Artillery
Fatima Khademi
71 بازدید
In ground warfare, artillery is considered to be an effective and strategic weapon. Consequently, it played a significant role towards attaining war goals and supporting operations during the Iraq-imposed war against Iran.
An artillery is a military unit whose mission is to destroy enemy positions and equipment. It also has a wider operational scope than individual weapons in ground wars.[1] This unit includes a set of weapons that launch cannonballs and rockets.[2] Artilleries are divided into light, medium, heavy and extra heavy artillery, which is based on its caliber of ammunition.[3] Their units include equipment, supplies, ammunition and trained forces.[4]
The creation of the first artillery weapons dates back to around 800BC, with catapults recognized as being one of them.[5] With the discovery of gunpowder, Andalusian Muslims used incendiary cannons against the French army in 724, while the Ottomans used them to capture Constantinople (Istanbul) in 831.[6] During the reign of Shah Abbas I, in 1734, with the establishment of a cannon factory in Isfahan, the cannon entered the Iranian army.[7]
During the First World War, cannons and incendiary ammunition were used in artillery.[8] In the Second World War, with the use of advanced artillery weapons, the battlefield turned into a field of fire. 75% of the killings of the two world wars are attributed to this weapon.[9]
After 1953, Iranian artillery was equipped with American weapons and the artillery unit was established, with the artillery training center opening in Isfahan.[10]
The advanced air defense artillery was founded in 1957. Cadets were sent to England and America for training courses and site construction began.[11]
With Iraq's attack on Iran, the Field Artillery of the Ground Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran (Nazaja) entered the defensive line with about a thousand units of field artillery in the form of 58 battalions.[12] The Iraqi army entered the war with about 1160 pieces of field artillery in the form of 68 battalions, 1200 pieces of anti-aircraft guns and battalions of surface-to-surface missiles.[13]
From the beginning of the war, Iraqi military-industrial centers, such as the Basra petrochemical facilities, were targeted by Iranian artillery fire, This was due to the distance of Iranian forces from the land border and the lack of access to Iraqi territory. Additionally, artillery fire was aimed at Iraqi anti-ship missile positions near the mouth of the Arvand Roud River in order to support the navy in the torpedo project i.e., to escort convoys of commercial ships and oil tankers.[14]
In 1980, the artillery of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army supported operations such as the liberation of Susangerd on November 17, Somar (Ashura) on December 19, Kalineh and Sayyid Sadeq (stage 1) in Sarpul Zahab on December 28, Tanghajian (Gilan-Gharb) on January 4, Nasr (Karkhekur-Huizeh) on January 5, Mimek (Khwarizm) on January 10, Effendi Kalineh and Sayyid Sadeq (stage 2) in Sarpul Zahab on March 5. Also, during the first half of 1981, support for the operations of Bazidraz 1 on March 22, Khyber on April 20, Bazidraz 2 on September 2, and the hills of Allah Akbar (Nasr) on September 2[15] in the western and southern regions of the country.[16]
In the second half of 1981, the support of the field artillery and air defense units in the Saman al-Aimmah Operation on September 27 led to the breaking of the siege of Abadan and in the Tariq al-Quds Operation on November 29 led to the liberation of Bustan. Similarly, a few months later, the artillery support for the army in the Fatah al-Mubin Operation on March 2, 1982, liberated a large area of the south of Iran.[17]
After the Fatah al-Mubin Operation, the IRGC Commander-in-Chief appointed Hassan Tehrani Moghadam to head the coordination of the IRGC artillery.[18] The first artillery group was formed in the fall of 1982 by Tehrani Moghadam under the name of the 61st Muharram group.[19]
The support fire of the 29th Field Artillery Battalion and the 8th Air Defense Artillery Battalion in the west of Karun, on May 24, 1982, liberated Khorramshahr.[20]
After the Beit al-Muqaddis Operation, the order to set up the IRGC artillery was issued. Thus, the artillery was formed.[21] Also, the specialized training center of the IRGC Artillery Unit was launched in Shaheed Sadoughi Barracks in the Darkhovin region.[22]
