The fighting around Basra was the bloodiest of the Iran-Iraq War, grinding through thousands of lives as both sides hurled everything they had into the struggle. It was here that Iraq unleashed chemical weapons on a massive scale, forcing the world to take notice... not out of moral outrage, but out of the cold realization that modern warfare had crossed another line.

Basra. July 13, 1982 - February 27, 1987.
Iraqi Forces: ~ 285,000 Soldiers.
Iranian Forces: Unknown, but Hundreds of Thousands.

Additional Reading and Episode Research:

• Wagner, A.R. The Lessons of Modern War.
• Yengst, William. The Iran-Iraq War: The Siege of Basra.

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