; occupation of Iraq; Iraqi resistance.
"2003 coalition invasion of Iraq - a military action by the United States and allied countries against, launched under the main pretext of the presence of WMD in the country in order to overthrow the totalitarian regime of Saddam Hussein. The official reason for the aggression was the regime's connection with international terrorism, in particular the Al-Qaeda movement, as well as the search for and destruction of weapons of mass destruction. The weapons of mass destruction were never found. There is also a perception that one of the goals of the invasion was to gain control of Iraqi oil.
On the eve of the invasion, the official position of the United States was that it violated the main provisions of UN Security Council Resolution 1441 and was developing weapons of mass destruction, and that it was necessary to disarm Iraq by force. The United States planned to vote in the Security Council on the corresponding resolution they had developed, but abandoned this, as Russia, China and France made it clear that they would veto any resolution containing an ultimatum allowing the use of force against Iraq.
Ignoring this circumstance, the United States launched a military operation early in the morning of March 20.
The number of ground forces of the United States and its allies, concentrated in the Persian Gulf, amounted to 207 thousand soldiers, including the US Armed Forces - 145 thousand people (55 thousand soldiers, 65 thousand marines and 25 thousand people in the Air Force), British Armed Forces - 62 thousand people. The land group included the 3rd mechanized division, the 2nd brigade of the 82nd airborne division, separate units of the 18th airborne and 5th army corps ground forces. The Marines were represented by the 1st Expeditionary Division, 2nd Expeditionary Brigade, 15th and 24th Expeditionary Battalions. Later, the number of manpower amounted to 270 thousand people, 1700 armored vehicles and 1100 helicopters. Even later, more than 300 thousand soldiers and 1,700 armored vehicles participated in the operation.
The aviation group included 10 aviation wings and groups (39 ACR, 40, 320, 363, 379, 380, 405 expeditionary ACR, 332, 355, 386 expeditionary ACR). Aviation consisted of 420 deck and 540 ground grouping aircraft. The tactical aviation grouping (including the allied one) consisted of about 430 aircraft. About 40 anti-aircraft missile systems "Patriot", "Improved Hawk" and "Shain-2" provided cover for the created groupings of multinational forces from air strikes. According to some reports, the southeastern part of Turkey was covered by 3, Israel and Jordan - 10, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia - by more than 20 anti-aircraft missile systems and complexes.
The US and allied navies had 115 ships, including 29 carriers of sea-launched cruise missiles (18 ships and 11 nuclear submarines), containing about 750 such shells. 3 carrier strike groups of the US Navy cruised in the Persian Gulf (aircraft carriers Lincoln, Constellation and Kitty Hawk - more than 200 carrier-based aircraft) and one aircraft carrier strike group of the British Navy (AVL Ark Royal - 16 combat aircraft), 89 surface ships, on which there were more than 50 combat aircraft, and 10 nuclear submarines. The aircraft carriers Roosevelt and Truman, 9 other warships and 2 nuclear multipurpose submarines were in the Mediterranean Sea.
Hussein's regular army by the beginning of March consisted of 389,000 soldiers plus about 650,000 reservists, that is, 24 divisions and 7 army corps. 2 corps were stationed in northern Iraq, blocking the formations of the Kurds, 1 - on the border with Iran, and only 1 - on the pre-palagem front against the Americans, in the Basra region. The command kept the rest of the forces near Baghdad. In addition, there were 5,000 armored vehicles, 300 aircraft and 400 helicopters.
The order to start hostilities was given by President George W. Bush on March 19 . The expeditionary force was commanded by General Tommy Franks. On March 20, at 05:33 am local time, an hour and a half after the expiration of the 48-hour ultimatum, the first explosions thundered in Baghdad.
45 minutes later, US President George W. Bush announced live that, on his orders, coalition troops crossed the border of Iraq:
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Dear fellow citizens! On my orders, coalition troops began to strike at military targets in order to undermine Saddam Hussein's ability to wage war. This is just the beginning of a broad and powerful campaign. More than 35 states provide us with significant support. I am speaking to all the men and women in the United States military who are now in the Middle East. The world depends on you, the hopes of the oppressed people rest on you! These hopes will not be in vain. The enemy you are fighting against will soon know how brave and courageous you are. A campaign in an area comparable in size to California could prove to be longer and more difficult than previously predicted. The military will not return home until the mission is completed. We will defend our freedom. We will bring freedom to others. And we will win. |
40 Tomahawks were fired from five ships, reaching their targets 2 minutes after the air defense signals in Iraq. The invasion began with a massive preparatory bombardment of Baghdad, Mosul and Kirkuk by A-10, B-52, F-16 and Harrier bombers and ground attack aircraft to disrupt military infrastructure. 11 B-52s flew into the combat area from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire.
A few weeks before the first raids, by order of Saddam Hussein, the country was divided into 4 military districts: Northern (in the region of Kirkuk and Mosul), Southern with headquarters in Basra, Euphrates, which was to take the main blow of the Americans, and Baghdad, to which the presidential guard was assigned. Of the special countermeasures and military tricks at the end of the operation, Pentagon experts recorded only one, which was used during the bombing of Serbia, Montenegro and Kosovo. Iraq has purchased life-size models of tanks and towing systems capable of simulating their movement, resulting in no record of Iraqi armored vehicles being knocked out. At the same time, after the war, the elite guards tank divisions Medina and Hammurabi, stationed in Baghdad, disappeared in an unknown direction.
In American armored vehicles, the emphasis was on the M1 Abrams tank, which was put into service in the early 1980s. During the operation, "Tomahawks" of the 2003 model were used, which could be programmed simultaneously for 15 targets and broadcast their image to the command post. In addition, 900 kg GBU-24 air bombs were used to destroy underground storage facilities. The shell of the bombs, made of a special nickel-cobalt alloy, could penetrate 11 m thick concrete, and the incendiary projectile created a burning cloud with a temperature of more than 500ºС. On March 20, Hussein addressed his supporters through the Al Jazeera channel, which became the main news agency in Baghdad. Hussein, in his speech on Iraqi television, stated the following:
| "We have been given the right to win, and Allah will grant us victory! America's attack is a crime against Iraq and the whole world. All the inhabitants of Iraq and those who sympathize with our nation, atone for their sins. It is the duty of all decent people to do everything to protect their nation our values, and all that is holy. We must remember what Allah has told us and what is planned. By the will of Allah, all worthy people will contribute to the development of mankind, and we will all be winners. And you will the sun of your nation, and your enemy will be humiliated by the will of Allah.Take swords in your hands and go to the enemy!The enemy is coming up quickly and he uses such methods of war that he can only be stopped by weapons.Let the storms go away until it appears Allah Keep the fire lit Grab your swords No one wins if he doesn't have the courage all by the will of Allah Those who call for evil in this world You overestimate your abilities you call it a fair fight but it's a shame , a crime against people quality. We cry out on behalf of the people of Iraq, the command of our country and all mankind. Stop! We will defeat our enemy and he will have no hope left. They are driven by a criminal desire and will be defeated. They have gone too far in injustice and evil. And we love peace, and Iraq will win, and together with Iraq, all of humanity will win. And evil will be defeated by its own weapons. The American-Zionist alliance against humanity will fail. Allah is omnipotent! May all nations friendly to us live, and justice will prevail in this world. Long live Iraq, long live Palestine! Allah is omnipotent!" |
In the south, the British 7th Motorized Brigade was making its way to the second largest Iraqi city, Basra. March 27 in the western suburbs of the city unfolded tank battle, during which Iraqi troops lost 14 tanks. On April 6, the British entered Basra. At the same time, paratroopers established control over the central part of the city, inaccessible to tanks. On April 9, elements of the British 1st Mechanized Division moved north towards the American positions in the village of Al-Amara.
The first long pause in the offensive began in the vicinity of Karbala, where American forces met with fierce resistance from the Iraqis. At the end of March, the American 1st Motorized Division, which was in the vanguard of the coalition forces, cut off the Iraqi garrison in Karbala from the main forces by capturing the city of Samawa. Meanwhile, the 1st Marine Division, supported by tanks, captured Karbala and Najaf in a swift strike to prevent an Iraqi counteroffensive from the east. This completely secured the left flank and allowed the coalition troops to move towards Baghdad. Less than 100 kilometers separated them from the capital of Iraq.
The US 3rd Infantry Division became the first allied unit to enter the Iraqi capital. On April 3, the US 1st Marine Division reached Hussein Airport. On April 12, selected units of the Marine Corps moved to Kut, past which the Allies passed during the forced march to Baghdad. Throughout the end of April, the Americans occupied the abandoned cities. On May 1, George W. Bush summed up the war. The number of garrisons has been increased by other NATO member countries and some other states.
3 weeks after the start of the war, coalition forces approached the capital of Iraq from the west, south and southeast. Initial plans called for the encirclement of Baghdad from all sides, pushing Iraqi troops to the city center and shelling. This plan was abandoned when it became clear that the bulk of the Baghdad garrison had already been routed in the southern suburbs. On the morning of April 9, the American command demanded surrender from the Iraqi troops; in case of refusal, a large-scale assault would follow. The Iraqi authorities gave up further resistance. On the same day, American troops entered the city.
And on April 11, other major cities of Iraq were taken - Kirkuk and Mosul. On May 1, the end of the main hostilities was announced.
Formally, Baghdad was occupied, but street fighting continued. Residents dissatisfied with Saddam Hussein welcomed the coalition troops. Hussein himself fled with his assistants. The capture of Baghdad was the beginning of mass violence in the country, when some major cities actually declared war on each other for superiority in the region.
General Franks assumed control as commander-in-chief of the occupying forces. After his resignation in May, in an interview with Defense Week magazine, he confirmed rumors that the Americans were bribing the leadership of the Iraqi army to surrender without a fight.
Coalition troops took control of the country's major cities with minimal losses in just 21 days, meeting serious resistance in only a few places. Armed with obsolete
March 20, 2003, the combined forces of the United States and the anti-Iraq coalition. Official Washington originally called the military operation in Iraq "Shock and Awe." Then the operation was called "Iraqi Freedom" (Iraqi Freedom, OIF). Official Baghdad called the war "Kharb al-Hawasim" - "decisive war".
US President George W. Bush made an address on television and announced the start of a military operation against Iraq.
The US stated that the decision to use military force against Iraq is supported by 45 states of the world. 15 of them do not officially announce this, but are ready to provide their airspace for strikes against Iraq.
WITH April 8 organized resistance from the Iraqi forces virtually ceased.
April 14, 2003 with the capture of Tikrit - the hometown of Saddam Hussein - the military phase of the operation was completed.
The active phase of the operation lasted only 26 days.
May 1, 2003 President George W. Bush announced the end of hostilities and the beginning of military occupation.
The end of the OIF did not end the war in Iraq. The destruction of the Iraqi armed forces and the overthrow of Saddam Hussein were only the beginning of a long conflict.
After 2003, Iraq claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people.
V November 2008 the government and parliament of Iraq from Iraq and the regulation of their temporary stay on its territory.
Since the beginning of Barack Obama's presidential term in the winter of 2009, 90,000 troops have been withdrawn from the country; after August 31, 2010, the number of American contingents was less than 50,000 troops.
August 31, 2010 US President Obama delivered an address to the nation, in which the military operation in Iraq.
December 15, 2011 A solemn ceremony was held near Baghdad to mark the withdrawal of the US military from Iraq and the formal end of the war in that country. During the ceremony, US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta lowered the flag of the American contingent in Iraq, which is symbolic.
