Iran defeats Iraq and sweeps the Persian Gulf in a blitzkrieg that starts with air strikes on Iraqi airfields and bases. These are followed by Hovercraft encirclement of Iraqi tanks that face Iranian armor between the cities of Dez Jul and Ahvaz. The victorious Iranians then move down the Arabian coast, capturing Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Dubai, and Oman. The inset map shows the extent of the ancient Sassanid Empire—Persia’s period of greatest expansion, and inspiration of the present shah.

The king of kings was 56, and before he died he intended that the glory of ancient Persia be restored. See below map

His first move was right out of the Israeli book: 100 Phantoms, equipped with their Phoenix stand-off missiles, made low-level dawn raids on all eight major Iraqi military bases. Iraq at this time had 30 MiG-23’s, 90 MiG-2 l’s, 30 MiG-17’s, and 36 dId British-made Hunters. All but 33 of these aircraft were destroyed on the ground before the sun was up, thanks to the remarkable accuracy of the Phoenixes and to the skill of the Iranian pilots, all of whom had been schooled by the United

States Air Force.

The second air strike was directed at Umm Qasr, the port city just off the Iraqi-Kuwait border, where the Russians had built a naval base for the Iraqis, designed to guard the mouth of the Shatt al-Arab River. One hundred and twenty Northrop F-S’s leveled the place within an hour. By 7:30 A.M. battalion after battalion of Iranian troops were being landed by helicopter. It was a walkover.

The third strike, in which both Phantoms and F-S’s were employed, was the most massive of all. It was directed at the artillery and missile sites just across the Shatt al-Arab from Abadan and Khorramshahr. A great deal of napalm was used—with devastating effect.

The Iranian Air Force had proved itself the most efficient in the entire Middle East, exceeding even the Israeli performance of a few years back in terms of turnaround time and operational techniques.

The key tactical move, however, first began around 9 A.M. after all three air-strike operations had proved successful. Military historians today refer to it as “the Shatt al-Arab end run.” It was conceived and implemented by Commander Fereydoun Shahandeh as
the first full military offensive based primarily upon the use of Hovercrafts. The idea was tailor-made for the geography of the area. Remember all those Iraqi tanks in the corridor between the Tigris River and the Iranian border? Well, behind them—to the west—were the swamps of the Tigris-Euphrates delta, impassable terrain from the military standpoint. Impassable, that is, for every military vehicle known to man except the Hovercraft, which could move on top of its air cushion across anything that was reasonably flat—water, swamp, or beach—and at a speed of 40 mph., fully loaded. These remarkable machines (all built for the shah in Britain, the world’s leader in Hovercraft technology) could move an entire armored battalion: in their cavernous bowels were tanks (Chieftains, also British-built) and armored personnel carriers (BTR-50’s and BTR-60’s,of Soviet origin) plus a full complement of military personnel in the wings and on the upper decks. They had a range of 150 miles. But they could not move until the naval base at Umm Qasr had been put out of action, and until the Iraqi fire power on the west bank of the Shatt al-Arab—the gateway to the Tigris—Euphrates delta—had been eliminated. By 9 AM, it was. Immediately, the beaches on the Persian Gulf to the east of Abadan were filled with the howl of Hovercraft engines, as the air pressure was raised within the skirts beneath the vehicles. By 9:15 all 45 craft were under way. As these grotesque weapons of war moved around the corner, and up the Shatt al-Arab channel, the scene resembled a Martian invasion.
Only two hours later, they began opening up their ramps on firm ground to the rear of the Iraqi forces. At the same time the main body of Iranian panzers, which had been grouped between Dezful and Ahvaz, began a frontal assault from the east. It was nothing less than a massacre. Already by early afternoon the vast majority of the Iraqi forces chose surrender.
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Meanwhile, back in Washington, Secretary of Defense Schlesinger and his chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Brown, were having drinks at a cocktail party, in Chevy Chase, being thrown by Senator Stennis of Mississippi in honor of himself.
The first hint that something was going on started coming in around 8 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, on this 29th of February. The word caime from the Aramco communications center in Riyadh, was sent to the Standard Oil people in New York, and then relayed to the Pentagon. Since it was a weekend, they sat on it there for a while, and then some colonel decided that he’d better cover his back just in case. So Schlesinger was alerted by telephone out at Chevy Chase.
"Goddamned Iraqis," was Schlesinger’s comment to Brown after hanging up, "they’ve attacked Iran again. But this time in real style, apparently." Brown did not trust either the defense secretary or Standard Oil, so he immediately arranged for an aerial reconnaissance sweep of the region. Schlesinger thought he’d better call Henry. Nancy answered the phone and said Henry was at the office. So Schlesinger called the State Departmc You have a problem, James?" was pronounced "Chames." "Yes. Henry. Apparently Iraq has attacked Iran. And this time the shah shooting back."
"We have nothing on this at State "It does not surprise me." Henry did not think that descry.
comment. "When will you have more Kissinger asked.
"Within the hour."
At the end of that hour, Schlesinger and Brown were on their way to the White House. Henry, William Simon, and Nelson Rockefeller were in the Oval Office with the president when they arrived. All were drinking bourbon and branch water, so Schlesinger and Brown also drank bourbon.
Mr. Ford asked the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to brief the group. Brown told of the air strikes around Baghdad, of the destruction of the Soviet-built naval base at Umm Qasr, and of the Shatt al-Arab end run. He did not consider these developments unfavorable for the United States. Quite the contrary. Iraq was a client state of the Soviet Union’s. iran was a
The Hovercraft end-run: Iranian troops debouch front the swamps of the Tigris—Euphrates delta onto firm ground, having crossed the nearly impassable terrain by means of Hovercrat It, British-made vehicles that speed along on a self-generated air cushion. At this point the Iranians are poised to attack the main concentration of Iraqi tanks front the rear, taking them completely by surprise and forcing surrender.

Triple strike: The war begins with airborne missile attacks that devastate Iraq’s military bases. Iraq’s Russian-built naval base at Umm Qasr is seen here under attack by Iranian troops brought in by helicopters.

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