The Third Regiment: Memoirs of an Iraqi Prisoner of War - 47

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

2026-9-13

The Third Regiment: Memoirs of an Iraqi Prisoner of War - 47

By Mujtaba Al-Husseini

Translated From Arabic by: Muhammad Hussein Zavar-Kaaba

Machine Translation edited by Mandana Karimi

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I said to him: “So it turns out that these forces have suffered great losses?”
He said: “That’s right. They have broken our defense lines.”
I said: “So what is the mission of these forces that have been gathered here for two days?”
He said: “These forces, which are more than a corps and are called the “Abdullah” forces.” Here I interrupted him and said: “Who is Abdullah?”
He smiled and said: “He is the son of Major General “Maher Abdul Rashid”, the commander of the Fifth Division, in whose honor this letter has been placed on this corps.” And he said: “These forces will launch a counterattack to retake the city of Bostan and annihilate the Iranian forces. From the commander’s words, I understood that our regiment will also participate in this operation. The goal of this operation was to retake the city of Bostan, which had been liberated by Iranian forces on November 29, 1981.

Before sunset, I returned to the shelter. The medical team had tidied up the shelter, spread out some mats, and prepared dishes for a simple dinner. After dinner and tea, we went to bed. When I laid my head on my bed after two days and lay down on the soft blanket, I felt warm and peaceful. I entrusted my fate to God and went to sleep, regardless of the dangers that threatened us.
Between sleep and wakefulness, I heard a voice saying: “Doctor. Doctor. Where are you? Doctor. Where is the medical team?”
I said to the medical officer “Ghazi Hemoud,” “Go out and see who is calling. He may be sick or injured!”
The medical officer “Ghazi” quickly left in the pitch darkness and returned to the shelter a few minutes later with First Lieutenant “Mohammad Javad.” I asked what was going on. He said, "I was looking for a place to sleep, and I came here because you are the only ones with shelter. I haven't slept for two days and nights. I'm so tired."

I asked him, “How did you know we had a place to rest?”
He said, “I knew you were a smart person and that you would find a place for yourself in the worst of circumstances!”
I welcomed him and asked him to sleep next to me. It was unbelievable to him. He had finally found a quiet place to sleep. He fell into a deep sleep within minutes.
The next morning, December 2, was sunny and there was the sound of mortars and machine guns. The troop transfers continued and Iraqi planes were constantly bombing Iranian positions. These planes were flying regularly and targeting the Susangerd, Allah Akbar, Bostan and Sableh hills. Due to the intense movement of vehicles and tanks, a lot of dust had filled the sky. I said to myself, “Oh God, what is going to happen?”

I called my group to dig a narrow channel for ourselves to protect ourselves from heavy attacks. The digging of individual shelters was completed as quickly as possible. These trenches were located near the main shelter. We sat next to the shelters and under the hot sun and watched the situation. The number of Iraqi aircraft attacks was so high that we kept our eyes on the sky. The reason for the increase in these attacks was the absence of Iranian aircraft and the lack of effective anti-aircraft guns in the hands of the opposing forces.
The situation that day was not normal. Even the herd of cows returned from the pasture earlier than in previous days due to fear and panic. They passed through the regiment's positions with their guard and faithful dogs. A group of soldiers caught a newborn calf to slaughter. The dogs made a strange noise. Although the rest of the herd had left the area, the dogs and the calf's mother remained around the soldiers. The sight was painful and unbearable. I rushed there quickly. One of the soldiers ran a knife down the calf's throat. Suddenly I shouted: "Let it go."

The lieutenant colonel of "Abufouzi" said: "Doctor, let's kill it and eat it. It doesn't have an owner."
I told him: "You are an old man and we are in a sensitive situation, why are you committing a sin?"
I took the calf from their hands and released it to its mother. As soon as the calf was released, one of the dogs came to it and guided the calf to its mother by wagging its tail. The cow also put its head close to the calf and started licking it. Moments later, all three of them set off together in search of the herd. Those animals taught our hard-hearted soldiers the meaning of love, loyalty and life.
The Iraqi forces entered the Veniz area and the bombardment of the Iranian forces continued until the evening of that day. Our regiment had been ordered to be on standby. I went to the regiment commander's shelter, but I did not find him. His deputy told me that the commander had left for the 20th Brigade headquarters to receive the operation plan. At seven o'clock in the evening, the commander returned and called all the company commanders. I also attended their meeting.

