Iran-Iraq War: The Modern Day Holy War
It was clear what was happening: the tensions with Iraq had finally snapped, and Saddam Hussein was now launching a full-scale invasion of Iran. What followed was eight years of tank battles, trench warfare and human wave tactics on a scale not seen since the First World War, and even the use of chemical weapons. Today on Warographics we’re going to take a look at the devastating Iran-Iraq war, and the ghost it left behind in the Middle East.
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My friend's father is Iraqi and fought in this war. He told me they even had no man's lands and one time at night it got so windy that an Iranian who had his blanket blown away walked into the no man's land to retrieve his blanket, the iraqi flares went up, they all saw him pick up his blanket wrapped it around himself and just walking back and nobody shot him. Everyone was so demoralized and thought of it as a bullshit war. He said he'd never forget how surreal it felt afterwards.The Iraqi morale got higher in the later stages of the war when the war came to Iraq but ultimately everybody but the leaders thought it was just a massive waste of life, time and treasure.
It was a massive waste on the Iraqi side, the Iranians did not want the war nor started it.
@@ahmadjaber3611 It got a little more complicated than that as Iran's objectives quickly turned into Regime Change in Iraq to turn it into a Shia Theocracy rather than just kicking the Iraqis out of Iran. The Iranians then invaded Iraq after pushing them out. Its clear Iraq started it but Iran wasn't as innocent as you're making it out to be.
@@ahmadjaber3611the Iranians nor the Iraqis HOWEVER the dictator of Iran wanted that war because at that exact time he was really close to being thrown off and assassinated. He kept the war going because that meant he can suppress the demonstrators inside Iran and guarantee his power. War outside means power inside
@@naxussh3285 where did you learn your history lessons ? Get a lawyer and sue them
and the west funded it...
Saddam is the case of where you try to be middle east hitler but end up as middle east Mussolini
Iraq tried going Axis in WW2, but was invaded by the UK Iraq tried having a shiny port in ‘91…
Isn't it incredible how Iran struggled against Iraq for 8 years, yet the US effortlessly steamrolled Saddam in less than 3 seconds?
@@PrimericanIdol get your facts right 31-32 countries went against Iraq not American
@@PrimericanIdol and still a fail so they ran away
@@PrimericanIdolmaybe becsuse Iraq was economically exhausted when the U.S bombarded them, and Iraq was getting billions of dollars of aid against Iran?
My father fought in this war. He was enlisted in the Iranian military in the late 80’s. Moved to the US after the war and rebuilt his life here.
Glad he managed to get out mate. I genuinely feel for the Iranian people. Stuck in a country run by fanatics. I hope the recent unrest in the populace continues and change is seen to happen. All the best to you and your family pal. 🤙🏻
Thank God for America
i met a couple who were from iran at a friends bbq, they said they were from persia and seemed surprised when knew they meant iran and knew information about the country, every time they went for food of something to drink they would bring me something, absolute lovely people. its a shame that its ordinary people like us would expected to fight over the petty squabbles of the elites
If you don't mind me asking, what does he say about it?
i’m 😊😊
I met a dude who fought on irans side during the war as a teenager. he always carried bottled water with him, like a whole liter or two in a bag, wherever he went. I never asked him directly but once I joked about it to his girlfriend and she told me he does it because he nearly died of dehydration in that war... :/
He sounds smart. You on the other hand, not so much.😉
@@paulheydarian1281he sounds like a genius you on the other hand Paul well not so much 😉
@@paulheydarian1281 🤓🤓🤓
@@paulheydarian1281 Paul, after a year, I just want to let you know, you're still a dick. You always will be. Love ya, bro (about as much as I love the cancer that's killing my neighbor... That's saying a lot. You should feel honored)
This war was, among other things, responsible for the strenghthening of the iranian regime after the revolution. I don't think iranians would have accepted such radical changes in their society so fast and without any resistance if they had not seen the government as their proetctor from the iraqi invasion.
It would suprise you that they're still capitalizing the war, fooling the population not to step on your fathers blood and join the protests.
Khomeini was the cause of this war which he needed to maintain the Islamic revolution (which was his creation). Calling for the overthrow of another sovereign state's government and fomenting sectarian unrest in said state is by international law a declaration of war. Watch the first two videos on my Iran-Iraq War playlist.
Exactly. Great interpretation
That and the US imposition and support of the Shah dictatorship are reasons the West is still viewed with ambivalence and suspicion by many Iranians
The war helped the clerical regime to establish itself and getting rid of all the local opposition to it. If I remember correctly, Khomeini had called the war "a blessing"
I had the opportunity to work in Tehran 2004 to 2005, occasionally flying down to Abadan and Bandar Abbass. One day, along with a Korean coworker, we had some time to spare, were told of the war shrine at Korramshar, and got a taxi to see it. At that time, the area was still heavily mined, the red flags showing the locations in between the makeshift roads to the shrine. Two things that stayed with me, the number of destroyed tanks still littering the area and the shrine itself, showing photographs of Iranian soldiers dead in trenches, no wounds, they had been gassed. Photos of children on the front line, battling alongside their older brothers and sisters. So many lives lost for nothing.
