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Iraqi Advance
The Iraqi forces advance across the Karun River and into Iran, and they send air bombers to bomb a Tehran Airport. They occupied the city of Khorramshahr, the capital city of the Khuzestan province, and held onto the city for about a year and a half.
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Beginning of the Conflict
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Attempt at peace
UN sent out a call for a cease-fire, but Iran rejected it. The Iranian Islamic state wanted to spread the Islamic Revolution to other countries and framed the war as a defense for the Islamic Revolution.
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Stalemate
The Iranian strategists had a hard time pushing back the Iraqis. They developed the idea of throwing huge amounts of troops (human waves) at the static Iraqi army. Any breakthrough in the trenches would often result in the quick Iranians encircling the Iraqis.
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Battle of Dezful
The Iranian forces, in an operation called "Operation Victory", rammed a bunch of tanks at the Iraqi lines, but went so fast they got flanked. Then, they got surrounded and got stuck in the mud. The Iranians lost 100-200 tanks. "Operation Victory" failed.
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Iranian bombing of H3 airbase
Iranians bombed the Iraqi H3 airbase with F-4 Phantom bombers and F-14 bobcat bombers. They destroyed 27-50 Iraqi planes and crippled the already weak Iraqi air force.
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Iranian Offensive
In a plan called "Operation Undeniable Victory" the Iranians used helicopters to go behind enemy lines, silenced Iraqi artillery and captured their headquarters. Then, they started sending human waves at the Iraqis, and they eventually broke through their lines. They pushed the Iraqis back and took back the Khuzestan Province. Finally the Iranians had a major victory, even though it came with a cost.
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Withdrawal to International Borders
Hussein proposes a withdrawal to international borders, but Iran turns it down. As a result, the fighting continues.
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Another Cease-fire Proposal
Saddam Hussein tried again for peace with Iran, but its Islamic Leaders refused. Khomeini said the war would not be over until a new government took over in Iraq. Their intentions were clear; spread the Islamic Revolution.
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Invasion of Iraq and Operation Ramadan
Iranian military leaders wanted to attack Baghdad before major shortages hit the army. This battle involved over 180,000 troops, and it was one of the biggest land battles since World War II. Also, the Iraqis were equipped with tear gas, which would be the first big use of chemical warfare during this war.
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The Push through Iraq
In Operation Ramadan the Iranians again used the human wave length tactic (throwing people at the enemy) and managed to break through Iraqi lines and gain about 16 km. After this main breakthrough they didn't get very much further. The Iranians kept trying to push further but with every push there were significant loses.
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Slow 1983
The Iranians planned 5 major attacks in 1983. None of them did anything special. The Iranians continued to use the human wave-length attack but they couldn't seem to push any further into Iraq. Also, the war in the air was beginning to take a turn. Iran, even though they had more experienced pilots, was losing aircraft. The Iraqis began to catch up to the Iranians.
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Attack of Cities
Saddam Hussein had his air force bomb 11 Iranian cities staring on February 7. These bombings had little effect; the Iranians quickly rebuilt and fired back, aiming for Baghdad and other cities. This was known as the first war of the cities. In June Iraq and Iran agree to stop shelling civilian targets. But, (spoiler) they keep bombing each other after this.
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Battle of the Marshes
In February, 1984, the Iranians were planning to attack through the marshes for strategical advantage. It wasn't a terrible idea, but the Iraqis put electrical wires in the marshes, electrocuting many Iranians. 20,000 Iranians died in these marsh battles.
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Tanker War
Iraq attacks ships going to Iranian ports. This starts the Tanker War. Iraq declares any boats going to or leaving from Iranian ports are subject to attack, and Iran and Iraq start to destroy each others tankers as well as other countries tankers. In the tanker war, Iran also set up a naval blockade on Iraq. At the end of the Tanker war it is estimated 536 commercial vessels were damaged.
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The rest of 1984 and the recapture of Mehran
The Iranians continued to try to gain ground, but they made very little progress. The only main success they had was recapturing the city of Mehran, and driving the Iraqis out, who had been occupying the city for the entire war up to this point.
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US Diplomatic Relations with Iraq
The United States fully established relations with Iraq, and Iraq now had the help of the most powerful country in the world.
