Key Facts
- Duration
- 22–24 February 1984 (2 days)
- Objective
- Cut the Baghdad–Basra highway
- Preceding operation
- Operation Dawn 5 (Operation Before the Dawn)
- Subsequent operation
- Operation Kheibar
- Highway distance reached
- 15 miles short of target
Strategic Narrative Overview
Launched on 22 February 1984, Operation Dawn 6 was intended to drive through the gap created by the preceding operation and break through to the Baghdad–Basra highway. Iraqi defensive forces, however, repelled every Iranian assault over the course of two days. Unable to overcome the entrenched Iraqi resistance, Iranian commanders halted the operation on 24 February 1984.
01 / The Origins
During the Iran–Iraq War, Iran sought to exploit gains made in Operation Dawn 5, which had captured high ground roughly 15 miles from the strategically vital Baghdad–Basra highway. Severing this artery would isolate Iraq's two largest cities from one another and disrupt supply lines supporting Iraqi forces along the front, forming part of a broader Iranian strategic offensive in early 1984.
03 / The Outcome
The failure of Operation Dawn 6 ended Iranian hopes of cutting the Baghdad–Basra highway in this offensive phase. Iran subsequently redirected its strategic focus, launching Operation Kheibar to threaten Basra more directly. The stalled highway offensive illustrated the limits of Iranian breakthrough tactics against prepared Iraqi defences during this period of the war.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Side B
1 belligerent
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.