Isn't it amazing how Iran got into a full-blown war with Iraq for 8 years, and struggled dearly? All the while the US defeated Saddam almost as effortlessly as Germany beat France in WWII.
@@PrimericanIdol iran had no way to prepare for an invasion, they had big problems in the country already, but the war united the iranian people and after that iran was able to thwart iraqs invasion
@@PrimericanIdol Iran fought whole world in that war ...better check real story how many prisoner iran took during war from whats countrys and us vs saddam ?? are you joking ??Us already knew their commucations location cuse Us build it itself and when you lose communication in war you lose war in 1 day anyway
@@PrimericanIdol quit spamming this same comment everywhere buddy and get a hobby
@@Allahuma.sali.ala.muhammad. History IS a hobby.
My dad served as a medic in the war and always held the Islamic Republic's leaders in contempt for continuing the war after liberating Khoramshahr. Hundreds of thousands died, many more were injured or lost limbs for nothing. There are still families whom the bodies of their loved ones were never found. I remember seeing my dad's friend/colleague wearing a prosthetic arm. Iranians and Iraqis were disposable for two batsh1t crazy leaders, Saddam and Khomeini.
My dad fought in the war on the Iraqi side. His brother did as well and was killed. He never forgave Sadaam and fled Iraq for the US in 1990.
Wrong.The dog saddam wanted to be allies with iran who in turn tried to make the shia rise up and bring the revolution abroad. Khomeini also tried assassinating both him and his vp and was preparing for war with their american weaponry from the shah. The war had skirmishes before it and saddam decided a preemptive attack was necessary and offered peace multiple times until khomeinis army was shattered
When I was in college, I heard that many Iranian students studying in the US and Europe when the Revolution happened ended up being stranded in the West. The new theocratic regime considered their loyallty suspect and many applied for asylum. With a good number of their asylum claims ultimately being granted. These were sone of the country's best and brightest young minds, so losing them likeky has had profound negative consequences over the last nearly half-century
SoCAL and the central valley have alot of 🇮🇷 s good people
OMG, I love your take, this is exactly what happened and no one, I mean no one (around me at least) in Iran talks about this or even knows something like this happened, there is one incredible example that I personally know of, is Mr Firuz Naderi, was one of them students that RETURNED to Iran and the revolutionary people literally told them to get tf OUT ( Mr Naderi says all this in several interviews ), and after he was rejected he went back to the US and worked at several executive positions at NASA including Mars Opportunity mission, and this is just one of them I wonder what would've happened if only they could've stayed in iran.
I wonder if they would move back to Iran if the government is overthrown now. Doubtfully so, as most families probably don't speak Persian (?) As well as they should if that's their plan, and life in the US is probably good enough for them to want to stay, having been Americans for the last 40 years
@@Permuh those students and the families they probably now have are most likeky too Americabized and too integrated into the country to waht to go back. Additionally, I'm not even sure those students who accepted asylum in the West would go back. Let me explain why I think this. My family is Korean. I heard from my dad that a small number of young Koreans who opposed the Japanese occupation of Korea between 1910 abd 1945 settled in the US I asked my dad once if any of them went back after Korea was liberated when Japan surrendered to the Allies. He said he was not aware of any who went back. They had built lives for themselves in America and were perhaps reluctant to uproot. Additionally, by the time this happened as many as 35 years had passed. The young exiles were no longer young. Even if the theocracy in Iran fell tomorrow, it's been nearly 45 years. That's a long time to be away from a place, even one you once called home.
@@darkhistory1313 bet the authorities now wish they hadn't sent him away.
American views toward Iraq were not enthusiastically supportive in its conflict with Iran, and activity assistance was largely to prevent an Iranian victory. This was encapsulated by Henry Kissinger when he remarked, "It's a pity they both can't lose."
Yep, all to benefit Israel.
@@waverunner7063 USA opposed Israel blowing up Iraqs nuclear lab though
@@williamthebonquerer9181 Fake outrage as to continue weapons sales to Iraq
@@williamthebonquerer9181 At least publicly, Privately I doubt Reagan was that upset about it
In some sense they both did, so Henry Kissinger the shit bastard got what he wanted really.
Two dictators Two autocratic monsters slugging it out in the desert What was gained? Nothing. Not a wisp, not a inch, not an ounce What was lost? Only that which can never be regained, brothers, husbands, daughters, friends. Each uniquely irreplicable
well said
It made Western countries and Russia to benefit the most And the people of the two countries suffer the most
Since when Iran is desert ?
@@living_peace Everyone who sold weapons benefitted, which is hardly just the West or Russia.
@@living_peace good, massive W for the world
"We will call this attack Operation Victory!" *turns out to be their biggest defeat in the war*
Arguably one of the biggest defeats of the 20th Century, right up there with Germany losing the Battle of Stalingrad, and the Battle of Nuremberg
I have witnessed that war first hand as I was living in Basra, Iraq. The horror of seeing dead soldiers and civilians alike, cities bombing, destruction...etc. will never leave my mind. I, as many Iraqis who lived that war, had flashback for years after it was over. One of the major turning points in that war was the Iranian invasion of al-Faw peninsula in Basra Province in 1986 where majority of Basra residents fled the city moving mainly north seeking shelter. I have many stories to tell hoping one day to document it all.
