The 10th Armoured Division '' is a formation of the

Iraqi Army The Iraqi Ground Forces ( Arabic: القوات البرية العراقية), or the Iraqi Army ( Arabic: الجيش العراقي), is the ground force component of the Iraqi Armed Forces. It was known as the Royal Iraqi Army up until the co ...

that was dissolved in 2003, but reinstated in 2007.

History

The 10th Armoured Division served in the

Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. It began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for almost eight years, until the acceptance of United Nations Security Counci ...

. It participated in the initial liberation of the Iraqi border enclaves which had been occupied for years by Iran. Its 24th Mechanized Brigade was tasked with seizing the Saif Sa'ad enclave, located halfway between Mehran and Naft-e-Shah (northeast of Tursaq). The division commander received his orders on 8 September 1980, and the operation was under way by 10 September. The northern part of the enclave was seized by 13 September, and the southern part several days later. Later in the war, the division suffered heavy losses in

Operation Fath ol-Mobin Operation Fath-ol-Mobin ( fa, عملیات فتح‌المبین, a Quranic phrase meaning "Undeniable Victory" or "Manifest Victory") was a major Iranian military operation conducted during the Iran–Iraq War, in March 1982. The operation w ...

. It also fought in Operation Ramadan and

Operation Jerusalem Operation Beit-ol-Moqaddas ( fa, عملیات بیت‌المقدس) or Operation Toward Beit-ol-Moqaddas () was an Iranian operation conducted during the Iran–Iraq War. The operation was a success, as it achieved its standing aim of libera ...

. The division fought in the

1991 Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

with Jihad Forces (corps). It was considered the best regular division in the Iraqi Army.Bourque P.243 It had more modern equipment than the other regular Iraqi formations, being equipped with

T-72 The T-72 is a family of Soviet/Russian main battle tanks that entered production in 1969. The T-72 was a development of the T-64, which was troubled by high costs and its reliance on immature developmental technology. About 25,000 T-72 tanks ...

and

T-62 The T-62 is a Soviet main battle tank that was first introduced in 1961. As a further development of the T-55 series, the T-62 retained many similar design elements of its predecessor including low profile and thick turret armour. In contras ...

tanks. It engaged American and British forces during the

Battle of Norfolk The Battle of Norfolk was a tank battle fought on February 27, 1991, during the Persian Gulf War, between armored forces of the United States and United Kingdom, and those of the Iraqi Republican Guard in the Muthanna Province of southern Iraq. ...

. The U.S. 3rd Armored Division engaged an Iraqi 10th Armoured Division

tank battalion that was assigned to the Republican Guard Tawakalna Division at the battle for Objective Dorset. In September 1997 a

Jane's Intelligence Review ''Jane's Intelligence Review'' is a monthly journal on global security and stability issues published by Jane's Information Group. Its coverage includes international security issues, state stability, terrorism and insurgency, ongoing conflicts, ...

article listed the 10th Armoured Division as being part of the 4th Corps, located at Al Teab in Al Amarah Governorate (''sic:''

Maysan Governorate , image_map = Maysan in Iraq.svg , mapsize = 200px , settlement_type = Governorate , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_t ...

), and consisting of the 17th, 24th, and 42nd Brigades. The division began the 2003 invasion of Iraq under the command of the 4th Corps on the Iranian border north of

Al Amarah Amarah ( ar, ٱلْعَمَارَة, al-ʿAmārah), also spelled Amara, is a city in south-eastern Iraq, located on a low ridge next to the Tigris River waterway south of Baghdad about 50 km (31 mi) from the border with Iran. It lies at the ...

. The division and the remainder of

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolution ...

's Iraqi Army was dissolved by Coalition Provisional Authority Order 2 of May 2003. However, by mid-2007 the division was active again; a

Freedom of Information Freedom of information is freedom of a person or people to publish and consume information. Access to information is the ability for an individual to seek, receive and impart information effectively. This sometimes includes "scientific, Indigeno ...

request answered by the UK Permanent Joint Headquarters stated on 23 May 2007 that "..The 10th Division (10 Div) are responsible for the four southern Iraqi provinces with one Brigade taking responsibility for each Dhi Qar, Maysan and

al-Muthanna use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , death_cause = , body_discovered = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinates = ...

provinces and two brigades (1 and 5) responsible for Basra. The 5th Brigade is not yet fully stood up, but is recruiting and training. This is expected to be completed before the end of the year." The division was then involved in the

Battle of Basra (2008) The Battle of Basra began on 25 March 2008, when the Iraqi Army launched an operation (code-named ''Saulat al-Fursan'', meaning Operation Charge of the Knights in Arabic) to drive the Mahdi Army militia out of the southern Iraqi city of Basra. ...

, also known as Operation "Charge of the Knights." During the

4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division The 1st Cavalry Division ("First Team") is a combined arms division and is one of the most decorated combat divisions of the United States Army. It is based at Fort Hood, Texas. It was formed in 1921 and served during World War II, the Ko ...

's tour from June 2008-mid-2009, the division conducted Operation "Lion's Roar," a combined live-fire exercise in Maysan Province in April 2009 – the first of its kind in the Iraqi Army. The exercise integrated U.S. enablers and demonstrated the capability and lethality of the Iraqi Army. On 29 August 2015, Brigadier General Mahmoud al-Filahi was appointed as the commander of the division, after the former commander, Brigadier General Safin Abdulmajid, was killed by a suicide car bomber in Ramadi.Mamoun, Abdelhak. "Abadi appoints Brigadier General Mahmoud al-Filahi Commander of Army's 10th Division." ''Iraqi News''. 30 August 2015. Accessed 17 October 2015

/ref>

Notes

References

*{{Cite book, first=Stephen A., last=Bourque , title= Jayhawk! The 7th Corps in the Persian Gulf War , publisher = Center of Military History, United States Army, date=2001, lccn = 2001028533, oclc=51313637 * House of Commons of the United Kingdom
Iraq: Armed Forces Defence written question – answered on 8th October 2007
Divisions of Iraq Basra