Immortal: A Military History of Iran and Its Armed Forces

395 Pages·2009·7.81 MB·English

IMMORTAL

IMMORTAL
A Military History
of Iran and Its
Armed Forces
STEVEN R. WARD
In cooperation with
The Center for Peace and Security Studies,
Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service,
Georgetown University
GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY PRESS
Washington, DC
Georgetown University Press, Washington, D.C.
www.press.georgetown.edu
© 2009 by Steven R. Ward. All rights reserved. No part of this
book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording,
or by any information storage and retrieval system, without
permission in writing from the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Ward, Steven R.
Immortal : a military history of Iran and its armed forces /
by Steven R. Ward.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-1-58901-258-5 (hardcover : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 1-58901-258-5 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Iran—History, Military. 2. Iran—Armed
Forces—History. I. Title.
DS273.3.W37 2008
355.00955—dc22
2008031770
o This book is printed on acid-free paper meeting the requirements
of the American National Standard for Permanence in Paper for
Printed Library Materials.
16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
First printing
Printed in the United States of America
For Martha Ann,
my one and only

Contents
List of Figures ix
Preface and Acknowledgments xi
Introduction: The Iranian Phoenix 1
1 Heritage of Greatness, Legacy of Loss 11
2 Powerful Predecessors: The Safavids and Nader Shah 41
3 Laughingstock: The Qajar Military 61
4 Nationalism Unleashed: From Revolution to the Great War 91
5 Two Paths: The Birth of the Modern Iranian Armed Forces 125
6 Sidelined: The World at War in Iran 151
7 Cold War Pillar: The Rise of the Imperial Armed Forces 181
8 Old Guard, New Guard: Iran’s Armed Forces in the 211
Islamic Revolution
9 Horrible Sacrifi ce: The Iran- Iraq War 242
10 Despise Not Your Enemy: Iran’s Armed Forces in the 299
Twenty-fi rst Century
Notes 327
Bibliography 349
Index 363

Figures
I.1 Nest of the Phoenix xiv
1.1 The Achaemenian Empire 10
1.2 Ancient Batt lefi elds 18
1.3 The Parthian and Sassanian Empires 25
2.1 The Persian World from the Arab Conquests 40
to Nader Shah
4.1 Qajar Iran 90
6.1 The 1941 British and Soviet Invasions of Iran 153
9.1 The September 1980 Iraqi Invasion and Iranian 250
Counteroff ensives, 1980–1982
9.2 Iranian Off ensives, 1983–1987 262
9.3 The Naval War in the Persian Gulf 280
9.4 Iran’s 1988 Defeats 290