Anniversary of liberation of Khorramshahr

As soon as the Iranian people heard the news of liberation of the strategic port city of Khorramshahr, they were exhilarated and poured to the streets across the country.

Khuninshahr (bloody city) was again known by its original name "Khorramshahr" and people commemorated the epic defence of the martyrs who sacrificed their lives for protecting the city against the savage Ba'athist invaders and those martyrs who lost their lives to retake the city. Khorramshahr returned to Iran and the Islamic Republic took the upper hand in terms of military and politics.

The 8-year defense of Iranian combatants against the armed-to-the-teeth Iraqi army was full of epic and bravery. But, for sure, liberation of Khorramshahr shines like a conspicuous point of this morale of struggle in the path of God. This border city is located in southwestern Iran adjacent to the important Arvand River and is considered a very strategic port. For this reason, in his invasion on September 22, 1980, Saddam put much emphasis and propaganda on occupying Khorramshahr which at that time was Iran's largest commercial port. The Iraqi dictator had even dreamed of the collapse of the city within three days. The regional stooge of the western and the then eastern blocs, never imagined that Iran's brave and indefatigable combatants could resist for 34 days with minimal facilities against the all-out attacks of the Iraqi Ba'athist regime.

The military and popular forces fought bear-handedly but bravely to preserve Khorramshahr and they nullified Saddam's relentless assaults to the extent that Khorramshahr was dubbed as the symbol of resistance. Eventually, a few Iranian combatants witnessed the fall of Khorramshahr while the city was completely besieged and plunged in the blood of their fellow combatants. Hence, the Iranian people called the city Khuninshahr or "bloody city".

On October 28, 1980 when Khorramshahr collapsed, the combatants, commanders and people of Iran were never free of liberating this important city but it took 19 months to realize. During this period, the army and the IRGC, in various operations inflicted heavy defeats on Saddam’s forces the most important of which was Samen al-A’imma that ended the siege of Abadan in southern Khorramshahr. Staging of this operation within 11 months after occupation of Khorramshahr, expectations for liberating Khorramshahr increased. But the enemy intended to keep this strategic city at any cost. The military fortifications around Khorramshahr looked impregnable and Iraqi soldiers haughtily wrote on the walls that "We have come to stay." The Iraqis set up Basra-Khorramshahr bus and taxiway in this Iranian city and Baghdad radio used to give weather broadcast of Khorramshahr as one of the Iraqi cities. But the Iranian forces, paying no attention to this propaganda, designed the plan of liberating this part of the country with much precision and trust in God.

In the spring of 1982 the plan of liberation of Khorramshahr was finalized. Saddam's regime, knowing that the Muslim combatants would soon take action for retaking this strategic city, bolstered the defensive measures in the area. Now, Khorramshahr was turned into a military fort and the Iraqi dictator said boastfully: "If Iranians can retake Khorramshahr I am ready to give them the key of Basra." But the Iranian forces, especially the Basiji popular forces, launched Bayt-ul-Moqaddas operation on April 30 in four phases to liberate Khorramshahr and its surrounding areas.   

At that time, Saddam's army had deployed nearly 40,000 infantry forces, 2700 tanks and personnel carriers and 500 artillery equipment in the area. But the Iranian combatants started the operation from the point the enemy never thought. Crossing the great Karun River and attacking the enemy was an extremely dangerous task which was only possible with high morale and self-sacrifice of Muslim combatants who had put their trust in God. Martyr Hassan Baqeri, the young commander and prominent military strategist, explained that crossing the river, by itself, was a separate operation for military units and added: "The significance of the attack was that crossing a 230-meter-wide river and penetration in the enemy lines as long as 30 kilometers was carried out at a single night with the use of infantry forces; while it took three days for Iraq to cross Karun when it wanted to besiege Abadan."

After crossing the tough natural obstacles such as the river and swamp and pushing aside the defensive fortifications of the enemy in an unfriendly weather, the Iranian combatants reached the strategic Khorramshahr-Ahwaz road. This news was a very big shock for the Iraqi arrogant dictator Saddam. Thus, he commanded that the road should be retaken immediately or else the troops who had retreated would be put on military trial. There was a very hot and tough clash and the Iranian forces were exposed to modern Iraqi tanks and equipment. Their resistance was inconceivable and a real example of divine help.

