A Bibliography of Mersād Operation Memoirs

The 26th of July is the anniversary of the day Operation Mersād was first launched in 1988. In this operation, under the command of the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution and backed by Iranian airborne forces, Iranian combatants pushed back counter-revolutionary Monāfeqin (Organization of the People's Mujahedin of Iran) from within the Iranian borders.
Once United Nations Security Council Resolution 598 was accepted by the Islamic Republic of Iran, marshalling all other counter-revolutionaries from all over Europe, the fugitive members of the organization of the People's Mujahedin of Iran (the Monāfeqin) joined forces with the aggressive army of Saddām and attacked western Iran from the Defile of Pātāq while they were armed to teeth with Saddām`s arms gifts.
Initially supporting them, Saddām`s Air Force encouraged Monāfeqin to make a foray into Iran. However, Operation Mersād was launched on the 26th of July, 1988 to fight Monāfeqin in Eslām-Ābād and Kerend-e Gharb. In this operation, commanded by the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic (IRG) (1) Revolution and backed by Iranian airborne forces, Iranian combatants began to fight on three battlefields: Chāhār-Zebar, Qalājeh Route, and the route connecting Eslām-Ābād and Pol-e Dokhtar and in two stages, expelled the counter-revolutionary forces. Many pages in the memoirs of combatants have been dedicated to this operation, and several books have been based upon this operation. In the field of memoirs/oral memoirs and oral history, the notable books published on Operation Mersād are as follows:
Zabih in Love with God: In Memory of Martyr Hājj Sheikh Zabihollah Karami/ by: N. Shahrām-Mehr/ Published by the Organization for Islamic Propagation, Cultural Affairs Division/1990
The book Zabih in Love with God: In Memory of Martyr Hājj Sheikh Zabihollah Karami begins with a quotation by Hazrat Emām Khomeini, who addresses the clergy regarding their obligations, fulfilling one`s duties, the blessings of war, and clerical martyrs. The book retells the life-story of Martyr Zabihollah Karami, his activities before the Revolution, the tortures he underwent in the prisons of the deposed Shāh, and afterwards the activities of the martyr after the Revolution and the positions he held. He was martyred in Operation Mersād in the region of Sar-e Pol-e Zahāb after Resolution 598 was accepted by the Islamic Republic of Iran. The third chapter of this book is a selection of the writings, notes, and poems of the martyr, selected from his journal. The fourth chapter retells different accounts of his friends, comrades, and family regarding his personality and activities. The fifth chapter presents Sāvāk`s correspondence, and the sixth chapter pictures of the martyr.
The Last Report/ by: Seyyed Yāser Hashtrūdi/ Published by the Resistance Literature and Art Bureau/ 1992
This book consists of four report-like memoirs reminiscing the years 1987 to 1989, containing memories of the interviewed residents of war-torn towns such as Qasr-e Shirin,Sar-e Pol-e Zahāb, and Eslām-Ābād, and especially the survivors of Operation Mersād. In The Last Report, the local residents of the operation zone speak of a hut where several Monāfeqs committed suicide by taking cyanide. They furthermore describe how a female Monāfeq was murdered by her own comrades, and how the local hospital was set on fire by the Monāfeqin, and other similar atrocious crimes committed by Monafeqin. Doves in the Attic and The Grey City records post-war visits to the cities of Ahvāz, Khorramshahr, and Ābādān and the tales of those who have returned to their cities to renovate their home cities. There Life is Like the Ligheh(2) of an Inkwell recounts the reports of 14 reporters who visit Halabja and Iraqi Kurdistan and speak with their residents and others who have been banished from other Iraqi cities and who hope to see their birthplaces freed by Iranian combatants. This region is then bombarded by chemical bombs, and the reporters are taken to a hospital.
Until Captivity/ by: Hamid Hakimkhāh (Eivaziyān)/ Published by the Resistance Literature and Art Bureau/ 1993
This book retells the memoirs of Hamid Hakimkhāh. The first chapter recounts how he was in 1982 dispatched to the battlefields of right against wrong and to the region of Chazābeh. The second chapter portrays Tehrān`s railroad station on the days when the forces were being dispatched; it depicts the faces of parents who unburdened themselves to their children. The third chapter retells his accounts of his presence at Do-Kūheh Garrison and his return to Tehrān to train the forces of the 10th Seyyed ol-Shohadā Brigade. The fourth chapter then chronicles the operations launched by Zahir Battalion during which Hamid Hakimkhāh was captured by Ba`thi forces. In the final chapter, in a memory called “The Defile of Chāhār-Zebar”, Majid Piri then describes Mersād Operation.