In Operation Iraqi Freedom, the largest contingents were in Great Britain (up to 45 thousand people), Italy (up to 3.2 thousand people), Poland (up to 2.5 thousand people), Georgia (up to 2 thousand) and Australia (up to 2 thousand).
The maximum number of the US military contingent in Iraq reached 170,000 people.
In total, during the war in Iraq (data at the end of 2012), the military losses of the coalition forces amounted to more than 4.8 thousand people. Killed 4.486 thousands of US troops, 179 British troops, 139 troops from 21 countries.
Reports of casualties among Iraqis vary. The American media give different figures for Iraq's total losses in the war: from 100,000 to 300,000 people, including civilians. At the same time, according to the World Health Organization, from 150,000 to 223,000 Iraqis fell victim to the war between 2003 and 2006 alone.
The material was prepared on the basis of information from RIA Novosti and open sources
Devon Largio Devon Largio of the University of Illinois analyzed the statements made by 10 key US leaders responsible for deciding to start the war in Iraq and identified 21 reasons why this war was started.
Largio took into account speeches from September 2001 to October 2002 from George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, Dick Cheney, US Senate Democratic Leader Tom Dashle (now retired from politics), influential Senators Joseph Lieberman Joseph Lieberman ( Democrat) and John McCainJohn McCain (Republican), Richard PerleRichard Perle (at that time the head of the Defense Policy Review Board, one of the most famous neoconservatives and the "gray eminence" of US foreign policy), Secretary of State Colin PowellColin Powell (now not a member of civil service), National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice (now head of the State Department), Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld Donald Rumsfeld and his deputy Paul Wolfowitz Paul Wolfowitz (now head of the World Bank World Bank).
Reason: To prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. She, according to Largio, was voiced by: Bush, Cheney, Dashl, Lieberman, McCain, Pearl, Powell, Rice, Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz.
The stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) stored in Iraq before the 1991 war would be enough to wipe out the entire population of the Earth several times. Before the 2003 war, it was assumed that Iraq's arsenals could contain up to 26,000 liters of anthrax pathogens, up to 38,000 liters of botulinum toxin, several hundred tons chemical weapons, as well as the raw materials needed for their production. Iraq was thought to be able to retain weapons of mass destruction delivery vehicles - hundreds of aerial bombs, thousands of artillery shells and rockets, several Scud ballistic missiles - and was able to convert old warplanes into unmanned aerial vehicles capable of delivering biological or chemical weapons.
It is now established that Iraq stopped developing nuclear weapons programs after 1991 and destroyed its chemical and biological weapons stockpiles at the same time. While Saddam Hussein hoped to rebuild Iraq's WMD arsenals, he had no concrete strategy in that direction. Iraq retained the infrastructure that could enable it to build chemical and biological weapons fairly quickly.
Reason: The need to change the ruling regime. The same people were talking about her.
Saddam Hussein was constantly included in the informal "charts" of the most brutal dictators of our time. He unleashed two wars. The Iran-Iraq war claimed the lives of 100,000 Iraqis. and 250 thousand Iranians. The Iraqi army's invasion of Kuwait and the ensuing Operation Desert Storm resulted in the deaths of 50,000 Iraqis. Hussein also destroyed 20-30 thousand Kurdish and Shiite rebels, including by using chemical weapons against the civilian population. There were no civil liberties in Iraq. Hussein destroyed political opponents, torture was widely used in Iraqi prisons.
Reason: To fight international terrorism. The same, except for Dashle.
Iraq has provided training facilities and political support to numerous terrorist groups, including the Mujahiddin Khalq, the PKK, the Palestine Liberation Front and the Abu Nidal Organization. Iraq has also provided political asylum to terrorists.
Reason: Iraq violated numerous UN resolutions. The same, except for Dashle.
In two decades, Iraq has not complied with 16 UN Security Council resolutions. On November 8, 2002, the Security Council unanimously adopted resolution N1441, which states that Iraq must disarm under the threat of "serious consequences." This resolution was a follow-up to Resolution N687, adopted in 1991, which committed Iraq to full and final disclosure of all aspects of its weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs with a range of more than 150 km. In 1998, the UN Security Council issued a special Resolution N1205, in which Iraq was condemned for violating Resolution N687 and other similar Security Council resolutions. However, Iraq is far from the only country in the world that does not comply or does not fully comply with the decisions of the Security Council.
Reason: Saddam Hussein is a brutal dictator guilty of killing civilians. The reason was given by: Bush, Cheney, McCain, Pearl, Powell, Rice, Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz.
Reason: Because the UN inspectors responsible for searching for Iraqi weapons of mass destruction encountered opposition from Iraq and were unable to complete their tasks. The authors of the argument are Bush, Lieberman, McCain, Powell, Rice, and Rumsfeld.
UN inspectors operated in Iraq for seven years - from May 1991 to August 1998, when Iraq refused to conduct further inspections. On many occasions, the Iraqi authorities opposed the inspectors. Nevertheless, the "hunting trophies" of the inspectors were quite solid. Long-range missiles and launchers and stockpiles of chemical weapons were destroyed. It took UN inspectors four years to discover Iraq's biological weapons program. Until September 2002, all attempts to return the inspectors to the country ran into resistance from the Iraqi leadership, which insisted that the international community must first end the regime of economic sanctions against Iraq. Subsequently, in September 2002, UN inspectors returned to Iraq, but no Iraqi WMD was found.
Reason: Liberation of Iraq. This was stated by Bush, McCain, Pearl, Rice, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz.
Reason: Saddam Hussein's links to Al Qaeda. The argument was made in speeches by Bush, Cheney, Lieberman, Pearl, Rice and Rumsfeld.
American intelligence reported that the "liaison" between bin Laden and Hussein is a certain Abu Musab Zarqawi, who allegedly underwent medical treatment in Baghdad in 2002. However, later it turned out that Zarqawi supported one of the extremist movements in the territory of Iraqi Kurdistan, which operated outside the control of Saddam Hussein. It was also reported that one of the terrorists who participated in the September 11, 2001 attacks met with an Iraqi intelligence official. The US Congressional Commission investigating the causes of these attacks found no evidence for this assertion.
Reason: Iraq is a threat to the US. Bush, Pearl, Powell, Rasmfeld, and Wolfowitz have said so.
In October 2002, the US Senate and Congress authorized President George W. Bush to use military force against Iraq. The US administration argued that Iraq posed an immediate threat to the US, and therefore the United States had the right to launch a preemptive strike.
In early 2002, the US National Intelligence Council concluded that Iraq could not realistically threaten the US for at least a decade. During the international sanctions regime, Iraq will not be able to test long-range missiles until 2015. However, provided that this regime is relaxed, Iraq will have access to modern technologies, it will be able to quickly improve its missile arsenals and, possibly, create missiles capable of striking US territory. It is now established that most Iraqi long-range missiles were destroyed after 1991. However, Iraq tried to develop its missile program, which became especially active after the expulsion of UN inspectors (1998). Saddam Hussein set out to build ballistic missiles capable of carrying weapons of mass destruction warheads.
Reason: The need to disarm Iraq. Bush, Pearl, Powell, Rusmfeld and Rice.
Reason: To complete what was not done during the 1991 war (then the troops of the anti-Iraqi coalition led by the United States defeated the Iraqi troops that captured Kuwait, but did not enter the territory of Iraq). Authors: Lieberman, McCain, Pearl, Powell.
Reason: Saddam Hussein is a threat to the security of the region. The version proposed by Bush, Cheney, McCain, Powell and Rumsfeld.
Over the past decades, Iraq has taken part in five wars (three with Israel, one with Iran, one in Kuwait), participated in a huge number of border armed incidents (in particular, with Syria and Turkey). Saddam Hussein's regime carried out large-scale military operations to suppress uprisings of national and religious minorities - Kurds and Shiites. In addition, in the years leading up to the US invasion, Iraq repeatedly threatened to use military force against neighboring states. Once the Iraqi army was considered the strongest army in the region, but before the start of the last war, it was in poor condition.
Reason: International security. Bush, Dashl, Powell and Rumsfeld talked about it.
Reason: Need to support UN efforts. Bush, Powell and Rice spoke for it.
Reason: The US can win an easy victory in Iraq. The authors of the argument are Pearl and Rumsfeld.
The Iraqi army of the 2003 model, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, was 50-70% less combat-ready than the army of 1991. During the 1991 Gulf War, approximately 40% of the Iraqi armed forces were destroyed. Hussein could not restore the combat capability of his army. International sanctions prevented him from obtaining modern weapons, the economic crisis in the country led to the fact that the size of the Iraqi army - once one of the largest armies in the Middle East - was reduced by about 50%. The US Arms Control and Disarmament Agency estimates that a 1991 Iraqi soldier spent 70% more money than a 2003 Iraqi soldier. The results are known: if in 1991 the war lasted 43 days, then in 2003 the end of the active period of hostilities was announced after 26 days. During the fighting with the regular Iraqi army, 114 soldiers and officers of the anti-Iraq coalition were killed. The losses of the Iraqi armed forces were, according to various estimates, 4.9 - 11 thousand killed.
Reason: To protect world peace. George Bush.
Reason: Iraq is a unique threat. Donald Rumsfeld.
Reason: The need to transform the entire Middle East. Richard Pearl.
American neoconservatives, including Pearl, believe that the states and peoples of the Middle East feel like outsiders losing the competition with the West. These peoples look with hatred and envy at the rich West. However, according to neoconservatives, this situation was the result of the underdevelopment of democratic institutions in these states - the pressure of religious fundamentalists, the dominance of dictators, lack of freedom of the press, the virtual absence of civil society, etc., which hinder the normal development of the economy, culture, etc. Therefore, according to the neoconservatives, the US and the West should bring "the seeds of democracy" to the Middle East. The creation of a truly democratic Iraqi state is capable of causing a "chain reaction" and completely changing the entire region.
Reason: The need to influence states that support terrorists or seek to obtain weapons of mass destruction. Richard Pearl.
This argument has been confirmed in practice. After the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime, Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi agreed to destroy and partly transfer to the US his stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction and completely stop work on WMD programs.
Reason: Saddam Hussein hates the US and will try to translate his hatred into something concrete. Joseph Lieberman.
Saddam Hussein repeatedly made anti-American statements, anti-Americanism in Iraq was the state ideology. among other things, he used the "oil weapon" - he suspended the export of Iraqi oil in order to "punish" the United States. In 1993, the Iraqi intelligence agencies organized a failed assassination attempt on former US President George W. Bush, who led the US during the 1991 war. It is now thought that Saddam Hussein was most interested in bolstering his reputation in the Middle East and containing Iraq's old enemy, Iran.
Reason: History itself urges the US to do this. Author of the statement: US President George W. Bush.03 November 2005 Washington ProFile
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The US and British military aggression was explained by the search in Iraq for laboratories for the production of weapons of mass destruction. The fact that Hussein denied the conduct of such developments was decided not to be taken into account.
Former UN chief weapons inspector Hans Blix claimed that the UN submitted a report to the United States on the absence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, but then-Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld showed great knowledge of rhetoric and replied: "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence." The same Rumsfeld showed at the UN Security Council photographs taken by satellite, which allegedly showed the movement of trucks with lethal weapons. The experts also checked these data, but they did not find confirmation either. When Hans Blix told Kanalize Rice about this, she said: "We're not dealing with intelligence here, but with Iraq." The weapon was never found.
