Second Battle of Al Faw
Encyclopedia
The Second Battle of Al-Faw, fought on April 17, 1988, was a battle of the Iran–Iraq War. After their defeat at the First Battle of Al-Faw two years earlier, the newly restructured Iraqi Army conducted a major operation to clear the Iranians out of the peninsula
. The Iraqis concentrated well over 100,000 troops from the battle-hardened Republican Guard versus 15,000 second-rate Iranian Basij
volunteers.
The southern wing of the assault consisted of the Republican Guard's Madinah and Baghdad Divisions, which assaulted the Iranian lines and then allowed the Hammurabi Armoured Division to pass through and move along the southern coast of the peninsula and into al-Faw itself.
Meanwhile the regular Iraqi Army's VII Corps attacked the northern end of the line with the 7th Infantry and 6th Armoured
Divisions. While the 7th Infantry's attack became bogged down, the 6th Armoured broke through the Iranian lines, the 1st Mechanised Division
pushed through, and later linked up with the Republican Guard divisions outside al-Faw. Thus the peninsula had been secured within thirty-five hours, with much of the Iranians' equipment captured intact.
Al-Faw Peninsula
The Faw peninsula is a marshy region adjoining the Persian Gulf in the extreme south-east of Iraq, between and to the south-east of the cities of Basra and Abadan ....
. The Iraqis concentrated well over 100,000 troops from the battle-hardened Republican Guard versus 15,000 second-rate Iranian Basij
Basij
The Basij is a paramilitary volunteer militia established in 1979 by order of the Islamic Revolution's leader Ayatollah Khomeini. The force consists of young Iranians who have volunteered, often in exchange for official benefits...
volunteers.
The southern wing of the assault consisted of the Republican Guard's Madinah and Baghdad Divisions, which assaulted the Iranian lines and then allowed the Hammurabi Armoured Division to pass through and move along the southern coast of the peninsula and into al-Faw itself.
Meanwhile the regular Iraqi Army's VII Corps attacked the northern end of the line with the 7th Infantry and 6th Armoured
6th Division (Iraq)
The 6th Division is a formation of the Iraqi Army, first formed after 1959, converted to armoured status by 1973, but disbanded in 2003. It was reformed as part of the new army in August 2005....
Divisions. While the 7th Infantry's attack became bogged down, the 6th Armoured broke through the Iranian lines, the 1st Mechanised Division
1st Division (Iraq)
The 1st Division, Iraqi Army is a formation of the Army formed c.2005-2007.The 1st Division was originally formed from the battalions of the Iraqi Intervention Force....
pushed through, and later linked up with the Republican Guard divisions outside al-Faw. Thus the peninsula had been secured within thirty-five hours, with much of the Iranians' equipment captured intact.