Iraniraq war in the air 19801988 schiffer military history book. The iran iraq war was one of the bloodiest conflicts of the 20th century and accidentally created the current nightmare of islamic fundamentalist terrorism. Iraq launched seven air attacks on the iranian nuclear reactor at bushehr between 1984 and 1988 during the iran iraq war, ultimately destroying the facility. Fought with lucrative oil money, it left the belligerents with crippling debts. The iran iraq war was an armed conflict between the islamic republic of iran and the republic of iraq lasting from september 1980 to august 1988. And by many metrics it was the worst and most brutal war since wwii, with the congo clashes in the running too. Iraniraq rivalry, the islamic revolution and saddams ambitions. The authors have made full use of extensive research, eyewitness accounts, interviews with dozens of people directly involved, as well as recently declassified documents from around the world which are published here for the first time. The attack failed to damage the iranian air force significantly. Jun 30, 2016 but the best book about the iraq war isnt actually about the iraq war. From air and sea, iraniraq tanker war heats up the new. Oddly this war isnt discussed much any more, even though it is arguably the breakthrough event for the ongoing collapse of parts of the middle easti found pierre razouxs the iraniraq war to be a highly readable and useful account.
Iraq launched seven air attacks on the iranian nuclear reactor at bushehr between 1984 and 1988 during the iraniraq war, ultimately destroying the facility. Iraniraq war in the air 19801988 schiffer military. American sniper chris kyle, scott mcewen, jim defelice. The iraniraq war, which ended in august 1988, one month short of its eighth anniversary, was one of the longest, bloodiest and costliest third world armed conflicts in the twentieth century. Warwick prize goes to scaldingly affecting stories of. If youd like to nominate a book in either category, give us a. Professor karsh addresses the causes of the iraniraq war, unpacking the objectives of the two belligerents and examining how far objectives were matched by strategy. Drawing from an extensive cache of captured iraqi government records, this book is the first comprehensive military and strategic account of the war through the lens of the iraqi regime and its senior military commanders. If anything, the world looked upon the iraniraq war with some relief.
The iraniraq war was one of the bloodiest conflicts of the 20th century and accidentally created the current nightmare of islamic fundamentalist terrorism. Air war operation desert storm as is usual in modern war, the first objective of the allied force in saudi arabia was to gain air superiority. Iraqi president saddam hussein, who despised the shah, welcomed this change, but his joy turned to alarm when the ayatollah began calling for a shia revolution in iraq to. Razouxs book came out in french in 20, so through sheer timing he escaped the obligation to relate the iraniraq war to the present conflict in the region. Air superiority gives a military force the ability to indiscriminately attack enemy targets, disrupt enemy lines of supply, to conduct recon, and, of course denies the enemy the ability to do all of. Iraqs close ally, the soviet union, was distressed with iraqi expansionist moves but happy to see the spread of irans muslim fundamentalism checked. The iraqis claimed a total of five air to air kills with these missiles, including two f5es, one f4d, one ch, and a bell 214c helicopter. A military history by williamson murray and robert h. Books about iraq war, 2003 what should i read next. Pages in category iraq war books the following 28 pages are in this category, out of 28 total. The entire iraq baathisiran war cost maximum 800k dead.
During these years, the air combat produced many aces in the iranian air force, thanks to a superior training and doctrine. Iraq launched a fullscale invasion of iran on 22 september 1980. Also, from the iraqi side, the majority of the soldiers were sunni during the iraniraq war. Jan 25, 2003 this book focuses on the role of the air power in the iran iraq war of 19801988, one of the most underestimated and under researched events in the history of aerial warfare. Pierre razoux offers an unflinching look at a conflict seared into the regions collective memory but little understood in the west. This book focuses on the role of the air power in the iran iraq war of 19801988, one of the most underestimated and under researched events in the history of aerial warfare. Evening standard razoux, research director at the institute for strategic research in paris, has made use of. The iraniraq war is one of the largest, yet least documented conflicts in the history of the middle east. The iran iraq war was personified by the determination and ambition of the key leaders, saddam hussein and ayatollah khomeini, and characterised by mass casualties, the repression of the civilian populations and chemical warfare. In response to iranian missile attacks against baghdad, some 190 missiles were fired by the iraqis over a six week period at iranian cities in 1988, during the war of the cities. List of iranian aerial victories during the iraniraq war. Iraqs stated reason for initiating the war was defensive.
Dec 12, 2002 this book focuses on the role of the air power in the iran iraq war of 19801988, one of the most underestimated and under researched events in the history of aerial warfare. Nov 03, 2015 from 1980 to 1988 iran and iraq fought the longest conventional war of the century. The dictator had reissued a book written by his uncle entitled. Iraq was created as a british puppet, with territory that was majority shiite the majority denomination in iran and territories that iran. This eight year conflict, makes iran the second country in the region with more combat aces, along with israel. Jan 03, 2016 razouxs book came out in french in 20, so through sheer timing he escaped the obligation to relate the iraniraq war to the present conflict in the region. The war that haunts irans negotiators the new yorker.
Air force officer and the author of the novel id walk with my. The iraqiran war 1980 1988 on 22 september 1980, iraqi troops invaded iran, starting a war that would last for eight years. Gordon and trainor are at work on a book about operation iraqi freedom, but this. The authors have made full use of extensive research, eyewitness accounts, interviews with dozens of people directly involved, as well as recently declassified documents. Nov, 2015 an evening standard best book of 2015 pierre razouxs the iran iraq war is better by a mile than most of the military history that floods the english market. The iraniraq war by pierre razoux, hardcover barnes. List of books and articles about iraniraq war online.