Allied forces in Iraq did not set up their camps in random places. The American military base Calp Alpha was, for example, located right on the excavations of Babylon. The soldiers took priceless artifacts as souvenirs, the military plundered the Baghdad museums, the valuables were taken out in columns, and the soldiers themselves had detailed schemes of the museums and special equipment for entering the vaults. According to the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities of Iraq, in 2003-2004, 130,000 cultural and historical objects were taken out of the country. So far, about 10% has been recovered. Last spring, 10,000 Iraqi artifacts from the Babylonian and Sumerian period were discovered at Cornell University in the US. The Americans are in no hurry to return the loot.
In the Iraq war, the United States used new tactical schemes. At the heart of the military developments of the coalition forces was the use of close adhesion between aviation and ground forces. In contrast to Kosovo, where American air activity was not accompanied by ground support, in Iraq, ground forces forced the Iraqis to maneuver and open up to air strikes. In addition, the war in Iraq was a new type of war in which operations were planned based on a lot of data received from satellites and reconnaissance aircraft. For this reason, the loss of equipment and personnel was minimized in the Iraq War. The air strikes of the coalition forces were aimed at "blinding" and "decapitation", that is, at destroying information channels and targeted extermination of the leadership of the Iraqi army. This tactic paid off: most of the Iraqi missiles were fired even without target designation, but if the launches were carried out taking into account the readings of the radars, then the radars became the next main target. It must also be said that although Iraqi aircraft did not take off, the coalition troops bombed runways and airfields throughout the war in order to prevent the end of the monopoly over airspace. American tactics were successful. Thanks to the support of aviation, the ground forces were able to cover 500 km (at the cost of 60 killed) with 600 tanks in less than 20 days.
The Iraqi war was the first war in which the world's private armies "turned around". First of all - the American private army Blackwater. World fame brought her loud scandals. In 2007, they shot 17 Iraqi civilians who allegedly prevented the movement of a motorcade with American diplomats. Around the same time, one of the Blackwater soldiers killed the security guard of the Iraqi Vice President. During the investigation, it was possible to establish that since 2005 Blackwater participated in almost two hundred shootings and, without hesitation, opened fire to kill, although they had the right to use weapons only for the purpose of self-defense. The legal status of private armies has not yet been approved. They are not subject to any state. During the Iraq War, no one kept count of those killed by "private traders", but their cruelty became a byword. Tellingly, none of the nearly 50,000 private soldiers in Iraq have been convicted of any crime. The Iraq war was the first conflict where private armies were openly used. The losses among them were greater than the losses of any single American division and the coalition forces as a whole. During the entire war in Iraq, about 800 employees of private military companies were killed, at least 3,300 were injured.
The Iraqi war began with a violation of the laws of international law, and continued with frequent violations of human rights. There was brutality both on the part of the Iraqi army and on the part of coalition forces and armed insurgents. Although the excesses were observed from all sides, the "guests" were especially different. The use of white phosphorus, torture and rape, mass executions of the civilian population - all these charges were imputed to the coalition forces. Abu Ghraib prison became a terrible place, where American soldiers used torture on captured Iraqis and filmed it all on photo and video cameras, which became an incentive to start judicial investigations. From 2004 to August 2007, the military tribunal heard more than 11 cases of American guards, three of them did not receive a prison sentence. Characteristically, the defendants explained their behavior by the orders of their superiors and sincerely refused to see in their behavior a violation of humanitarian norms.
The results of the Iraq war for America, it would seem, are disappointing. The coveted weapon was never found, the Shiites came to power in Iraq, establishing cooperation relations with Iran, the US spent billions of dollars without an obvious return of taxpayers' money. However, the Iraq war cannot be called a completely failed initiative for the US. First, despite the huge investments, those who live on armament budgets enriched themselves well in the war. Secondly, the introduction of troops into Iraq showed the impotence of the UN Security Council to take at least some kind of restraining measures at the official level. As George Orwell wrote in Animal Farm, "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others." Thus, the war in Iraq can be considered a blow to international law, a test of the effectiveness of its measures.
As of December 2011, the Iraq Body Count project estimated that 162,000 people had died in Iraq, of which approximately 79 percent were civilians. In the fall of 2010, WikiLeaks released about 400,000 documents related to the Iraq War. According to them, the loss of the civilian population of Iraq during the war amounted to about 66,000 people, the loss of militants - about 24,000. A terrible consequence of the Iraq war was an increase in the number of Iraqi children with birth defects.
The Iran-Iraq war, which lasted from 1980 to 1988, became one of the most difficult and bloody conflicts in recent history humanity. Relations between Tehran and Baghdad have been strained since the establishment of the Kingdom of Iraq (1921). Both countries had territorial claims to each other. In 1937, an agreement was signed between the countries, according to which the border ran along the left (Iranian) bank of the Shatt al-Arab River.
Throughout the twentieth century, the Iraqi government laid claim to the eastern bank of the Shatt al-Arab (in the Persian version - Arvandrud). There were two major ports and industrial centers - Abadan (one of the world's largest oil refineries was created in the city by the former Anglo-Iranian oil company) and Khorramshahr (the largest commercial port and railway junction in southern Iran). The Shatt al-Arab was formed by the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates, and rich deposits of black gold were found on its banks. The eastern bank of the river belongs to Tehran, the western - to Baghdad. The river is an important transport artery and water resource. The Iranians insisted that the border run in the middle of the riverbed. The subject of the dispute was also 6 small sections of the land border, with a total area of 370 km. These sections were located north of Khorramshahr, Fuka, Mehran (two sections), Neftshah and Kasre-Shirin.
The conflict was also caused by the support of each other's anti-government forces: Baghdad condoned Arab separatism in Khuzestan (the Iraqi government believed that this province should be part of an Arab state), both countries flirted with the Kurds.
The fall of the monarchy in Iraq, the establishment of a republic and the coming to power of the Arab Socialist Renaissance Party (Baath Party) did not improve relations with Iran. Iranian monarch Mohammed Reza Pahlavi saw the political changes that have taken place in Iraq as a direct threat to his power. He was also actively persuaded of this by Washington and London, which by that time had firmly established themselves in the Shah's Iran, tying it to themselves with strong threads of military, financial, economic and political dependence. The United States and Great Britain tried to make Iraq (which began to orientate itself towards the USSR) become Iran's main enemy in the region. All the military and political activities of the Shah's regime began to acquire a clearly expressed anti-Iraqi orientation. In addition, Tehran decided that Iraq was weakened by internal upheavals (coups, Kurdish uprising led by Mustafa Barzani, economic decline). On April 19, 1969, the Iranian government unilaterally denounced the 1937 treaty. Now the border between Iran and Iraq passed strictly in the middle of the river. As Iranian Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi (ruled from September 16, 1941 to February 11, 1979) expected, Iraq was forced to accept.
In the future, relations continued to heat up. On January 20, 1970, a group of conspirators attempted a coup in Iraq. Baghdad accused the Iranian embassy of subversive activities in Iraq. In response, the Iranian government ordered the Iraqi ambassador to leave Iran within 24 hours. In 1971, Iran captured several Iraqi islands in the Strait of Hormuz - Abu Musa, Greater and Lesser Tomb. And in Iraq, an information campaign began demanding the return of Khuzestan (Arabistan) to the Arabs.
The October crisis of 1973 led to the restoration of diplomatic relations between Iran and Iraq. But the fundamental contradictions between the countries were not resolved. Tehran continued to support the rebellious Kurds; in March 1974, the Iranians opened the borders to Kurdish separatists retreating from Iraq under pressure from government forces. On the territory of Iran, camps were created for the military training of the Kurds. Baghdad, as a countermeasure in 1975-1978, along the Iran-Iraq border created the so-called. "Arab belt" up to 25 km wide - Iraqis of Arab origin were resettled into it. The situation was heading towards war.
OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) was not interested in aggravating relations between the two major oil exporters. Through the mediation of this organization, negotiations began between Tehran and Baghdad. As a result, on March 6, 1975 in Algiers (these days the OPEC conference was working there on highest level) Iraqi Vice President Saddam Hussein and Shah of Iran Reza Pahlavi, mediated by the head of Algeria, Houari Boumediene, signed a new border agreement in the Shatt al-Arab river region. The agreement of 1937 was annulled and the border was officially established along the thalweg (middle of the fairway) of the river. In response, Tehran pledged to stop supporting the Kurdish separatists. The agreement was reinforced on June 13, 1975 by an agreement on borders and good neighborly relations between the two states. Tehran had to withdraw troops from some disputed areas. The Iraqi government ceded 518 square meters to Iran. km of its territory. The parties decided to continue the negotiation process in order to resolve the entire complex of contradictions, including the issue of the border regime and the problem of people expelled by Iraq (in the early 1970s, up to 60 thousand people of Iranian origin were deported from Iraq to Iran in order to eliminate the "fifth column" in the country ").
A crisis
Unfortunately, the peace process was not continued. All these favorable undertakings were thwarted by the Islamic Revolution of 1979 in Iran. Shah Pahlavi was overthrown, the monarchy was abolished, and the new leadership of Iran treated the Iraqi Baathists very negatively. So, Ayatollah Khomeini, the leader of the Islamic revolution and the founder of a new order, was once expelled from Iraq by the Baathists at the request of the Iranian Shah. In addition, religious confrontation was superimposed on a complex of various contradictions: the ruling elite of Iraq was from the Sunni northwestern regions of the country and was noted for the suppression of Shiite unrest in the south in February 1977. Shiite shrines in Karbala, An-Najaf and other Iraqi cities have become another embodiment of mutual claims.
The presence in power in Baghdad and Tehran of two regimes completely hostile to each other made an already difficult situation critical. In 1979, the religious Iranian government, headed by Khomeini, demanded that Baghdad transfer the Shiite shrines that were in Karbala and Najaf to the Iranian city of Qom. Naturally, Baghdad reacted sharply negatively. In 1979, Saddam Hussein seized full power in Iraq. He went on a personal insult to the Shiites: in October 1979, visiting the holy city of the Shiites Najaf, Hussein showed a drawing family tree, which erected his genealogy to the prophet Muhammad.
Saddam Hussein decided that a limited military conflict would bring Iran to its senses. He took into account the fact that the world community (the West) reacted sharply negatively to the Iranian Islamic revolution. Now the West was an ally of Iraq, not Iran. In addition, there was a process of revolutionary purges of the armed forces in Iran - the army was reduced from 240 to 180 thousand and 250 generals were replaced by junior commanders or priests who were prone to military affairs. As a result, the combat effectiveness of the Iranian army has fallen significantly. Hussein took this factor into account as well.
On September 17, 1979, the Iraqi government announced the unilateral denunciation of the 1975 Algiers agreement on the establishment of the Iran-Iraq border in the area of the Shatt al-Arab river in the center of the fairway. War became inevitable. Aggressive moods grew in society. On October 7, 1979, the Iraqi consulate was destroyed in Khorramshahr. Tehran has officially renamed the Persian Gulf to the Islamic Gulf. The Iranian government supports the creation of underground Shiite movements in Iraq. Baghdad, in turn, finances and arms the Revolutionary Democratic Liberation Front of Arabistan, detachments of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, and the Mujahideen of the People group.
The main causes of the war:
The contradictions between Tehran and Baghdad were based on territorial differences, as well as military-political rivalry between them, the struggle for leadership in the Persian Gulf and among Islamic countries.
