First Battle of al-Faw | |||||||||
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Part of Iran–Iraq War | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
Iraq | Iran | ||||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Maher Abd al-Rashid |
Mohsen Rezaee | ||||||||
Strength | |||||||||
126 infantry battalions, 33 armored battalions, 23 mechanized battalions, 29 commando battalions, 20 Republican Guard battalions |
140 infantry battalions, 16 artillery battalions |
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Casualties and losses | |||||||||
17,000 KIA, 25,000 WIA, 2,105 captured |
30,000 KIA (February–March) |
Maher Abd al-Rashid
Hisham al-Fakhri
126 infantry battalions, 33 armored battalions, 23 mechanized battalions, 29 commando battalions, 20 Republican Guard battalions
Beginning: 1,000–5,000 troops
Height of battle: 82,000 troops
Three mechanized divisions
400+ aircraft
140 infantry battalions, 16 artillery battalions
Beginning: 22,000–25,000 troops
Height of battle: 133,000 troops
Several tank companies
70 aircraft
17,000 KIA, 25,000 WIA, 2,105 captured
74 aircraft, 11 helicopters, 400 tanks, 200 APCs, 500 military vehicles, 20 field artillery pieces, 55 anti-aircraft artillery pieces, 7 fast attack crafts, 5 engineering vehicles destroyed
80 tanks, 40 APCs, 250 vehicles, 35 field artillery pieces, 150 anti-aircraft artillery pieces, 3 radars and 34 engineering equipment captured
Other sources:
10,000 KIA (February–March)
40–55 aircraft
30,000 KIA (February–March)
The First Battle of al-Faw (Operation Dawn 8) fought from 9 February – 20 March 1986 (with heavy combat operations lasting until early 1988), was a battle of the Iran–Iraq War. The Iranians launched a sophisticated, carefully planned amphibious attack across the Shatt al-Arab (Arvand Rud) river against the Iraqi troops (mostly Iraqi Popular Army) defending the strategic al-Faw Peninsula, which connects Iraq to the Persian Gulf, capturing the tip of the peninsula, including Iraq's main air control and warning center (which was covering Persian Gulf). The Iranians defeated several Iraqi Republican Guard's counter-offensives and managed to remain in to their foothold. Iraq extensively used chemical weapons during the battle.