Marked Iran's first significant use of amphibious assault tactics in the Iran–Iraq War, including Iraqi chemical weapons deployment against invading forces.
Key Facts
- Iranian casualties
- 15,000
- Iraqi chemical weapon used
- Mustard gas
- Iranian armored unit deployed
- 92nd Armored Division
- Key territory contested
- Majnoun Islands
- Iranian assault type
- Amphibious offensive in Hawizeh Marshes
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Following largely inconclusive Dawn operations in 1983, Iran sought a new strategic approach to break Iraqi defenses. The Hawizeh Marshes, part of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, offered terrain suited to surprise amphibious assault, prompting Iranian planners to exploit this geography against Iraqi positions.
Beginning around February 1984, Iran launched a surprise amphibious offensive into the lakes of the Hawizeh Marshes. Initial human wave attacks inflicted heavy Iranian losses, leading to adoption of new amphibious tactics. Iran deployed the 92nd Armored Division and ultimately executed Operation Kheibar, seizing the oil-rich Majnoun Islands and nearly breaching Iraqi lines.
Iraq repelled the Iranian advance using artillery, tanks, airstrikes, gunboats, and mustard gas, pushing Iranian forces back to the marshes while Iran retained a foothold on Majnoon Island. The battle introduced chemical weapons as a systematic Iraqi defensive tool and demonstrated both sides' evolving tactics in wetland warfare.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Side B
1 belligerent