of fear. The Iranian missiles attacks were unable to cause considerable damage onto Iraqi infrastructure. Iraq also began ramping up their campaign in the Tanker War, bombing Kharg Island and Iranian oil tankers. As Iraq had gained official support from the US, it ensured that Iraqi ships were protected from any attack, and Western nations began pouring their advanced weaponry to Iraq, including smart bombs, which were able to identify and bomb economic targets that could cripple Iran's economy.

Map of targetted cities in the War of the Cities

  (Credit: WIkipedia)

In an attempt to weaken Iraq, Iran launched a series of offensives in the north with the aim of capturing the local Darbandikhan Dam and the power plant at Lake Dukan as well as capturing Suleimaniyah. These locations supplied Iraq with water and electricity, and capturing these areas was hoped to weaken Iraq considerably to the point where they would give more favorable terms in the case of a peace treaty. As usual, Iran landed their troops behind enemy lines and bombed their tanks with their helicopters. Using infiltration tactics with the Kurds, the Iranians were able to advance within sight of the lake. Ultimately, their offensive failed due to the Iraqis' use of chemical weapons as a counterattack. Installing the gas into their artillery shells, the resulting poison cloud killed and injured 60% of the Iranian attacking force. The remaining stragglers were thus easily taken care of by the Iraqis. As retaliation for Kurdish support in Iran, Iraq killed thousands of Kurdish civilians in the town of Halabja using poison gas.

Later that year, Iraq launched an offensive codenamed Operation Blessed Ramadan to retake the al-Faw Peninsula, starting the Second Battle of al-Faw. The peninsula was lightly guarded 15,000 troops. Prior to the attack, Iraq initiated a huge artillery barrage on Iranian lines in the northern front, meant as a diversion to their offensive in al-Faw. Mustard gas and nerve gas were deployed on mass onto the front to overwhelm the Iranians. Meanwhile in al-Faw, elite Iraqi troops were landed behind Iranian lines to support the advance of the main army, launching a frontal assault. Fighting lasted for nearly two days, after which Iran had lost their holding over al-Faw. It was a decisive victory, made possible by the systematic usage of poison gas. Their own troops were protected from the gas by injecting antidotes to negate its effects. The victory was celebrated in Iraq, and they could now make their eastward push back into the Iranian border. In other sectors, like in Basra, the Iraqis launched another attack. It became clear that the Iraqi momentum was able to kick the Iranians out of the south.

Iran experienced another defeat, this time at the hands of the slumbering giant, the United States. While the battle at al-Faw raged, the US attacked Iranian ships as payback for Iran sinking a US warship during the Tanker War. The US Navy codenamed this as Operation Praying Mantis, and the battle resulted in the loss of valuable oil tankers and destroyers. Yet this loss did not deter the IRGC from stopping their raids onto neutral oil tankers, but Iranian leadership had already begun reconsidering their stance. With the threat of American intervention on the side of Iraq, many began to call for an end to the war. Iran launched a desperate counteroffensive in the land war to prevent the Iraqis from entering Khuzestan again. They managed to advance into Iraqi lines and struck Saddam's presidential palace all the way in Baghdad with their fighter jets, but after three days of the offensive, the Iranians were forced to retreat as the Iraqis deployed an overwhelming amount of armored support to the battlefield.

END OF THE WAR

Near mid-1988, Iraq began a series of five offensives they dubbed as the "Tawakalna ala Allah" operations. The offensive began with one of the largest artillery barrages in history, succeeded by chemical gas attacks. Iraqi tanks could easily trample through Iranian defenses as the marshlands became dry from the intense heat. They managed to capture the Iranian border town of Shalamcheh. In the second operation, the Iraqis attacked Iranian positions in Majnoon Island. The subsequent battle lasted for eight hours, with the Iraqis preventing the Iranian rear from reinforcing the main force. Using mass artillery barrages and chemical gas attacks, as well as hundreds of Iraqi tanks, Iran was forced to abandon the island. The last couple of Iraqi offensives were centered on Amarah and the city of Khaneqan. Meanwhile, the Iranian town of Dehloran was also captured. However, they soon withdrew from the town since they had no intentions to advance into Iranian territory and were focused on expelling them from the country instead.

