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The War of Attrition, 1984 - 1987
By 1984 it was reported that some 300,000 Iranian soldiers and 250,000 Iraqi troops had been killed, or wounded. Most foreign military analysts felt that neither Iraq nor Iran used its modern equipment efficiently. Frequently, sophisticated materiel was left unused, when a massive modern assault could have won the battle for either side. Tanks and armored vehicles were dug in and used as artillery pieces, instead of being maneuvered to lead or to support an assault. William O. Staudenmaeir, a seasoned military analyst, reported that "the land-computing sights on the Iraqi tanks [were] seldom used. This lower[ed] the accuracy of the T-62 tanks to World War II standards." This was the result of poorly educated and trained commissioned officers and field commanders. In addition, both sides frequently abandoned heavy equipment in the battle zone because they lacked the skilled technical personnel needed to carry out minor repairs.
Analysts also assert that the two states' armies showed little coordination and that some units in the field have been left to fight largely on their own. In this protracted war of attrition, soldiers and officers alike failed to display initiative or professional expertise in combat. Difficult decisions, which should have had immediate attention, were referred by section commanders to the capitals for action. Except for the predictable bursts on important anniversaries, by the mid-1980s the war was stalemated
Originally posted by Daedalus3
I would like to see how the Iran-Iraq war was a "send your people running into enemy fire" type of war.
In July 1982 Iran launched Operation Ramadan on Iraqi territory, near Basra. Although Basra was within range of Iranian artillery, the clergy used "human-wave" attacks by the Pasdaran and Basij against the city's defenses, apparently waiting for a coup to topple Saddam Hussein. Tehran used Pasdaran forces and Basij volunteers in one of the biggest land battles since 1945. Ranging in age from only nine to more than fifty, these eager but relatively untrained soldiers swept over minefields and fortifications to clear safe paths for the tanks. All such assaults faced Iraqi artillery fire and received heavy casualties. The Iranians sustained an immmense number of casualties, but they enabled Iran to recover some territory before the Iraqis could repulse the bulk of the invading forces.
I've never meant to imply that all the attacks in the Iran/Iraq war were all human wave attacks. Iran did used them numerous times sometimes with success, sometimes with no real result but always with massive loss of life. They tactics employed by both sides lacked imagination, except for Iraq's flooding of battlefields.
I too hope that things get resolved peacefully, this has been a good thread, hope it stays that way.
Originally posted by Daedalus3
Economies were not strong enough to sustain strike forces and keep ready supply lines active through out..
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Originally posted by NR
Pavil so your saying not 1 U.S plane or theres going to be less planes damagaed in Iran than iraq since Iran makes their own good SAMS and have the biggest collection in middile east?.