The conflict between the Sunni leadership of Iraq and the Shiite clergy of Iran played a significant role.
The situation was exacerbated by the policy of the Muslim Shiite clergy led by Ayatollah Khomeini to export the Islamic revolution in the region, Tehran tried to overthrow the ruling Baathist regime in Iraq.
Personality of Saddam Hussein, his ambitions. Hussein wanted to become the leader of the Arab world, to weaken the competitor in the Persian Gulf, to take advantage of the temporary weakening of Iran, which had lost the support of the West.
It is also necessary to note the inflammatory activity of the Western intelligence services, primarily the American ones, which, through specially selected disinformation, pushed Saddam Hussein to a direct war with Iran. Apparently, the interests of Western corporations, including the military, also played a certain role.
First skirmishes
Since the beginning of 1980, there has been a de facto border war between the countries. Baghdad counted from February 23 to July 26 up to 244 "acts of aggression" by the Iranians. At the same time there was an active psychological and information war. On April 1, 1980, a bomb was thrown at the deputy head of the Iraqi government, Tarek Aziz, during a meeting with students from Al-Mustansiriya University. Aziz was wounded, several people died. Hussein blamed Tehran and the Shiite terrorist organization Ad Dawah for the attack. On April 5, during the funeral of the victims of the assassination attempt at the university, a bomb was thrown into the crowd, killing several more people. Hussein responded by ordering the execution of the head of the Iraqi Shiites (and head of the Ad Dawah organization), Ayatollah Muhammad Bakr Sadr, and his sister. In addition, Iraqi troops bombarded the Iranian city of Kasre-Shirin.
There were international scandals. In April, Iranian Foreign Minister Sadeq Ghotbzade, during a visit to Syria, said that Hussein had allegedly been killed during a military coup, and that Tehran was ready to help the Iraqi opposition. Iraq appealed to the UN Security Council demanding that the Iranians immediately liberate a number of islands occupied in 1971. In response, Iranian leader Khomeini called on the people of Iraq to overthrow the regime of "the enemy of the Koran and Islam" Saddam Hussein.
In the summer of 1980, Saddam Hussein finally headed for war. In July, a statement was made at a press conference for foreign journalists that Iraq would not "sit idly by" in the face of Iranian aggression. In order to support his plans from the Arab world, the leader of Iraq made a hajj to Mecca in August 1980. The Arab monarchs supported Hussein's course for war, because they hated and feared Khomeini, they were afraid of the possibility of spreading the Islamic revolution to the region. The chronicle of Hussein's visit to Mecca was broadcast to the entire Arab world. In addition, Hussein enlisted the support of the United States, he had a good relationship from the USSR. Iran was supported only by Syria and Libya.
On September 4-6, 1980, the first significant armed clashes began on the border using heavy artillery, air force and navy in the area of Qasr al-Shirin. On September 8, the Charge d'Affaires of Iran in the capital of Iraq was handed a document stating that Baghdad, in order to protect itself, was forced to take measures to prevent the occupation of the Zein al-Qaws region. The memorandum expressed the hope that Tehran would begin to liberate the Iraqi territories occupied by the Iranians earlier. But this proposal remained unanswered. On September 9, Iraqi forces forced the Iranians out of the Zein al-Qaws area. By September 16, the Iraqi army "liberated" 125 square meters. km of territories. In response, Tehran closed its country's airspace to Iraqi aircraft and imposed a ban on navigation along the Shatt al-Arab and the Strait of Hormuz. On September 17, at an emergency meeting of the National Council, Saddam Hussein announced the unilateral cancellation of the 1975 Algiers Agreement. He stated that the Shatt al-Arab should become only Arab and Iraqi. On September 22, 1980, Iraqi troops launched a strategic offensive in the Khuzestan region.
Hussein had reason to believe that the war would be victorious. The Iraqi armed forces had a significant advantage: in terms of manpower (240 thousand military, plus 75 thousand so-called People's Army, about 5 thousand security troops), in tanks (about 3 thousand tanks, 2.5 thousand units armored vehicles). Iran had 180 thousand people, about 1600 tanks. There was approximate equality in artillery and aviation. Only in the Navy did the Iranians have some advantage, because the Shah at one time dreamed of being a "gendarme" of the Persian Gulf and paid great attention to the development of the Navy. The Iranian army was weakened by the revolutionary purges, and was somewhat inferior to the Iraqi Armed Forces in technical terms. The great weakness of the Iranian Armed Forces was the lack of combat experience, unlike their enemy: Iraqi troops participated in wars against the Jewish state (in 1948, 1956, 1967, 1973) and had experience in the counter-guerrilla war in Kurdistan (1961-1970, 1974-1975) . In Khuzestan, the Iraqi military could meet the benevolent attitude of the Arab population. Hussein also had a "trump card" - significant stocks of chemical weapons and a developing nuclear program. The Iraqi army had a good chance of winning in a short-term campaign. But Iraq should have been wary of a protracted war. Iran possessed more significant human resources (in Iraq in 1977 there were 12 million people). The 50 million Islamic Republic of Iran could wage a war of attrition for a long time, grind Iraqi troops, and then go on the offensive. In addition, the population had a strong patriotic, religious-revolutionary core.
By the beginning of the war, Baghdad had concentrated about 140 thousand people, 1.3 thousand tanks (mainly Soviet T-55, T-62 and T-72), 1.7 thousand guns and mortars, 350 combat aircraft (including reserves - 190 thousand people, 2.2 thousand tanks and 450 aircraft). On the Iranian side, they were opposed by a group of forces consisting of about 70 thousand people, which was armed with 620 tanks (mainly American and British production, for example, the Chieftain), 710 guns and mortars, 150 combat aircraft. As a result, at the initial stage of the war, the Iraqi Armed Forces had a 2-fold superiority in personnel and tanks, 2.3 in combat aircraft, and 2.4 in artillery and mortars. In addition, one must take into account the fact that Iran had limited opportunities to replenish military equipment, ammunition and spare parts. Relations with the main arms supplier, the West, were damaged.
The Iraqi high command planned to defeat the Iranians in a short-term campaign and offer peace. They were going to strike the main blow on the southern sector of the front - in Khuzestan. The loss of the main oil-producing province was supposed to cause destabilization of the Iranian economy. No major operations were planned in the north and in the center; the main task of the Iraqi troops in these areas was to ensure the security of the Iraqi border territories from possible Iranian retaliatory strikes. That is why, a week after the start of the invasion, Saddam Hussein stopped the advance of his forces and expressed Baghdad's readiness to start peace negotiations. In general, Baghdad wanted to end the war by October 22.
The beginning of the war: the strike of the Iraqi armed forces
The war began with heavy attacks by the Iraqi Air Force on the military-economic and administrative centers of Iran. They also beat on its ports, naval and air bases. On September 22, Iraqi MiG-23S and MiG-21S attacked Iranian air bases in Mehrabad and Doshen-Teppen near the capital, as well as the cities of Tabriz, Bakhtaran, Ahvaz, Dizful, Hamadan, Urmia, Abadan and Sanandaj. The Iraqi Air Force was able to partially destroy the take-off sites of Iranian airfields, destroy part of the fuel reserves, but in general, Iranian aviation did not suffer serious losses. Iranian warplanes, mostly F-4s, F-5s and F-14s, were assigned to reserve sites in advance. I must say that at the beginning of the war, while there were enough spare parts and ammunition (they were Western-made, and relations with the West were sharply damaged after the Islamic revolution), the Iranian Air Force acted quite effectively. So, in the first days of the war, Iranian aircraft attacked the capital of Iraq, at the Al-Walid air base, where the Iraqi Il-28 and T-22 bombers were based.
The offensive of the Iraqi troops was carried out on a front of up to 700 kilometers: from Kasre-Shirin in the north to Khorramshahr in the south. Six army corps of the Iraqi Armed Forces invaded the Islamic Republic of Iran in three directions. By the end of the first day of the “Iraqi blitzkrieg”, the troops managed to wedge into enemy territory up to 20 km and occupy 1 thousand square meters. km of Iranian territory. To the north, an Iraqi mechanized mountain infantry division defeated the border garrison at Qasr-Shirin and advanced up to 30 km eastward to the foothills of the Zagros, threatening the Baghdad-Tehran highway. In the central direction, Iraqi forces occupied the city of Mehran. Then the central Iraqi grouping moved east to the foothills of the Zagros, but was stopped by Iranian helicopter strikes. The Iraqi command dealt the main blow in the south with the forces of 5 tank and mechanized divisions, they advanced in two directions. The first group crossed the Shatt-al-Arab near Basra and went to Khorramshahr. The second grouping attacked Susengerd and further on Ahvaz, which were the basis of the Iranian defense in Khuzestan.
During the 10 days of the war, the Iranian army was thrown back 40 km from the border. The Iraqis captured a number of border cities, such as Bostan, Mehran, Dehloran, etc. Already at the beginning of the campaign, the Iraqi command made a number of serious miscalculations: they sent armored units to capture large cities instead of sending them to develop a breakthrough, which led to heavy losses in tanks. In addition, the interaction between the ground forces, the Air Force and the Navy was poorly established in the Iraqi Armed Forces. The Iraqi army was not ready for the stubborn, fanatical resistance of the Iranians. In almost all sectors of the front, there was fierce opposition from Iranian forces. Particular persistence was shown not even by the regular units of the Iranian Armed Forces, but by detachments of the emerging Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the people's militia ("Basij"). By the beginning of the war, there were up to 100 thousand people in the ranks of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution and the militia. By the end of November 1980, Tehran sent 200 thousand people to the front.
In mid-October 1980, Iraqi troops continue their offensive against Khorramshahr and Abadan. The Iraqi units advancing on Ahvaz advanced 80 km and subjected the city to heavy artillery fire. Only with the help of strong air strikes by the Iranian Air Force (many pilots loyal to the Shah were amnestied after the start of the war) saved Ahvaz from capture and halted the Iraqi offensive.
On November 3, 1980, the Iraqi mechanized units reached Abadan, but their attack was stopped by the IRGC detachments. Abadan was blocked from three sides, several quarters were captured, but the Iranians sent reinforcements across the water and were able to hold the city. On November 10, 1980, after fierce street fighting, Iraqi forces were able to take Khorramshahr.
Iran began to respond to the attacks of Iraqi troops with special operations. In Kurdistan, an Iraqi oil pipeline was hit (Syria, which supported Iran, closed its ports to Iraqi oil). On November 7, Iranian special forces, supported by the Air Force and Navy, attacked oil terminals in Mina al-Bakr and on the Faw Peninsula.
By the end of November 1980, the Iraqi blitzkrieg finally fizzled out. Iraqi troops were able to occupy only a third of the territory of Khuzestan, advancing 80-120 km into the depths of Iranian territory (Iraq captured a total of about 20 thousand square kilometers of Iranian territory). The Iraqi Armed Forces captured the cities of Kasre-Shirin, Neftshah, Mehran, Bostan and Khorramshahr, surrounded Abadan, but their offensive was stopped before major cities Kermanshah, Dezful and Ahvaz.
Saddam Hussein's hope for an uprising of hundreds of thousands of Arabs did not come true. The Iranian government did not agree to peace talks. The advancing troops could not complete all the tasks and began to prepare for defense. There was no quick victory. In December, the war finally took on a protracted character.