It included tragic slaughter of child soldiers, use of chemical weapons, striking of civilian shipping, and destruction of cities. Coverage initially recaps political and military backdrops to the war chiefly border disputes. Iraq war transition of iranian leadership and military decision to invade. Tom coopers many books on the air war also bring a granularity that many readers will appreciate. The iraniraq war of 1980 to 1988 was a grinding, bloody, and in the end, completely pointless conflict. The iraq war is a good example of the way in which information technology was grafted onto traditional ways of thinking about war ways which obscured what was actually happening in iraq. Data presented on this list was obtained during extensive research by t. The authors used a treasure trove of original, iraqi documents some 600,000 captured during operation iraqi freedom and thousands of hours of interviews with former iraqi military officials. It was sparked by the iranian revolution, led by ayatollah ruhollah khomeini, which overthrew shah pahlavi in 197879.
A warning indicates that border demarcations are subject to international dispute. Its not a book, but i highly recommend the end of history podcast which covers a lot of subjects. Iraniraq war in the air 19801988 by tom cooper waterstones. I have been reading history for forty or more years.
They recently had a history of the middle east podcast series that had about an hour covering the iraniraq war. In the longest war, dilip hiro describes the causes and courses of the iraniraq military conflict and its effect on the two antagonists, as well as the rest of the. I quickly deduced that hyphens mysteriously disappeared from dates, ranges, and sequences. The iraqis claimed a total of five airtoair kills with these missiles, including two f5es, one f4d, one ch, and a bell 214c helicopter. From air and sea, iraniraq tanker war heats up the. This book focuses on the role of the air power in the iraniraq war of 19801988, one of the most underestimated and under researched events in the history of aerial warfare.
They recently had a history of the middle east podcast series that had about an hour covering the iran iraq war. Iran iraq war in the air, 19801988, schiffer military history, october 2002, isbn. This book will be of much interest to students of international and cold war history, middle eastern politics, foreign policy, and international relations in general. In accordance with the sykespicot agreement, the former ottoman empire was carved up with a number of moronically straight lines in the aftermath of world war i by the entente cordiale. Jun 28, 2015 the war ended four months later, when iran agreed to a ceasefire. It is doubtful at the time that anyone realized the one. The west, including the united states, felt that the war aided in both the containment of iran and the exhaustion. Bishop, the results of which can be found in the books. In pumpkinflowers, matti friedman tells the story of a small outpost called the pumpkin, thus the title flowers refers to the code word for wounded soldiers during the unnamed israeli occupation of lebanons security zone in the 1990s. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.
It was here, at the tip of the gulf, variously called persian or arabian, that a british expeditionary force first landed in 1914 to drive the turks from mesopotamia. Did iraq literally lose 60100 mbts in the biggest single tank action of the iran iraq war. Williamson murray is professor emeritus at the ohio state university and senior fellow at ida. Ayatollah khomeini has been replaced by ayatollah khameini, who appears to be. By then there was already unambiguous evidence indicating the urgency of defusing the imminent danger posed by iraq and its primary allies in the growing terrorist conspiracy. Iraniraq war in the air 19801988 schiffer military history book tom cooper, farzad bishop on. The iraniraq war has been a unique third world conflicttwo countries with large, relatively. Pages in category books about the 2003 invasion of iraq the following 41 pages are in this category, out of 41 total. The iraniraq war, by pierre razoux the new york times. In irans case, however, the governmental hostility to the united states is longerstanding the united states implicitly backed saddam hussein during the iraniraq war of the 1980s, the ties to.
Top 10 books about the iraq war books the guardian. May 02, 2005 buy iran iraq war in the air 19801988 schiffer military history book by tom cooper isbn. Bergquistwasassigned by headquarters united states airforce. The contributions to the volume serve to underline that the iraniraq war was a defining conflict, shaping the perspectives of the key protagonists for a generation to come. Iraniraq war in the air 19801988 schiffer military history.
May 8, 2020 indian air force mig29 crashes in chuharpur village, punjab. While most iraqis shias supported the war in the first 2 years of the war, the last 6 years, they were neutral. The best book about the iraq war isnt about the iraq war. Except that they should have been scored within 12 months of first sidewinderdeliveries to iraq, exact dates of these claims remain unknown, and there is no firm confirmation from iran. From 1980 to 1988 iran and iraq fought the longest conventional war of the century. Manosevitz in october 1980, the cia briefed then presidential candidate ronald reagan on the impact of the iraniraq war in the middle east.
Nov 21, 2015 oddly this war isnt discussed much any more, even though it is arguably the breakthrough event for the ongoing collapse of parts of the middle east. The role of airpower in the iraniraq war air university. An evening standard best book of 2015 pierre razouxs the iraniraq war is better by a mile than most of the military history that floods the english market. The first gulf war, better known as the iraqiran war the imposed war, as the iranian authorities came to call it was one of the longest and most atrocious interstate conflicts since the end of world war ii. Razoux has produced the best book available on this important war. The iraniraq war was personified by the determination and ambition of the key leaders, saddam hussein and ayatollah khomeini, and characterised by mass casualties, the repression of the civilian populations and chemical warfare. I was shocked at how much i didnt know about one of the bloodiest conflicts since ww2. Nov 18, 2019 the iran iraq war of 198088 was one of the longest in modern times, and it ended in a draw. Up to 20 books are listed, in descending order of popularity. After over a decade at war in iraq, we now have the best firstperson account, not only of fighting against the insurgency, but also what it felt like to come home after. Although iraq won the war militarily, and possessed a significant military advantage over iran in 1989, the 1991 persian gulf war reduced iraqs capabilities to a point where a rough parity now exists between iran and iraqconditions similar to those found in 1980. Sep 03, 1987 from air and sea, iran iraq tanker war heats up. The war ended four months later, when iran agreed to a ceasefire. A military and strategic history goes far beyond these themes, taking a unique look at saddams decisionmaking throughout the war.
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