Battle Analysis of Khorramshahr, Iran-Iraq War, 1980 Using Military Doctrine and my studies on the region I was to analyze any battle during the last 40 decades in the Middle East.

City of Blood

Battle Analysis of Khorramshahr, Iran-Iraq War, 1980

Insight

Ever since the General Shinseki was appointed as the Army's Chief of Staff, a huge debate has spawned as to 'light' versus 'heavy', which, in the more common expression, amounted to 'tracks' versus 'wheeled' vehicles. Although I was a Cavalry Scout for three years, I was essentially exactly what my MOS title described: Armored Reconnaissance Specialist, D3 Qualified. In short, I was on the M2A2 Bradley Cavalry Fighting Vehicle and we were always backed by the King of the Battlefield, the M1A2 Abrams Tank. With this said, I ran a few quick yahoo! Searches to find a battle that incorporated armored vehicles, and although the particular battle I found was some 20 years ago, I feel it should/could still be used as a lesson to those that are demanding the elimination of the very powerful, yet mobile, Armored force.

Shatt al-Arab near Basra city in Iraq

English: Iran-Iraq war damage to mosque tile works...

The Arvandrud/Shatt al-Arab, Iran/Iraq border

In fact, the Battle of Khorramshahr interested me because it not only involved armored vehicles, but the battlefield was within a city, and there has long been a myth, at least while I served in with the Armor Units, that MOUT is no place for a tank.

Background

Between 1980-88, Iran and Iraq were engaged in a military conflict that had roots as far back as at least the late 1960s with events of the 70s spilling into what became a war of skirmishes in the 80s. It officially began on September 22, 1980, with an Iraqi land and air invasion of western Iran, although Iraqi maintained that Iran had been engaging in artillery attacks on Iraqi towns since September 4th. Iraqi president Saddam Hussein claimed that his attack was based off the terrritorial dispute over the Shatt al Arab, a waterway that empties into the Persian Gulf and...