Yes I clearly remember that war,as I was 6 years old living the other side of the river in Abadan(Iran) and we fled to the northern cities of Iran when Iraq started the war. And that war changed me and my family lives up to this age( nearly 50) ! dictators of both side started this war shit on their both graves (Sadam and Khomeini)
@@NimaKDavani I cant imagine the joy you felt once Saddam got captured and killed by its own people after provoking so much pain and suffering after illegaly and unprovokedly invading Kuwait and Iran
@@eduparada970and then what? Living in a worst economic situation where terrorists gang pops up every year and foreign power(USA) Steals their oils.
I like to hear that so unique for me im Iranian so i would like to know what we did there aswell
@@NimaKDavani Criminal Saddam started that war recklessly not knowing what he's getting into; of course when I say Saddam one should think the U.S., the West and some of the Gulf States. Khomeini was trying to defend his country at first, but then he kept the war going thinking he has the upper hand. He did not. A criminal started the war, a stubborn kept it going.
It has to be said, Simon Whistler and his team are for damned sure some of the hardest working creators on YT. Every channel they run is superb. Kudos 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
I know right? This guy is a *WIZARD*
the basement must be incredibly overcrowded at this point.
@@thatfinguy7642 No, Simon's putting in a new wing. 🙂
Agreed!
kan ye wrned u abt hi m n h is
When I got to Iraq in 2003 I met some veterans of this war. A lot of them had some serious scars and other battle wounds and they all had some crazy stories to tell
Simon, the team out did itself with this one. Allegedly. Excellent video again. Love the channel. Cheers from Tennessee
My father and mother both were children living in Tehran during the war. They had friends, family, and siblings fighting in those brutal conditions. My father recalls walking to school one morning and greeting a local shop-keeper. On his way back that afternoon, he found the shop in rubble and the shop-keepers remains. War is hell and nobody ever wins.
simon, you are my favorite youtuber, the vast majority of my youtube view time is on your channels, i just wish you had warographics, or would update Biographics on podcasts because i like to listen while i work
What a brutal conflict: Possibly up to 2 million dead, both economies wrecked, trench warfare human wave attacks, use of gas...all for no territorial changes, basically everything went back to how it was before. Such horror for literally nothing. Thanks for the video Simon, I knew of this conflict but only in that we gave weapons to Iran (and Iraq) in the whole Iran-Contra affair, but never knew any details of it or how bad it was.
But in that you are wrong.... Globalists made killer profits out of this conflicts like all the others they manipulated to happen, including current one in Ukraine.
This war also set the stage for the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. The Gulf Arab countries helped Iraq to finance this war, and at its conclusion Iraq asked for debt forgiveness. Kuwait refused (and also was significantly depressing the price of oil, and was accused of drilling into the Iraqi side of a share oil field). Iraq interpreted Kuwait’s behavior as economic warfare, and that’s how it rationalized invading.
Saddam used the war to prevent the revolution taking place in Iran at the time from spreading into Iraq. The war united the Shiites and Sunni and protected his Sunni lead government, which was a minority, from being overthrown and invading Iran kept the battles out of Iraq. That is why there was no real effort from Iraq to conquor, it was only intended to prevent what was taking place in Iran from sprading into Iraq and it was 100% successful in its intent.
@@vanhattfield8292 That’s a very informed opinion. Are you an Arab?
@@ahmeda.3198 No, I am not, but I spent 10 years in various countries in the Middle East and have many, many friends and aquaintences who are and have shared their knowledge and experiences on the topic.
Yesss. This is the war I was waiting for you to cover. Definitely not enough content out there relating to it.
My father served in the Iraqi army from 1982-1992 he mostly served in Basra ( southern Iraq ) and Sulaymaniyah ( northern Iraq ) he was a lieutenant he have many stories to tell I’m proud of him…. His work in the 90s moved to Baghdad and worked in military storage areas and in this war I lost my grandfather ( my mother side ) everyone from the both sides lost someone they loved only thing I realized over the years is that the war is the worst thing possible …I lost one of my uncles too but not in the war he was training to be a military jet pilot he once told his family that he likes being a pilot but he didn’t want to bomb innocent civilians when they were sleeping in the night I think god made him die during the training so he won’t take the sins of killing civilians.
Your father was a war criminal, and when the time came to defend his country, he fled. Whats there to be proud of?
@@sleepyjoe7518 fleed ? In your dreams I knew some people like you will comment like that my dad only fought the Iranains on borders who wanted to enter my country and spread their toxic ideology here and now what is happening was about to happen since the 80s if they allowed them to do that
I am sorry to hear of the loss of your uncle, but I am glad no blood is on his hands.
@@punbug4721 thank you ✌️🌹
Sorry for you loss. Hopefully their deeds will be rememberd
I appreciate you making this, my baba fought in this war when he was 19yrs, he served in a reconnaissance unit for Iranian armor.
