Groups, Institutions, Organiza
37th Armored Brigade
Written by: Mohsen Shirmuhammad
Translated by: Hadi Qorbanyar
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The 37th Armored Brigade of Shiraz was one of the Iranian Army’s armored units that actively engaged throughout the eight-year Imposed War. The brigade was established in 1971, beginning with the formation of a full armored and combat battalion at the Armored Training Center in Shiraz. It was fully formed in 1975, following the deployment of two battalions, namely the 239th M-47 Tank and 237th Chieftain Tank. Then, the unit operated under the command of the Armored Training Center, mainly supporting training activities.[1]
Before the outbreak of the war, the brigade’s organizational structure included the 237th Chieftain Tank Battalion, which consisted of three companies and 53 tanks; the 238th M-60 Tank Battalion, with two companies and 34 tanks; the 239th M-47 Tank Battalion, also with two companies and 34 tanks; an Armored Cavalry Company equipped with seven Scorpion vehicles; Company 177, which operated 40 personnel carriers along with BMP-1 and BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles; and the Brigade Headquarters Company.[2]
In May 1980, following Iraqi border attacks, the brigade was deployed from Shiraz to the border zone in the Fakkeh region (northwestern Khuzestan), where it assumed defensive positions.[3] On July 9, 1980, the 37th Armored Brigade deployed part of its forces known as the 37th Armored Combat Group in the heights near Douselak (northwest Khuzestan).[4]
After Iraq’s full-scale invasion and the start of the war, the remaining forces of the 37th Armored Brigade, personnel from the Armored Center, and an infantry company from 191st Infantry Battalion merged to form the 38th Armored Combat Group of Shiraz. This group was dispatched to Khuzestan and, beginning on October 8, 1980, assumed responsibility for defending the Gambueh forest region and liberating Dobb-e Hardan village, located 15 kilometers west of Ahvaz.[5]
In the early days of the war, despite lacking the full support structure of an independent brigade, the 37th Armored Brigade engaged the Iraqi 1st Mechanized Division and, in cooperation with the 2nd Brigade of Dezful and units from the 21st Division of the Army, prevented enemy advances for one week along the Fakkeh, Douselak, and Chenaneh axes. They successfully halted Iraqi forces near the Naderi Bridge and the western bank of the Karkheh River.
Following the arrival and deployment of the 21st Division’s units on the western and eastern banks of the Karkheh, the 37th Armored Brigade was relocated on November 8, 1980, to the area near the sugar refinery, approximately 10 kilometers north of Ahvaz.[6]
On December 18, 1980, the plan of Operation Tavakkol[7] was developed by Arvand Command Headquarters (Army).[8] It sought to push Iraqi troops out of the eastern banks of the Karun River and liberate the strategic roads connecting Ahvaz and Mahshahr to Abadan.[9] The operation was executed in January 1981, and the 37th Armored Brigade participated actively. The brigade launched a night attack on enemy positions. Initially, the advance was successful, but as daylight came, several of the brigade’s tanks and bulldozers were hit by enemy anti-tank fire. Despite Iranian forces capturing several defensive berms deep within enemy lines and the 37th Armored Brigade successfully breaching Iraqi defenses, the enemy pressure necessitated a tactical withdrawal.[10]
Starting on January 20, 1981, the 37th Armored Brigade was assigned an eight-month mission to prevent further Iraqi advance east of the Karun River. On June 21, 1981, under the command of the 77th Khorasan Division of the Army, the brigade joined other Army and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) units in a two-day operation to reclaim the Mahshahr–Abadan Road. The operation successfully expelled Iraqi troops from the occupied part of the road.[11]
In September 1981, the 37th Armored Brigade took part in Operation Thamen al-Aemmah (as) (the breaking of the siege of Abadan), deploying its 237th Chieftain Tank Battalion, 239 Mixed Tank Battalion, 177th Non-organizational Mechanized Infantry Battalion, and an armored cavalry company.[12] One of the brigade’s key actions during the operation was carrying out a direct attack on Iraq’s 6th Armored Brigade,[13] which resulted in the capture of its headquarters and the liberation of part of the Ahvaz–Abadan Road.[14]
