Tehran – The echo of the battle may have faded, but the importance of Khorramshahr’s release remains resonant. On Saturday, May 24th, Iran celebrates the 43rd anniversary of the city’s recapture from a foreign-backed Iraq basist regime, a victory that continues to shape Iran’s identity and the pride of its people.
How did Khorramshahr fall into the enemy?
Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was invited to launch a war with Iran following the Islamic Revolution in 1979. He wanted to take the perceived chaos of the Iranian government along the shared border, along the rich oil-producing Iranian state of Khhzestan along the shared border by exploiting the perceived chaos of the Iranian government a few months after the Islamic Revolution. Perhaps he was drawn into the conflict by the Western provinces, particularly the United States, who was angered by the uprisings in Iran.
In September 1980, Iraqi forces surprised the Iranians and captured the Iranian port city of Kolamshaar after weeks of street fighting. To be precise, it took 34 days for the foreign-backed Saddam administration to occupy the city. The Ba’athist army faced fierce resistance before they managed to capture the city. The well-equipped Iraqi army outweighed much smaller Iranian forces and city defenders.
Faced with heroic Iranian resistance, the Iraqis have failed to move forward to occupy Abadan’s important oil repetition centre, located just 12 km east of Holamshah.
The fight to free Khorramshahr
After the city was occupied by Iraqi forces that the city invaded on October 26, 1980, the Iranians began to take action to regain it and punish the invaders. They united under the leadership of Imam Khomeini, the late founder of the Islamic Revolution.
70,000 troops, including the regular army and the newly established Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as well as a popular mobilising voluntary force known as Basij, launched an anti-aggressive attack on April 30, 1982 with the operation code name beit al-moqaddas to free the cities and other occupied territories of Kuzestan and other occupied territories.
The Iranian forces first fired the Iraqi occupation position along with Holamshah artillery, then launched a full attack in the city, overturning Iraq’s line of defense in the present-day Porue and Shalamche regions.
The Iranians then concentrated next to Arvand Rud (also known as the Shatt Al-Arab Waterway of Iraq) and were surrounded by Khorramshahr. They built the Pontoon Bridge across the Kalun River, which allowed them to cross the city.
After that, for the past two days, Iranian forces engaged in fierce street battles to end the 19-month occupation. They took over the final position of the city’s Saddam administration’s military 24 days after the start of the heroic operation.
At 2pm on May 24, 1982, Iranian National Television and Radio announced the release of Khorramshahr. The Iranian flag flew again at the top of the Grand Mosque and the city bridge. The Iranian army prayed at the Grand Mosque to thank the Almighty God for victory.
News of Khorramshahr’s liberation quickly echoed across the country. People of all walks were poured into the city to celebrate. After hearing the news, they handed out sweets and drinks as joyously. They also went to the roof of their houses and chanted Allah Akbar, as it was held every year on February 11th on the anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution.
Invaders suffer from great losses
During the operation to free the city, the Iranians captured about 19,000 soldiers from the now-present Iraqi forces. Estimates show that around 6,000 Iraqi troops have been killed and thousands of others have been injured in surgery.
The liberation of Khorramshahr is considered a turning point during the war imposed by Iraq for eight years with Iraq, as Iraq marked the strategic failure of the crushed Iraqi army. Saddam Hussein was reportedly shocked and angry at his defeat, and later ordered the execution of many generals in his army.
Many observers say the victory at Beit al-Qadas has leaned political and military balance in court by Iran. The city was being repatriated to Kurabu by the Iraqis, but its liberation boosted the morale of the Iranian army.
The Saddam administration and its supporters were scared of a decisive victory. The invaders’ Baasist regime and its regional and international supporters quickly shifted their stances from military attacks to pleas for diplomacy and ceasefires.
The city’s liberation allowed Iranian forces to push deeper into Iraq’s territory. By some estimates at the time, the Basist regime lost almost half of its army at the Battle of Khorramshahr.
The overwhelming victory further raised awareness among Iranians about the power of devotion to the faith and devotion to the cause, stimulated the strength of the Iranian army and proved the efficiency of Iranian military strategy.
In his historic message of victory, Imam Khomeini said that despite all the support that the powers of the world, such as the US, UK, Germany, France, and the Soviet Union, had given to the Saddam regime, it was the Almighty God who freed Holamshaal.
The current leader of the Iranian Revolution also points to the role of the expertise and strategic skills of Iranian commanders, as well as their faith in and reliance on Allah to defeat the Saddam regime and the coalition of its supporters, on various anniversary occasions of Iranian city interactions.
“Through this great operation, our military commanders have demonstrated their admirable knowledge, expertise and capabilities for the world,” Ayatollah Seiyed Ali Khamenei said in a statement issued on May 24, 1999, to show the liberation of the city. “The second factor, which was even more important than the first, was the great faith and the resulting courage and perseverance of our army,” he added, according to the official website.