By the Fire/ by: Mahnāz Shāyestefar/ Published by the Resistance Literature and Art Bureau/ 1994
This book is dedicated to a discussion of Kermānshāh during the War. The account of war events begins with the life-story of a Kermānshāhi family. The outbreak of war, the breaking of the sound barrier, continued bombings, the lessons of martyrdom and resistance that the family learned, the martyrdom of residents, destruction of public places and schools, bombardments, emigration of residents to rural and suburban areas, and the way life still went on in spite of all these events (such as ceremonies commemorating the Ahyā Nights in the holy month of Ramazān, etc.) are all described in this book. The final pages are dedicated to an account of Operation Mersād by a witness after Resolution 598 was accepted by Iran and there was a ceasefire.
The Oak: Memoirs of an Airborne Pilot/ Hojjat Shāhmohammadi/ Published by the Resistance Literature and Art Bureau/ 1995
Retelling the memoirs of Hojjat Shāhmohammadi, an airborne pilot, this book recounts how Iraqi Ba`thi forces alongside the forces of the so-called People's Mujahedin of Iran made an unchivalrous foray into Iran once United Nations Security Council Resolution 598 was accepted by Iran. This attack was launched in different regions in Kordestān and the cities of Ilām, Hassan-Ābād, Saleh-Ābād, Kerend, etc. The defense launched by Iranian combatants, especially airborne forces, Sepāh, and civilian forces under the command of Ali Sayyād-Shirāzi resulted in Operation Mersād in this region. The operation resulted in a victory for Iranian Muslim combatants.
A Tale of Rainy Years/ by: Mehdi Marandi, Rewritten by: Mohammad Khosravirād/ Published by the Foundation for Preservation of Monuments and Dissemination of Values of the Sacred Defence/1997
This work contains accounts of Mehdi Marandi`s life and his presence on battlefields during the Sacred Defence. In his memoirs, he has briefly recorded his activities. He recounts how he joined the IRG, was dispatched to western battlefields and Sar-e Pol-e Zahāb, took part in Sepāh`s first operation called Operation Qāsem-ebn-e Hassan, took part in Operation Matla` al-Fajr and Operation Fath-6, was appointed to command operations of the 7th region of Najaf Base, and lastly took part in Operation Mersād and its end which marked a new beginning for the narrator to begin to research irregular warfare.
The Occulted of the Narrative of Victory/ by: Tāhereh Qāsemi-Amin/ Published by the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic (IRG) and the Basij/ 1997
This work retells the memoirs of 13 brave, self-sacrificing women who feared not the weapons of the wicked Kūmala and Democrats, and helping the Muslim combatants of Iran, resisted against the followers of Saddām. This book is like a timeline from the beginning of events in Kordestān to Operation Mersād at the end of the War and the invasion launched by the Monāfeqin after the resolution was accepted. This book contains tales of bravery and self-sacrifice of women in helping combatants. The memoirs of this book are retold from the perspective of the following people: Maryam Kātebi (aider), Rāziyeh Khaliliyān (aider), Sharifeh Āl-e Nāser (Basiji), A`zam Nāmdārpūr (aider), Parvin Shari`ati (Basiji), Soghrā Qondāq-Sāz (aider), Zahrā Seifi-Āzar (aider), Mahnāz Jazāyeri (anesthesia technician), Homeirā Khān-Beigi (aider), Roqayeh Shokūyi (aider), Zahrā Mahmūdi, Batūl Bayāti, and Hamideh Morādiyān.
From Storm to Breeze/ by: Mohammad-Ali Movazzaf-Rostami/ Published by GÅ«yeh/ 2001
This book retells the memoirs of the author which he has dedicated to his mother. The memories are entitled as “The Last Journey: At the End of the Marsh” “There, in the Middle of the Palm Grove”, and “From Storm to Breeze”. The author recounts the conflicts in Operation Mersād in Eslām-Ābād, Ilām, and Sar-e Pol-e Zahāb.