Martyr Hassan Baqeri describes this scene of battle as follows: "The second night of operation, the Iraqis with an independent brigade, proud of 10 armored vehicles of the strongest type, attacked the road in a state of frenzy. Several units of their tanks succeeded in reaching the asphalt road close to the embankment of our forces. It seemed that everything was lost. But since the goal of the combatants was a divine goal, they had to take help from Him. The commanders said that it was necessary for the combatants to say Allaho Akbar which was very effective on the front. Thus, the combatants started to chant Allaho Akbar while attacking the enemy lines. The Iraqis were horrified, the crew and drivers of the tanks of the Iraqi brigade left the tanks and fled. Those who were farther back ran away with their tanks, and the enemy assault was repelled with the help of God and the weapon of Allaho Akbar."

The main cause of the victory of the Islamic Republic of Iran during the liberation of Khorramshahr was the advance of Iranian forces to the borders and approaching the port city of Basra in Iraq. Saddam’s army commanders thought that Iran had planned to capture Basra. So, they changed their military array while the brave Iranian combatants turned to Khorramshahr and with a broad attack on May 24, 1982, took the resistant and heroic city out of the clutches of the enemy. Saddam's hollow ambition to preserve the city resulted in the death and wounding of 16,000 troops and the capture of 19,000 more. Also, 40 Iraqi warplanes and 280 tanks were destroyed and a large number of heavy and light weapons were taken by the Islamic combatants. Iranians rejoiced at the epic liberation of Khorramshahr which was a thunderbolt for the enemy and its backers in the west and the east. This great victory shook Saddam's army more than ever and the demoralized forces of Saddam fled the battlefronts.

Concerning the crushing effect of liberation of Khorramshahr on Saddam, his son- in-law Hussein Kamel said: "In the first 24 hours, Saddam was under such a spiritual pressure that a physician was always at his side.”

But behind the military operations of liberation of Khorramshahr, there were other epics that gave the operation such an outstanding and indomitable status. The heroic acts of the Muslim combatants were so magnanimous that they look unbelievable to the readers and listeners of the accounts of the operation. During the operation, the Muslim combatants before relying on their military equipment and their war plans, put their trust on the divine power and assistance. This morale existed in all of Iran's operations during the eight-year holy defense against Saddam's army, but it was more manifested in Bayt ul-Moqaddas operation. The Iranian popular forces fought bravely with no fear of death and this high morale terrified Saddam’s army.

One of the Iranian army commanders says: "In Bayt ul- Moqaddas operation, I was in the camp of prisoners of war. I saw a tall captive whose uniform showed that he was a commander. We asked him how they were defeated. He showed me a Basiji and said: “This is more dangerous than a bomb. He is not afraid of anything at all.”

The chivalric disposition and adherence of Iranian combatants to humane values during and after the operation was also very constructive. According to the Iraqi captives, the behavior of the Iranian forces with them was quite humane and Islamic. One of the Iranian combatants narrates that after victory in one of the phases of Bayt ul-Moqaddas, and capturing a number of prisoners, we wanted to use them to carry the wounded to the behind. But when the battalion commander was informed of the issue, he strongly opposed it saying that these Iraqis had surrendered themselves, and they might not like to work. Then he immediately went to the first line of the Iraqi captives and told them to lay down the stretcher and the wounded. Then he took the stretcher from the first captive and laid it down. Then he kissed the face of the captive and told them to march.

Although it seemed absolutely impossible to liberate Khorramshahr based on material calculations, this great goal was achieved via high spirits and sincere intentions and sacrifices of the Iranian combatants. Imam Khomeini (God's mercy upon him) said on the seemingly unbelievable liberation "God liberated Khorramshahr."

This shows that the pure faith and full trust of the combatants in God and the His insurmountable power made it possible to do an impossible thing.

It is interesting to know that the day of liberation of Khorramshahr has been named as the National Day of Resistance and Victory.

FK/RM/ME