The main reasons for the failure of the Iraqi blitzkrieg
Overestimation of the state of their armed forces, their combat capability, underestimation of the capabilities of the Iranian army and auxiliary military formations.
Baghdad's underestimation of the stability of the new ruling regime in Iran. The Iraqis believed that the invasion of their troops would find the support of a part of the Iranian society, dissatisfied with the Islamic revolution and the Arab population. The loss of Khuzestan was supposed to cause destabilization in Iran. The Shiite leadership of Iran, according to the plans of the Iraqis, should have asked for peace itself.
Lack of initiative and mistakes of the command of the Iraqi Armed Forces. The Iraqi command threw tank, mechanized units to storm the cities instead of building on the initial success. The loss of time and speed of the operation led to the fact that the Iranian command was able to mobilize and transfer reinforcements to the front, which equalized the forces of the parties. The command was unable to organize the full-fledged interaction of the ground forces, air force and navy. The Iraqi troops were not ready for the fierce resistance of the Iranians.
On the way to a turning point in the war
The Iraqi leadership decided that by holding the Iranian territories occupied by the troops, it would be possible to get Tehran to return all the disputed areas. In addition, demands were made to stop subversive activities in Iraq, support opposition, separatist movements and abandon the policy of exporting the Islamic revolution to the countries of the Arab world. Back in early October 1980, Baghdad announced that it had achieved its goals, the legitimate territories had been returned, and offered to settle the war through peaceful negotiations. But Tehran did not agree to this proposal.
The Iranian clergy used the beginning of the war to their maximum benefit. The war made it possible to solve a number of important tasks of consolidating power and consolidating society. There was an opportunity to officially start exporting the revolution to a neighboring country. Almost all divisions and units of the former Shah's army were sent to the front, thus, the ruling clergy bled a significant part of the opposition. The war made it possible to introduce an emergency regime and defeat the left-wing democratic movements, which played a huge role in the overthrow of the monarchical regime. At the same time, it was possible to sharply strengthen new military punitive structures loyal to the clergy, such as the IRGC. Religious and patriotic indoctrination of the population led to the fact that the vast majority of society was united against a common enemy, the dissatisfied were forced to remain silent. Thus, the war with Iraq became almost a godsend for the new ruling regime.
The Iranian military-political leadership decided that the transition of the Iraqi Armed Forces to the defense indicates their weakness and developed a counteroffensive plan. In early January 1981, the troops went on the offensive, but it failed. In the main direction of attack, the 16th Panzer Division was supposed to release Abadan, but it fell into the “fire bag” and was completely defeated (the Iraqis said they destroyed or captured 214 Iranian tanks out of 300, the Iranian side admitted the loss of only 88 vehicles). In the spring and summer, the Iranian command tried to hold several separate offensive operations limited scale, but they did not bring a positive result to the Iranians. The main reasons for the failure of the Iranians at the front at this time can be explained by the lack of experience in organizing combat control, the poor level of training of troops, the lack of equipment and ammunition, and technical specialists for servicing heavy weapons. The weapons left from the monarchy, and especially spare parts for it, were not enough for a protracted war.
The Iraqi military-political leadership, after the failure of the Iranian counter-offensive, was convinced that the defensive strategy was correct. There was a false impression in Baghdad that the Iranian army was unable to break through a well-prepared line of defense. Therefore, after the unsuccessful March offensive of the Iraqi forces on Susengerd, the command did not take any active offensive actions until the end of the year. In Baghdad, they still believed that the ruling regime in Tehran would soon collapse due to the internal crisis, which the war had exacerbated. In principle, there were grounds for such an opinion, the failure of the Iranian counter-offensive in January led to an aggravation of the conflict in the Iranian leadership. In Iran, there was a conflict between the army and a new armed structure - the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The Shiite clergy suspected that there were strong pro-Shah sentiments in the officer corps of the army and tried to reduce the role of the army in the country. In June 1981, the Majlis impeached Iran's first democratically elected president, Abolhasan Banisadr, with the wording "for activities directed against the Islamic clergy." On the night of June 21-22, units of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps blocked the house and residence of the president, and also arrested the editors-in-chief of the main newspapers. On the morning of June 22, Khomeini signed an order to release Banisadr from his duties as head of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Banisadr went into hiding for some time and then fled to Europe. In response, the Organization of the Mujahideen of the Iranian People (OMIN), opposing the strengthening of the role of the Shiite clergy, unleashed terror in the country. On August 30, the new President of Iran, Ali Rajai, and the head of the government, Javad Bahonar, were assassinated. The authorities responded with mass arrests of OMIN activists. In general, Baghdad's expectation of a sharp change in Iran's domestic policy did not materialize.
It should be noted that in the summer of 1981 Israel indirectly helped Iran. On June 7, 1981, the Israeli Air Force conducted Operation Babylon - the aircraft purchased from France was destroyed nuclear reactor. Iraq's nuclear program has once again been thwarted.
Iranian counteroffensive
The second half of 1981 and the first half of 1982 in the Iran-Iraq war were marked by the transition of the Islamic Republic to active offensive operations on almost the entire front. The Iranian command, as well as the Iraqi command before that, concentrated its main efforts on Khuzestan. Significantly inferior to the Iraqi Armed Forces in the quantity and quality of weapons, the Iranian troops sought to use their numerical advantage. They tried to launch attacks suddenly, at night, without preliminary artillery and aviation preparation.
In early September 1981, the Iranian command, using the superiority of its troops in numbers, was able to create the appearance of an attack on Basra, and dealt the main blow against the Iraqi forces, which ensured the blockade of Abadan from the east. During the battle for Abadan, which lasted September 26-29, the city was released. Then, after a pause, the Iranian troops again went on the offensive in the Susengerd area and took Bostan.
In December 1981 and January 1982, Iranian troops carried out successful offensives in the Kasre-Shirin area.
In March - May 1982, the Iranian command launched a new offensive. By May, the Iranians reached the line of the state border with Iraq. In March 1982, the Iranian army liberated Shush with a surprise night attack. Moreover, this attack was marked by the use of suicide bombers - in the first echelon of the attackers there were many young volunteer militias (including 14-16 years old). Volunteers broke through the corridor in minefields, then regular units entered the battle. In the same month, another offensive operation (“Indisputable Victory”) was carried out, during which 3 Iraqi divisions were defeated near Susengerd. The most large-scale operation during the spring offensive was Operation Sacred Temple in April-May 1982. Its main task was the liberation of Khorramshahr and access to the state border. Researchers believe that Iranian troops used a rather flexible tactic in this operation. The Iranians had Iraqi troops in front of them, still reeling from the shock of previous defeats, their ability to coordinate actions was weakened. The Iranian command took advantage of this. Small Iranian sabotage units cut communications, created the appearance of a blockade and encirclement of Iraqi units. Several Iraqi divisions were pinned down and disoriented. On May 24, 1982, a decisive assault on Khorramshahr was launched. The city was attacked from four directions - one of the assault groups crossed a water barrier on boats. Iranian Air Force helicopters also took part in the operation. The Iraqi command, despite the critical situation, was able to save most of the forces defending Khorramshahr by withdrawing them to Iraqi territory along the only crossing over the Shatt al-Arab River. But approximately 19-20 thousand Iraqi soldiers were captured. The Iranian command began to prepare for a war in Iraq.
After these defeats, Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein expressed his readiness to start peace talks to resolve disputed issues and announced the withdrawal of troops from Iranian territory. The Iranian government has put forward conditions of peace that are completely unacceptable to Baghdad, including the withdrawal of Hussein himself from power.
After the fall of Khorramshahr, the military command of Iraq revised the tactics of using armored forces. Prior to that, they were used as the main strike force. Moreover, they made big mistakes, often used separately, without parts of reinforcement and support. After the transition to the defense, tanks began to be used in the second echelon of defense, they were located in trenches and shelters. The paths of their movement to spare or temporary firing positions began to be covered with sand embankments or went along specially dug ditches. Tanks were thrown into counterattacks only in case of emergency, for example, against enemy infantry that had broken through without heavy anti-tank weapons. Enemy tanks that had broken through were tried to be eliminated by fire on the flank and rear. The war took on a positional character, without deep breakthroughs. The Iraqi command finally withdraws troops to the border line, leaving only the disputed sections of the border in their hands.
During this period of hostilities, the Iranian command tried to achieve operational surprise. Several features can be noted in the actions of the Iranian armed forces. The limited use of the Air Force (in contrast to the first period of the war, when during the offensive of the Iraqi troops the Iranian Air Force was able to inflict a number of powerful strikes on the enemy), armored vehicles and large-caliber guns - mainly due to the lack of spare parts and ammunition. Almost completely no military operations were conducted at sea. The Iranians relied on the large number and psychological attitudes of the fighters (readiness for heavy losses). The troops widely used melee weapons - small arms, RPGs, small-caliber mortars, recoilless guns. Iranian troops suffered significant losses in manpower.
During this period, Tehran's strategy was finally determined - Khomeini and his entourage resolutely rejected any attempts to start negotiations to resolve the conflict. Not having enough heavy equipment, ammunition and equipment for a decisive strike on Iraq, the Iranian leadership is waging a war of attrition.
In the summer of 1982, a new phase began in the Iran-Iraq war - the Iranian military-political leadership decided to transfer the war to Iraqi territory. Tehran planned to inflict decisive defeat Iraqi armed forces, overthrow Saddam Hussein's regime and establish a pro-Iranian Shiite government. Therefore, all attempts by Baghdad to start negotiations were rejected. Tehran set deliberately impossible conditions, such as the abdication of Saddam Hussein from power, the trial of him and his entourage, and the payment of indemnities by Iraq.
Preparing a new offensive against the Iraqi troops, the Iranian command concentrated 120 thousand people, 600 tanks, 900 guns and mortars on the southern sector of the front. The tasks of the operation were of a strategic scale: to capture Basra (the main seaport of the country), the southern regions of Iraq and cut off Baghdad from the Persian Gulf. On the night of July 13-14, 1982, approximately 100,000 IRGC fighters and Basij militias launched an offensive from the Ahvaz, Kushk and Khorramshahr areas in the direction of Basra. Using their numerical superiority and the resistance of units to high losses, Iranian forces first broke through the defensive line of the Iraqis in some areas and wedged 15–20 km deep into Iraqi territory. But the Iraqi command was able, with the help of counterattacks by armored formations, to stop the enemy's offensive about 9 km east of Basra. The advanced units of the Iranians were cut off from the main forces and destroyed. Iranian troops retreated to their original positions, losing more than 15 thousand people killed. Only a few units were able to gain a foothold in Iraqi territory at a depth of 3-5 km from the border.
After the failure of this offensive, the war turned into a positional confrontation. Both sides strengthened their positions, carried out air and artillery strikes. The Iranians switched to the tactics of gradually squeezing out the enemy, step by step trying to strengthen their positions. The Iraqis relied on technical power: the USSR armed Iraq before and during the war. With the help of superior numbers of armored vehicles, aircraft, helicopters, multiple launch rocket systems and other heavy weapons, Iraqi forces were able to hold back the onslaught of a more numerous and fanatical enemy.
