Siege of Basra

Siege of Basra; Operation Karbala-5; The Great Harvest
	Part of the Iran–Iraq War
Date	8 January – mid April 1987; (3 months and 1 week)
Location	Basra Governorate
Result	Iraqi victory
Territorial; changes	Iran crossed the border and captured a tiny sliver of Basra Governorate
Belligerents
Republic of Iraq	Iran
Commanders and leaders
Saddam Hussein; Gen. al-Rashid; Lt. Gen. Dhia ul-Din Jamal; Maj. Gen. Khalil al-Dhouri; Brig. Gen. Abdul-Wahid Shannan ar-Ribat; Brig. Gen. Riyadh Taha; Brig. Gen. Hassan Yusuf; Brig. Gen. Ibrahim Ismail; Brig. Gen. Hamid Salman	Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani; Mohsen Rezaee; Hossein Kharrazi †; Col. Ali Sayyad Shirazi; Esmail Daghayeghi †
Units involved
3rd Corps 8th Infantry Division; 11th Border Guards Division; 5th Mechanised Infantry Division; 6th Corps; 7th Corps; National Defense Battalions	Basij and Revolutionary Guards (70%):; Najaf Corps; Quds Corps; Karbala Corps; Nouh Corps Regular Army (30%) with some artillery and armour
Strength
300,000 (four armies)[citation needed]	150,000–200,000 (six divisions from army & rest from the Basij militia)[citation needed]
Casualties and losses
10,000 killed; 1,750 captured 150 tanks and 10 aircraft lost	80,000 killed; 40,000 wounded 218 armored vehicles; 21 boats
	≈2 million civilians displaced

The siege of Basra, code-named Operation Karbala-5 (Persian: عملیات کربلای ۵) or The Great Harvest (Arabic: الحصاد الاكبر), was an offensive operation carried out by Iran in an effort to capture the Iraqi port city of Basra in early 1987. This battle, known for its extensive casualties and ferocious conditions, was the biggest battle of the war and proved to be the last major Iranian offensive. The Iranians failed to reach their objective.^[9]

^ ^a ^b ^c Razoux, Pierre (2015). The Iran-Iraq War. Harvard University Press, 2015. p. 400. ISBN 978-0674915718.
^ Colonel Jafari, Mojtaba (2006). "Chapter 6: Sixth year, Seizing Faw". Atlas of Unforgettable Battles. Tehran: Operations Holy Defence Research Center. p. 133. ISBN 964-06-5515-5.
^ Pelletiere, Stephen C (10 December 1990). Lessons Learned: Iran–Iraq War. Marine Corps Historical Publication. p. 40.
^ Hoffpauir, Michael E. (June 1991). "Tactical Evolution in the Iraqi Army: The Abadan Island and Fish Lake campaigns of the Iran-Iraq War" (PDF). Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas: U.S. Army Command and General Staff College: 104. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 February 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2012. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Woods, Kevin M. (2011) [2010]. Saddam's Generals: Perspectives of the Iran–Iraq War. Alexandria, VA: Institute for Defense Analyses. p. 73. ISBN 9780160896132.
^ ^a ^b "/خاطره اختصاصی محسن رضایی از کربلای ۵/". خبرگزاری فارس. Archived from the original on 22 February 2018. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
^ Hoffpauir, Michael E. (June 1991). "Tactical Evolution in the Iraqi Army: The Abadan Island and Fish Lake campaigns of the Iran–Iraq War" (PDF). Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas: U.S. Army Command and General Staff College: 94. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 February 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2012. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
^ https://web.archive.org/web/20160530073559/https://csis-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/legacy_files/files/media/csis/pubs/9005lessonsiraniraqii-chap08.pdf
^ Trainor, Bernard E. (25 January 1987). "BATTLE FOR BASRA; U.S. EXPERTS STILL PUZZLED ABOUT FUTURE OF GULF WAR". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 13 May 2024.

[Razeoux-1] Razoux, Pierre (2015). The Iran-Iraq War. Harvard University Press, 2015. p. 400. ISBN 978-0674915718.

[Jafari-2] Colonel Jafari, Mojtaba (2006). "Chapter 6: Sixth year, Seizing Faw". Atlas of Unforgettable Battles. Tehran: Operations Holy Defence Research Center. p. 133. ISBN 964-06-5515-5.

[Lessons_Learned:_Iran-Iraq_War-3] Pelletiere, Stephen C (10 December 1990). Lessons Learned: Iran–Iraq War. Marine Corps Historical Publication. p. 40.

[Tactical_Evolution_Paper-4] Hoffpauir, Michael E. (June 1991). "Tactical Evolution in the Iraqi Army: The Abadan Island and Fish Lake campaigns of the Iran-Iraq War" (PDF). Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas: U.S. Army Command and General Staff College: 104. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 February 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2012. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

[Hamdani_Biography-5] Woods, Kevin M. (2011) [2010]. Saddam's Generals: Perspectives of the Iran–Iraq War. Alexandria, VA: Institute for Defense Analyses. p. 73. ISBN 9780160896132.

[farsnews.com-6] "/خاطره اختصاصی محسن رضایی از کربلای ۵/". خبرگزاری فارس. Archived from the original on 22 February 2018. Retrieved 28 May 2015.

[7] Hoffpauir, Michael E. (June 1991). "Tactical Evolution in the Iraqi Army: The Abadan Island and Fish Lake campaigns of the Iran–Iraq War" (PDF). Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas: U.S. Army Command and General Staff College: 94. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 February 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2012. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

[8] ttps://web.archive.org/web/20160530073559/https://csis-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/legacy_files/files/media/csis/pubs/9005lessonsiraniraqii-chap08.pdf

[:0-9] Trainor, Bernard E. (25 January 1987). "BATTLE FOR BASRA; U.S. EXPERTS STILL PUZZLED ABOUT FUTURE OF GULF WAR". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 13 May 2024.

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