In the previous episode, we talked about the achievements of Operation Ramadan, the first operation outside the borders of the Islamic Republic of Iran after the great Bayt-ul Moqaddas Operation which led to the liberation of Khorramshahr.

Operation Ramadan was designed to provide an appropriate political and military situation for the Islamic Republic, with the presence of the Iranian military forces at the banks of the rivers Tigris and Arvand, so that they gain full dominance over the roads around Basra, following the victorious operations Fat’h ul-Mobin and Bayt-ul Moqaddas.

Operation Ramadan signaled to the west that the Islamic Republic was resolutely determined to pursue its rightful claims after pushing back the invaders from the occupied regions. After Operation Ramadan, both Iran and Iraq made a new military array through a series of experiences gained from two years of war, especially after the great and victorious operations of Samen al-A'emma, Tareeq al-Quds, Fat’h ul-Mobin and Bayt ul-Moqaddas. Having accomplished Operation Ramadan, it became clear that the Iraqi army's strategy of absolute defense on the ground was to help arm the ground forces through engineering work. It was aimed at changing ground conditions and the new array of armored forces with the help of engineering work, in such a way that it would prevent the forces from losing more soil. Through removal of weak points, the Iraqi Ba'athist army was thinking time and enforcing the war of attrition, in a bid to deter Iranian combatants from advancing.

Under such circumstances, the Iraqi army fought in its territory while its fronts were narrowed. This enabled it to manage its frontlines better and fight with the Iranian forces in a limited area. The enemy used a lot of armored units in coordination with artillery fire.

Instead of pushing on the ground, the Iraqi army decided to attack via air and the sea and defend the ground as the new strategy. Thus, in order to gain the opportunity to start fresh ground attacks, Saddam expanded his combat organization and, with the help of reserve forces, chose a mobile defense. The Iraqi dictator formed the so-called Jaysh al-Sha'bi or national army and expanded the Ba'athist army units. They bolstered their defense lines with extensive engineering work. In order to receive the advanced equipment and weapons such as the Russian T-72 tanks, they took a more serious action and revised the array of their defense lines and overcame their weak points.

In an another development after Operation Ramadan in August 1982, the US officially and overtly entered the war via intelligence cooperation and satellite pictures and military consultation to support its stooge Saddam. It was not the US only that after Operation Ramadan disclosed its full support for Saddam. The Soviet, too, provided Iraq with Mig-25 fighter-bombers. They were the most advanced fighter-bombers in those days. For the first time, Mig-25 fighter-bombers were seen flying on the Iranian air. These planes spectacularly boosted the destructive power of Iraqi air force. Iraq used these fighter-bombers to approach Tehran’s space and attack Khark Island in the Persian Gulf. Being equipped with state-of-the-art weapons, Saddam received Scud-B missiles from then Soviet Union to target Iranian cities to extend the war deep into Iran’s territory. 

On the Iranian battlefronts, Operation Ramadan was a turning point. Failure to materialize the desired objectives, led the Islamic Republic to consider other areas of the war zone and think of designing other operations to achieve the desired objectives with minimum losses and casualties and set the conditions needed to surprise the Ba'athist enemy. The experience of Operation Ramadan showed that continuation of war was in exigent need of intellectual, human and equipment to overcome the invading army of Iraq. In such circumstances, a few limited operations should be launched to discomfort the enemy forces and to get prepared for planning of large operations. In late summer 1982, planning and launching of an operation was seriously put on the agenda to compensate the failures of Operation Ramadan. Operation "Moslem ibn Aqil" was adopted as the first step in the new course of limited operations. The purpose was to capture all heights looming over the Iraqi Mandali city. Since the heights of the area were in fact an obstacle against entry into the Iraqi territory, it was of special value and importance for the enemy. Once, these heights were seized, the enemy would be forced to retreat and the city would fall. Being aware of this, the Iraqi Ba'athist army tried to prevent any progress by Iranians via undermining Iran's tactical superiority. Therefore, the Ba'athist regime, being informed of the operation of the Iranian forces in this axis, embarked on strengthening forces and consolidating the barriers and defense positions. An Iraqi captivated commander stated: Our commanders did not think that Iranians would be able to cross 50 mines and explosive traps.

Operation Moslem ibn Aqil was carried out on September 23, 1982 about two months after the end of Operation Ramadan. The codename was Ya Abul Fazl Al-Abbas (PBUH). The Iraqi military was partly aware of Iran's plan to carry out new moves in the area. In this operation, 5 hills in the west of Sumar town were captured and Iran's forces dominated the heights of Mandali city. Approximately 150 square kilometers of the regions were liberated from the Iraqi occupation. Nearly 4000 Ba'athist forces were killed or injured. 79 tanks and personnel carriers were destroyed and 275 invading forces were taken as captives. 20 vehicles, 3 loaders and 3 Katyusha multiple rocket launchers of the Ba'athist army were destroyed. A total of 7 Iraqi fighter planes were also downed with the air defense sites. However, some 500 Iranian combatants were martyred and 2500 were injured. Altogether, Operation Moslem ibn Aqil was evaluated as a successful operation after Operation Ramadan. It proved that the Islamic Republic could repeat its victories at the battlefronts. Operation Moslem ibn Aqil was considered as a small-scale blow on the Iraqi regime at 100 kilometer distance from Baghdad.

FK/RM/ME