Really nice narration of a forgotten war, this channel is such a gem for history lovers
Many of us who even have a passing interest in history know of this war. It’s hardly as forgotten as say “the Wars of Revolution) in the former Eastern Bloc countries or; the Korean War which actually holds the moniker of “The Forgotten War”.
@@Dank-gb6jn well I had only heard it in passing, was nice to find some nice info about it
@@andyyang3029 it’s a surprise to be sure that you’ve only heard of this one in passing. It was one of the most influential wars in recent memory (despite what some would tell you).
@@Dank-gb6jn most of my interest in learning has been in the scientific realm, only this year really getting into learning more about history👍
@@andyyang3029 science is a fickle thing for me. Plenty of things interest me, yet I’m better suited to poring over historical records and battle lines; than bar graphs, and balancing chemical equations 😂
I was about 5 when this war started so it's the first war I remember seeing on the news, it went on for years and I had no grasp on how comfortable life was in Australia. I appreciate that now, of course. Some of those photos took me straight back to watching TV as a kid!
“Operation Victory” is an epic jinx
Wow, this has dredged up many a dormant memory. I grew up in Baghdad and witnessed this mother of all tragedies firsthand. I was only 7 years old when it began.Being scooped up from my bed by my dear mother at dawn, half asleep and totally confused about what was taking place as she rushed to hide us under the stairs where our family huddled for safety. Loud deafening explosions filled the air... The house shook and shook again, especially the windows. I remember looking up after instinctively ducking one of these blasts, then seeing the look of horror in my parent's eyes, it confirmed to me something I was not yet sure of; This is really happening! That was the Iranian airforce’s first sortie over the skies of Baghdad mentioned in Simon's video.
Hey Martin, did we make things better for you guys in Iraq? I read up on all the post-war issues: the devastation, the million+ civilian casualties, the government corruption, isis... I'm worried that we left things worse: Alot of us here believe the invasion was unjustified. And I'm worried we didn't do enough to at least rectify the errors that we made. I also wouldn't mind if Iraq did "sue" or gets recompensation for damages/trauma. We have the money, and most people want Iraq to succeed.
@@warpigs9069 I'm guessing that Mr Martin no longer lives in Iraq so I will give you an answer, yes, the invasion made everything much worse for everyone living in Iraq (except for the north I guess). And the worst part that is probably not very known outside of Iraq though the US pretty much handed Iraq over to Iran, as mentioned in this video while Paranoid Saddam wasn't a fool to fear Iran's expansionist ideals, since 2008 Iran began a soft invasion of Iraq that resulted in complete victory for Iran, and it was achieved through 2 simple plans, get the Americans to install the Iraqi opposition on top of the new Iraqi government (whom all were exiled from Iraq and most of them fought against the Iraqi army from 1980 until 2003), the 2nd thing they did was build up a shadow government with an authorized paramilitary (Al-Hashd) to ensure they're safe from any internal issues since they could always mobilize their legal terrorists to brutally suppress any opposing voices. Also I don't think any Iraqi government is ever going to demand the US and the other 5 invading countries to pay any damages, simply because they don't want to anger the west and get removed from power as well as no one would take such demands seriously since they're coming from a middle eastern country.
@@fallward917 This has always happened countries always soft invade their neighbors and try to gain influence...welcome to the world stage Iraq. Iran is who we were mostly fighting in Iraq in the first place and armed the insurgents and indeed WERE the insurgents half the time. When you read the leaked intel documents oh yes it does go over how Iraqi officials are paid off by Iran and become traitors to their country. That's a you problem my dear boy. You have no patriots and people who care nothing for their fellow countrymen. "The documents prove how weak the Iraqi institution is and sadly the Iraqi officials are really not patriotic and they are ready to do everything for other countries including Iran," Sarkwat Al Shamsi, an Iraqi member of parliament told The National. Fix your shit this is Iraqi government business and quite frankly if Iran hard took over Iraq it'd just make it easier to take them out from there because your country is hella easy to defeat militarily. Credit where credit is due though as there have been protests about the corruption and the military we left behind is far better than the one we took out in 21 days. I still know many Iraqi soldiers, good men but precious too few good men in Iraq now and apparently ever. If Iran takes over Iraq maybe then the people of Iraq would actually have something to unite over and we come in and help a solidified against Iran nation. Who knows because it was always Iran even back then and you didn't pick up to help then either.
Curious that the Iran-Contra Affair was not mentioned. Iran was not initially aware of the U.S. support for Iraq, and negotiated to purchase weapons from them. The money Iran sent the U.S. was laundered to support Nicaragua contras, while also supplying the Iranian government with weapons sent via Israel. When this arrangement, which was unknown to both Iraqi and Iranian officials, was revealed in 1985, it changed the aggressive nature of the war and plagued the U.S. with scandal. I know the video was meant to focus on the war between Iraq and Iran as tightly as possible, but the Iran-Contra Affair was a key international arrangement that had a major impact on the war, both before and after it was revealed to the public.
It’s funny isn’t it that none of these videos or documentaries about the war never mention it?
