The Third Regiment: Memoirs of an Iraqi Prisoner of War-39

By Mujtaba Al-Husseini
Translated by: Muhammad Hussein Zavar-Kaaba
Machine Translation edited by Mandana Karimi

2026-7-19

The Third Regiment: Memoirs of an Iraqi Prisoner of War-39

By Mujtaba Al-Husseini

Translated by: Muhammad Hussein Zavar-Kaaba

Machine Translation edited by Mandana Karimi

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8- An Attaché Named Zia:

According to the common custom in the Iraqi army, every officer could have a soldier as an attaché to carry out his personal affairs. However, I, as an officer and physician of the regiment, was against the idea that it was not unlike slavery. For this reason, I did my personal chores myself, from washing clothes to polishing shoes. In the mobile unit, about 11 people worked with me. They served me wholeheartedly out of friendship and affection and for the assistance, I provided them. However, the shameful and hateful image I have of officers is that when they went on leave, the soldiers would still carry their luggage on their shoulders and walk behind them. One morning, a soldier carrying his belongings on his shoulders introduced himself as conscript “Zia.” I asked him, “What is your role in transferring you here?”

He replied, “As a soldier who will work for you.”

I understood that he had been sent to me as a commissioned officer. I told him, “I don’t need a conscript.”

He said, “The deputy sent me to you.”

I said, “Go to the medical barricade!”

Then I called the deputy and asked him for an explanation. He said, “The regiment commander sent this soldier to you as a commissioned officer. He is a Christian soldier. Captain “Ibrahim” requested to be transferred from the third company to a safe location, which was eventually accepted by the commander of the mobile medical unit.”

I told him, “I cannot accept him. I disagree with the commissioned officer.”

The deputy replied: “This matter concerns the regiment commander.»

I went to the regiment commander and raised the issue. After some discussion, he agreed to send him to the officers’ mess as a private. Thus, God kept me away from that evil.

Before the war, soldiers would run away from being assigned, but after the war, they would beg to be assigned to a local area. Every soldier who took a step behind the front considered it an important achievement for him, even if he was transferred from the third company to the mobile medical unit or the regimental headquarters. I returned to the mobile medical unit and told him very kindly: “You must have come here by mistake. Go to the officers’ mess.”

9- A counterattack on the village of Koheh:

Before addressing the main issue, I will briefly return to the issues inside Iran to keep the readers informed of the important developments in that country that are closely related to the issue of the front and the war. After Banisadr failed to prove the correctness of his theory about war and its handling in early 1981, especially after the uncalculated attacks, the voice of protest from the sincere Iranian people rose. Banisadr, who had been accused of negligence and incompetence in managing the country's affairs, especially in matters of war, received the first blow when Imam Khomeini issued an order to remove him from command of the armed forces and for the Imam to legally assume this responsibility himself. This process was accompanied by the intensification of political conflicts between the revolutionary factions, and the country was threatened from within more than from without. In the meantime, political groups mobilized all their human and political resources. Public opinion was also waiting for the determination of political issues.

On June 21, 1981 / Khordad 31, 1360, Iran lost one of the heroes and standard-bearers of the popular resistance, Martyr Dr. Mustafa Chamran.He was martyred due to severe injuries in the "Dehlavieh" area near the city of Susangerd. Dr. Chamran's martyrdom was a great loss for the popular forces and followers of the Imam's line; a call that overshadowed political conflicts and group differences. In my opinion, his martyrdom was a symbol of oppression, sacrifice and devotion that ended the argument for all welfare seekers and liberals who claimed to be Islamists and opposed the Imam's line.

The wheel of chaos and crisis was spinning rapidly, and the Bani Sadr government was unable to deal seriously with the events. The situation in Iran was becoming more critical day by day and was getting closer to the downhill slide. Imam Khomeini carefully monitored the situation until the right time came; and that was the day when the Islamic Consultative Assembly made its historic decision and dismissed Bani Sadr from the presidency for incompetence, self-centeredness and betrayal of the Islamic Revolution. Seeing himself exposed, Banisadr fled Iran and sought refuge with his masters. He fled to France with Massoud Rajavi.

Banisadr’s dismissal was like a spark that ignited the fire of bloody conflicts between the followers of the Imam’s line and his opponents. Among the consequences of these conflicts was the explosion of the central office of the Islamic Republic Party on June 28, 1981, and the martyrdom of Dr. Beheshti and 72 of the Imam’s companions and the pillars of the revolution. This blow was one of the most dangerous and severe blows that the revolution suffered. However, the overwhelming will of God and the firm determination of Imam Khomeini led the revolution out of that great predicament. Those events, and especially the explosion of the headquarters of the Islamic Republic Party, deeply affected us - who were at the front at that time - and shook our hearts. This incident had a wide resonance in the Islamic world. Internal events in Iran caused the Baathists to be happy and arrogant, and to annoy us. After this incident, the Iraqi commanders were confident that no attack from Iran would take place in the near future. Silence covered the fronts for a while.

On July 27, 1981, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps suddenly launched a swift and surprise attack on the 43rd Armored Brigade west of Susangerd, forcing the Iraqi forces west of the Karkheh River to retreat. This attack was a message from the Iranian nation to our forces, letting us know that despite all the difficulties and hardships, the spirit of jihad and martyrdom remains steadfast and unwavering.

The battle scene was located ten kilometers west of our positions. I myself witnessed columns of smoke rising from the headquarters of the 43rd Brigade. On July 29, the Third Corps decided to launch a counterattack against the village of "Kuheh". For this purpose, the operational area of ​​the 20th Brigade under the command of Major "Meider" was considered as the starting point. This major had managed to earn the nickname "Wolf of the Brigade" through his pretense and subtlety. He sent reports every day claiming that he had wounded and killed many Iranian forces and destroyed a large number of Iranian war machines and equipment. These reports drew the attention of the Third Corps commanders to this area and they concluded that the Iranian forces had begun a large-scale military formation to attack. Therefore, they decided to launch a counterattack from the operational area of ​​the Second Regiment in order to both respond to the previous attack of the Iranian forces and neutralize their future attack. On the evening of July 28, we were ordered to move towards the positions of the 2^nd Regiment. The 304^th Infantry Regiment, a reserve battalion, was also ordered to deploy to our previous positions. The forces ready to attack were placed behind the 2nd Regiment of the 20th Brigade.

The operational forces consisted of three mechanized battalions and two tank battalions. The 25th Mechanized Brigade was put on standby as a reserve force. Night fell and we were waiting for the countdown to the attack, that is, to go towards death and destruction. At three in the morning, it was time to start the operation. I set up a medical aid station at the headquarters of the 2^nd Battalion and divided the tasks among the group members. Although the hands showed three in the morning, the attack did not begin. It seemed that it had been postponed to five in the morning. Because by that time the demolition and engineering forces had not managed to clear the minefields and build the bridges. The alarm rang at five in the morning and at the same time the roar of artillery and tanks filled the air.

Our army advanced towards the village of "Kuheh" and its surroundings in order to destroy the Iranian forces and cut off the Hamidieh-Susangerd road. After half an hour, a large number of wounded arrived. They were brought to the clinic in personnel carriers and armored vehicles in the worst conditions.

To be continued …