The Iranian losses were catastrophic during these Iraqi offensives. Many reported that it absolutely broke Iran's war machine. This was evident as Iranian troops put up little resistance against the advancing Iraqis due to mounting war-weariness. After all, the war had lasted eight years, with much of their infrastructure destroyed by Iraqi bombings. Iranian high command desperately formed a unified command to promote closer cooperation between the Army and the IRGC, but this decision was much too late. Iran had lost nearly 570 of their tanks, leaving only 200 remaining. Iraq had thousands of tanks, freshly mobilized and used for their offensives.

Iranian POWs

(Credit: Wikimedia Commons)

With Iraq's advance seemingly unstoppable, Saddam threatened Iranian leadership that he would resort to using weapons of mass destruction on Iranian cities. To prove that he was not bluffing, Iraq dropped a chemical warhead on the Iranian town of Oshnavieh. 2,000 civilians died or were critically wounded from the gas. Iran's civilian population was now under serious threat of being victims to all-out chemical warfare, many of them fleeing urban areas since the start of the War of the Cities. In addition to chemical attacks, Iraq kept bombing towns and cities with conventional artillery. The bombings gained no international spotlight, which signified just how isolated Iran was with a majority of the West backing Iraq and allowing these attacks to happen. By late 1988, Iran's armies in Iraq had all but collapsed, and they gradually retreated from northern Iraq, the only remaining front. The situation at the home front was made worse when the US shot down an Iranian passenger aircraft.

With the Iraqi bombings continuing and their strategic situation collapsing, Iran finally began considering accepting a ceasefire. Many in the government and military circles pushed Khomeini to accept a ceasefire and end the war. While reluctant, the supreme leader folded and announced his acceptance of the ceasefire, in the form of UN Resolution 598. News reached both countries that the war was about to be over. In Baghdad, the news was met with delight and joy, but in Tehran, the news was met with sorrow and sadness.

Even though the ceasefire had been accepted, it did not immediately come into effect. As a result, during the time between accepting it and it taking into effect, combat continued between the two sides as they tried to make their final advances. The Iranian Navy attacked a freighter in the Persian Gulf while Iraq launched one last chemical gas attack on Iranian civilians. Finally, on August 8th, 1988, the war had officially ended and combat ceased. To maintain the period of peace, UN peacekeepers were sent to the Iran-Iraq border. They remained there until the sense of animosity slowly dissipated in 1991.

AFTERMATH

The Iran- Iraq War was one of the deadliest conflicts in history. The death toll in total was estimated to be around 500,000, both civilians and soldiers alike. Iran suffered a majority of the losses, and many of the civilian losses were a result of bombings over cities and other urban areas. Both nations' infrastructure had been devastated. Iraq finally did achieve the status as a regional superpower, but at the expense of their economy and military. As they relied on foreign aid to supply their army, Iraq also had a lot of debt with its neighbours. Many people consider that there was no true victor of the war, but some claim that Iraq was the winner due to the success of their offensives near the end of the war. With the war settled, Iraq focused on clearing Kurdish separatists in northern Iraq. 60,000 troops were committed to the region, and Iraq did everything in its arsenal to kill off the Kurds; mass executions and gas attacks were frequently used. Many Kurdish civilians died due to these operations, and the surviving people had to be forcefully relocated to settlements. Some 100,000 Kurdish people died in the Iraqi campaign.

Iranian memorial for the war

(Credit: Atlantic Council)

CONCLUSION

After eight years of war, what was achieved by either side? Nothing. What started as a petty dispute for some waterway escalated into a war that devastated both nations. In the end, there were no territorial changes, and the borders remained as they were before the war. The only thing that was achieved by both sides was trauma and death, a grim reminder to the horrors of the war. It had left a lasting impact on both countries, as memorials and graves dedicated to the battles and soldiers who fought in it were built. Along the Iran-Iraq border, relics of the war remain in place. It is common to find damaged tanks in the desert and inactivated mines in the sands. The war's brutality was the result of two ambitious dictatorships battling it out, Iraq seeking territory and Iran seeking to spread their influence and revolution. Both governments have pursued their own goals, at the expense of their own people, dragging the war for longer than it should have. And both have committed equally horrible crimes; Iraq's use of chemical gas on civilians and Iran's use of child soldiers as cannon fodder were objectively inhumane. It only set the stage for more tragedy as a few years later, the Gulf War erupted, followed with the 2003 US invasion of Iraq.

In the end, both Iraq and Iran's leaders may shake hands and hold grudges after the war, but a parent would never be able to see their son again.