The 37th Armored Brigade participated in Operation Fath al-Mubin (March 1982), under the command of Nasr Operational Headquarters. On March 23, it was decided that all wheeled and tracked vehicles of the brigade would advance with lights on after crossing the Naderi Bridge en route to the Ali Garehzad Hills. The artillery fire between Iranian and Iraqi forces was so intense that it lit up the battlefield like daylight. In that kind of brightness, there was no room for surprise. Instead, the columns of tanks and armored personnel carriers rolled forward with their headlights on- a deliberate display of strength intended to undermine enemy morale. Then, the 37th Armored Brigade broke through enemy lines and advanced westward, disrupting the tactical structure and cohesion of Iraqi troops.[15] It successfully reached the area of Imamzadeh Abbas.[16] On April 24, the brigade engaged in a tank battle with Iraq’s 10th Armored Division.[17] Despite losing 13 tanks, the unit successfully repelled an Iraqi counterattack against the Ain Khosh region.[18]
The 37th Armored Brigade also played an important role in Operation Beit al-Muqaddas. In the first phase of the operation, its mission was to cross the Karun River and push toward the Sarpol line (Ahvaz–Khorramshahr Road) to secure it.[19] On April 29, 1982, the brigade’s tanks crossed the floating bridges over the Karun River and were in position for the combat by the morning of April 30.[20]
During the first phase, the brigade successfully took control of the Ahvaz–Khorramshahr Road and established defensive positions in its eastern part. In the second phase, it attacked Iraqi troops at Hussainiah Outpost 25 and reached the international border near the Khorramshahr fortifications. On May 15, 1982, the brigade captured the border line between Forts 12 and 16. Notably, in Operation Beit al-Muqaddas, the 37th Armored Brigade seized an entire Iraqi artillery battalion.[21]
During the later stages of the Imposed War, the 37th Armored Brigade participated in Operation Preliminary Valfajr. Beginning on February 6, 1983, it also engaged in a four-day offensive across a sandy and dune-covered region west of the Mishdagh Heights, between northern Chazabeh and southern Fakkeh (the international border southwest of Dezful). Alongside other Army and IRGC units, the brigade advanced toward the Iraqi city of Al-Amarah, aiming to threaten it from the east. In this operation, the 37th Armored Brigade provided firepower to support and facilitate the advance of infantry units. Under the command of the Khatam al-Anbiya (pbuh) Headquarters, Iranian forces broke through successive Iraqi defensive lines and penetrated deep into enemy positions. However, due to intense resistance and operational coordination issues, Iranian units were forced to retreat.[22]
Throughout the remainder of the war, the 37th Armored Brigade contributed to defending the strategic locations, including Abu Gharib and Fakkeh heights, Qasr-e Shirin, Tangab, the Naft-Shahr Road, Meimak, Helaleh Plain, Mehran, Soumar, the Khosravi Road, and Gilan-e Gharb.[23]
Throughout the Sacred Defense, 545 members of the brigade were martyred, 1,637 wounded, and 703 taken prisoner.[24] Command of the unit during the eight-year war was successively held by Colonel Muhammad-Jafar Zamanfar, Majid Saremi, Brigadier General (Second Class) Ali Abbasi, Brigadier General (Second Class) Mahmoud Boroumand, Brigadier General (Second Class) Abdolhussain Moqtader, and Brigadier General (Second Class) Jalil Niazi.[25]
Totally, the 37th Armored Brigade participated in twenty offensive and defensive operations during the war. Having been deployed to border regions since April 23, 1980, the brigade remained active there for twelve years[26] before returning to Shiraz in late 1992, where it was stationed in the Siyakh Darengun District. Between 1993 and September 2007, the brigade was deployed to Abu Musa Island, after which it returned to its home base in Shiraz.[27] The current commander of the 37th Armored Brigade is Colonel Bahador Afsharipour.[28]
[1] Gholamnejad, Jafar, Nabardhaye Arteshiyan-e Fars dar Defa Muqaddas (Battles of Fars Army Forces in the Sacred Defense), Shiraz, Farhangestan-e Adab, 1400, p. 48.
