[DeathHand]

As a big war buff, I have the utmost respect and admiration for militarily trained soldiers who go out onto a battle field and risk their lives.

These men/women might be fighter pilots, naval crew members, infantry, tankers, marines, special operations forces, etc. from all theaters of war - past and present.

Jihadists, ISIS, extremists, the Taliban, etc. don't count (IMO).

The Iran-Iraq war began in 1980 and lasted until 1988. Iraq invaded Iran and Iran fought back. This war, based on various tactics used and resulting carnage, has been compared to the fighting during WW1.

Most countries have their special/elite soldiers: Rangers, Navy Seals, JTF2, SAS, and so on.

During the 1980-1988 war, Iran developed their own special forces in 1986. These men were known as "Line Breakers", marine divers similar to the US Navy Seals, who went out under the cover of night to launch surprise attacks on Iraqi positions.

Many of these men, often young volunteers, never returned alive from their missions.

In May of 2015, Iraqi authorities discovered the remains of 175 of these Line Breakers, or Divers. Their bodies were exhumed from their muddy graves and repatriated to Iran.

All prejudice, religious rhetoric, hatred and Western view/s put aside, this is the story of the "175 Divers" during Operation Karbala 4.

Images to follow in next post.

[DeathHand]

"Operation Karbala-4, 25–27 December 1986.

Operation Karbala-4 was an Iranian offensive in the Iran-Iraq War on the southern front. The operation was launched after the failure of Operation Karbala-2 and Operation Karbala-3 to move the Iraqi lines in an effort to capture Iraqi territory.

The Iraqis had constructed heavy static fortifications around the city. They built 5 defensive rings, supported by natural waterways such as the Shatt-al-Arab, and man made ones, such as Fish Lake and the Jasim River, along with manmade earth barriers. Fish Lake was filled with mines, underwater barbed wire, electrodes and various sensors.

In addition, behind each waterway and defensive line was radar-guided artillery, ground attack aircraft, and combat helicopters; all capable of firing poison gas in addition to conventional munitions."

Text source (in quotation marks) will be given in the last post.

Images showing Line Breakers, groups of them that were captured and ordered to tie their hands and feet together, and bodies that were brought back by their comrades.

[DeathHand]

"The operation began during Christmas night of 1986 with elite frogmen of the Pasdaran crossing the lake in rubber speedboats to launch a surprise attack upon Umm al-Rasas Island.

Upon landing, Iraqi searchlight operators found the frogmen. The Iranians were now totally exposed. Iraqi machine gunners opened up with a hail of bullets, killing all but a few of the Iranian force.

Iran had lost 12,000 troops, while Iraq had lost 2,000. Iran claimed Iraq's defenses benefited from US supplied intelligence which provided details of Iranian plans and preparations, thus permitting Iraq to coordinate an effective defense as precise points where the attack occurred."

Here I start with the body of one young diver who was returned to Iran along with 174 other bodies.

His body is on public display as a reminder of the horrors of the Iran-Iraq war and the sacrifices that these divers made.

[DeathHand]

Iraqi mistreatment of captured Iranian forces, including the burying alive of military divers became the subject matter for the 2015 Iranian film 175 Divers.

The Iranians (with the exception of the night attack and the amphibious crossings) did not use their innovative tactics and mainly used human waves.

"On May 18, 2015, bodies of 175 Iranian divers who were reportedly buried alive with their hands tied returned to Iran.

Some of the bodies were discovered with no injuries, and it was realized they were buried alive with their hands tied.

The fighters belonged to four units from 25th, 41st, 7th and 14th divisions."

Textual Source

Images: personal effects of a recovered diver, images of the various items used to tie the hands of the divers, funeral procession and a map indicating where most of the diver fought and died.

[DeathHand]

I realize that posting these images leaves them open to wanton hate-rag-heads-zero-fucks-given type replies, but I'm hoping that folks can tone those responses down a bit and not derail the purpose of the thread.

No clear rules against such opinions, but sometimes it's nice to not have to deal with all that rhetoric crafty crap :).

Cheers

[explorer42]

No heroes welcome for these losers...

[GlowingGhoul]

We're here for the pictures, not your lectures about our behavior.

You're post is interesting and appreciated.

[DeathHand]

Originally Posted by GlowingGhoul ↗

We're here for the pictures, not your lectures about our behavior.

You're post is interesting and appreciated.

Wow, well that was a pleasant comment. I had hoped that my humble request that the thread not be derailed with the usual BS would have not been a problem. I guess not.

[hunterseeker]

great posts deathHand! that one guy on display was just a kid. war is hell

[Sharon]

Very interesting article