The 4th Division is a
motorized-infantry division 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 ...
. It is currently headquartered in
Tikrit
Tikrit ( ar, تِكْرِيت ''Tikrīt'' , Syriac: ܬܲܓܪܝܼܬܼ ''Tagrīṯ'') is a city in Iraq, located northwest of Baghdad and southeast of Mosul on the Tigris River. It is the administrative center of the Saladin Governorate. , it h ...
city. It was formed before 1941, disbanded in 2003, but reactivated after 2004.
History
The division was one of the four original divisions of the Iraqi Army, being active in 1941. At the beginning of the
Anglo-Iraqi War
The Anglo-Iraqi War was a British-led Allies of World War II, Allied military campaign during the Second World War against the Kingdom of Iraq under Rashid Ali, Rashid Gaylani, who had seized power in the 1941 Iraqi coup d'état, with assista ...
it was in
Al Diwaniyah
Al Diwaniyah ( ar, ٱلدِّيوَانِيَّة ''ad-Dīwānīyah''), also spelt Diwaniya, is the capital city of Iraq's Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate. In 2002 the population was estimated at 440,927.
Overview
The area around Al Diwaniyah, which ...
on the main rail line from Baghdad to Basra.
[Lyman, Robert (2006). Iraq 1941: The Battles for Basra, Habbaniya, Fallujah and Baghdad. Campaign. Oxford, New York: Osprey Publishing. . pp. 25–26] In 1977-78 British military attaches' reports from Baghdad said it was part of the
1st Corps, with divisional headquarters at
Mosul
Mosul ( ar, الموصل, al-Mawṣil, ku, مووسڵ, translit=Mûsil, Turkish: ''Musul'', syr, ܡܘܨܠ, Māwṣil) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. The city is considered the second large ...
and brigades at Mosul (5th), Dohuk (18th),
Sinjar
Sinjar ( ar, سنجار, Sinjār; ku, شنگال, translit=Şingal, syr, ܫܝܓܪ, Shingar) is a town in the Sinjar District of the Nineveh Governorate in northern Iraq. It is located about five kilometers south of the Sinjar Mountains. Its ...
(21st), plus two unlocated reserve brigades, the 93rd and 99th. Before the
2003 invasion of Iraq it was part of the
5th Corps in the north, consisting of the 5th, 29th, and 96th Infantry Brigades. It was disbanded along with the rest of the army by
Coalition Provisional Authority Order Number 2
Coalition Provisional Authority Order Number 2: Dissolution of Entities signed by Coalition Provisional Authority on 23 May 2003, disbanded the Iraqi military, security, and intelligence infrastructure of President Saddam Hussein. It has since ...
in mid-2003.
It was later reformed with the rest of the Iraqi Army. The 4th Division’s battalions were former
Iraqi National Guard units, recruited locally. The division was ethnically diverse and had operational control of a number of Strategic Infrastructure Battalions protecting oil pipelines. The Strategic Infrastructure units have now been split off to become the 12th Division. The 4th Brigade of the 4th Division was transferred to the 12th Division, and a new 17th Brigade was being trained in July 2008.
Today its base is in the city of
Tikrit
Tikrit ( ar, تِكْرِيت ''Tikrīt'' , Syriac: ܬܲܓܪܝܼܬܼ ''Tagrīṯ'') is a city in Iraq, located northwest of Baghdad and southeast of Mosul on the Tigris River. It is the administrative center of the Saladin Governorate. , it h ...
. It was certified and assumed responsibility for most of
Salah ad Din Governorate
The Saladin or Salah Al-Din Governorate ( ar, محافظة صلاح الدين) is one of Iraq's 19 Governorates of Iraq, governorates, north of Baghdad. It has an area of , with an estimated population of 1,042,200 people in 2003. It is made up ...
and
At-Ta'mim Governorate provinces, including the major cities
Samarra
Samarra ( ar, سَامَرَّاء, ') is a city in Iraq. It stands on the east bank of the Tigris in the Saladin Governorate, north of Baghdad. The city of Samarra was founded by Abbasid Caliph Al-Mutasim for his Turkish professional ar ...
and
Tikrit
Tikrit ( ar, تِكْرِيت ''Tikrīt'' , Syriac: ܬܲܓܪܝܼܬܼ ''Tagrīṯ'') is a city in Iraq, located northwest of Baghdad and southeast of Mosul on the Tigris River. It is the administrative center of the Saladin Governorate. , it h ...
in 2006. However in mid-2010 it relinquished responsibility of the At-Ta'min Governorate and currently remains responsible for the security of the majority of Salah Ad Din.
The 14th Brigade was deployed as part of the force during the
Operation Charge of the Knights
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. ...
in
Basra
Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is han ...
in May 2008, but has subsequently moved to assume responsibility for the Sharquat area north of Tikrit.
Composition
* Division Headquarters – Tikrit
[DJ Elliott, Iraqi Security Forces Order of Battle – Iraqi Army Quick Intervention Corps, 28 February 2010, accessible at Montrose Toast, with changes by wikicontributor mid-2010]
* 14th Infantry Brigade – HQ near Bayji
* 16th Motorised Brigade – HQ near Tuz
* 17th Motorised Brigade – HQ
Samarra
Samarra ( ar, سَامَرَّاء, ') is a city in Iraq. It stands on the east bank of the Tigris in the Saladin Governorate, north of Baghdad. The city of Samarra was founded by Abbasid Caliph Al-Mutasim for his Turkish professional ar ...
and under the command and control of the Samarra Operations Command
* 48th Motorised Brigade – HQ near Tikrit
* 4th Field Engineer Regiment – HQ near Tikrit
* 4th Field Artillery Regiment – Planned HQ near
Bayji
* 4th Transport and Provisioning Regiment – Tikrit, but scheduled for inactivation
* 4th Commando Battalion – HQ near Tuz
* 4th Reconnaissance and Surveillance Battalion – HQ near Tikrit
Notes
External links
* Globalsecurity.org
4th Infantry Division(1991)
Divisions of Iraq
Military units and formations established in 2004