Operation Quds-2
Mohammadali Abbasi Aghdam
63 بازدید
Operation Quds-2 was a series of limited operations, which was carried out on June 24, 1985, under the command of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Its aim was to weaken the Iraqi defense lines in the al-Bayzah axis, located north of the Khyber and Badr operational areas.
After Operation Badr, which was carried out from March 10 to 16, 1984, in Hur al-Huwayzeh, which did not achieve all its objectives, the design and implementation of Operation Fajr-8, the biggest operation in 1985, was put on the agenda of the IRGC. This operation took a great amount of time to prepare.[1] During this interval, and to avoid interrupting the war process, the execution of limited operations was also put on the agenda. In the first stage, it was planned to be more present in Hur and to be closer to Basra - al-Amara Road. The implementation of this mission was entrusted to the 25th Karbala Division, which remained in the region after Operation Badr, under the command of Morteza Ghorbani.[2] A series of limited operations called Quds were carried out in this area to keep the pressure on the enemy.[3]
After Operation Quds-1, which occurred on June 14, 1985, the situation in the operational area was such that it felt necessary to carry out another operation in order to consolidate and stabilize the position and defense line of the local Iraqi resistance forces and make the Iraqi army vulnerable. After the implementation of this operation, the Iraqi army severely attacked this area several times. It then took a defensive position after identifying and understanding its situation in the area, it proceeded to build fortifications and strengthen the area.[4]
Therefore, Operation Quds-2 was designed and implemented to complete the objectives of Operation Quds-1. Considering the efforts of the Iraqi forces to secure their vulnerable points, especially in the al-Bayzah axis, the 25th Karbala Division of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which carried out the Operation Quds-1 in this area and was responsible for the defense of the area, conducted another operation aimed at preventing the advance of the Iraqi army. They planned for the possible movements of the enemy, fixed their own weak points in this area, as well as looking for the enemy's vulnerable points.[5] According to the plan, and after conducting the necessary reconnaissance, the fighters of the 25th Karbala Division moved towards the Iraqi defense line at 02:00 on June 12, 1985, with the codename "Ya Muhammad Rasulullah". In the early hours, the division's leading divers crossed the main waterway. Their goal was to shoot at the enemy and help open the waterway as soon as the security forces arrived at the position. But, due to the clear weather, the necessary opportunity to advance and join the right wing was not obtained. But as the right axis was also almost completely dependent on the left axis, the troops were ordered to retreat. After that, the forces were immediately reorganized and, at 19:00 of the same day, they moved towards the designated positions. The operation was supposed to start at 21:00, but an Iraqi boat equipped with guns and RPGs blocked the right axis and caused the operation to start at 00:00.
As soon as the operation started on the right axis, the Iraqi boat was attacked, while on the left axis, two bases fell. The Iraqi forces of a third base immediately surrendered or were killed by the Iranian fighters present on the left axis. In the continuation of this operation, the fighters from the right and left axes, with more effort, overthrew two other Iraqi bases in the region and, after combining, they continued to advance on the opposite waterways. Based on the information obtained from the prisoners, Iraqi positions were fired upon, and some were killed or wounded. The annexation and establishment operations in the waterways and the provision and security of the region were completed by 01:30 on July 7. In this operation, one of the Iranian forces was martyred and several others were injured.[6]
At the same time as the main operation, a counter operation was carried out to deceive the enemy. The fighters of the 25th Karbala Division, who were stationed at the end of the Mukhtar Pond and at the far-left side of it up to the Dezhbani Crossroads and in the axis of Nahrvan, approached the enemy and engaged them with heavy fire. As soon as the fighting started, a lot of searchlights were turned on and the enemy started firing. The Iraqis set fire upon the area with all kinds of weapons. The Iraqi fire became so heavy that at 01:45 all the traffic in the waterways, especially the traffic in the Ma'araj-Maleshumi Waterway, was stopped. The Iraqi army then started to fire at 04:30 on both sides of the waterway, This attack was quickly neutralized and suppressed. Other ploys by the Iraqis also failed. After that, the Iranian fighters once again advanced in the waterways and captured other areas, and settled in the closest place to the enemy in the al-Bayzah Waterway.[7]
In Operation Quds-2, a total of 15 square kilometers from the north of Hur al-Huwayzah were liberated[8] and the Iranian fighters were able to stabilize their positions in the captured areas. They also destroyed a part of the 68th Commando Brigade of the Iraqi army and disposing of their hideouts.[9] In this limited operation, ten Iranian soldiers were martyred and 65 were injured; whereas, 40 Iraqi forces were killed and 11 captured by Iranian forces.[10]
[1] The series of operations Quds: mobilization on the fronts and preventing the enemy from calming down, Tehran: Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Center for War Studies and Research, 2005, p.14; Rashid, Mohsen, Atlas of the Iran-Iraq War, Tehran: Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Sacred Defense Documentation and Research Center, 3rd quarter: 2012, p. 73.
[2] Nakhai, H., Farahani, H., Chronicle of the Iran-Iraq War, Book 37: Development of Relations with Asian Powers, Tehran: IRGC War Studies and Research Center, 2004, pp. 125-127.
[3] Ibid, p. 40.
[4] Series of Operation Quds, p. 34; Nakhai, H., Farahani, H., Journal of the Iran-Iraq War, Book 37, p. 115.
[5] Ibid, p. 35.
[6] Ibid., pp. 36 and 37; Drodian, M., a Review of Iran-Iraq War, Volume 2: Khorramshahr to Faw, Tehran: Holy Defense Records and Research Center, 11th Ch, 2012, p. 128; Samii, Ali, Descriptive record of the operations of Islamic warriors during the eight years of holy defense, Tehran: Vice-President of Propaganda and Publications of Vali Faqih Representation in the Ground Forces, 1997, p. 201.
[7] Operation Quds series, pp. 37 and 38.
[8] Samii, Ali, Descriptive record of the operations of the warriors of Islam during the eight years of holy defense, p. 201.
[9] Series of operation Quds, p. 38.
[10] Ibid
