ARMIES OF THE IRAN-IRAQ WAR 1980-88

◗ Chris McNab

◗ Osprey (2022)

◗ £13.99

◗ 64 pages (softback)

◗ ISBN:9781472845573

◗ ospreypublishing.com

This long and bloody war saw 1-2 million casualties, in a mixture of major offensives and attritional static warfare. Both sides exhibited an extraordinary variety of armed forces and weaponry. With regard to the forces involved, the regular armies were supplemented (and occasionally supplanted) by political arms: the Iraqi Republican Guard and low-rated ‘militia’ on the one side, and a range of semi-fanatical organisations on the other.

Each side had a bewildering range of weapons including much NATO and Warsaw Pact material. One of the major challenges was training and serviceability levels, with too few men knowing how to use and maintain the major weapons. As the war went on, this was exacerbated by global searches for replacement of losses, leading to even more varied equipment.

The photos and illustrations are virtually all of men and hand-held weapons, rather than tanks etc, and there is little on the operations, but this is a well written profile of the troops, equipment, organisations, and key strengths and weaknesses of each side. Recommended.