In Memory of Rainy Days/ by: Mohammad-Ali Movazzaf-Rostami/ Published by GÅ«yeh/ 2002
This book contains nine memoirs of commanders of different ranks of the 25th Karbalā Division and two ghazals(3) entitled “A Whole Picture of Love” and “In Memory of Rainy Days”. The subject of these two poems is martyrdom and the Sacred Defence. The characters described in the memoirs are Asghari from Shahid Mohammad Montazeri Company in Mūliyān; Aqrabi, a company commander of Hamzeh Seyyed ol-Shohadā Battalion in Shahid Beiglū Base of southern regions; and Martyr Pūr-Bāqeri from Shahid Khonakdār Company of Emām Mohammad-Bāqer Battalion (he was martyred in Operation Karbalā-5). The memoirs also retell a meeting at an ambush in Faw in 1986 between the commander and the deputy of the second battle zone; the deputy commander (4) of Shahid Khonakdār Company, Martyr Asghar Khāleqi; the deputy commander of Emām Mohammad-Bāqer Battalion, Mehdi Bāghbāni; and Mohammad-Bāqer Zolqadr, the commander of Ramazān Base of the operation zone of Mersād in Eslām-Ābād-e Gharb.
Fighting alongside the Fire/ by: Hamid Qobādi/ Published by the Resistance Literature and Art Bureau/ 2005
This book contains the author`s memoirs of the Sacred Defence. Originally from Kūh-Dasht in Lorestān, he held different positions during the War such as the deputy of intelligence of the 57th Abolfazl Division. The work is composed of 7 chapters which retell a brief biography (from his birth until before and after the Revolution) and accounts of his undergoing military training in the Basij; the outbreak of war and his being dispatched to western battlefields; Operations Beit ol-Moqaddas, Karbalā-1, Karbalā-4, Karbalā-5, Fath ol-Mobin, Valfajr-9, and Valfajr-10; his getting wounded in Khorramshahr and Eslām-Ābād-e Gharb; identifying the minefields and fighting and escaping the enemy in Mūsiyān, Zobeidāt, the Heights of Shākh-e Shemirān in Halabcheh, Marivān, Sulaymaniyah Province, and Tapeh-Sabz; his battles with the Monāfeqin in Eslām-Ābād-e Gharb and Operation Mersād; the fall of Sar-e Pol-e Zahāb; the liberation of Halabcheh and Khormāl; and tales of bravery and self-sacrifice of his comrades and martyrs who fought alongside him: Ali-Mardān Āzād Bakht, Mahmūd Rezāyi, Mohammad-Ali Gūdarzi, Dāryūsh Morādi, Heshmatollah Qoli, Qāsem Madhani, Bahman Mirzāyi, etc. The final pages entail pictures and footnotes from the author`s presence on battlefields, his injuries, and his presence among combatants and commanders.
A Night of Memoirs: A Collection of Memoirs of Memory Nights/ by: Mojtabā Ābedini/ Published by the Resistance Literature and Art Bureau/ 2007
A Night of Memoirs contains a selection of memoirs which have been retold at memory nights. In a memory entitled “A Friend`s Voice”, Seyyed Ali-Akbar Abūtorābi describes the tortures of the prisons of Baghdād. In another memory entitled “Hands Up, Sālār!”,(5) Ahmad Ahmad (former prisoner of the Shāh`s regime) retells his memories of the Revolution and Sāvāki agents. In another chapter entitled “The Fifteenth Day”, Rezā Irānmanesh (actor) reminisces about his best friend and comrade, Parviz. In the memory “What Did We Ask for; What Did We Get!” Mohammad-Rezā Torābizādeh (former prisoner of war) speaks about the night of the operation during which he was captured. Finally, in “The Polluted City”, Ebrāhim Hātamikiyā (director) has recorded his observations of Operation Mersād, to which he had been dispatched to film the operation.
The next memories are narrated by Seyyedeh Zahrā Hosseini (Khorramshahri female combatant); Alirezā Rahimi (former prisoner of war); the commanding officers Rahim Safavi and Lieutenant General Ali Sayyād Shirāzi; Mohammad-Rezā Tāleqāni, a prominent sports figure (wrestling); Hossein Mozzafar (former Minister of Education); Rasūl Mollā-Qolipūr (director); Ali Milāni (airborne pilot); Fātemeh Nāhidi (former prisoner of war); Mohammad-Nezām Eslāmi (TV and radio reporter); and Bijan Nobāveh (TV and radio reporter).
