Battles
Operation Tang-e Hajian
Samaneh Karimian
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Operation Tang-e Hajian was one of the small yet successful military operations carried out in the early months of the Iran-Iraq War. It inflicted significant losses on the enemy and reopened the blocked route from Gilan-e Gharb to Sarpol-e Zahab.
Operation Tang-e Hajian was conducted from January 4-14, 1981, under the joint command and organization of the Army and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), covering the areas of Qasr-e Shirin, Sarpol-e Zahab, and Gilan-e Gharb.[1]
Gilan-e Gharb is one of the cities of the Kermanshah Province, located 50 kilometers from the Khosravi border. Being situated in a mountainous region, this city is connected to Khosravi in the west, Sarpol-e Zahab in the north, Ilam in the south, and Eslamabad in the east. With the onset of the Iran-Iraq War, Iraqi forces advanced towards Gilan-e Gharb. However, despite their initial successes due to the shortage of Iranian military forces at the border, they were halted near Tang-e Hajian.[2]
Tang-e Hajian is located south of Nasar Dira, ten kilometers east of Gursefid, near Baraftab Heights. It is the closest access route to Gilan-e Gharb that connects the Gilan-e Gharb plain to the Dira plain in the southern part of Sarpol-e Zahab.[3] Tang-e Hajian is approximately 40 kilometers far from the border. Controlling this area would sever the connection between the two cities, isolate the two battlefronts, and disrupt the coordination among the forces.[4]
On September 27, 1980, the Iraqi army advanced towards Gilan-e Gharb. Finally, on September 30th, Tang-e Hajian was occupied by the Iraqi army. As Iraqi forces advanced, Gilan-e Gharb came under the range of their medium-range artillery.
For the first time, on October 18, 1980, an Iraqi medium-range missile struck Gilan-e Gharb. In response, Iranian aircraft bombed Tang-e Hajian.[5]
The 81st Armored Division of the Army and the Gilan-e Gharb IRGC planned an operation to destroy enemy forces and gain tactical superiority. They launched the operation on January 4, 1981, across the northern and southern parts of Tang-e Hajian. The operation lasted eleven days. In the northern axis, enemy fortifications prevented the full capture of the Baraftab Heights. In the southern axis, the IRGC infantry battalion, along with the 285th Armored Battalion of the Army, managed to capture Gursefid and Avezin as well as the surrounding heights. They then advanced towards Tang-e Hajian and linked up with forces from the northern axis, resulting in the liberation of Tang-e Hajian. Furthermore, in the southern axis, the gendarmerie infantry battalion stationed in Darbalut captured Chaghalvand but was forced to retreat due to enemy counterattacks.
Following the liberation of the villages and heights in Avezin, Tang-e Hajian, and Gursefid, the Iraqi army launched numerous counterattacks until January 14th. However, after suffering heavy losses, it had to fall back seven to twelve kilometers from Gilan-e Gharb. Consequently, Iraqi artillery fire on Gilan-e Gharb decreased, and nearly 40 square kilometers of the occupied lands were liberated.
In this operation, four Iranian battalions clashed with five Iraqi battalions. The losses inflicted on the Iraqi army included the destruction of two helicopters, twenty-nine tanks and armored vehicles, ten artilleries, and twelve vehicles. In addition, 110 Iraqi soldiers were captured.[6]
The operation liberated the eastern heights, including Tang-e Hajian, the Baraftab, as well as the area between Tang-e Hajian and Tang-e Kork, the road connecting Gilan-e Gharb to Sarpol-e Zahab, and exposed the enemy's 8th Infantry Division Headquarters to Iranian fire.
It is worth mentioning that the 285th Tank Battalion of the 81st Division, the 812th Mahdi Battalion, an artillery battalion, Army Aviation support, and the Air Force played a significant role in the liberation of Tang-e Hajian.[7]
The personnel of the 110th Battalion and its subordinate units, including tank, artillery, air defense, the 2nd Company, the 134th Infantry Battalion under its command, and several other units, also played a crucial role in Operation Tang-e Hajian.
During the three-day battle in Gilan-e Gharb, the Iraqi Mountain Brigade was destroyed, and all its military documents fell into the hands of Iranian forces.[8]
[1] Dary, Hassan, Atlas Rahnama 7: Kermanshah dar Jang (Atlas Guide 7: Kermanshah in War), Tehran: Markaz Motaleat va Tahqiqat Jang-e Sepah, 1384, p. 92.
[2] Karimi, Qasem, Hamasasazan-e Tang-e Hajian (The Epic Makers of Tang-e Hajian), Tehran: Iran Sabz, 1388, Pp. 15–17.
[3] Pourjabari, Pejman, Atlas Joghrafia-ye Hamasi 3: Kermanshah dar Jang (Geographical Atlas of Epic 3: Kermanshah in War), Tehran: Bonyad Hefz Asar va Nashr Arzesh-haye Defa Muqaddas, 1392, p. 211.
[4] Karimi, Qasem, Hamasasazan-e Tang-e Hajian, p. 17.
[5] Ibid, Pp. 19–21.
[6] Dary, Hassan, Atlas Rahnama 7, Pp. 92–93; Pourjabari, Pejman, Atlas Joghrafia-ye Hamasi 3 (Geographical Atlas of Epic 3), Pp. 211–212.
[7] Karimi, Qasem, Hamasasazan-e Tang-e Hajian (The Epic Makers of Tang-e Hajian), p. 42.
[8] Ibid, Pp. 43–44.
