Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of figures
- List of tables
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Note to reader
- 1 Introduction
- 2 A context of “bitterness and anger”1
- 3 The opponents
- 4 1980: The Iraqi invasion begins
- 5 1981–1982: Stalemate
- 6 Defeat and recovery
- 7 1983–1984: A war of attrition
- 8 1985–1986: Dog days of a long war
- 9 1987–1988: An end in sight?
- 10 Conclusion
- Appendix A Timeline
- Appendix B People
- Appendix C Place names
- Appendix D Order of battle
- Bibliography
- Index
Preface
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 September 2014
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of figures
- List of tables
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Note to reader
- 1 Introduction
- 2 A context of “bitterness and anger”1
- 3 The opponents
- 4 1980: The Iraqi invasion begins
- 5 1981–1982: Stalemate
- 6 Defeat and recovery
- 7 1983–1984: A war of attrition
- 8 1985–1986: Dog days of a long war
- 9 1987–1988: An end in sight?
- 10 Conclusion
- Appendix A Timeline
- Appendix B People
- Appendix C Place names
- Appendix D Order of battle
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
The 1980–1988 war between Iraq and Iran was one of the largest and, yet, one of the least documented conventional conflicts in the twentieth century. Western reporters, regional experts, and a few historians managed during the intervening years to develop useful – if primarily secondary – narratives of the events. Many of these works, cited throughout this volume, remain essential to any study of the Iran–Iraq War.
The relative paucity of primary sources on the Iran–Iraq War changed with the collapse of Saddam Hussein’s regime in 2003. Upon entering Baghdad, Coalition forces captured official Iraqi government records and recordings, including thousands from the period of the Iran–Iraq War. Using these records, this book looks at the strategic and military context of the war primarily through the lens of the Iraqi regime and its senior military commanders. The inside view of the war from Baghdad does not resolve the problem of primary source material from the Iranian perspective; however, it does provide a new and significant window into the war.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Iran–Iraq WarA Military and Strategic History, pp. xi - xiiPublisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2014