The map that the commander had brought with him outlined the 3rd Regiment’s role in the upcoming operation. Our regiment’s mission was to cross the Sableh River by any means possible and capture its concrete bridge to allow Iraqi forces to cross to the east of the river. Iranian forces were stationed near the river. Therefore, the 3rd Regiment would have to swim under fire from the Iranian forces to the other side of the river and capture the east side of the bridge and the riverbank. It was very difficult to imagine, let alone execute it. A strange silence and sadness enveloped all the company commanders. None of them were happy with this plan. But they had to carry it out. At the end of the meeting, everyone returned to their companies. I was standing near the commander’s shelter, watching the dark horizon, when I suddenly felt the commander’s heavy hand on my shoulder. He said, “Doctor! Don’t worry. God will bring about His salvation."

I said: “I am not a professional soldier, but I do not accept this plan either. This is suicide. How can our soldiers cross the river in this winter weather and occupy the other side? They will never succeed in doing so, even if the Iranian forces confront them with sticks and stones.”
In response, he said: “I agree with you, but what should be done? The order is a military order.”
On December 3, 1981, all the necessary preparations were made to launch a counterattack against the Iranian forces. The forces - which included dozens of infantry, mechanized and tank battalions, almost more than a corps - were ready to receive the order to attack, under the command of Major General “Maher Abdul Rashid Takriti”, known as the “Abdullah” forces.

In the morning, squadrons of Iraqi aircraft attacked Iranian positions from dawn to dusk. The operation was to be carried out from two axes. One from the Chazabeh Strait and Hur al-Huwayzeh and the other from the Sableh area. The aim of this operation was to surround the Iranian forces stationed in the city of Bostan and cut off the communication route between Bostan and Susangerd, as well as to recapture the areas captured by the Iranian forces on November 29, 1981.
The operation area was generally an agricultural area, full of trees and various irrigation canals. Therefore, it was more suitable for infantry forces than for mechanized battalions and tanks. This operation required that a bridge be built from our regiment's area over the Sableh River for the "Abdullah" forces to cross.

The gathering of such a large number of troops and equipment and the continuous bombing by bombers had made me worried about the fate of the Islamic forces. On the other hand, the Iraqi commanders had become very arrogant, to the point that they were ordering their soldiers to take Iranian soldiers prisoner, because the liberation of the city of Bostan and its suburbs was easy and guaranteed, according to them. Seeing all those forces, I prayed to the Lord to make the truth triumph and the falsehood be humiliated.
At seven o'clock in the evening of December 3, our regiment was ordered to be ready and move. After communicating the plan to the company commanders, I, along with the deputy commanders of the regiment, remained in front of the commander until eight o'clock in the evening. Before starting the advance, I asked the regiment commander: "What will be the duty of the medical group?"
He said: "You must move with us!"

I was surprised by this answer and said: “Mr. Commander! Our group includes a few nurses and a number of ambulances, how can they move in the dark of night, foot by foot with tanks? They will be destroyed from the very beginning of the operation and the regiment will be left without medical assistance!”
He said: “Then what is the solution?”
I said: “The group should stay in place and each company should transport its wounded here by means of a personnel carrier to be treated and then evacuated to the rear.”

His deputies accepted this offer, but the commander asked me to go to the area with his deputy, Lieutenant "Mohammad Javad", and to witness the front lines up close; and then return to the battalion headquarters. This offer was actually a wrong offer. How could a doctor in charge of a medical relief group leave his group and visit the front lines? I was faced with a dilemma. If I did not accept, the commander would think I was a coward; and if I did, it would be a burden for me to abandon the people during the attack. Anyway, I reluctantly accepted his offer and quickly returned to my group. I told them to stay where they were until I returned to them after half an hour.

Before saying goodbye, two wounded men were brought there. One of them had deliberately shot himself in the left arm, and the other had deliberately put his fingers under the heavy iron hatch of the tank. Such acts were not strange or new. Self-harm was done to escape from the war and the front. These acts became a common occurrence before the start of any operation. And soldiers resorted to any means to escape from the front. In the darkness of the night and amidst the noise of cars and soldiers, I went to the commander's shelter. As soon as we arrived, the commander said: "You and Lieutenant Mohammad Javad get on this personnel carrier."

To be continued…