Operation Fath-ol-Mobin (, a

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

ic phrase meaning "Undeniable Victory" or "Manifest Victory") was a major

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

ian military operation conducted during the

Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War, was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for nearly eight years, unti ...

, in March 1982 and resulted to the Battle of Shush. The operation was led by Lt. General

Ali Sayad Shirazi Ali Sayad Shirazi (, 13 June 1944 – 10 April 1999) was an Iranian military officer. He served as commander of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army Ground Forces, Iranian Ground Forces during the Iran–Iraq War and was a key military figure during ...

and was conducted in four phases. Some believe that this operation was the turning point in the war and that it led to the eviction of

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

i troops from

Khuzestan Khuzestan province () is one of the 31 Provinces of Iran. Located in the southwest of the country, the province borders Iraq and the Persian Gulf, covering an area of . Its capital is the city of Ahvaz. Since 2014, it has been part of Iran's ...

. Others (including Efraim Karsh) believe it was actually the operation working in tandem with others which led to the expulsion of Iraqi troops from southern Iran. He believes that in fact, Operation Beit ol-Moqaddas, which lasted from April to May 1982, had the greatest effect, because the Iranians were able to liberate the strategically important city of Khorramshahr.

Prelude

On 22 September 1980,

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...

, attempting to copy the success of the

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

i pre-emptive air strike against the Arab air forces in the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states, primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...

, launched numerous sorties against Iranian air fields, hoping to destroy the Iranian air force on the ground. Although they failed, Saddam was still not going to be prevented from achieving his aim of establishing complete Iraqi dominance over the

Shatt al-Arab The Shatt al-Arab () is a river about in length that is formed at the confluence of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in the town of al-Qurnah in the Basra Governorate of southern Iraq. The southern end of the river constitutes the Iran– ...

, called Arvand Rood in Iran (Persian: اروند رود) waterway. He launched a land invasion of Iran, focusing on southern Iran. He was able to achieve success, capturing the major Iranian city of Khorramshahr. Although the Iraqis were not able to capture the city of

Abadan Abadan (; ) is a city in the Central District (Abadan County), Central District of Abadan County, Khuzestan province, Khuzestan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. The city is in the southwest of the coun ...

, the way was open to

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

as the Iranian defenses had collapsed.

The battle

On 22 March 1982, precisely 18 months to the day of the Iraqi invasion, the Iranians launched Operation Fath ol- Mobin. They intended to use a pincer movement to encircle Iraqi forces who had halted outside the Iranian town of Shush. Under the command of the young Iranian Chief-of-Staff, Lieutenant General

, the Iranians launched an armored thrust on the night of the 22nd followed by constant human-wave attacks by

Pasdaran Pasdaran (, meaning "Guards") can refer to: * Pasdaran (district) in Tehran * Informal name for the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) {{disambig ...

and

Basij The Basij (, lit. ''The Mobilization'') or Sâzmân-e Basij-e Mostaz'afin (, lit. ''Organization for Mobilization of the Oppressed''), is a paramilitary volunteer militia within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and one of its five ...

brigades, each composed of about 1,000 fighters. The Iranian forces still had to contend with an Iraqi army which was entrenched on the front-line and they enjoyed a good amount of tank, artillery, and aerial support. The Iranians kept up the momentum against the Iraqi forces and, after heavy Iraqi losses, Saddam ordered a retreat on the 28th.

Aftermath

Along with Operation Tariq al-Qods and Operation Beit ol-Moqaddas, the Iranians were able to evict the Iraqi forces from southern Iran. The wider operation to re-capture

is rightly to be considered a turning point. The Iranians had succeeded in achieving their standing aim of reversing the gains made by the Iraqi armed forces in the initial stages of the Iran-Iraq War. Afterward, the Iranian hardliners, headed by the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani, argued for the expansion of Iranian war operations into Iraq. They eventually succeeded in getting their way, and the Iranians commenced several operations to conquer territory. But where the Iranians successfully used combined-arms operations to emerge victorious against the Iraqi troops in Iran, they relied upon unsupported human wave attacks by the poorly trained and lightly equipped troops of the Pasdaran and the Basij with an insufficient logistics capability. The Iraqis eventually stabilized their armed forces after their retreat from Iran. The result was that the Iranians would not be able to press their determined, but futile, assaults against a resurgent Iraqi army. Iraq was supported by both the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

who saw Saddam's regime as a much better option than Khomeini's regime.

