Operation Fath ol-Mobin

Battle of Shush (Operation Fath ol-Mobin)
Part of Iran–Iraq War

Operation Fath ol-Mobin, Map
Date22–28 March 1982
(6 days)
Location
Shush, Khuzestan, South-West Iran
Result Iranian victory
Territorial
changes

Iranians recapture the DezfulShush area

  • Iraqi siege on Shush is broken
Belligerents
 Iraq  Iran
Commanders and leaders
Ba'athist Iraq Saddam Hussein Iran Ali Sayad Shirazi
Iran Hossein Kharrazi
Iran Mohammad Boroujerdi
Iran Massoud Monfared Niyaki
Iran Masoud Golshani 
Strength
80,000–160,000 soldiers 80,000–100,000 regulars
40,000 Pasdaran
30,000 Basij
15,000 militia
Casualties and losses

8,000 killed
10,000-20,000 captured[1]


361 tanks, IFVs & APCs, 18 aircraft, 300 vehicles, 50 artillery pieces & 30 engineering vehicles destroyed

150 tanks, 170 APCs, 500 vehicles, several SA-6 missiles, several surface-to-surface missiles, 165 artillery pieces (182 mm, 130 mm, 152 mm) & 50 engineering vehicles captured[2]

4,000 killed
12,000 wounded[1]


196 tanks and ≈200 APC's destroyed[1]

Operation Fath-ol-Mobin (Persian: عملیات فتح‌المبین, a Quranic phrase meaning "Undeniable Victory" or "Manifest Victory") was a major Iranian military operation conducted during the Iran–Iraq War, in March 1982 and resulted to the Battle of Shush. The operation was led by Lt. General Ali Sayad Shirazi and was conducted in four phases.

Some believe that this operation was the turning point in the war[3][4] and that it led to the eviction of Iraqi troops from Khuzestan. Others (including Efraim Karsh) believe it was actually the operation working in tandem with others which led to the expulsion of Iraqi troops from southern Iran. He believes that in fact, Operation Beit ol-Moqaddas, which lasted from April to May 1982, had the greatest effect, because the Iranians were able to liberate the strategically important city of Khorramshahr.

  1. ^ a b c Razoux, Pierre (2015). The Iran-Iraq War. Harvard University Press, 2015. pp. 199–200. ISBN 978-0674915718.
  2. ^ http://www.tebyan.net/newindex.aspx?pid=5921
  3. ^ Iran Chamber Society: History of Iran: Iran-Iraq War 1980-1988
  4. ^ Farrokh, Kaveh (20 December 2011). Iran at War: 1500-1988. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 9781780962214.