[2] Saremi, Majid, Gorooh-e Razmi-ye 38 dar Amaliyat-e Gharb-e Ahvaz (38th Combat Group in the West Ahvaz Operation), Tehran, Iran Sabz, 1398, p. 3.
[3] Ibid., p. 11; Saremi, Majid, Tip-e 37 Zerehi dar Amaliyat-e Thamen al-Aemmah (as) (37th Armored Brigade in Operation Thamen al-Aemmah (as)), Tehran, Entesharat-e Iran Sabz, 1389, p. 11.
[4] Saremi, Majid, Gorooh-e Razmi-ye 38 dar Amaliyat-e Gharb-e Ahvaz (38th Combat Group in the West Ahvaz Operation), p. 4.
[5] Saremi, Majid, Tip-e 37 Zerehi dar Amaliyat-e Thamen al-Aemmah (as) (37th Armored Brigade in Operation Thamen al-Aemmah (as)), p. 11.
[6] Ibid., p. 11.
[7] Saremi, Majid, Tip-e 37 Zerehi dar Amaliyat-e Thamen al-Aemmah (as) (37th Armored Brigade in Operation Thamen al-Aemmah (as)), p. 31.
[8] Sadeqi-Gooya, Nejatali, Defa az Abadan: Defa az Abadan dar Sal-e Avval-e Jang-e Tahmili (Defending Abadan in the First Year of the Imposed War), Tehran, Entesharat-e Iran Sabz, 1391, Pp. 172–173.
[9] Saremi, Majid, Tip-e 37 Zerehi dar Amaliyat-e Thamen al-Aemmah (as) (37th Armored Brigade in Operation Thamen al-Aemmah (as)), p. 31.
[10] Hussaini, Seyyed Yaqoub, Nabardhaye Mantaqe-ye Khorramshahr va Abadan dar Sal-e Avval-e Jang-e Tahmili (Battles of Khorramshahr and Abadan in the First Year of the Imposed War), Tehran, Entesharat-e Iran Sabz, 1396, Pp. 370–371.
[11] Gholamnejad, Jafar, Ibid., p. 53.
[12] Saremi, Majid, Tip-e 37 Zerehi dar Amaliyat-e Thamen al-Aemmah (as) (37th Armored Brigade in Operation Thamen al-Aemmah (as)), p. 85.
[13] Ibid., p. 99.
[14] Ibid., p. 113.
[15] Saremi, Majid, Gorooh-e Razmi-ye 38 dar Amaliyat-e Gharb-e Ahvaz Ahvaz (38th Combat Group in the West Ahvaz Operation), p. 99.
[16] Ibid., p. 99.
[17] Ibid., p. 100.
[18] Moein-Vaziri, Nosratollah, Nirooye Zamini-ye Artesh dar Amaliyat-e Fath al-Mubin (Army Ground Forces in Operation Fath al-Mubin), Tehran, Iran Sabz, 1381, p. 135.
[19] Saremi, Majid, Tip-e 37 Zerehi dar Amaliyat-e Beit al-Muqaddas (37th Armored Brigade in Operation Beit al-Muqaddas), Ibid., p. 2.
[20] Ibid., Pp. 25–26.
[21] Gholamnejad, Jafar, Ibid., p. 58.
[22] Ibid., p. 59.
[23] Saremi, Majid, Gorooh-e Razmi-ye 38 dar Amaliyat-e Gharb-e Ahvaz (38th Combat Group in the West Ahvaz Operation), Pp. 102–103.
[24] Gholamnejad, Jafar, Ibid., p. 48.
[25] Ibid., p. 48.
[26] Ibid., p. 47.
[27] Ibid., p. 48.
[28] Khodkafaee-ye Artesh dar Tolide Tajhizat-e Nezami / Bazaamad-e Adavat-e Zerehi dar Tip-e 37 Zerehi-ye Shahid Atri NEZAJA (Army Self-Sufficiency in Producing Military Equipment / Overhaul of Armored Units in the 37th Armored Brigade of the Army Ground Force), Khabargozari Tasnim, 29 Farvardin 1402.
