Operation Tariq al-Quds
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Operation Tariq al-Qods | |||||||||
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Part of Iran–Iraq War | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
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Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Casualties and losses | |||||||||
≈2,500 killed |
≈6,000 killed Dozens of armored vehicles Several AH-1J Cobra helicopters |
Operation Tariq al-Qods (Persian: عملیات طریق القدس, meaning "the way to Qods") was an operation in the Iran–Iraq War launched by Iran to free Bostan.
The battle
The Operation was launched on 29 November 1981 and lasted more than a week. The Iranians used human wave attacks in their offensive for the first time in the war. Fierce fighting raged with the Iraqi defenders for one week. The Iranians were able to liberate Bostan. During the operation Iran lost more than twice as many men as the Iraqis. Even so, the attrition rate was in Iran's favor. Iran was now able to eliminate an important supply route. This was extremely critical because Iraq did not have enough soldiers for a long front line. 2,500 Iraqis and 6,000 Iranians had been killed in the fighting.[citation needed]
Order of battle
Iran
- Ground Forces of Islamic Republic of Iran Army:
- 16th Armored Division of Qazvin
- 1st Brigade
- 2nd Brigade
- 92nd Armored Division of Ahvaz
- 3rd Brigade
- 77th Infantry Division of Khorasan
- 1st Brigade
- 8 artillery battalions
- 16th Armored Division of Qazvin
- Pasdaran:
Commanded by Gholam Ali Rashid- 1st Ashura Brigade
- 9 infantry battalions
- 2nd Karbala Brigade
Commanded by Morteza Ghorbani- 3 infantry battalions
- 3rd Imam Hossein Brigade
Commanded by Hosein Kharrazi- 8 infantry battalions
- 34th Imam Sajjad Brigade
- Imam Hassan Brigade (backup)
- 3 infantry battalions
- 1st Ashura Brigade
- Islamic Republic of Iran Gendarmerie
- 1 battalion
- Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force
- Islamic Republic of Iran Army Aviation
Iraq
Iraqi order of battle at the onset of the operation was as follows:[4]
- 321st Artillery Battalion
- 330th Artillery Battalion
- 355th Artillery Battalion
- 368th Artillery Battalion
- 382nd Artillery Battalion
- 390th Artillery Battalion
- 1 artillery battery
- 362nd Artillery Battalion
- 2 artillery batteries
- Iraqi Air Force
North of Karkheh:
- 5th Division
- 26th Armored Brigade
- 8th Mountain Infantry Division
- 23rd Brigade
- 1st Infantry Battalion
- 23rd Brigade
- 4th Mountain Infantry Division
- 93rd Infantry Brigade
- 422nd Infantry Brigade
- 31st Special Forces Brigade
- 32nd Special Forces Brigade
- Popular Army
- Al-Mahmoudiyah and Islam units
South of Karkheh:
- 6th Armored Division
- 25th Mechanized Brigade
- 16th Armored Brigade
- 30th Armored Brigade
- 96th Armored Brigade
- 11th Infantry Division
- 48th Infantry Brigade
- 3rd Armored Division
- 12th Armored Brigade
- Qadisiyyah Tank Battalion
- Qutaibah Tank Battalion
- Mu'tasim Tank Battalion
- 3rd Mechanized Battalion
- 12th Armored Brigade
- 32nd Special Forces Brigade
- 1 battalion
- 20th Difaa al-Wajibat Battalion
- 7th Infantry Division
- Commando units
- Popular Army
- Islam unit
References
- ^ http://www7.irna.ir/fa/News/81858281/
- ^ "عملیاتی که امام خمینی(ره) آن را "فتح الفتوح" نامید - تابناک | TABNAK". Tabnak.ir. 2011-11-28. Retrieved 2019-10-03.
- ^ "عملیات طریق القدس". Retrieved Oct 3, 2019.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-08-11. Retrieved 2016-06-26.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "A Hot and Holy War", by Patricia Blake, Time, March 22, 1982.
- The First Gulf War (Iran and Iraq at War in the 1980s)