@@ghostirq haha true, I've never ever seen an English narrator even mention it once, and its not like its just a myth, it was a huge scandal back in that era. It pretty much revealed that the West never intended to build any serious relations with middle eastern nations, especially those outside of western influence, Iraq and Iran were both seen as a threat and having them both neutralize each other all the while cashing in on US weapons was a dream come true for America.
What do you expect? Neither any mention that US and its allies literally gave WMDs to Saddam, making them the only countries in the history to have sold WMDs to another state, ironically to bomb it into oblivion two years later.
@@ts1depth286 that’s a load of crap, what wmds? The only country US helped during that war was Iran. Iran’s entire arsenal was American, and Iraq’s entire arsenal was Russian
American Dad
Thanks for the presentation.. Quick and thorough as usual. Now I am more informed
Very good delivery on this video Simon. I appreciate a good story especially when you are the host, narrator.
Been following a few of your channels this year. I have to say that you and your team's ability to make informative videos while also keeping a pretty high engagement factor is pretty awesome. Keep it up. :)
While I understand your scepticism, I believe fears of spreading Shia revolutionary ideology would at least have been present in Iraqi minds. Iraq has both Sunni and Shia population, we have had it amply demonstrated over the past 20 years that they do not get along, and suppressing Shia dissent was always a priority for Hussein's regime. Revolutionary Shia ideology presented a ticking timebomb within Iraq's borders.
Iraq is approx. 2/3 Shia and 1/3 Sunni so of course a Shia revolution was inevitable, they are the majority population. It is crazy to expect a Sunni dictator to maintain control of a majority Shia country without resistance, especially when Saddam killed and exiled many Shia leaders.
Very cool channel, subbed :) Keep up the good work. Happy to see more educational videos on youtube!
Nicely done sir.. would like to hear a long version. Cheers, Allan
I learned details which put Iran in a bit of a different light, from my perspective. Interesting content, well done.
In 1950's Britain left Iran as a democracy. It was why their army was so well armed with British equipment. Unfortunately they wouldn't sell oil cheap to the US. So America installed a Shah who did sell the US oil cheap. The people were not happy, the Shah resorted to violence, then the student protests were taken over by the Islamists.
Super interesting stuff, but I kind of wish more of the 'war graphics' chosen to be shown were maps.
Yes, maps would complete it nicely
I follow all your channels and listen to your stuff while I work, your accuracy and enthusiasm is impressive.
A very rare unbiased documentary on this forgotten topic. I know there are many documentaries about the war here but they all follow a certain narrative thats just convenient to the narrator or his audience, which results in barely mentioning events that shifted everything in the war. Good job on this one guys, its refreshing to see that we can sometimes just watch history from a bystander pov.
It was a great and well-detailed video. As an Iranian, I really enjoyed watching it. But it has two mistakes. Neither Mehran Nor Korramshahr are provincial capitals. Mehran is located in Ilam province the capital of which is called Ilam too. And Khorramshahr is in Khuzestan province, the capital of which is Ahwaz.
Hope Simon sees this!
Thank you
That's what I thought .
Are you fighting the evil mullah regime? If so , you are a hero .
Many omissions. Ha should list the beligerents and suppliers of the chemical weapons. Shed some light on the subject.
Iran had F-4s and F-14s...multiple?! Whoa! That was some pretty heavy equipment back then. The F-14 Tomcat was an incredible jet. It's a big jet but for the time but its range and air-to-air radar/missile combination was unmatched at the time. That's freaking crazy... I also find it quite fascinating that both Iran and Iraq decided to utilize trench warfare. Especially considering the Iraqis started the war utilizing Blitzekrieg tactics...it's like they regressed. The hardware they both had access to surely increased the lethality in the trenches by a factor of 10 fold, it would have to. Forget the tried and true bolt action rifles of WW1 that had decent firing rates for the time period..these guys were mostly carrying magazine fed automatic rifles (AK-47/AKM variants).
These warographics are killing it, Simon. Ty
Outstandingly objective! I’m pleasantly surprised! Kudos to you! 👌👍
My father and uncles fought in this, on the Iraqi side. It was brutal.
Brutal for all involved but it was one of the most profitable war for American Military Industrial Complex. MIC was selling weapon to both sides.
I'm glad we're able to connect and share our stories despite being on opposite sides of the world. I think that social media, despite all the drawbacks, can prevent future conflict through exposure and understanding of each other.
Nothing unifies people like a common foreign enemy, a lesson we just never seem to learn.
Excellent video Excellent summary 👌 of recent history
You're an excellent storyteller - Thank you
My father , uncles and grandfather fighted in this war for iran . And my father still had his injuries from that time . But what’s important is this two countries now are close friends.
I've been waiting for this topic to be covered. This war is largely unknown but it shouldn't be
Agreed, this war definitely needs to be talked about because understanding this war helps even understand segments of the 2003 Iraq War not all of it of course but segments
Another channel, Simon? Awesome! I love war :3
You provide me with a lot of entertainment simon, thank you
Thanks for covering this in an unbiased manner. Could we see a vid on the Upper and Lower Canada Rebellions of 1837-1838?
