Iran Iraq War

Front 1

Khuzestan terrain
- military considerations

Back 1

flat plains
- allowing for tanks

Front 2

Iraqis initial advance in the invasion of Iran
- shortcomings of Iraqi strategy

Back 2

Mostly successful, besieged several major Iranian cities within 3 days
- Saddam lacked clear priorities, and the invasion was bogged down after initial rush

Front 3

Shat al-Arab was __ as a result of the war
- consequences

Back 3

closed for about 8 years
-Iraq sent oil through Kuwait for shipping, limiting exports

Front 4

Saddam lacked __ early in the war (strategy)

Back 4

Clear objectives, picking to many targets

Front 5

Saddam tried to emulate what strategy
- what were his military targets

Back 5

Blitzkrieg tactics of 6 day war
- targeting powerful Iranian air force, but many bombs missed or didn't explode

Front 6

Iranian Air Force consisted of

Back 6

Phantoms and Tomcats

Front 7

How did Iranian Air Force sustain sorties
- problems of resupply

Back 7

cannabilization
- international sanctions made acquisition difficult

Front 8

Iraqi failure in defense early in the war
- what happened

Back 8

air attack
- Iranians retaliated from initial Iraqi attack, striking oil facilities and air forces
- Saddam didn't seem to plan against Iranian Air Force counterattack

Front 9

Saddam's personal failings as military leader

Back 9

no military training
careless planning
overestimated troop's abilities
executed generals who retreated
thought the same tactics vs. the Kuds would work vs. Iran in different terrain with a conventional foe

Front 10

Commander on Iranian side

Back 10

Hashemi Rafsanjani - army officer sacked by Shah but Ayatollah's chief officer

Front 11

After stalling of initial assault, what strange tactic did Iraq use to protect Basrah

Back 11

Built artificial lake

Front 12

How did Iranians treat Basrah

Back 12

They became obsessed with capturing it, but never did

Front 13

The invasion affected Islamic Republic's morale how?

Back 13

cementing support for the new regime in the face of invasion

Front 14

Iranians raised volunteer battalions similar to

Back 14

WWI "Pal Battalions"; the slaughter of these poorly trained units from particular communities devastated many areas

Front 15

The terrain north of Basrah is
- what's it called?

Back 15

swampy area called the Hawizeh marshes

Front 16

Innovative ways to assault Basrah

Back 16

included frogmen supported by fast boats who would sabotage supply chain

Front 17

Fish Lake is located

Back 17

East of Basrah, which was a made by using dykes on the shatt al-arab canal to flood the area.

Front 18

Fish Lake is so named because

Back 18

The constant shelling of the lake made the lake smell like dead fish

Front 19

Iranian operation to assault Basrah in 86-87 called

Back 19

Karbala 4 and 5

Front 20

Karbalah 4

Back 20

Dec 1986, night attack, failed immediately

Front 21

Iranian Airbus that was shot down; Flight __ by USS ___

Back 21

Flight 655 by USS Vincennes

Front 22

Ordnance responsible for significant Iranian casualties

Back 22

chemical weapons

Front 23

When did Saddam decide to use Chem

Back 23

1984, after Iran wins pyrrhic Battle of the Marshes in 1983 and capture Majnoon Island in the Hawizeh Marshes

Front 24

What was special about the Battle of the Marshes

Back 24

New Iranian tactics - amphib assaults by frogmen from fast boats, nearly broke through Iraqi lines

Front 25

What chemical agent did Saddam use
- vs. Iranian forces
- vs. Kurds in Halabja

Back 25

- Mustard Gas
- unsure, but reports state Cyanide, Mustard, and possibly nerve agents

Front 26

S/S of mustard gas

Back 26

- Severe skin, eye and mucosal pain and irritation
- Skin erythema with large fluid blisters that heal slowly and may become infected
- Tearing, conjunctivitis, corneal damage
- Respiratory distress to marked airway damage

Front 27

Odor / color of mustard gas

Back 27

yellow-brown and smell like mustard, garlic, or horseradish

Front 28

How to deploy mustard gas

Back 28

artillery, bombs, rockets

Front 29

What is a vesicant also called
- S/S
- Common types of vesicants (3)

Back 29

blister agent

-causes severe skin/eye/mucous membrane irritation, chemical burns

- Sulfur mustard, Nitrogen mustard, and Lewisite

Front 30

What were the boats Iranians used during the Marshes Battle called?

