Iran–Iraq War : The Lion of Babylon, 1980–1988

The bloody eight-year Iran-Iraq war is now almost forgotten, overshadowed by the subsequent Gulf War and Iraq War. However, it is best remembered for the unique so-called 'Tanker War which threatened to strangle the worlds oil supplies. At the time Tucker-Jones as a defence analyst wrote extensively on the war and now brings his expertise to bear with this account of a conflict fuelled by festering regional rivalries, the Cold War and the emerging threat posed by militant Shia Islam. Fought on land, at sea and in the air using some of the most modern weapons money could buy, Western-backed Saddam Husseins Sunni Iraq and Shia Iran under the ayatollahs fought themselves to a standstill. Once Saddams armoured blitzkrieg had been halted and Irans human-wave counterattacks fought off, it became a war of attrition with major battles fought for the possession of Khorramshahr and Basra. Both sides resorted to chemical weapons and bombarding each other with missiles. When the war spilled over into the waters of the Gulf it sparked open Western intervention. Escalating attacks on oil tankers finally culminated in a ceasefire. The dramatic story of the brutal eight-year war between these rival powers in the 1980s, with numerous photos included. The bloody eight-year Iran-Iraq war is now almost forgotten, overshadowed by the subsequent Gulf War and Iraq War. It is best remembered for the unique so-called Tanker War, which threatened to strangle the world's oil supplies. At the time, defense analyst Anthony Tucker-Jones wrote extensively on the war and now brings his expertise to bear with this account of a conflict fueled by festering regional rivalries, the Cold War, and the emerging threat posed by militant Shia Islam. Fought on land, at sea, and in the air using some of the most modern weapons money could buy, Western-backed Saddam Hussein's Sunni Iraq and Shia Iran under the ayatollahs fought themselves to a standstill. Once Saddam's armored blitzkrieg had been halted and Iran's human-wave counterattacks fought off, it became a war of attrition with major battles fought for the possession of Khorramshahr and Basra. Both sides resorted to chemical weapons and bombarded each other with missiles. When the war finally spilled over into the waters of the Gulf, it sparked open Western intervention. This is the riveting story of this long and devastating conflict, accompanied by extensive photos. Concise account of a forgotten Cold War conflict and its terrible outcome.