Darkhoveyin

Milad Shuikloo
63 بازدید

Darkhoveyin is located in the center of Shadgan City, Khuzestan Province. During the Sacred Defense, stages of extensive operations, such as Thamin al-Aimmah, were carried out in this location. Due to its geographical location, Darkhoveyin was one of the strategic areas that was repeatedly attacked by the Iraqi military.

Darkhoveyin is a town located 44 kilometers north of Abadan, between the Karun River and the Abadan-Ahvaz highway. Before the war, the town of Darkhoveyin belonged to the employees of the Atomic Energy Organization who worked in the Darkhoveyin facilities located three kilometers south of this village, on the outskirts of Karun. In 1977, as a result of a two-billion dollar contract, France had committed to build two 900 megawatt nuclear power plants in Darkhoveyin for electricity production. However, France did not fulfill its obligations after the victory of the Islamic Revolution.

With the start of the war and the dominance of the Iraqi Army's 3rd Corps over the east of Karun in the area of Mared village, an important front was formed in the north to prevent the advance of the enemy. This area was the focal point of the Iraqi army, as they attempted to capture the Shadgan-Abadan-Mahshahr highway and the cities of Ahvaz and Abadan. Consequently, the 3rd Armored Division of the Iraqi Army intended to capture the entire western edge of Karun, i.e., between Salmaniyah and Khorramshahr, with the help of the 5th Mechanized Division (through the Persian Front) and the entire western coast of Karun, i.e., from Khorramshahr to Ahvaz. While holding off the enemy from Salmaniyeh, the Darkhoveyin Front had to also continuously prevent the enemy from reaching the Karun River. In total, the Darkhoveyin Front was obliged to protect a sixty-kilometer area along a straight longitudinal line. Since the end of 1980, with the declaration of readiness and the insistence of the soldiers of the Darkhoveyin Front to attack the enemy, the operation of the General Command began on 1981/3/11 and a three-kilometer area was liberated.[1]

During the Thamin al-Aimmah Operation, the Iranian soldiers attacked the enemy's positions from this front and destroyed the Kasbah bridge. During the operation of Beit al-Muqqaddas, the Iranian soldiers surprised the enemy by moving 1200 meters of building material from Dezful to Darkhoveyin and built five military bridges on the Karun, west of Darkhoveyin (known as the Victory Bridge). Since the town of Darkhoveyin was the place of training and establishment of the 14th Division of Imam Hussein, while the atomic energy facility was the location of the 17th Division of Ali bin Abi Talib, the Brigade of Qamar Bani Hashem and the IRGC Armored Brigade during the war, it was repeatedly attacked by air, which led to the martyrdom of many fighters.[2]

The Darkhoveyin Front was important and decisive not only for the implementation of the Thamin al-Aimmah Operation, but also because of the bridgehead in the west of Karun, which was necessary for the implementation of Operation Beit al-Muqqaddas. Therefore, Iraq attacked the Darkhoveyin front in several stages, intending to infiltrate, but the resistance of the Iranian fighters prevented this from happening. With their goal not being achieved, the Iraqis focused on two other axes to try and occupy Darkhoveyin. In one axis, they planned to increase their 3rd Armored Division, thus making it less vulnerable. But with the start of numerous operations and the resistance of Iranian forces, it was not possible for the Iraqis to enter and infiltrate this area.

The Iraqis had advanced on both the western and southern fronts of Darkhoveyin, but they were defeated on both fronts. Among the effective measures that were taken to counter the advance of the enemy in Darkhoveyin was the use of water. The enemy was stationed outside of Darkhoveyin, at a distance of about seven kilometers. The Iraqis tried to protect the occupied areas with a battalion of mechanized forces. Because of this, the transfer of water in front of the enemy lines would limit their maneuverability. For this reason, a six-kilometer-long canal was dug from Darkhoveyin village and Karun water was directed to the area using several powerful motors.

One of the most important clashes between Iranian fighters and enemy forces took place on the 4th of November 1980 in the Abadan-Ahwaz axis in the Darkhoveyin region. The Baathist forces started to advance in the vicinity of Mohammadiyeh and Salmaniyeh and targeted the positions of the IRGC forces from the area west of the Karun River. The Arvand Headquarters Command supported these forces by sending helicopters and airplanes. The bravery and steadfastness of the Iranian forces and the support provided caused the enemy to retreat. On the 8‌^th of November Iraq again started its activities in the northern region, i.e., the Ahwaz-Abadan axis. This was because they could easily put the positions of the Iranian forces under mortar and artillery fire from the west of the Karun River and support their forces. But this activity of the Iraqis also faced a serious response from the IRGC forces and they failed to advance. The movements of Iraq army continued even after the 8‌^th of November in the Darkhoveyin region.

Arvand camp's impressions of the enemy's actions were that the Iraqis wanted to evaluate the Iranian forces in terms of talent and equipment and if the situation was suitable, they would also have built a bridge on the Karun river in the vicinity of Darkhoveyin and develop the first bridge up to it. In order to prevent the enemy from reaching the set goals, it was necessary to form a suitable defensive line in the north of the region. Because the IRGC forces did not have a continuous defensive line in that area, until November 10, 1359, in addition to the 2nd Quchan Brigade, the 246th Tank Battalion of the 77th Division also entered the Mahshahr area and the IRGC forces were able to defeat the Iraqis and, with the help of these forces, prevent them from reaching their targets.[3]

 

 

 

[1] Porjabari, P., Atlas of Epic Geography 1, Khuzestan at War, Tehran, Serir, 2009, pp. 112 and 113.

[2] Safavi, S. R., Days of Resistance, Qom, Hoda Publishing House, 2013, pp. 29-33.

[3] Shahin Rad, F., Battalion 144, Aja Publication, 1389, pp. 167-169.