About 20 years ago (maybe longer) we were tendering for a job in Iran. We had a bunch of Iranians over, helping out with the tender and design. Obviously slight culture clash with South Yorkshire and Iran but someone decided it would help the locals if we had a list of dos and don'ts. One of them was written in caps and it said "DO NOT TALK ABOUT THE IRAN IRAQ WAR".
So your in your home country and you were the ones expected to walk on egg shells so you didn't hurt their feelings. Sounds very familiar
@matt S BS you can talk about it , the regime does it every day
@@WKRP187 I think the "DON'T BE FUCKING ASSHOLES" rule applies everywhere.
There is no war in Ba Sing Se
Ah Simon. Good ole fact boy doing more great work. Cheers
Thanks from you to made this video.
Something worth noting. Typically, those human wave charges made across minefields were made by the 'Basij' forces. The Basij were a militia-like group that was formed to induct eager recruits into the Pasradan instead of letting them go to the Artesh. Typically, they were the most devoted when it came to things like these. They not only received orders, but volunteered to run across minefields to clear the way for elite Pasradan units.
They will never be forgotten.
@@preobrahzenskyii8169 now they’re rotting in hell with their pedophile false prophet.
so basically they were brainwashed
Artesh is the conventional army remained from Shah and had the best training and equipment until the bloody Molla's revolution in 1979 in which the /artesh/= army weakend by execution and exile and Paassdaaraan or revolutionary guards IRGC established to protect the Mullas and the revolution to this day, Baseej is mostly young volunteers to help IRGC
IRL Death Korp of Krieg.
0:50 - Chapter 1 - Iran's new path 3:15 - Chapter 2 - The invasion begins 9:15 - Chapter 3 - Iran strikes back 12:40 - Chapter 4 - Crimson sand 16:30 - Chapter 5 - Shifting tides 21:30 - Chapter 6 - Tanker wars 24:20 - Chapter 7 - Final months - Chapter 8 -
Vibe
Nicely done 👍
You briefly mentioned Operation Scorch Sword, but you should do a video on the follow up to it -Operation Opera/Babylon by Israel. would make a great video on it's own
Also would like to see more on the US war in Iraq and the 1991 Gulf War
@@mattcromwell4308 ah yes, our other unjustifiable wars.
@@mattcromwell4308 there's a KZhead channel called the operations room that did some super accurate and in depth depictions. Highly recommend to check it out
@@Dank-gb6jn 1991 was a retaliation too Iraq's illegal invasion of kuwait
@@BALBES4000 like that makes it in any way justifiable? If that’s the case, there should be an invasion of Israel due to their alleged encroachment on Palestinian lands; or one against China for their treatment of their Uyghur population. 1991 was just a way to increase war-profiteering.
My grandfather fought in the battle of Dezfoul as a tank commander of a British chieftain, his tank was hit multiple times with enemy shells and the terrible echoes of these shells left him with permanent hearing difficulties, he recently published his book retelling his stories of war,,,
The Chieftain was a heap of junk with a criminally underpowered engine that proved a chronic headache for our war effort. Yet another great British swindle perpetrated on Iran.
Iraq is a invaded nation today only because of a crazy sadam he wasn't normal
Esme ketaabeshoon chie ❤. Beboosineshoon ❤
Simon will you do another video on one of the aftermath actions following the war such as the Al-Anfal?
This would be so much better with some maps to look at. Sometimes its hard to picture where what happens.
You Didn't mention the attack on H3 in 81 but other than that your knowledge of this subject has improved significantly over the years.
Great video. Really puts some recent history into more context. Of course I had a general idea that there was a war between Iran and Iraq, but didn't know some key details like Iraq using chemical warfare and the west supporting Iraq. It makes the Iraq invasion make a lot more sense beyond the simple "we wanted more oil" (not saying that's not the main reason, just saying there are others I wasn't aware of)
Technically, it is still oil related. Because of Saudi Arabia hegemony of OPEC, and the fact that they have weaponized that hegemony and caused an oil crisis before in the 70s, all they have to do is go: "Oh no, look at all this beautiful oil, be a shame if something happened to it AGAIN, right America?" So guess what Saudi Arabia did? And like a dog on a leash, America came in guns blazing, and somehow got all the blame for the conflict while Saudi Arabia reaped all the benefits of a neutered Iraq.
The west supported Iraq bc Iran was viewed as extremist and anti-west. But as soon as the hostages were freed, the US sold weapons to Iran too.
@TheRealwings TT BS 🤡🤡🤡
@TheRealwings TT Exactly.
@TheRealwings TT My father fought in this war for its entirety. He said they captured Iranian cities with a breeze. I have an uncle who was POW for 20+ years. Any army that sends teenagers to the frontline with a key on their neck (brain washing them that they'll have dinner in paradise with the prophet) is morally bankrupt and devoid of any manhood. We fought with honor and pride and stopped their evil, sectarian zealotry at the border!
Would be nice to include maps of mentioned locations and troop movements in these videos
I agree and I’ve seen this same comment on almost all Warographics videos. There must be a reason that he’s not doing that.
I concur with this statement. Would certainly help to pretty up the descriptions.
@@arizonatsunami Probably because it requires a fuckton of research to get it right. That would mean he can't put out these videos weekly.