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Offensives
In 1985, Iraq was receiving financial aid from many countries, including Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait. Saddam Hussein started to launch offensive for the first time since 1980. But the Iranians also planned an attack. In an attack called Operation Badr. They used more than 100,000 troops with even more in reserve and pushed for the Baghdad-Basra highway. Some of the troops actually made it, but then Iraq started to use chemical weapons and the Iranians retreated while getting chased by helicopters. -
Second War of the Cities
Saddam Hussein, ignoring the ban put on firing on civilian targets, started to bomb Iranian cities, including Tehran. The Iranians of course fired back. This resulted in hundreds of more civilian casualties. And all the while, the Tanker War hadn't stopped. Neutral tankers were still getting destroyed in Iranian waters.
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1986 Attacks and Operation Dawn 8 - The siege of al-Faw
While the air force bombings continued, Iraq and Iran built up their defenses for air raids. On the front lines, the Iranians atacked al-Faw(Operation dawn 8). They took the city, which was even surprising to the Iraqis. The Iraqis then tried to counterattack but failed. Then Iranians tried to push to the city of Umm Qasr to cut of the Iraqis from the gulf. They lost the battle and had to retreat.
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Big offenses
In April, Khomeini announced that Iran had to win the war by March 1987. So, Iran started to build its army up. They recruited 650,000 soldiers and in late 1986 became so confident they would win the started planning "The final offenses".
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Battle of Merhan
Saddam Hussein targets Merhan and retakes the city. Then he offers to trade the city for al-Faw. Instead of Negotiating, Iran took back Merhan, and then stopped the Iraqi counter attack, liberating Merhan.
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Iraq Bombs the Oil Facilities
Iraq starts another war of the cities. They bomb Tehran's oil refinery as well as knocking out Iran's satellite dish that helps with overseas calls. The bombings also caused many more civilian casualties. The Iraqis continued to bomb tankers.
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Saddam Calls for a Cease-fire
Saddam Hussein calls for a cease-fire. Iran rejects it. Iran's leaders are willing to do whatever it takes to win the war, but its people aren't exactly on the same page.
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Karbala 5
This battle was one of the biggest battles of the war. The Iranian forces faced heavy casualties, but still managed to get across the border and capture part of the city Basra. Even so, the battle ended in a stalemate. The Iranian military was starting to deteriorate. Anti-war efforts started to pick up in Iran, and the moral was at a low. Also, Iranian economy was starting to plummet.
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U.N. Call for a Cease-fire
The U.N. Security Council passed resolution 598, calling for a cease-fire. Iran ignores the second cease-fire of the year. The fighting continues, even if Iran's forces are slimming down rapidly.
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Tanker War continues
Through 1987, Iran and Iraq attack each others tankers and airplanes. The Iranians air force has become very small, and Iraqi planes are becoming more and more sophisticated with the help of its allies. The U.S. also has become more and more involved in the Persian Gulf situation, often escorting Kuwait ships through the gulf. By hitting Iranian trade boats and boats coming to Iran, Iraq kept crippling Iranian economy.
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The Kurdistan Operations
In March, the Iranians launched attacks at the Kurdish Areas of Iraq. They took the Iraqis by surprised and took over the province. Then, the Iraqis battled back and made the offensive fail. They used chemical weapons to kill or wound almost 60% of the Iranians. Their goal was to reach Dukan, and they were so close they got within sight.
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Iraq Retakes al-Faw
The Iraqi forces used a frontal assault as well has heavy uses of mustard a nerve gas. They also landed behind the Iranian lines in helicopters. The Iraqis suffered low casualties compared to those suffered by Iran. The Iraqis did not stop there. They kept up the drive and tried to push the Iranians out of Southern Iraq. On the same day, the U.S. in operation Praying Mantis took out Iranian targets in the Persian Gulf in retaliation to the mining of a U.S. boat. -
And it ends in a tie!
On July 18, Iran accepts year the old cease-fire resolution proposed by the U.N. The cease-fire came into effect on August 20th. The Iran/Iraq War had an estimated 750,000 to 1 million deaths, and it ended in a stalemate.
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