Battle of the Marshes

Battle of the Marshes
Part of Iran–Iraq War
Date February 1984 Location Lakes of the Hawizeh Marshes in Iraq Result Iranian pyrrhic victory[1] Iraqi strategic victory Initial Iraqi counter-attack is successful Iraqi counter-attack on the Majnoon Island fail to materialize (the plan is aborted) Iranian heavy losses Territorial changes Iranians fall back but manage to occupy the Majnoon island and parts of the Hawr Al Hawiza marsh
Belligerents
Iraq	Iran
Commanders and leaders
Saddam Hussein	Hossein Kharrazi (WIA)
Strength
Unknown	250,000–350,000 troops[2]
Casualties and losses
3,000 killed 9,000 wounded 60 tanks lost[3]	20,000 killed 30,000 wounded 1,000 captured[3]

The Battle of the Marshes (Arabic: معركة الأهوار, Persian: نبرد نیزارها) was a part of the Iran–Iraq War.

After the mostly indecisive Dawn operations in 1983, Iran opened a new, surprise amphibious offensive in the lakes of the Hawizeh Marshes in Iraqi Tigris–Euphrates river system.

After heavy losses at the beginning due to human wave attacks, 15,000 casualties and little progress, Iran began developing new tactics, involving amphibious assault, and deployed a regular army division, the 92nd Armored Division. Although the Iranians suffered heavy losses against the Iraqi artillery, tanks, air strikes and gunboats, Iran eventually managed to invade the oil rich Majnoun Islands with Operation Kheibar and nearly break the Iraqi lines before being driven back to the marshes and Majnoon Island.

Iraq heavily used chemical weapons (mustard gas) during the battle.^{[citation needed]}