@@Natogoon ah yes finding maps of the places your talking about, truly impossible
@@Natogoon love this channel fyi just think that your overstating the effort required to throw up a map every now and then, geography be hella important even without troop movements visualized
this is fascinating, also the domino effect that we've seen in all the middle east wars in the 2000s up until current day.
Your description of the first counter air strikes perfectly explains several scenes from Hot Shots.
My father was an officer in the Iranian royal army (a tank Company commander/cheiftain) and lost his life at the beginning of that bloody war, he's still MIA after 42 years. F those two dictators ruined our lives
And btw, your information about the number of tanks in operation victory was wrong. That belongs to Nasr (Karkh-e-Kor) operation, the biggest tank battle of iran-iraq war
@sasan we thank him for his service and sacrifice
@@KOUROSHjan Probably, is he still alive? i'd like to talk to him
Khoda rahmateshoon kone 😢❤
@@KOUROSHjan may his soul rest in peace
The Iranian F-4s were made on the same production line in St. Louis, MO as, less than a decade later, the Saudi F-15s that shot them down.
Simon, great report. May I recommend the book “Oil Kings”?
Hi nice episode But I want full episode about the air war in Iraq Iran war
There were more battles that I know about which were not mentioned. I know because I grew up as 6 year old child when the war started with Iran. I still remember my first hand experience of the war living in Basra when the sky lit up like fire works but was still day light and the jets were flying and I asked my mom what is this and she said it looks like the war with Iran had started. The rest as they say is history. But like I said there were many major battles that I lived through in Basra which was a battle field which didn’t get mentioned including the liberation of Fao which is a small Iraqi town on the gulf which was annexed by Iran for more than 2 years which really turned they tied of the war and forced Iran to accept the peace treaty.
My father fought in this war. He actually was part of the Shahs Imperial Guard and was in jail. Once the Iraqis attacked the remnants of the Iranian Imperial Military, those that had not been executed had been awaiting possible purge by the Islamist. My dad always said Saddam saved his life but didn't realize the hell he endured. My uncle told me he was part of multiple human wave assaults at entrenched Iraqi positions.
,درودبر پدر تو و پدر من و همه فدائیان و شهیدان ایران
PIsLAME is a mental disorder
my father went to this war when he was 16 and fought for almost 7 years . near the end of war he injured by chemical weapons used against their division . he told me memories of his dear friends killed in action by his side. memories of how he engaged with an Iraqi soldier dark in the night, got shot in his foot, and killed him and many other reconnaissance operations that they did. 😔
nice video
A thing to note is that in the beginning of the war Iran was dealing with internal turmoil. From international sanctions and arms embargoes to MEK terrorist attacks and even outright treason by their first president, Abolhassan Banisadr, who's regarded as being responsible for the disaster in Operation Victory. He later escaped to France after his impeachment. Given all this context, it's surprising and a show of Iranian determination that they did not collapse in the first year, let alone recapture most of its territory by 1982. The war could have ended then and there, but hence, the will of the rulers often dictate the lives and deaths of common people. Here's to the brave fighters who gave their lives in defense of their countries.
Even if both their countries were totalitarian autocracies.
Indeed the war should not have continued past 1982, several of the remaining regular army officers from the Shah era warned the islamic guard corp for carrying on a war of aggression arguing it would lower Iran's morale standing among the muslim community, as well pointing out how Iran was financially in no position to achieve the clerical war aims.
@@mrxmry7763 not to mention the logistics problem
Here’s to the brave fighters on both sides, whose lives were wasted by ignorant autocrats, and whose sacrifice ultimately changed very little.
May also the kids who were forced to attack the iraqi trenches be rememberd. They were given a medallion that said they would go to heaven. Using childs soldiers is disgusting
I have a good friend that was a young teen when this all started. His father was in the Shah's military and tortured by the Islamists before the war. After Iraq invaded he was released and told to fight the Iraqis. My young friend was drafted. Eventually they escaped to France. My friend hates the Islamic regime in Iran so much that he very honestly would "turn the whole place into glass" if he could.
Tell your good friend he can go get stuffed. - An actual Iranian.
@@rashnuofthegoldenscales4512 I will, but he will just laugh. He isn't going to change his mind. The hellish torture his father endured, only to be released and told to defend the very same government who tortured him, left an indelible mark on my friend. He could see the damage the Iranian regime did to his father. And then him being drafted and witnessing the "human wave" assaults on the Iraqis, seeing children as young as 12 wearing those ridiculous religious bandana things on their heads, told to run into minefields to clear them, solidified his hatred of Islam. He told me how the commanders would often collect the pieces of the children, put them in bags, and deliver them to the child's family with a note saying in effect, "It wonderful that your beautiful and courageous child is now with Allah in heaven!" No shit, that's what these religious psychopaths did. If he could, my friend really would turn Iran into glass. And laugh at the Mullahs pleading to Allah to be saved. I can't blame him.
Good stuff!! But irregardless isn’t a word.