Back 30

Boghammer Patrol boats - named after Swedish company who made them

Front 31

Tactics of the Persians in the Marsh battle

Back 31

Use boats to launch diversionary attack on a place to the north
- then use frogmen/boats/helicopter infantry to infiltrate Iraqi side at night,
- sabotage Iraqi artillery/positions, set up pontoon bridges, and allow heavier infantry/vehicles to cross in a human wave attack

Front 32

Iraqi Tactics in Marsh battle

Back 32

Mines, artillery, obstacles, fortified positions, barbed wire, high voltage electrodes, heavy guns

Front 33

Disadvantages of Iraqis in the Marsh battle

Back 33

They could not use their tanks, of which they had a distinct advantage over the Persians

Front 34

Why is Majnoon Island important

Back 34

Besides allowing access to the marshes, it's oil rich and has several pipelines

Front 35

What type of fighting force did the bulk of the fighting on the Iranian side?

Back 35

Infantry

Front 36

Iraqi tactics - aerial battle of Majnoon Island

Back 36

Iraqis used Mi-25s to destroy ground targets, while fighters shot down 49 Iranian helos

Front 37

Iranian Tactics - aerial battle of Majnoon

Back 37

Used helos to land infantry, eventually securing the island despite heavy losses and 49 helos shot down

Front 38

War of the Cities

Back 38

Fire upon civilian populations, especially Tehran, after 1984 ; Iran replied in kind against Baghdad, which was much closer to the war

Front 39

Scuds - origins - range

Back 39

Bought from Russia, used lighter warheads to travel 350 miles

Front 40

Result of War of the Cities

Back 40

No military gain, but solidified Iranian support against Saddam

Front 41

Kurdish tactics
- terrain
- targets
- defenses

Back 41

Very effective guerrilla campaign

- mountainous northern Iraq

- Iraqi supply chain, oil, troop movements

- bunkers, dugouts, trenches in mountain areas

Front 42

What were the Kurdish guerrilla forces called?

Back 42

Peshmerga

Front 43

Peshmerga backed by

Back 43

Iran, Syria, Lebanon

Front 44

Kurd's targets

Back 44

Oil field, Kirkuk, supply chain, disrupt oil traffic and bog down larger army units to keep them from front

Front 45

Iraqi tactics vs. Peshmerga
- against Kurds

Back 45

Artillery and rockets, because armor ineffective in mountains
- targeting Kurdish civilians

Front 46

How did Peshmerga defend against artillery?

Back 46

Dugouts, trenches

Front 47

Controversial Iraqi response to Kurds inside Iranian territory.

- deaths est.
- what was the town called?

Back 47

Cyanide gas,

- killing 5K civilians in minutes
- Halabjah

Front 48

Iranian Oil port that was repeatedly attacked

Back 48

Kharg Island

Front 49

Iranian Gulf tactics in Tanker War
- tactics
- targets
- political concerns

Back 49

- Boghammers armed with rockets and heavy guns to strike deeper into Gulf, frigates armed with ship-to-ship missiles to blockade Iraq
- Iraqi shipping and Iraqi exports
- Wanted to avoid bringing superpowers into the war (by closing the strait of Hormuz)

Front 50

Who hit the American warship?
- who hit it with what weapons
- what was the ship called (class)

Back 50

Iraq
- Mirage F1s hit it with two Exocets
- USS Stark (FFG-31, OHP class)