1983 campaign
During 1983, the Iranian military-political leadership tried, through a series of offensive operations in various sectors of the front, to weaken the defensive line of the Iraqi army, wear down the enemy and achieve a radical change in the war. The size of the army was almost doubled - Iran had up to 1 million people under arms. Approximately half of them were militias, "guards of the revolution", the brunt of the war fell on them - they made their way with their breasts to regular units. The problem of supplying the Armed Forces with weapons, and especially heavy weapons, has not been resolved. We had to count on the numerical superiority and psychological qualities of the fighters. In 1983, the Iranian command sent the main blow to the north, trying to cut through the enemy's defenses, reach the Tigris River and break through to the Iraqi capital. These actions were supposed to break the stability of the entire Iraqi defense. There were 4 offensives in this direction. In addition, they acted in Iraqi Kurdistan, relying on the help of local separatists.
A feature of the attacks of the Iranians was that they began at night. The Iranian command tried to avoid attacks by enemy aircraft and helicopters, and use the psychological factor associated with night attacks - the enemy did not see the effectiveness of his fire, he experienced more fear.
The Iraqi command planned to exhaust, bleed the enemy and make peace with a deaf defense. No major offensive operations were planned. A powerful defense line in depth was created with a system of minefields, anti-tank and anti-personnel ditches, barbed wire, firing positions, etc. Armored and aviation formations helped the defending troops.
The active war in 1983 began in February with the Iranian offensive Operation Zarya. Iranian troops began to advance on February 6 on the southern border sector of the front in Maysan province and had the task of capturing the Basra-Baghdad road. Approximately 200 thousand people were thrown into battle in 6 corps on a front section of 40 km. The Iranian troops, mostly poorly armed and hastily trained militias, had to advance across open terrain against a powerful enemy defense, which had complete superiority in the air, in armored vehicles and heavy artillery. As a result, the Iranians managed to capture a number of positions, but in general their offensive was repulsed. The Iraqi command counterattacked, combining armored attacks with infantry, air raids and artillery shelling. The Iranians lost several thousand people killed. In this battle, the Iraqis widely and successfully used the Air Force - they attacked the Iranians with the help of attack helicopters, multi-role fighters.
At the same time, the Iranians attacked on the northern front in the Mandali region. This advance was halted in April.
Iranian troops suffered heavy losses and used up their supply of ammunition, which forced them to temporarily go on the defensive. In July-August 1983, during Operation Zarya-2, Iranian troops launched a simultaneous offensive in two sectors - central and northern, and a little later struck in the south. The Iraqis repulsed these attacks. Only in the north did the Iranians manage to capture the city of Penjwin. Both sides by the beginning of 1984 suffered heavy losses: 300 thousand people from Iran and 250 thousand from Iraq.
1984 campaign
Since the late autumn of 1983, the Iranian command has been preparing a new decisive operation. She received the code name "Khaibar-5" and began at the end of February 1984. The blow, as in February 1983, was inflicted on the southern sector of the front. The half-million Iranian army, using the absence of a solid front line in the swampy area east of El Qurn, was able to penetrate Iraqi territory for 10–15 km. The Iranians captured the Majnun Islands. The Iranian command again began the operation at night, the surprise factor was used - the troops were put on various watercraft and moved through various channels and channels. In the second phase of the operation, Iranian units were supposed to force the Tigris River north of El Qurn, cut the Basra-Baghdad highway, take Basra, cutting off Iraqi troops from the Persian Gulf and the Arab monarchies of the Arabian Peninsula (they were allies of Iraq). But the second stage of the operation failed - the offensive capabilities of the troops were exhausted. Separate units that were able to reach the Tigris line were completely destroyed. The Iranians again suffered significant losses - up to 20 thousand people (according to other sources - 40 thousand).
The Iranian command regarded this operation as a success and decided to strike a new blow in the southern direction. In March, a new offensive began, but the Iranian troops were defeated and lost up to 15 thousand people.
The rest of the spring and summer of 1984 saw no active hostilities. Both sides were preparing for new battles. The Iranian command again concentrated significant forces on the southern sector of the front, transferring here the newly formed formations of the IRGC and the Basij. Stockpiles of ammunition, ammunition were accumulated, most of the weapons that they could buy abroad went here.
The Iraqi command continued to work on improving the line of defense and, having guessed the main direction of the attack of the Iranian army, began to deliver systematic strikes with the help of the Air Force on positions, places of concentration of Iranian troops, communication centers, communications, warehouses and other important objects. As a result, the actions of the Iraqi Air Force became one of the prerequisites for the disruption of plans for a new decisive offensive in 1984. In addition, Tehran could not completely solve the issue of supplying the army. In addition, disagreements between the command of the army and the IRGC intensified in the Iranian Armed Forces - the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps received significant rights and privileges, an advantage in logistical and financial support. Favorable time for the offensive was lost.
The Iranian command was only able to organize a diversionary attack on the central sector of the front. The October operation was called "Ashur". Iranian troops were able to capture a number of positions. But soon the Iraqis organized counterattacks, threw the Air Force into battle. Iranian troops suffered significant losses and went on the defensive. This active hostilities in 1984 ended.
It was in 1984 that it finally became clear that the forces were approximately equal and a decisive turning point was possible only as a result of an extraordinary event. Tehran possessed a large number of armed forces and gradually improved their logistics, but this was not enough to create a radical change in the war in its favor. In addition, war weariness was growing in Iran.
It should be noted that in 1984, both sides began to actively conduct the so-called. "tanker war" - Iranian and Iraqi armed forces attacked tankers of third countries in the Persian Gulf, which were transporting enemy oil. As a result, such tactics led to the internationalization of the conflict. Washington used the events of this war, and especially the Iranian leadership's threat to block the Strait of Hormuz, as an excuse to build up its direct military presence in the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean. In Saudi Arabia, the Americans deployed a detachment of early warning and control aircraft. The US Air Force monitored the situation and collected intelligence information not only in the war zone, but throughout the Persian Gulf region. In addition, under the pretext of protecting sea routes in the Persian Gulf and the northern part of the Indian Ocean, NATO states have deployed a powerful naval force.
1985 campaign
In early 1985, the Iraqi command organized a series of preventive strikes against Iranian troops. Operations of a limited nature were carried out in the southern and central sectors of the front. The stability of the Iranian defense was broken, the Iraqis even managed to push the enemy in some areas. Iraqi strikes in January-February, the active use of aviation, heavy artillery led to the fact that the combat capability of Iranian groups was significantly reduced and the Iranian Armed Forces had to once again postpone the start of a major offensive operation to a later date.
Therefore, the major offensive operation of the Iranian Armed Forces, which was being prepared during the year, on the southern sector of the front was launched only on March 12, 1985 (Operation Badr). The shock group of 60 thousand (the first echelon) was supposed to advance from the area of the Majnun Islands in the western and north-western directions. Iranian troops planned to cross the Tigris, cut off and defeat part of the Iraqi troops, and capture part of southern Iraq. The Iranians managed to reach the Tigris in a number of places, and in one area to force the river. Iraqi troops reacted almost immediately and launched a counteroffensive. Fierce fighting went on for a week. This battle was one of the bloodiest of the entire war. The Iraqi command foresaw this strike and prepared the necessary reserves in advance. The Iraqi troops cut off the advancing Iranian grouping with powerful flank counterattacks, and then, intensively using the Air Force and artillery, defeated it. The Iranian command was unable to provide proper fire support to the forward units. Great importance there was also the fact of the complete dominance of Iraqi aviation in the air, especially in the battle area. So, if in January Iraqi combat aircraft made up to 100 sorties per day, in February up to 200, then in March during the battle - up to 1000. The Iranians lost up to 25-30 thousand people and retreated to their original positions.
Iranian aviation also did not stay idle, but it attacked mainly cities and industrial facilities. The Iraqis responded in kind. Therefore, 1985 entered the history of the Iran-Iraq war as the year of the “war of cities”. Iranian and Iraqi air forces also bombed residential areas. In March, the Iraqi Air Force attacked up to 30 major Iranian cities, including Tehran, Isfahan, Tabriz, and others. In April, Iranian aircraft methodically attacked Basra and Baghdad. Continued and so-called. "tanker war". In mid-August, the Iraqi command, trying to disrupt the export of Iranian oil, deprive Tehran of sources of foreign exchange, which was necessary to continue the war and force the Iranian leadership to stop hostilities at the front, start peace negotiations, sharply intensified air strikes on the enemy's oil infrastructure. The strikes were carried out on the most important Iranian oil export ports, offshore oil fields and oil transport in the Persian Gulf. Thus, the Iraqi Air Force inflicted more than 120 strikes on the main Iranian oil export port on Khark Island alone. Since September 1985, the Iranian Navy began to regularly inspect all merchant ships that passed through the Strait of Hormuz in order to find and confiscate military cargo.
The Iranian military-political leadership, after the defeat of the March offensive, did not abandon the "war to a victorious end." Although Tehran has repeatedly made proposals to start peace talks. It was decided to organize a new offensive in the south. At the same time, in order to wear down the enemy, deplete his resources and keep the strategic initiative in their hands, from April to December 1985, Iranian troops delivered up to 40 strikes of limited value to the enemy (with forces from a battalion to three brigades).
The Iraqi command, making efforts to repel the enemy's limited offensives, simultaneously improved the line of defense, created reserves in case of a major offensive by the Iranian Armed Forces. In general, there were no significant changes in 1985.
1986 campaign
The Iranian command for most of 1985 was preparing another decisive operation on the southern sector of the front. By the end of January 1986, preparations for the offensive were generally completed. On February 9, 1986, five Iranian divisions (in total, the advancing group included more than 100 thousand people), as part of the Dawn-8 offensive operation, crossed the Shatt al-Arab river southeast of Basra in several places. On the morning of February 11, the advancing troops, in cooperation with the airborne assault, captured the city of Fao on the peninsula of the same name. Then the offensive of the Iranian troops developed in the northern (to Basra) and western (to Umm Qasr) directions.
At the same time, Iranian troops launched a strike from the Khorramshahr region in the direction of Basra. But in this sector of the front, the Iranian troops failed to achieve success. Iranian units came under heavy fire from Iraqi artillery and, having suffered heavy losses, were forced to retreat to their original positions.
On February 12-14, the Iraqi command deployed additional forces to the breakthrough area. Iraqi troops launched a series of counterattacks and were able to stop the enemy's offensive at the turn of 8-10 km north and northwest of the city of Fao. Fierce fighting continued almost until the end of the month, but it was not possible to dislodge the Iranians from the occupied territory. Both sides went on the offensive more than once, but could not gain an advantage. Due to the swampy terrain, the Iraqis could not effectively use heavy weapons, frequent rains and fogs interfered with the actions of the Air Force. The Iranians lost in this battle up to 50 thousand people killed and wounded. By the end of the month, the Iraqi command stopped trying to recapture the lost territory. Both sides went on the defensive, gaining a foothold on new frontiers.
On the night of February 24-25, the Iranians launched Operation Dawn-9. Using the data of the Kurds, they hit in the direction of Bani - Sulaimaniya (towards Kirkuk). The Iranians captured a number of enemy strongholds, but soon the Iraqi troops regained their lost positions. In March, both sides went on the defensive.
The Iranian military-political leadership highly appreciated the success of the February offensive and officially announced that by the end of the year the defeat of the Iraqi troops would be completed and a decisive victory over Iraq would be achieved. In Iraq, they began a new mobilization and preparation for the final decisive operation.
