Modern Trench Warfare: Iran-Iraq War | Animated History

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[Kelqanus]

Iran-Iraq war is very underrated and not talked about/studied extensively enough.

[mosesmm]

Saddam being animated like his South Park portrayal is just comedy gold

[asgharkheshtak]

One of my uncles fought in this war.
One of my memories of him is that he said we used G3 which Iraqis were afraid of and called it hand canon because of how powerful it was.but the Iraqis used ak 47 which was more reliable and it could fire in water and mud.
God bless his soul

[vazeyo]

My father fought in this war. He was stationed in Kurdistan and was assigned to operate an artillery unit. He told me it was the scariest time of his life. He not only feared the hostile Iraqis but also the Kurds, who saw an opportunity for an uprising. Basically you never knew who was friend or foe, even within Iranian borders. He told me he was always keen hearing enemy shells coming in and getting into cover in time. His unit reinforced huts with more stones (and sometimes metal, if they got something) to get into them in case they were getting bombed back. It was a (most of the time) stationary artillery unit so this was just a matter of time if they get hit or not. Moving the artillery took time so eventually they were found by the Iraqis. They heared the sounds of incoming shells and got to cover quickly. Fortunate enough to have reinforced the huts *hours earlier*. He told me if they haven't done that in time, he wouldn't be alive today. Eventually though, he got hit after just days of employment.
His brother meanwhile, my uncle, thought in the trenches and lost an eye by a sniper. Both of them had severe war injuries and were treated in Germany. They recovered, my uncle having lost one of his eyes forever but there lives were safed. The iranian authorities mailed them to come back after there recovery, but they refused and seeked asylum in Germany living here now for more than 40 years.
My father hasn't talked about this time until recently after I found some photos and asking him about it. It was quite interesting, but he only told me what I've shared here. There is definetly more to it, I know it, he was hesitant to talk about it and stopped mentioning it since then.
My uncle is different in that regard and more open about it, plans to even write a book about it, but I doubt it will ever finish. He is a bit lazy with writing :D

[Twiggo_The_Foxxo]

Did not expect a south park reference in a armchair historian video

[oakoakoak]

Extremely important to note that the United Stats and Germany supply unimaginable quantities of chemical precursors to Iraq for its chemical weapon production. These were used against Iranian troop in this war as well as an attempt ethnic cleaning of the Kurds in Iraq.

[johnathanadams]

I met a guy in Iraq that was a raging alcoholic, which was unusual because of the religious ban on drinking. He was a machine gunner during the Iran-Iraq War, and he told me that of all the terrible things he saw and endured, the worst was the few times when waves of unarmed Basij Army kids would charge their lines.
Waves of propagandized young teens would be sent in massive charges to clear minefields or just soak up and deplete ammunition.
So he mowed down a bunch of kids as he said he had no choice. And that, for him, was worse than any artillery, bombings, chemical attacks or combat in general.

[akend]

Wow, I never thought I’d see a South Park reference in one of your videos. And as a major fan of Bigger, Longer, and Uncut, I really appreciate it!

[neilhannan]

The Worse Thing about this War 8 Years 500'000 Lose their lives and more lives ruined no one won in the end 😢

[lucianoosorio]

“You want a war George? Welcome to Shire-raq!” JRR Tolkien

[pokegan]

As an Iranian, the war described by my father was as this: it proved to us that no matter who is attacking, and what is going on inside, Iranians from ALL parts of the world received the call to the homeland. Former loyalists to the shah including many escaped generals came back and took up arms to defeat the threat. It proved that Iran, when in dire straights, has a global hand that goes beyond ideology.

And even if you’re a loyalist to the shah, or a regime supporter, one thing always remains: your respect for the lives lost to protect the country.

[JohnnyRico]

The wildest thing I've heard about the Iran-Iraq war was that young men would willingly charge into minefields yelling "shahid!" to clear the mines for the tanks.

[omskc_gb]

My father told me growing up in the 80s there were so many big conflicts everywhere on the news and radio, Iran-Iraq War, Falklands War, Lebanese Civil War, Soviet Afghan War etc. and so many others I haven't even listed

[indianajones]

Great video, the Iran-Iraq War deserves more recognition

[mostafaalimohammadi]

Iran in the Iran-Iraq war, even though there was an embargo and 72 countries supported Iraq, we were still able to stand in front of Iraq. We had an F14 plane, which was a nightmare for Iraqi pilots. We carried out the largest air operation called H3 against Iraqi bases.

[gilbertzan]

Many other countries had profited in this conflict. Sad to say that Brazil was among them. Brazilian company Engesa sold a vast supply of Urutu armored personnel carriers (APCs) and Cascavel armored cars to Iraq both directly and indirectly through Libya. The Iran-Iraq war also became the major market for another Brazilian company, Avibras, with its Astros II multiple launch rocket system. Remember this while me and other Brazilian country mates were getting diverted with World Cup Soccer games. Something else was goes on behind the curtains. Incredible as the History of Civilization keeps repeating itself. By the way, animation gets better and better, keep up the good work. Also, asking not to drop that little AH guy popping up to left bottom of screen. That very same one, describing few more details of the subject being covered. Love that!

[tng]

When that war happened in the 80s, I was already thinking this war was like WW1 in nearly every aspect - why the war, the war progress, and the way the war was conducted etc.

[GreyWasteTim]

"Never sell arms to a side you don't personally want to win."
"But during Iran-Iraq, you sold weapons to both sides."
"Did you ever consider that I wanted them both to lose?"

Lord of War

[shadiafifi]

I remember the time of this war, even though I was a child at the time. We lived in Kuwait, pretty much in the shadow of the war, though the results of the war certainly changed our lives. We left Kuwait a month before the invasion on vacation, and we've been living in Jordan ever since.

[JackCupcake]

I've been waiting a long time for this one. Cheers to another great video!