A war story as told by Iranian Army Captain H. Ebrahimi-Saeed

A war story as told by Iranian Army Captain H. Ebrahimi-Saeed (retired);

Date: 26th September 1980
Location: SW Iran
Unit: 283rd Armoured Cavalry battalion, 92nd Armoured Division

I had been transferred to a forward operating location near the Iran-Iraq border 12 days before the commencement of hostilities. I was newly married and had no idea that an eight year long conflict would commence in a few weeks. I was worried about myself, family and my wife since this was the first time I was away from them, but I realized that I had a job to do.

on the 21st, at least two divisions of the Iraqi ground forces (10th armored div, 1st mechanized infantry div of the Iraqi Army) overran our front positions. I was a TOW missile operator at the time and my battalion was the 283rd Armoured Cav of the 92nd Armoured Division. As a TOW missilier, I think I was one of the first ones to fire and eventually destroy an Iraqi Tank. We were demoralized and almost surrounded. Yet, this first missile shot actually encouraged our battalion which in turn caused other TOW operators to muster enough courage and fire a salvo at the enemy Tanks. Our vulnerable recce Scorpion IFVs were firing non stop. It was fire works all over the place. 24 Hours later our division commander issued a tactical withdrawal order to all engaging units. Most of our units were overrun, out of ammo or food and as such they had no chance to survive the Iraqi onslaught. So the withdrawal order made sense. We were determined to regroup east of the vitally important 'Karun' river in order to re-attack enemy troops or armored vehicles. The incoming Iraqi fire was just too overwhelming to maintain our initial positions.


When we reached our temporary garrison east of the Karun river, we were told that the Iraqis will attempt at capturing the 4th Vahdati Dezful Air Force base in a matter of days. Our division for now was the only thing that stood between the complete seizure of Iran's oil rich Khuzestan province, its strategic oil/military installations and the invading Ba'thist armies. The situation was just dire. The enemy Fifth Column's rumors, combined with their constant psy-op messages and artillery fire had made our lives just miserable. But we knew this was the end of the line for us. The Iraqis were re-grouping west of the Karun for their final push in land. And our battalion at that point was the only cavalry unit that was equipped with deadly TOW missiles and other armor piercing munitions.

Our battalion commander Captain 'Tahami' gathered all six TOW missiliers for a briefing. He told us: 'guys, like most of you, I haven't slept properly in days, I have not eaten for days. and yet this is where we will make our stand against the invaders.' He could barely speak to us. I could clearly see that he was tired, sleep deprived and was under pressure.

Captain 'Tahami' went on: "This is where we'll either defend or die. Our families, our fellow citizens and our air force brothers are across this bridge in land' as he motioned to a map. 'Allowing the Iraqis to cross this bridge will be the end of Iran as we know it,' he said.

As he finished his last sentence, we heard and then saw friendly fighter bombers strafing the enemy positions. That certainly encouraged us much further. Silently we all filed out of the room and headed for our TOW equipped vehicles.

All six of us got together for one last time to renew our commitment to the unit and to the country. Right then and there we promised each other to prevent the Iraqis from crossing that bridge.

I, Staff Sgt. Kooshkee and Sgt. Shemiranee operated three different TOW equipped armored cars known as the U.S. made M-113 infantry fighting vehicles.
Sgt. Shemiranee was my best friend and battle buddy. He'd also been married around the same time as I had. We were very close. Before we mounted our vehicles, he took his wedding ring off and gave it to me. He told me: 'Hassan, I am going to die today. Please give this ring to my wife when you get back." That did me in. I started tearing up and so did he. I tried to counsel him and calm him down. I told him: "Alright. Here is my own ring. You take it and give it to my wife in case I die here." I didn't know what else to do. He was my best friend. And we were too young to die.

As we approached the bridge to position our TOW capable M-113 vehicles, the Iraqi Tanks started firing at us directly. And we started loading and firing back with our small arms and TOW missiles.


In the heat of battle, I heard a loud cry from behind the mound. "HELP! Ouch! I am burning from within." Disregarding the intense barrage of gun fire, I left my M-113's secure position and ran towards the cry. It was pointless. Sgt. Shemiranee was bleeding profusely and died as soon as I got to him. Crying and mourning was of no use. It was time for revenge. Anger had swallowed my entire mind and body. I ran back to my vehicle, and fired 5 times hitting something of value each time. Our TOW missiles hit troop carriers and Tanks dead on. We were firing so fast the enemy must have thought there were a dozen Iranian troops firing at them. We were so close we could hear their engine's roaring. Each time we hit a Tank or a BMP (a Russian made infantry fighting vehicle), the dismounted Iraqi soldiers would run back and hide in trenches or behind dirt mounds. I think both of us spent more than 24 hours there fighting and holding off an entire Iraqi battalion until fresh troops and ammo arrived. That bridge was of utmost importance to us. It had to be defended at all costs. The Iraqi gun fire eventually died down. However 48 hours later they re-attacked and tried to cross the bridge but our re-supplied unit held them off once again. And this time, we were, as a unit, strong enough to cross that important bridge to establish a bridge head west of the river for future offensive operations. I had the honor of crossing the bridge with my M-113 only days after my best friend had died defending it. I was sad, but was immensely proud.

Lest we forget the 283rd Armored Cavalry's glorious dead. Their memories will be with us forever.

Source

 

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Shiraz Army Base​

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From Right to Left:​

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Sgt. Abolfazl Rajabee Shemiranee (mentioned above) - Sgt. H. A. Ebrahimi Saeed - Sgt. Yaddolah Heydaree​

 

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From Right to Left:​

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Pvt. Payvar - Sgt. H. A. Ebrahimi Saeed - PFC. Siavash Pour Sadegh - Pvt. Shojaee​

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Gravestone in picture:​

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Enlisted Private Siavash Pour Sadegh​

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Born: 1340 (1961)​

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KIA: 18.06.1360 (09.09.1981) - Ahvaz​

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Father`s name: Alishah​

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Row 14 - No. 14​

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Maragheh Cemetry​

 

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Standing row from L to R:​

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Sgt. H. A. Ebrahimi Saeed - S/Sgt. Mahdi Firoozian (KIA)​

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Sitting row From L to R:​

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PFC. Behrooz Noori - PFC. Shirzad Nejatfar (KIA)​

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Gravestone in picture:

Staff Seargent Mahdi Firoozian

Born: 1341 (1962)

KIA: 01.04.1361 (22.06.1982) - Basra

Father`s name: Mohammad

Row 09 - No. 03

Maragheh Cemetry

 

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War Hero, Capt. Ebrahimi Saeed armed with WW2 US-made M3 A1 Grease Gun SMG

as you see, his rank in this picture is "Goruhban Yekom" equalls to "Seargent" in US Army

 

#5 - never seen that flash suppressor.
#2- Wonder what year that picture was taken...Really reminded me- deja view all over again-
The Bee Gee's
Stayin' Alive
Pardon, no offense intended.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_izvAbhExY

 

greetings Poppy,

as he told, this photo is taken 10 days before war starts...

 

Howdy, MrTIRDAD.
Sorry, meant the 3 guys walking in post number 2 -looks like the 3 Bee Gee brothers walking in their video...wondered when that picture was taken.
Maybe western music influenced those 3 guys walking in front of the monument...First thing i thought of was that BG's music video.
Or i could be reading too much into that picture.