Saddam Hussein was angered by the loss of Fao - the commander of the Iraqi forces on the Faw Peninsula, Major General Shavkat Ata, was recalled to the capital and shot. The troops were ordered to recapture the peninsula at any cost. Elite units were thrown into the battle - a motorized brigade of the Presidential Guard. Despite small successes, Fao could not be recaptured. Several offensive operations were organized in April and the first half of May to thwart a new offensive by Iran and smooth over the impression of the February defeat. At the same time, the actions of the Iraqi Air Force were activated, they attacked Iranian cities and industrial facilities. The most famous success of the Iraqi forces was the capture of the city of Mehran in Iran. In mid-May 1986, 25,000 army corps crossed the Iranian border near the city of Mehran. This area was not of strategic importance, but 5 thousand garrison was stationed here. The Iraqis brought up two more divisions, artillery and were able to suppress the resistance of the Iranian garrison (400 prisoners were taken). This operation was not of strategic importance and did not affect the overall course of the war, but was blown up in Iraq to the scale of a great victory, almost a radical turning point in the war. Soon, Iranian troops cut the communications of the Iraqi garrison in Mehran, and then defeated it. Major General Adin Tawfid, who commanded the operation to capture Mehran, was summoned to Baghdad and shot.
In July 1986, the Iraqi Air Force launched a series of strikes on Kharq Island, forcing Tehran to rely on temporary installations on the islands of Siri and Larak, further south. But these territories were also subjected to raids by Iraqi aircraft, which operated from bases in Saudi Arabia.
The Iranian command did not want to put up with the loss of tactical initiative, therefore, after the liberation of Mehran in September, a blow was struck on the northern sector of the front. Iranian troops at the initial stage of the operation achieved some success, capturing a number of heights in Iraqi territory. The fighting was fierce, a number of points changed hands several times, the Iraqis widely used aircraft. Then the Iraqi troops, repelling the attacks of the Iranians, launched a counteroffensive and, having crossed the border, blockaded seven Iranian settlements, including Mehran. The Iraqi command stated that this is a "demonstrative offensive", it shows the power of the Iraqi Armed Forces and is not aimed at seizing Iranian territory. Iraqi forces fought off Iranian counterattacks and eventually withdrew.
At the end of 1986, the Iranian command organized a new offensive on the southern sector of the front (Operation "Kerbala-4"). The advancing forces included six divisions, six separate brigades, formations of special forces, as well as various units of the IRGC (there were up to 50,000 “guards of the revolution” alone). But Iraqi intelligence was able to uncover the preparations for an Iranian offensive, which made it possible to take the necessary measures. On the night of December 24, 1986, the Iranians went on the offensive. 60 thousand Iranian soldiers struck at a 40 km front. The Iranians were able to force the Shatt al-Arab, capture a number of islands and bridgeheads on the western coast. The Iraqis went on a counterattack, after a 48-hour stubborn battle, the Iraqi army threw Iranian soldiers into the water, but lost 10 thousand people.
In general, the 1986 campaign of the year was distinguished by a fairly high intensity and scale of the battles. The Iranians, despite heavy losses, were able to achieve significant success. Iranian troops captured Fao, threatening a breakthrough to the most important Iraqi port and naval base of Umm Qasr. There was a possibility of a complete cutoff of Iraq from the Persian Gulf and the exit of Iranian troops to Kuwait. This, in turn, could lead to a loss of contact with the Persian Gulf monarchies, which provided assistance to Baghdad in the war with Iran. The actions of the Iraqi troops have shown that they are still far from defeat and the war can continue for a long time.
Last battles
By early 1987, the situation on the Iran-Iraq front was reminiscent of previous years. The Iranian command was preparing for a new decisive offensive on the southern sector of the front. The Iraqis relied on defense: they completed the construction of a 1.2 thousand km defensive line, in the south Basra was its main stronghold. Basra was fortified with a water channel 30 km long and up to 1800 meters wide, it was called the Fish Lake.
The war of attrition has reached its highest point. Iran brought the size of the army to 1 million people, and Iraq to 650 thousand. The Iraqis still had complete superiority in weapons: 4.5 thousand tanks against 1 thousand Iranian, 500 combat aircraft against 60 enemy, 3 thousand guns and mortars against 750. Despite the material and technical superiority, it was increasingly difficult for Iraq to contain the onslaught of Iran: the country had 16-17 million people against 50 million Iranians. Baghdad spent half of the Gross National Product on the war, while Tehran - 12%. Iraq was on the brink of an economic disaster. The country kept only at the expense of generous financial injections from the Arab monarchies. The war had to end as soon as possible. In addition, Tehran broke through the diplomatic blockade - Iran began receiving weapons from the United States and China, mainly surface-to-ground, surface-to-air and air-to-ground missiles. The Iranians also had Soviet R-17 (Scud) missiles and its modifications, with which it was possible to fire at Baghdad (the Iraqis also had these missiles).
The Iranian command, having regrouped its forces, launched Operation Kerbala-5 on January 8. Iranian troops crossed the Jasim River, which connected the Fish Lake with Shatt al-Arab, and by February 27 were a few kilometers from Basra. The situation of the Iraqi armed forces was so difficult that Jordanian and Saudi multi-purpose F-5 fighters with crews had to be urgently transferred to the country, they were immediately thrown to the front line. The battle was fierce, but the Iranian troops could not take the city, they were drained of blood. In addition, in March, the Tigris began to flood, a further offensive was impossible. Iran lost up to 65 thousand people and stopped the offensive. Iraq lost 20 thousand people and 45 aircraft (according to other sources, 80 aircraft, 7 helicopters and 700 tanks). The battle showed that the time of complete dominance of Iraqi aircraft over the front line was over. Iranian troops, with the help of secretly placed American missiles, undermined Iraqi air superiority. In 1987, Iranian troops launched two more attacks on Basra, but they failed (Operations Kerbala-6 and Kerbala-7).
In May 1987, Iranian troops, along with the Kurds, surrounded the Iraqi garrison in the city of Mawat, threatening a breakthrough to Kirkuk and the oil pipeline leading to Turkey. This was the last significant success of the Iranian forces in this war.
In 1987, the pressure of the world community sharply increased. The United States has increased its naval grouping in the Persian Gulf, and the US Navy has entered into several skirmishes with the Iranians. So, on April 18, 1988, a battle took place in the area of Iranian oil platforms (Operation Praying Mantis). The possibility of a war between the United States and Iran appeared - this forced Tehran to moderate its fighting ardor. The UN Security Council, under the influence of Washington and Moscow, adopted a resolution that called on Iran and Iraq to cease fire (Resolution No. 598).
During a pause in the fighting, when the Iranian armed forces did not undertake major offensives, the Iraqi command planned and prepared its operation. The main objective of the operation was the expulsion of the Iranians from the territory of Iraq. Iraqi forces seized the strategic initiative and carried out four consecutive operations from April to July 1988.
On April 17, 1988, Iraqi forces were finally able to drive the enemy out of Fao. It should be noted that by this time the Iranian aviation was actually in a non-combatable state - there were only 60 combat aircraft in service. This despite the fact that the Iraqi Armed Forces had five hundred combat vehicles and from July 1987 they began to receive the latest Soviet aircraft - MiG-29 fighters and Su-25 attack aircraft.
After the capture of Fao, Iraqi troops successfully advanced in the Shatt al-Arab region. June 25 captured the Majnun Islands. To capture them, they used the landing of scuba divers (“frog people”), the landing of fighters from boats and helicopters. It must be said that the Iranians did not resist as fiercely as in the previous years of the war, apparently, psychological fatigue from the war affected. More than 2 thousand people surrendered, the losses of the Iraqi side were minimal. In offensive operations, the Iraqis actively used the Air Force, armored vehicles and even chemical weapons. In the summer of 1988, Iraqi troops invaded Iran in a number of places, but their progress was minimal.
The fighting in 1988 showed that the defensive strategy of Baghdad was ultimately successful: for seven years, the Iraqi armed forces, using their superior weapons, crushed Iranian troops. The Iranians were tired of the war and were unable to hold the previously won positions. At the same time, Baghdad did not have the strength to inflict a decisive defeat on Iran and end the war victoriously.
The USA, the USSR and China sharply increased pressure on Iraq and Iran. On August 20, 1988, Baghdad and Tehran obeyed the UN resolution. The Eight Years' War, one of the bloodiest conflicts of the 20th century, has come to an end.
US strategy in the war
The US strategy in this conflict was determined by several factors. Firstly, it is a strategic resource - oil, playing on the prices of "black gold" (and for this it is necessary to control the regimes of oil-exporting countries), the interests of American corporations. Control over the producers of black gold allowed the United States to play on lower and higher prices, putting pressure on Europe, Japan and the USSR. Secondly, it was necessary to support the "allies" - the monarchies of the Persian Gulf, since the Islamic revolution would easily crush these regimes. Having failed to suppress the revolution in Iran, the United States began to work on creating a "counterweight", Iraq became it, since there were a lot of old contradictions between the countries. True, everything was not easy with Iraq either. The United States temporarily supported the aspirations of Saddam Hussein. Hussein was a leader with whom they "played" a complex game, the rules of which he did not know.
In 1980, the United States had no diplomatic relations with either Iraq or Iran. In 1983, the US State Department stated: "We do not intend to take any action regarding the Iran-Iraq massacre, as long as it does not affect the interests of our allies in the region and does not upset the balance of power." De facto, the United States benefited from a long war - it made it possible to strengthen its position in the region. The need for weapons and political support made Iraq more dependent on the monarchies of the Persian Gulf and Egypt. Iran fought mainly with American and Western weapons, which made it dependent on the supply of new weapons, spare parts and ammunition, and became more accommodating. The protracted war allowed the United States to build up its military presence in the region, conduct various special operations, and pushed the warring powers and their neighbors to closer cooperation with the United States. Solid benefits.
After the outbreak of the war, Moscow curtailed military supplies to Baghdad and did not resume them during the first year of the war, since Saddam Hussein was the aggressor - Iraqi troops invaded Iranian territory. In March 1981, Hussein outlawed the Iraqi Communist Party for broadcasting from Soviet Union to Iraq, which sounded calls for peace. At the same time, Washington began to take steps towards Iraq. US Secretary of State Alexander Haig said in a report by the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee that Iraq is very concerned about the actions of Soviet imperialism in the Middle East, so he sees the possibility of US rapprochement with Baghdad. The United States sells several aircraft to Iraq, in 1982 the country was excluded from the list of countries supporting international terrorism. In November 1984, the United States restored diplomatic relations with Iraq, which had been cut off in 1967.
Washington, using the pretext of the "Soviet threat", tried to build up its military presence in the region even before the start of the Iran-Iraq war. Under President James Carter (1977-1981), a doctrine was formulated that allowed the United States to use military force in the event of interference by external forces in the Persian Gulf region. In addition, the Pentagon said it was ready to protect oil supplies and intervene in the internal affairs of Arab states in the event of a dangerous coup or revolution in any of them. Plans were being developed to seize individual oil fields. The Rapid Deployment Force (RDF) is being formed to ensure the American military presence and US national interests in the Persian Gulf. In 1979, these plans only strengthened - the Iranian Revolution and the invasion of Soviet troops into Afghanistan took place. In 1980, the US armed forces held a large-scale military game "Gallant Knight", in which the actions of American forces were practiced in the event of an invasion of Soviet troops in Iran. Experts said that in order to contain the Soviet invasion of Iran, the American armed forces need to deploy at least 325 thousand people in the region. It is clear that the Rapid Deployment Forces could not be increased to such a massive figure, but the idea of having such a corps was not abandoned. The basis of the RRF was the Marine Corps.
