Operation Dawn 4 ( fa, عملیات والفجر 4) was an Iranian operation of the

Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War was an armed conflict between Iran and Ba'athist Iraq, Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. It began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for almost eight years, until the acceptance of United Nations S ...

launched in October 1983. At the end of the operation Iran had captured a small amount of territory from the

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

is. Units of Iraq's 1st Corps spent two months in their trenches waiting for the Iranians to attack. The offensive began on the 19 October 1983 and the Iranians and

Peshmerga The Peshmerga ( ku, پێشمەرگه, Pêşmerge, lit=those who face death) is the Kurdish military forces of the autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq. According to the Constitution of Iraq, the Peshmerga, along with their security subsidiaries, ...

guerrillas of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan conquered about of territory. This included exerted a significant amount of pressure on Penjwen.

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolutio ...

responded with a counterattack, using the

Iraqi Republican Guard Iraqi or Iraqis (in plural) means from Iraq, a country in the Middle East, and may refer to: * Iraqi people or Iraqis, people from Iraq or of Iraqi descent * A citizen of Iraq, see demographics of Iraq * Iraqi or Araghi ( fa, عراقی), someone o ...

and

poison gas Many gases have toxic properties, which are often assessed using the LC50 (median lethal dose) measure. In the United States, many of these gases have been assigned an NFPA 704 health rating of 4 (may be fatal) or 3 (may cause serious or perman ...

. However, they failed to dislodge the Iranians, who were dug-in and reinforced by Kurdish fighters.

The battle

The focus of the fourth Dawn operation in October 1983 was the northern sector in

Iranian Kurdistan Iranian Kurdistan or Eastern Kurdistan ( ku, ڕۆژھەڵاتی کوردستان, translit=Rojhilatê Kurdistanê) is an unofficial name for the parts of northwestern Iran with either a majority or sizable population of Kurds. Geographically, it ...

. Three Iranian regular divisions, the Revolutionary Guard, and Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) elements amassed in

Marivan Mariwan ( fa, مريوان; ) also known as Qale Marīvān - "Fort Marivan"; formerly, Dezhe Shahpur (Persian: دِژ شاهپور), also Romanized as Dezhe Shāhpūr and Dezhe Shapoor) is a town in – and the capital of – Marivan Co ...

and Sardasht in a move to threaten the major Iraqi city Suleimaniyah. Iran's strategy was to press

Kurdish tribes The following is a list of tribes of Kurdish people, an Iranic ethnic group from the geo-cultural region of Kurdistan in Western Asia. Iraq Baghdad Governorate The following tribes are present in Baghdad Governorate: * Feyli tribe Diyala Gover ...

to occupy the Banjuin Valley, which was within 45 km (28 mi) of Suleimaniyah and 140 km (87 mi) from the oilfields of Kirkuk. To stem the tide, Iraq deployed Mi-8 helicopters equipped with chemical weapons and executed 120 sorties against the Iranian force, which stopped them 15 km (9.3 mi) into Iraqi territory. 5,000 Iranians and 18,000 Iraqis were killed & wounded. Iran gained 110 km² (42 sq mi) of its territory back in the north, gained 15 km² (5.8 sq mi) of Iraqi land, and captured 785 Iraqi prisoners while Iraq abandoned large quantities of valuable weapons and war materiel in the field. Iraq responded to these losses by firing a series of SCUD-B missiles into the cities of

Dezful Dezful ( fa, دزفول, pronounced , Dezfuli dialect: Desfil, pronounced ) also Romanized as Dezfūl and Dezfool; also known as Dīzfūl and Ab I Diz is a city and capital of Dezful County, Khuzestan Province, Iran. At the 2011 census, its popu ...

, Masjid Suleiman, and Behbehan, while the Iraqi naval aircraft mined the port of Bandar Khomeini. Iran's use of artillery against

Basra Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is han ...

while the battles in the north raged created multiple fronts, which effectively confused and wore down Iraq.

Aftermath

The attack was successful but the Iranians suffered high casualties due to Iraqi gas attacks. Unlike other operations and battles of the Iran–Iraq War, environmental conditions and operative restrictions were of high significance for this operation. Also the military medicine organization of the

Pasdaran , meaning "Guards") can refer to: * Pasdaran (district) in Tehran * Informal name for the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC; fa, سپاه پاسدا� ...

was important in this battle; they used special methods to save the wounded and carried out rescue operations. However, in response to this victory, the Iraqis launched the first Scud missiles into Iran, hitting six cities.