The support fire of the army and IRGC artillery during the Ramadan Operation on July 13, 1982, which aimed at destroying the enemy forces on the border, from Koshk to Arvand Roud, was carried out in three stages. IN this operation, various types of field guns, anti-aircraft guns and artillery ammunition were captured.[23]
The Muslim ibn Aqeel Operation was carried out on October 1, 1982, with the goals of pushing back the enemy from the west of Somar, liberating the border heights and advancing towards the Iraqi city of Mandali. It was to be conducted with the help of the support of the army and IRGC artillery.[24]
After the Ramadan Operation, the Muharram Operation was carried out on November 1, 1982, in order to secure targets on Iraqi soil and in the heights of Hamreen with the support of artillery. Large areas were liberated, including Iraq's Zubaidat and oil facilities in the region.[25]
The support fire of field artillery and air defense in the Fajr 4 Operation on October 19, 1983 in Marivan caused heavy losses to the enemy and forced them to retreat.[26]
The field artillery, with 23 battalions, supported the Khyber Operation on February 27, 1984 on the eastern bank of Horal Azim. Also, with 3 battalions, the Badr Operation on March 10, 1983 in the Majnoon Islands.[27]
In the Fajr 8 Operation conducted on February 1, 1986 in Faw and its surroundings, the artillery units, in 2 executive camps of the IRGC and the army, supported the forces with maximum fire.[28] The construction of artillery positions with proper infrastructure in the harsh conditions of this region was one of the initiatives of this operation during the Sacred Defense.[29]
Due to the need for strong and large-scale fire to support the Karbala 5 Operation and the limitation of ammunition and time to transfer the artillery units from distant areas, a section of the army's artillery units were mobilized on 1 January 1986 in Shalamcheh. The artillery played a major role in the victory of this operation and in breaking the eastern gates of Basra.[30]
The combat expansion of the five artillery groups of the Islamic Republic of Iran during the eight years of the imposed war included the 11th group in the northwest, the 44th group in the west, and the 33rd, 55th, and 22nd groups in the south.[31]
The artillery division of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army played an important and effective role in establishing security against the separatist rebellions at the beginning of the victory of the revolution and in the imposed war between the years 1978 and 1988, and fired about fifty million bullets in the eight years of sacred defense. The number of martyrs of the army’s artillery is 1450.[32]
After the imposed war, the IRGC ground force artillery had many efficient forces in the form of 60 specialized battalions. The IRGC artillery has also given 1500 martyrs. This unit began its reconstruction in 1989 by dividing the Corps' facilities among the ground, air, sea, Basij and Quds Forces and started the formation of divisions and brigades.[33]
[1] Sivandian, M., The Rain of Fire, Isfahan: Setargan Derakhshan, 2014, p. 31.
[2] Rostami, M., Dictionary of Military Words, Tehran: Joint Staff of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army, 1999, p. 294.
[3] Sivandian, M., The Rain of Fire, p. 31.
[4] Rostami, M., Dictionary of Military Words, p. 294.
[5] Asadi, H., The Fire of Artillery, p. 11.
[6] Ibid, pp. 12, 14, and 15.
[7] Ibid, p. 30.
[8] Ibid, p. 23.
[9] Ibid, pp. 24 and 399.
[10] Ibid, p. 48; Arasteh, N., & Bakhtiari, M., Artillery in Holy Defense, Tehran: Iran Sabz, 2011, p.20.
[11] Arasteh, N., & Bakhtiari, M., Artillery in Holy Defense, p. 20.
[12] Ibid, p. 80.
[13] Ibid, p. 79.
[14] Ibid., pp. 56-60
[15] Asadi, H, The Fire of Artillery, pp. 103, 104, and 127-125
[16] Mohammadi Vadud, S. H., The Army in Transition from the Crises of the Revolution, Tehran: Islamic Revolution Records Center, 2013, pp. 811-817.
[17] Asadi, H., The Fire of Artillery, pp. 128, 156, and 168.
[18] Ibid, p. 357.
[19] Nasser, K., Zulfiqar Velayat, Tehran: Navavaran Sina, 2012, p.60.
[20] Asadi, Haibatullah, The Fire of Artillery, p. 188
[21] Ibid, p. 357.
[22] Ibid, p. 366.
[23] Ibid, pp. 205-215.
[24] Army in the passage of history, Tehran: Dafos, 2012, p. 130.
[25] Asadi, H., Atash Toppkhaneh, p. 216.
[26] Ibid, pp. 90, 93, and 94.
[27]Arasteh, N., Bakhtiari, M., Artillery in Holy Defense, pp. 69-71
[28] Asadi, H., Atash Toppkhaneh, p. 239
[29] Ibid, p. 260.
[30]Ibid., pp. 276 and 290.
[31] Arasteh, N., Bakhtiari, M., Artillery in Holy Defense, p.59
[32] Ibid., p. 84
[33] Sivandian, M., The Rain of Fire, p. 361.
