Operation Badr (Iran–Iraq War)

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Operation Badr
partof=Iran–Iraq War


caption=
date=10 March-20 March 1985
place=northeast of al-Qurnah
casus=Iranian attempt to cut off Basra from Baghdad
territory=Iran captures a part of the Baghdad-Basra highway, but is forced to abandon control due to an Iraqi counter-response
result=Iraqi victory (with the use of chemical weapons)
combatant1=flagcountry|Iraq|1963
combatant2=flagcountry|Iran
combatant3=
commander1=
commander2=
commander3=
strength1=40-60,000
strength2=100,000
strength3=
casualties1=Estimates range from 10,000-12,000
casualties2=Approximately 20,000
casualties3=
notes=Campaignbox Iran-Iraq War

Operaion Badr was an Iranian operation conducted during the Iran–Iraq War against the forces of Ba'thist Iraq. The Iranians launched their offensive on the 10th March and succeeded in capturing a part of the highway. The following Iraqi counter attack, however, forced the Iranians out in a continual war of endless stalemate.

Prelude

After its failure to capture Basra in 1982, Iran launched Operation Dawn in 1983 to capture the Baghdad-Basra highway. The Operation failed, but Iran proceeded to launch Operation Badr in a further attempt to capture it. Without coincidence, the operation was named after the Prophet Mohammed's first military victory in Mecca centuries before.

The aim of the offensive was focused on capturing the Baghdad-Basra highway, which was a vital link between the two major cities, and for the movement of military supplies and vehicles to support and replenish the Iraqi defenders at the front-line. Another objective included the crossing of the Tigris River, which would cut off Basra from Iraq and give an equally psychological blow to the country.

Iran found itself reorganizing the Pasdaran and Basij units into more conventional means as a response to several failures in the past. Although highly motivated, the Iranians were poorly trained and lacked heavy equipment, including armor, artillery, and air support to back up the operation. At the same time, Iran was also suffering the effects of the U.S.'s Operation Staunch embargo. In vise versa, the Iraqis were better trained and had the luxury of better equipment, better training, and foreign funding, including the illegal use of poison gas however they lacked numbers.

The Battle

On March 11, Iran sent in a force of 100,000 men to attack the Baghdad-Basra Highway through the swampy terrain north-east of al-Qurnah. [cite book |last=Hume |first=Cameron R. |authorlink= |coauthors= |editor= |others= |title=The United Nations, Iran, and Iraq: How Peacemaking Changed |origdate= |origyear= |origmonth= |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=k22dIgqfS-4C&pg=PA50&dq=%22operation+badr%22&lr=&sig=FfxQhoNRrMLRI6IZwgmUpykGSsE |format= |accessdate= |accessyear= |accessmonth= |edition= |series= |date= |year=1994 |month= |publisher=Indiana University Press |location= |language= |isbn=0253328748 |oclc= |doi= |id= |pages=50 |chapter= |chapterurl= |quote= ] Initially they succeeded in capturing part of the highway but Iraq opened a counter-attack with artillery, air strikes, and the Republican Guard. Saddam Hussein, the leader of the Ba'ath regime in Iraq, ordered the use of chemical attacks to evict the Iranians who had occupied the highway. This, along with a push by the Iraqi army, was able to push the Iranians back to their previous lines.

The Iraqis suffered almost as heavy casualties as the Iranians, having fought a tumultuous ground war.

Aftermath

In response to Operation Badr, Saddam opened the second "War of the Cities" during March that year, hitting cities as far as Isfahan, Tabriz, Shiraz, and even Tehran. Iran responded in kind with attacks of her own against Iraqi civilians, mostly by launching medium range missiles into the port city of Basra.

Bibliography

1. "In The Name Of God: The Khomeini Decade", by Robin Wright, Simon and Schuster, 1989