Units

Iran

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC; fa, سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی, Sepāh-e Pāsdārān-e Enghelāb-e Eslāmi, lit=Army of Guardians of the Islamic Revolution also Sepāh or Pasdaran for short) is a branch o ...

: :Hamzeh Sayyed-osh-Shohada Headquarters :* 31st Ashura Division :*:Commanded by

Mehdi Bakeri Mehdi Bakeri ( fa, مهدی باکری‎; 1954 – 16 March 1985) was an Iranian war hero in the Iran–Iraq War. He graduated in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Tabriz. During the Iranian revolution of 1979 he joined the proteste ...

:* 44th Qamar-e Bani-Hashem Brigade :* 41st Tharallah Division :*:Commanded by

Qassem Soleimani Qasem Soleimani ( fa, قاسم سلیمانی, ; 11 March 19573January 2020) was an Iranian military officer who served in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). From 1998 until his assassination in 2020, he was the commander of the Quds F ...

:* 17th Ali ibn Abi Taleb Division :*:Commanded by

Mehdi Zeinoddin Mahdi Zeinoddin ( fa, مهدی زین الدین; 1959–1984) was an Iranian major general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, IRGC during the Iran–Iraq War and he was the commander of the Ali ibn Abi Taleb Brigade, Ali ibn Abi Taleb Di ...

25th Karbala Division 25th Karbala Division ( fa, لشکر 25 کربلا) was a Division (military), division of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. It covered the Mazandaran province, which also included Golestan province back then. It was first officially organize ...

:*:Commanded by Morteza Ghorbani :* 14th Imam Hossein Division :*:Commanded by Hossein Kharrazi :* 8th Najaf Ashraf Division :*:Commanded by

Ahmad Kazemi Ahmad Kazemi ( fa, احمد کاظمی) (22 July 1958 – 9 January 2006) was an Iranian commander in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and one of the most notable commanders in Iran–Iraq War. Early life He was born on 22 July 1958 in Naja ...

Islamic Republic of Iran Army Ground Forces The Islamic Republic of Iran Army Ground Forces ( fa, نیروی زمینی ارتش جمهوری اسلامی ایران, ''Niroo-ye Zamini-ye Artesh-e Jomhuri-ye Eslâmi-ye Iran''), acronymed NEZAJA ( fa, نزاجا, NEZEJA) are the ground for ...

28th Infantry Division of Kordestan 28th Infantry Division of Kordestan ( fa, لشکر 28 پیاده کردستان), based in Sanandaj, Kordestan Province, is a division of Ground Forces of Islamic Republic of Iran Army. The division has participated in several operations of Iran ...

* 21st Hamzeh Division of Azarbaijan

Iraq

* Iraqi Army *

Republican Guard A republican guard, sometimes called a national guard, is a state organization of a country (often a republic, hence the name ''Republican'') which typically serves to protect the head of state and the government, and thus is often synonymous wit ...

Iraqi Army Air Corps Iraqi or Iraqis (in plural) means from Iraq, a country in the Middle East, and may refer to: * Iraqi people or Iraqis, people from Iraq or of Iraqi descent * A citizen of Iraq, see demographics of Iraq * Iraqi or Araghi ( fa, عراقی), someone ...

Iraqi Air Force The Iraqi Air Force (IQAF or IrAF) ( ar, القوات الجوية العراقية, Al Quwwat al Jawwiyah al Iraqiyyah}) is the aerial warfare service branch of the Iraqi Armed Forces. It is responsible for the defense of Iraqi airspace as well ...

References

* ''The Longest War'', by Dilip Hiro, Routledge, Chapman, and Hall, Inc. 1991 (pg. 102). * https://web.archive.org/web/20090910023608/http://www.gloria-center.org/meria/2009/06/dodds-wilson.html

Bibliography

* http://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/the-“dawn-of-victory”-campaigns-to-the-“final-push”-part-three-of-three {{coord missing, Iraq Dawn 4 Military operations involving chemical weapons during the Iran–Iraq War Military operations of the Iran–Iraq War involving the Peshmerga