Battle of Khorramshahr (1980)
The First Battle of Khorramshahr was a major battle in the Iran–Iraq War, beginning shortly after the Iraqi invasion of Iran in September 1980. Amidst the gruelling urban warfare in and around the city, Khorramshahr came to be referred to by the Iranians as Khuninshahr (Persian: خونین شهر, lit. 'City of Blood'), as both sides had suffered heavy casualties in combat. It was the single largest urban battle of the Iran–Iraq war.
| First Battle of Khorramshahr | |||||||||
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| Part of the Iraqi invasion of Iran | |||||||||
Iranian soldiers defending Khorramshahr from invading Iraqi troops, 1980 | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Iran | Iraq | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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| Units involved | |||||||||
| See: § Order of battle | See: § Order of battle | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
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3,000–5,000 (initial) 300 (near end) | 12,000–20,000 | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
7,000 killed and/or wounded overall (including civilians)
80 Chieftain tanks destroyed |
2,000 killed 6,000 wounded 200 armoured vehicles destroyed | ||||||||
Khorramshahr Location of Khorramshahr within Iran | |||||||||
Though Iraq ultimately captured the city, it had come at a high cost; the offensive into Khorramshahr, which took 34 days, drew an immense investment of troops, far beyond what Iraqi war plans had envisaged. The incredible delay allowed Iran to stabilize the frontlines at Dezful, Ahvaz, and Susangerd, consequently enabling the relatively swift mobilization of Iranian reinforcements into oil-rich Khuzestan, which Iraq had sought to annex. At the time of the Iraqi offensive, Khorramshahr was mainly being defended by the heavily outnumbered Takavaran, some units of the 92nd Armoured Division, the Pasdaran, and local civilian militias.
After two years under Iraqi occupation, the city was recaptured by Iran in the Second Battle of Khorramshahr, as part of Operation Beit ol-Moqaddas. Iraq's loss of Khorramshahr coincided with a larger Iranian offensive that would mark a turning point in the conflict, as Iran regained nearly all Iraqi-occupied territory and subsequently decided to continue the war with a counterinvasion.