Warmatrix

Iranian child soldier after a victory at Khorramshahr

The Iran-Iraq War, also called the First Persian Gulf War, was a long bloody conflict that accomplished nothing. It saw extensive use of child soldiers and chemical weapons.
Relations between Iraq and Iran had always been awkward and deteriorated in the late 1960's CE. The countries argued and skirmished over access to the Shatt al-Arab river, sovereignty over the shiites in the south and support to the Kurds in the north. This, combined with a weakening of Iranian military strength after the islamic revolution of 1979 CE convinced Saddam Hussein, the ambitious dictator of Iraq, that the time was ripe for an attack. He aimed to annex the Iranian province of Khuzestan and thus gain oil reserves, firm access to the Persian Gulf and prestige, all contributing to a rise towards becoming the dominant state in the region, instead of Iran. Border skirmishes continued and in September 1980 CE he launched a full invasion, opportunistically believing that after a short war the Iranian regime would succumb.
In the years before the war, Saddam Hussein had strengthened the Iraqi armed forces to 190,000 men, 2,200 tanks and 450 aircraft, including modern Soviet equipment. However it was also hampered by Saddam who promoted officers based on loyalty, not on competence. Iran had inherited a strong army with American equipment from the pre-revolution Iraninan state. But revolutionary purges had wrecked the officer corps and many common soldiers had deserted. Its weapons lacked spare parts and trained personnel, though some 1,000 tanks and several hundred aircraft were still operational.
Iraq opened the war with a surprise attack on Iranian airfields, hoping to knock out the Iranian air force. It failed and the Iranians struck back hard at strategic targets in Iraq, including the Osirak nuclear reactor near Baghdad and oil platforms near Basra. On the ground one Iraqi division attacked the north, one the center and four the south, into Khuzestan. The Iraqis hoped that the native Arab population would rise up against the Persians, but they did not. In the first two months the Iraqis managed to conquer the city of Khorramshahr and destroy around half of the Iranian tank force, then stalled just short of Abadan. Mountains, marshes, the onset of the rainy season and stiffening defense by Iranian light infantry took all the momentum out of the advance. Further air and naval attacks nearly wiped out Iraq's navy and southern radar stations.
Near the end of 1980 CE a stalemate set in, spiked by occasional offensives. Despite modern weapons, much of the fighting became trench warfare like in World War I. Faced by dwindling equipment and fresh personnel purges, the Iranian air force was forced to limit its operations, though remained dangerous. The Iranian army remained divided and disorganized, with the regular army and the "Sepah-e-Pasdaran", the Revolutionary Guards, competing with each other rather than co-operating. It started using its advantage in numbers by attacking with large numbers of "Basij", poorly trained and equipped militia, trying to find a weak spot in the Iraqi defense and then exploit it with stronger forces. Despite large losses, they broke through several times and regained some lost ground.
In 1982 CE Iran managed to liberate Khorramshahr, while Syria closed a vital oil pipeline to Iraq. By then the Iraqi army had lost 25% of its strength, the air force 75%, and morale was very low. Saddam Hussein decided to retreat to the pre-war border in most places, though retained six small areas. He extended peace feelers towards Iran, which were denied. He then purged his officer corps, created the Republican Guard and terrorized his army into obedience.
In the summer of 1982 CE Iran, after internal debate, turned the tables and started a counterinvasion of Iraq. Over several years one offensive after another was launched, bringing small territorial gains. The Iranians also convinced many Kurds to join their side, opening a new front in the north. The attacks had little success because Iraq built a defense in depth that exploited the rugged border terrain and used artillery, minefields, counterattacks by tanks and chemical weapons. Because they were now fighting on home turf, the morale of the Iraqi soldiers improved too.
Fearing a collapse of Iraq, Saudi Arabia started to support the country financially. Kuweit, several Persian Gulf states, the USSR, France and the USA joined in, providing intelligence, weapons and also money. On the other side Iran was supported by Libya, Syria, North Korea and a few other countries, though to a lesser extent. China supported both sides and profited from the arms sales, as did others. The support allowed the two warring countries to make up for losses, but because both sides received aid, did not change the balance.
Throughout the war, both armies failed to use the mobility of their tanks, mechanized forces and helicopters to make swift breakthroughs. Iraqi Tanks were often dug in and used as static artillery guns; tactical mobility was severely hampered by slow decision making by the senior officers. On the Iranian side, different leaders and factions operated independently of each other and often units ignored their commanders, acting on their own. Both sides showed poor coordination and logistics in attack and much better tactics and collaboration in defense.
Iraq drafted more and more soldiers, while the strength of the Iranian army remained level. By 1984 CE both armies numbered around half a million men. Iran remained dominant on the ground though had lost its numerical advantage. This was compensated by increasing battlefield experience and better tactics. It abandoned large offensives in favor of small raids and used infiltration tactics, trying to wear Iraq out in a war of attrition. Its light infantry proved superior in the marshes and mountains, yet failed once out in the open. Meanwhile Iraq gained dominance in the air, as the Iranian air force kept on shrinking, though Iran strengthened its static air defense. Iraq used this advantage to launch many bombing campaigns on Iranian cities and industry; it also stepped up its use of chemical weapons. Both sides used their air force and navy to attack each other's oil tankers, leading to threats from and skirmishes with other countries.
In 1986 CE Iran once more turned to large scale attacks. The loss of the al-Faw peninsula and heavy battle for Basra convinced Saddam Hussein that the situation was serious. He relinquished some power to his generals and opened up the ranks of the army to shiites. Almost the entire country was mobilized for war and foreign support increased too. By 1987 CE Iraq had a 5:1 advantage in tanks over Iran, 4:1 in artillery and a 10:1 in aircraft, though the Iranian air force continued to show a far greater competence. Iraq started new offensives and recaptured al-Faw. Faced with a war of attrition where the advantage had shifted to the other side, Iran started to suffer from war-weariness. In 1988 CE a ceasefire was established, broken soon after and then re-established. A peace agreement was not signed until two years later.
Estimates of casualties range wildly. Both sides lost several hundreds of thousands of lives and more wounded, both military and civilian. In Iran injuries from chemical weapons killed soldiers and civilians alike for many years after the war. Iraq emerged from the war with a strong army, but with a very weakened economy. Iran, already off balance after its revolution, also was heavily in debt. The war was started and maintained by ideologically driven rulers who had no clear grasp of the strategic situation. After eight years, it had resolved none of the issues that had caused it. Saddam Hussein started another war two years later that was also a failure; Iran remained hostile to nearly everybody.