Atlas of Battles

battle, notable, Cold War

First Battle of al-Faw

First Battle of al-Faw was a battle fought on 11 February 1986 at Al-Faw Peninsula, in what is now Iraq. It was part of the Iran–Iraq War, which ran from 1980 to 1988. The recorded result: Iranian victory.

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Al-Faw peninsula, Iraq -
Al-Faw peninsula, Iraq -. UNEP / ChrisO (talk) (Uploads), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought11 February 1986
WhereAl-Faw Peninsula, Iraq29.975N, 48.472E
OutcomeIranian victory
BelligerentsBa'athist IraqagainstIran
Part ofIran–Iraq War1980 to 1988

Where it sits in the Iran–Iraq War

Battle of Khorramshahr, 1980Operation Kaman 99, 1980Operation Scorch Sword, 1980Siege of Abadan, 1980Operation Morvarid, 1980Battle of Dezful, 1981Attack on H3, 1981Operation Tariq al-Qods, 1981Liberation of Khorramshahr, 1982Operation Dawn 2, 1983Operation Dawn 3, 1983Operation Dawn 5, 1984Battle of the Marshes, 1984War of the Cities, 1984First Battle of al-Faw, 1986Battle of Mehran, 1986Siege of Basra, 1987Operation Earnest Will, 198719801987First Battle of al-Faw, 1986
18 placed engagements of the Iran–Iraq War in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date11 February 1986
PlaceAl-Faw Peninsula, Iraq
29.975N, 48.472E
KindBattle, Cold War
Territorial changeIran captures the tip of the al-Faw peninsula
StrengthBeginning: 1,000–5,000 troops; Height of battle: 82,000 troops (Three mechanised divisions); 400+ aircraft; 200+ helicoptersBeginning: 22,000–25,000 troops; Height of battle: 133,000 troops; Several tank companies; 70 aircraft; 70+ helicopters
Casualties and losses3,000 killed; 9,000 wounded; 2,105 captured; Destroyed: 74 aircraft; 11 helicopters; 400 tanks; 200 APCs; 500 military vehicles; 20 field artillery pieces; 55 anti-aircraft artillery pieces; 7 fast attack craft; 5 engineering vehicles destroyed; Captured by Iran: 80 tanks; 40 APCs; 250 vehicles; 35 field artillery pieces; 150 anti-aircraft artillery pieces; 3 radars; 34 engineering equipment; Other claims: 10,000 killed (February–March); 40–55 aircraft; 100+ tanks10,000 killed; 25,000 wounded; (10,000 casualties of chemical attacks)
Commanders
  • Maher Abdul Rashid
  • Hisham Sabah al-Fakhri
  • Saadi Toma Abbas
  • Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
  • Esmaeil Sohrabi
  • Mohsen Rezaei
  • Ali Sayad Shirazi
  • Morteza Ghorbani
  • Husayn Kharrazi
First Battle of al-FawFirst Battle of al-FawFao LandingSiege of AbadanLiberation of KhorramshahrBattle of KhorramshahrBattle of BasraFao LandingSiege of AbadanLiberation of KhorramshahrKuwait CityBehbehanAz AubayrAl JahraAl Ahmadi100 km29.975N, 48.472E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1986

First Battle of al-Faw is one of 2,997 engagements of the 20th century in the atlas and one of 173 in present-day Iraq.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q83002, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article First Battle of al-Faw, revision 1385572530, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.