Units

Iran

Karbala Central Command
Commanded by Lt. Gen. Ali Sayyad Shirazi * Qods Command **

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

: *** 84th Infantry Brigade of Khorramabad **** 3 battalions *** 92nd Armored Division of Khuzestan **** 2nd Brigade ***** 3 battalions ** IRGC: *** 41st Tharallah Brigade
Commanded by

Qasem Soleimani Qasem Soleimani (; 11 March 1957 – 3 January 2020) was an Iranian military officer who served in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). From 1998 until Assassination of Qasem Soleimani, his assassination by the United States in 2020, h ...

**** 6 battalions *** 3rd Imam Hossein Brigade
Commanded by Hossein Kharrazi **** 9 battalions *** Ilam corps **** Several units * Nasr Command
Commanded by Sardar Hassan Baqeri and Amir Hossein Hassani Saadi **

: *** 21st Hamzeh Infantry Division of Azarbaijan
(10 battalions overall) **** 1st Brigade **** 2nd Brigade **** 3rd Brigade *** 58th Zolfaqar Takavar Brigade **** 4 battalions ** IRGC: *** 7th Vali-e-Asr Brigade **** 9 battalions *** 27th Mohammad Rasulollah Brigade
Commanded by Ahmad Motevaselian **** Habib ibn Madhahir Battalion
Commanded by Mohsen Vezvaei **** 8 other battalions * Fajr Command ** Army: *** 77th Infantry Division of Khorasan **** 3 brigades ** IRGC: *** 33rd Al-Mahdi Brigade **** 6 battalions *** 46th Fajr Brigade **** 5 battalions *** 17th Ali ibn Abi Taleb Brigade **** 6 battalions *** 35th Imam Sajjad Brigade **** 11 battalions * Fath Command ** Army: *** 92nd Armored Division of Khuzestan **** 1st Brigade *** 37th Armored Brigade of Shiraz *** 55th Airborne Brigade of Shiraz ** IRGC: *** 8th Najaf Ashraf Brigade **** 8 battalions *** 25th Karbala Brigade * Unnamed artillery units * Unnamed

combat engineer A combat engineer (also called pioneer or sapper) is a type of soldier who performs military engineering tasks in support of land forces combat operations. Combat engineers perform a variety of military engineering, Tunnel warfare, tunnel and l ...

and Construction Jihad engineer units *

Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force The Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF; ) is the air force, aviation branch of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army. The present air force was created when the Imperial Iranian Air Force was renamed in 1979 following the Iranian Revoluti ...

* Islamic Republic of Iran Army Aviation ''Source:'' http://www.tebyan.net/newindex.aspx?pid=5921#4

Iraq

* 1st Mechanized Division ** 34th Armored Brigade ** 51st Armored Brigade ** 1st Mechanized Brigade ** 27th Mechanized Brigade ** 93rd Infantry Brigade ** 96th Infantry Brigade ** 109th Infantry Brigade ** 426th Infantry Brigade ** 4 artillery battalions * 3rd Armored Division ** 6th Armored Brigade ** 12th Armored Brigade ** 8th Mechanized Brigade ** 3 artillery battalions * 6th Armored Division ** 25th Mechanized Brigade * 7th Infantry Division ** 19th Infantry Brigade ** 38th Infantry Brigade * 9th Armored Division ** 14th Mechanized Brigade ** 35th Armored Brigade ** 43rd Armored Brigade * 10th Armored Division ** 17th Armored Brigade ** 42nd Armored Brigade ** 51st Armored Brigade ** 60th Armored Brigade ** 24th Mechanized Brigade ** 55th Infantry Brigade ** 99th Infantry Brigade ** 423rd Infantry Brigade ** 505th Infantry Brigade ** 4 artillery battalions * 12th Armored Division * 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 19th, 603rd, 604th, 605th Brigades *

Republican Guard A republican guard, sometimes called a national guard, is a state organization of a country (often a republic, hence the name ''Republican'') which typically serves to protect the head of state and the government, and thus is often synonymous wit ...

** 10th Armored Brigade (backup) * 91st Infantry Brigade * 92nd Infantry Brigade * 5th Border Guard Brigade * 9 commando battalions * Popular Army * 217th Artillery Battalion * Iraqi Air Force * Iraqi Army Air Corps

References

Bibliography

* ''The Iran–Iraq War, 1980–1988''; Karsh, Efraim; Osprey Publishing; 2002 * ''Iran at War: 1500–1988''; Farrokh, Kaveh; General Military; 2011, p. 363 {{DEFAULTSORT:Fath ol-Mobin 1982 Military operations of the Iran–Iraq War in 1982 History of Khuzestan province Dezful County Shush County March 1982 in Asia