The next US President Ronald Reagan (he was in power for two consecutive terms - 1981-1989) made an addition to the Carter Doctrine. Saudi Arabia has become a strategic partner of the United States in the region. The CIA conducted its own research into possible Soviet aggression in the region and reported that such a possibility was only a distant possibility. But this did not prevent Washington from covering up the buildup of its forces in the Persian Gulf zone with slogans about the "Soviet threat." The main task of the RRF was the fight against leftist and nationalist movements, the connection had to be ready for action on the territory of any state, regardless of the wishes of its leadership. However, the official position remained the same: RRFs are needed to repel Soviet expansion. For the effectiveness of the RRF, the Pentagon planned the creation of a network of bases, not only in the Persian Gulf, but throughout the world. Gradually, almost all the monarchies of the Persian Gulf provided their territories for American bases. The United States has dramatically increased the presence of its air force and navy in the region.
With respect to Iran, the US administration pursued a dual policy. On the one hand, the CIA supported a number of organizations that sought to roll back the power of the Shia clergy and restore the monarchy. An information war was waged against the Islamic Republic of Iran. On the other hand, the Islamic Republic was the enemy of the Soviet Union, the "leftist threat". Therefore, the CIA began to establish ties with the Shiite clergy for a joint fight against the "Soviet (left) threat." In 1983, the United States provoked a wave of repression in Iran against the Iranian left movement, using the theme of the "Soviet invasion of Iran" and the "fifth column" of the USSR. In 1985, the Americans began to supply anti-tank weapons to Iran, and then the supply of air defense systems, missiles of various classes. The United States did not interfere with Iran's contacts with Israel either. The United States tried to stop the possibility of a rapprochement between the Islamic Republic and the USSR, which could seriously change the balance of power in the region.
The main instrument of US influence on Iran was the supply of weapons and intelligence information. It is clear that the United States tried to do this not openly - it was officially a neutral country, but through intermediaries, in particular, through Israel. Interestingly, in 1984, the United States launched the Right Action program, which was aimed at cutting off the supply channels for weapons, spare parts, and ammunition for Iran. Therefore, in 1985-1986, the Americans became practically a monopoly in the supply of weapons to Iran. When information about the supply of weapons began to leak, the United States claimed that the money from the sale went to finance the Nicaraguan Contra rebels, and then reported that it was defensive in nature (despite the fact that Iran during this period conducted mainly offensive operations). The information coming from the CIA to Tehran was partly disinformation in nature, so that the Iranian troops would not be too successful at the front (the United States needed a long war, not a decisive victory for one of the parties). For example, the Americans exaggerated the size of the Soviet group on the Iranian border in order to force Tehran to keep significant forces there.
It should be noted that similar assistance was provided to Iraq. It's all in line with the "divide and conquer" strategy. Only at the end of 1986 did the US begin to provide more support to Iraq. Iranian officials informed the world community about the fact of American military supplies, which caused a negative reaction in Baghdad and other Arab capitals. Support for Iran had to be curtailed. The Sunni monarchies were the more important partner. In the United States itself, this scandal was called Iran-Contra (or Irangate).
In general, Washington's policy in this war was not aimed at making every effort (including with the help of the USSR) to end the war, but at strengthening its strategic positions in the region, undermining the influence of Moscow and the left movement. Therefore, the United States dragged out the process of a peaceful settlement, encouraging the aggressiveness of either Iraq or Iran.
During the war, Iraq used chemical weapons more than once, although mainly to achieve only tactical goals, in order to suppress the resistance of one or another Iranian defense point. There is no exact data on the number of victims - a figure of 5-10 thousand people is called (this is the minimum figure). There is no exact data on the country that supplied these weapons to Iraq. Accusations were made against the United States, the USSR, the Iranians, in addition to the Soviet Union, blamed Great Britain, France and Brazil. In addition, the media mentioned the assistance of scientists from Switzerland and Germany, who back in the 1960s produced poisonous substances for Iraq specifically to fight Kurdish rebels.
The Iraqis used: nerve agents tabun, asphyxiating gas chlorine, mustard gas (mustard gas), tear gas, and other poisonous substances. The first report and the use of chemical agents by Iraqi troops came in November 1980 - the Iranians reported the bombing of the city of Susengerd with chemical bombs. On February 16, 1984, the Iranian Foreign Minister made an official statement at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva. The Iranian said that by this time Tehran had recorded 49 cases of the use of chemical weapons by Iraqi forces. The number of victims reached 109 people, many hundreds were injured. Then Iran made several more similar messages.
UN inspectors confirmed the use of chemical weapons by Baghdad. In March 1984, the International Red Cross announced that there were at least 160 people in the hospitals of the Iranian capital with signs of damage to the RW.
The Iranian and Iraqi Armed Forces suffered the main losses in heavy equipment in the first period of the war, when opposing sides, and especially Iraq, relied on the massive use of mechanized units, combat aircraft. At the same time, the Iraqi command did not have the necessary experience in the massive use of heavy weapons.
The intensity of hostilities in the Iran-Iraq war was also uneven. Relatively short periods of fierce battles (the duration of the largest operations usually did not exceed a week) were replaced by much longer periods of inactive positional warfare. This was largely due to the fact that the Iranian army did not have weapons and supplies for long-term offensive operations. The Iranian command for a considerable time had to accumulate reserves and weapons in order to go on the attack. The depth of the breakthrough was also small, no more than 20-30 km. To carry out more powerful breakthroughs, the armies of Iraq and Iran did not have the necessary forces and means.
A characteristic feature of the Iranian-Iranian war was the fact that the fighting was actually carried out in the same separate directions, mainly along the existing routes, in the absence of a continuous front line in a number of sections. In the combat formations of the troops opposing each other, there were often significant gaps. The main efforts were made mainly to solve tactical problems: the capture and retention of settlements, important communication centers, natural boundaries, heights, etc.
Main technical base The Iranian Armed Forces was created under the monarchy with the help of the United States and Great Britain, and foreign specialists formed the basis of qualified technical personnel for repair enterprises. Therefore, with the outbreak of war, huge problems arose for the Iranian Armed Forces, since cooperation with the Americans and the British had been curtailed by that time. The supply of spare parts and ammunition for military equipment has not been carried out for more than a year and a half. Iran was not able to solve this problem until the end of the war, although a number of measures were taken, but they could not solve the issue fundamentally. Thus, in order to solve the problems of logistical support, Tehran arranged the purchase of spare parts for military equipment abroad during the conflict. There was an expansion of the existing repair base, due to the mobilization of a number of public sector enterprises. Qualified brigades were sent to the army from the center, which carried out maintenance and repair of weapons directly in the combat area. Great importance was attached to the commissioning and maintenance of captured equipment, especially Soviet-made. To do this, Iran invited specialists from Syria and Lebanon. In addition, the low technical training of the personnel of the Iranian Armed Forces was noted.
Iran received weapons through Syria and Libya, weapons were also purchased from North Korea and China. In addition, significant assistance was provided by the United States - directly and through Israel. Iraq used mostly Soviet technology. Already during the war, the country got into debt and bought a lot of weapons in France, China, Egypt, Germany. They supported Iraq and the United States so that Baghdad would not lose the war. In recent years, information has appeared that dozens of foreign companies from the USA, France, Great Britain, Germany, China helped Saddam Hussein's regime to create weapons of mass destruction. Huge financial assistance to Iraq was provided by the Persian Gulf monarchies, primarily Saudi Arabia (the amount of aid is $30.9 billion), Kuwait ($8.2 billion) and the United Arab Emirates ($8 billion). The US government also provided covert financial assistance - the representative office of the largest Italian bank Banca Nazionale del Lavoro (BNL) in Atlanta, under the credit guarantees of the White House, in 1985-1989 transferred more than 5 billion dollars to Baghdad.
During the war, the superiority of Soviet weapons over Western models was revealed. Moreover, the Iraqi military could not, due to low qualifications, show all the qualities of Soviet weapons. For example, both sides - Iraqi and Iranian - noted the undoubted advantages of Soviet tanks. One of the top Iranian commanders, Afzali, said in June 1981: “The T-72 tank has such maneuverability and firepower that the British Chieftain tanks cannot be compared with it. Iran does not have effective means of combating the T-72." Both sides highly appreciated the tank and the results of the battle near Basra in July 1982. Iranian officers also noted the ease of operation and higher climatic reliability of the T-55 and T-62 tanks captured from Iraqi troops compared to American and British-made tanks.
Iranian militias played a big role in the war. Their selection was carried out mainly in rural areas of Iran, where the role of the Shiite clergy was especially strong. The basis of the Basij militias was young people aged 13-16. The mullahs conducted a course of psychological programming, inflating religious fanaticism, instilling contempt for death. After selection and preliminary psychological treatment, the volunteers were taken to the Basij military training camps. In them, the militias were armed, introduced to the minimum skills in handling weapons. At the same time, the special representatives of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps carried out enhanced processing of the minds of the militias so that they were ready to sacrifice themselves "in the name of Islam."
For a short time before the start of the offensive, the militias were transferred to the concentration areas and created from them combat groups of 200-300 people. At this time, the mullahs handed out tokens to the Basijs with the numbers of places supposedly reserved for them in paradise for each of the martyrs. The militias were driven by sermons to a state of religious ecstasy. Immediately before the offensive, the unit was introduced to the object that they were supposed to destroy or capture. In addition, the mullahs and representatives of the IRGC prevented any attempts to contact the militias with the personnel of the army or the Guard Corps. Poorly trained and armed militias advanced in the first echelon, clearing the way for the IRGC and units of the regular army. The militia carried up to 80% of all losses of the Iranian Armed Forces.
After the transfer of hostilities to the territory of Iraq and the failure of a number of offensives (with heavy losses), it became much more difficult for the clergy to recruit volunteers for the Basij.
It must be said that despite the negative connotation of this page in the history of the Iran-Iraq war, the use of militias in this way was expedient. Iran was inferior in terms of the material and technical component and the only way to make a turning point in the war was to use fanatically devoted youth, ready to die for the country and their faith. Otherwise, the country was threatened with defeat and the loss of important areas.
Results
The issue of losses in this war is still not clear. Figures were given from 500 thousand to 1.5 million dead on both sides. For Iraq, the figure is 250-400 thousand, and for Iran - 500-600 thousand dead. Only military losses are estimated at 100-120 thousand Iraqis and 250-300 thousand Iranians dead, 300 thousand Iraqis and 700 thousand Iraqis wounded, in addition, both sides lost 100 thousand prisoners. Some experts believe that these figures are underestimated.
In August 1988, a truce was signed between the countries. After the withdrawal of troops, the border line actually returned to the pre-war position. Two years later, after the Iraqi aggression against Kuwait, when Baghdad faced a powerful hostile coalition led by the United States, Hussein agreed to normalize relations with Iran so as not to increase the number of his opponents. Baghdad recognized Tehran's rights to all the waters of the Shatt al-Arab River, the border began to run along the Iraqi bank of the river. Iraqi troops also withdrew from all disputed border areas. Started in 1998 new stage improving relations between the two powers. Tehran agreed to release more than 5,000 Iraqi prisoners. The exchange of prisoners of war went on until 2000.
The economic damage to both countries was equal to 350 billion dollars. Khuzestan, the oil infrastructure of the countries was especially hard hit. For Iraq, the war became more difficult in financial and economic terms (half of the GNP had to be spent on it). Baghdad emerged from the conflict as a debtor. The Iranian economy also grew during the war.