The Occupation and the Badge/ by: Sabbār al-Lāmi and Sattār Sa`d, translated by Mohammad Nabi-Ebrāhimi/ Published by the Resistance Literature and Art Bureau/ 2008
The Occupation and the Badge is composed of two chapters and six sections. Focusing on Operation Mersād, the first chapter is written by Captain Sattār al-Sa`d, an Iraqi officer who has with his own eyes witnessed the crimes of the Monāfeqin against the Muslim residents of Gilān-e Gharb and Eslām-Ābād as well as the all-out resistance the residents of the towns and villages of Eslām-Ābād and other cities and villages of Islamic Iran showed. What stands out as full of grandeur for us and full of instructive lessons for the enemy is the resistance people put up against the criminal Monāfeqin and the Iraqi Ba`thi Army. The second chapter of the book– which composes most of it – explores the events which occurred during the occupation of Kuwait and its background which are all narrated by Staff Colonel Sabbār al-Lāmi. This Iraqi colonel was in Kuwait from the first operation and the occupation of Kuwait by Iraqi forces until its liberation by the allied forces.
Ten Meters from the Ambushing Eyes: A Narrative of Eight Years by Sardār (6) Ja`far Mazāheri/ by Mohsen Seifikār/ Published the Foundation for Preservation of Monuments and Dissemination of Values of the Sacred Defence/ 2010
Ten Meters from the Ambushing Eyes retells the memoirs of Ja`far Mazāheri, a commanding officer during the Sacred Defence. This book recounts his memoirs of his childhood; the Islamic Revolution; the events in Kordestān; the outbreak of the Imposed War; Sar-e Pol-e Zahāb and other war zones; Operations Ramezān, Valfajr-2, Valfajr-5, Karbalā-4, Karbalā-5, Beit ol-Moqaddas-2, and Mersād; etc. The memoirs also describe his efforts as the deputy commander of the 16th Qods Division of Gilān, the deputy commander of the 3rd Qods Corps, and a deputy and commander of some other military units.
This book presents 117 pictures in relation to the topics, maps of operations documents, historical and military analyses of operations, and major events of the Revolution and the Sacred Defence.
During the Sacred Defence, Sardār Mazāheri commanded many of the operations launched by the 32nd Ansār al-Hossein Brigade and Khandaq Battalion of Sārallah Divison and was the deputy commander of the 105th Qods Division of Gilān. He retired in 2001 dues to the wounds he suffered in the War.
A Drop of Sea Water/ By: Ali-Mohammad Zand/ Published by Sarir Publications/ 2011
This book is narrated and penned by Ali-MohammadZand, a combatant during the Scared Defence. The author, who himself took part in Operation Mersād, tries to recount all the details of this operation from the beginning to the end.
My Share of those Beautiful Eyes: Memoirs of Hamid Hesām/ by: Mostafā Rahimi/ Published by Sūreh-ye Mehr Publications/ 2012
Its interviews collected by the author Mostafā Rahimi, My Share of those Beautiful Eyes is written in 11 chapters: “In Front of Saqqākhaneh(7)-ye Hazrat Abolfazl”, “The Nights of Qarāviz”, “A Commander Like Him”, Mammad and His Knots”, “A Journey from Bardzard”, “Watch-keeping on Arvand Coast”, “A Conflict On the Southern Island”, “A Mast in Water”, “The Short Life of the Mast”, “Watch-keeping in Infiltration Tactics”, and “Farewell in Chāhār-Zebar”.
Written in a plain language, the book chronologically recounts his life until the 22nd of September, 1980, and then retells in detail the events of the Sacred Defence he witnessed from the beginning of the Imposed War. At the end of each chapter, it presents pictures relative to the events described.
This book recounts Hamid Hesām`s memoirs from his first presence in the war zone as a look-out in the 32nd Ansār al-Hossein Division of Hamedān to his last duties in the Sacred Defence.
1. Sepāh-e Pāsdārān-e Enqelāb-e Eslāmi, or Sepāh for short
2. In Islamic calligraphy, ligheh is a wad of raw silk fibers usually put in an inkwell.
3. The ghazal is a poetic form similar in stringency to those of the Petrarchan sonnet (www.wikipedia.org).
4. The commanding officer is often assisted by a deputy commander otherwise referred to as executive officer(XO) orsecond-in-command(2i/c).
5. Hands Up, Chief!
6. A term used while addressing generals.
7. A Saqqakhaneh is a ceremonial public structure holding water for thirsty passers-by.

Asgar Abbāsnejad
Translated by: Katayoun Davallou

 
Number of Visits: 4532