My father worked on a tanker in the gulf during the tanker wars, they weren't allowed to light the smallest fire during the night in fear of them being recognized as hostiles, different sivilian ships would row around trading comic books and other such goods to not bore the different crews.
Thank you for this video. This is the most forgotten war of the 20th century and yet it casts a huge shadow across the 21st.
You have no idea how wrong you are
@@Wonderwhoopin Oh? How so?
@@TheLoyalOfficer there is a war that is literally referred to as the forgotten war
Unless I have a smooth brain, I think the Korean War (still technically ongoing) is the most forgotten. If not that, then maybe the various “Wars Of Revolution” (Kosovo’s “separation” for example)
@@Dank-gb6jn Yeah yeah - from the American perspective. We are not the only people in the world.
For a lot of us here in Iran, we all have had someone who died or fought in this war, as many Russians experienced in their great patriotic war. It came with revolution, thus for me, with the recent turn of events in the country, a revolution or a regime change means war, standing in line for a loaf of bread, air trikes and gas attacks.
Not sure how you guys are gonna manage. I wish you well, but so rarely do the "elite" give up power bloodlessly. I YEARN for a day when we exile all our various Warhawks, criminals, corrupt, unhinged, and just attempt peaceful coexistence without hurting anyone.
Likewise, in Iraq, most families lost some of their members. Saddam Hussein's regime was evil, but Khomeini was much worse than evil itself.
*Soviet citizens, many Red Army soldiers were Ukrainian or Belarussians, great patriotic war is also propaganda cause it excludes that the USSR invaded 4 countries before they were invaded.
@@advisorynotice 6 countries actually. The 3 Baltic states, Romania, Finland and Eastern Poland.
@@mohammedkh4321 It's a shame our fates concluded this way. Two tyrants looking for regional dominance and influence sent their young men to the bitter end. Hopefully, we can experience peaceful co-existence in the middle east during our life time.
I like how you talk. You have an expression for the words you based say on their meaning.
Excellent!
another middle east war that was almost gruesome as the Iran-Iraq war is the Lebanese Civil War, which had also many political and religious motivations and turned into a patchwork of actors making a big death toll and bringing heavy consequences to this day
They all have one thing is common, the US intervening in all the wrong places
@@myview5840not true
“The sequel, Operation Undeniable Victory” made me crack up.
Great narration but needs more maps. Where are these places relative to each other?
Very accurate Simon. I remember it. Our school in NW Iran shook one afternoon as they bombed the building across. It was a AAA battery they hit. We were in 5th grade classroom. I saw chaos on the streets as I ran back home. We left cities to go to villages. Villagers would stop passing cars to ask about the welfare of cities. I saw a man slapping his head repeatedly after he heard his daughter inlaw was killed by shrapnel while working in the city at a bank. Essential businesses stayed open. We would see low flying mirage F1s flying low and iranian F14s giving chase. As kids in villages, free from school for extended time off it was fun time. But adults went thru hell.
Very powerful and exact documentary. Love from iran
The opening of this war seems...familiar... it’s almost like even if you think a nations military is weak, it’s people will fall to your side, and it’s army in shambles, that you should never under estimate the willingness of one to fight for their home.
A new Simon Whistler channel?! Yes please! Is it true that Simon Whistler and his crew are the last vestige of the British Empire? Maybe, still they make damn good content and I'm gonna give them an instant subscribe
Great video but maps would be great. I have no idea where any of this is 😖
Slightly amazed that this didn't mention either the "Iran-Contra affair" or that for a while, Israel was supporting Iran in a "enemy of my enemy" or "I win if they both lose" fashion.
Pretty sure that the people who joined the 1979 revolution regretted their decisions immediately.
Is it weird that I randomly click on a video, discover that it’s yet another channel narrated by Simon (does this guy sleep? Lol) and get excited?
I have a flashback to a nice era song. "Iranian human wave best day of my life" Sadly I cant find the video no more. Its been a decade tbf.
Desert storm was the epilogue to this
after the collapse of Pahlavi. the arms deal of 4 kidd class destroyer ships was canceled (sold back to US Navy). the 4 were decommissioned in 1998-99 later offered for sale to Austrlia and Greece but refused. Taiwan bought all 4 to replenish the retired Allen M. Sumner, Fletcher and Gearing class destroyers
I knew ppl who survived this war as civilians and came to the US It's a really scary war when you think about the war of the cities where they fired ballistic missiles at each other's cities
"Irregardless?" ....lol forgive me but I had to. I don't get why people use that word, regardless is just enough. Excellent video, love this channel!
I am reading Marjane Satrapi's masterpiece "Persepolis" right now, which makes this video much more interesting.
My mom was kindergarten age when the Iraqis invaded. Her, my aunts and uncles, and my grandparents were living in Abadan at the time. She says they had to haul booty to Tehran as soon as they heard those air raid sirens. After horrible rationing and constant air raid bombardment, the war ended…my grandfather went back to the house and said everything from the house was gone, everything stolen. They were pretty well off and dropped everything immediately, so someone is rich af. She hates anything war related bc of that war…
At 10:39 did you really say, "irregardless?". LOL!
You have forget the Most important Operation H3. For that you need maybe a separate Session. Thanks