MULLAHS AND MISSILES 189When the Iranian revolution occurred, Saddam Hussein, dictator of
Iraq, perceived that the once powerful Iranian army would be weakened
by the dissent within its ranks caused by the Ayatollah Khomeini’s Islamic
revolution and the elimination of American technical and material support.
It was a golden opportunity for him to launch his army and not only take
control of the Shatt al Arab but also grab the oil-producing territory ad-
jacent to the Shatt and the Persian Gulf coast.
Iraqi forces flowed over the Iranian border on September 22, 1980,
supported by a large-scale air attack on ten military airfields in Iran in-
tended to destroy the Iranian air force on the ground. Though the air strikes
failed in their goal, five Iraqi divisions pushed into Iranian territory. On
September 28, Saddam Hussein announced that all of Iraq’s territorial
aims had been achieved and that he was willing to cease hostilities and
negotiate a settlement, clearly demonstrating Iraq’s limited strategic goals.
Despite this, Iraqi forces continued pushing into Iran, besieging Khorram-
shahr and Abadan. Further Iraqi forces joined the initial assault, with the
Iranians being totally incapable of putting up any coordinated defense.
By October 1980 the war entered a static phase as Iraq settled into
defensive positions, content to hold its territorial gains. Fighting became
a mere exchange of artillery barrages and air raids against both tactical
and strategic targets. On January 5, 1981, a major Iranian counterattack
occurred as an armored division broke out of Susangerd, crossed the Kar-
kheh River, and pushed to the west in an attempt to break through the
Iraqi lines. Air support allowed considerable initial success, and the Ira-
nians pushed deep into Iraqi-held territory. The offensive stalled amidst
heavy losses, some 100 tanks destroyed and 150 captured by the Iraqis.
The Iraqis lost fifty tanks. The war once again went into a stalemate where
both sides built up their forces. The Iranians mobilized large numbers of
Pasdaran or religious militia and the youth brigades (Basij) were estab-
lished, while the Iraqis began extensive training programs to build up the
competence of its forces.
In the spring of 1981 the Iranians launched a new series of successful
attacks. The army and the Pasdaran dislodged Iraqi forces from the Allah
Akbar heights that controlled Susangerd and secured the approaches to
the city. The Iraqi siege of Abadan was broken by a successful surprise
attack. A multidivision Iranian assault recaptured Bostan and forced the
Iraqis to withdraw. Both sides suffered heavy casualties and substantial
equipment loss during these engagements.
When the winter rains came, the war again subsided until March when
the Iranians began two large offensives that practically drove the Iraqis
out of Khuzistan. Operation Undeniable Victory was launched on March