1991 Persian Gulf War

Iraqi Forces

by David Nilsen and Greg Novak

The Armed Forces of Iraq found themselves facing a bad situation in mid-February 1991. The US-led Coalition to the south not only remained intact, but Iraq found itself threatened by possible hostile powers to the east (Iran), the north (Turkey), and the west (Syria). While whatever forces could be sent to the Kuwaiti area had been dispatched, the Iraqi government was forced to maintain troops on all of its borders. And to add insult to injury, Iraq was being run by the mother of all selfinflicted wounds, Saddam "What, Me Worry?" Hussein.

At the start of the war, Iraq had seven army corps (I to VII), plus the Republican Guard Forces Command. Three additional corps are said to have been organized prior to the start of the ground war: the VIII Tank Corps along the Kuwaiti-Iraqi border to control the Iraqi Army's armored reserve, and, as back-up formations to control newly raised reserve divisions, the 1X Reserve Corps near Basra, and the X Reserve Corps near Baghdad (it would appear that X Corps may have been a holding unit, responsible for assembling and training the recalled and conscripted troops). However, three years later, it is difficult to track these formations with any certainty, or even to place much stock in their existence. For example, the VIII Corps is conspicuous by its absence in any documents, and would appear to have turned into the Jihad Corps, and the VII Corps area of responsibility appears to have expanded to take over some of the area theoretically attributed to the reserve corps. Like the five new Republican Guard divisions and six new special forces divisions that were supposed to have been being raised, these corps seem to disintegrate in the light of the postwar morning.

The list below is most accurate for the forces in the Kuwait theater, and less so for forces elsewhere in Iraq-there is substantial disagreement about the locations and composition of the Iraqi I, V, VI, and X Corps. Also, the Iraqi tendency to deploy brigades one at a time is at variance with the deep-seated Western need to define forces in terms of divisions, and also leads to some uncertainty.

The data is intended to show the Iraqi organization as of 24 February 1991.

IRAQI GROUND FORCES

I Corps
Northern Kurdistan and Turkish Border
6 Infantry Divisions
8 Reserve Infantry Divisions

II Corps/2d Armored Corps
Shatt al Arab and Northeastern Kuwait

2nd Infantry Division
19th Infantry Division
22nd Infantry Division
28th Infantry Division
43rd Infantry Division
51st Mechanized Infantry Division
17th Armored Division
1-2 unidentified Infantry Divisions
One independent Infantry Brigade (?)
One independent Armored Brigade (?) (53rd)

III Corps
Southern Kuwait (Bootheel)
7th Infantry Division
8th Infantry Division
11th Infantry Division
14th Infantry Division
15th Infantry Division
18th Infantry Division
29th Infantry Division
42nd Infantry Division
5th Mechanized Division
3rd Armored Division
One unidentified Infantry Division
Possibly one independent Armored Brigade (54th, with T-72s) 65th, 66th, and 68th Special Forces Brigades 449th Artillery Brigade

IV Corps
Southwestern Kuwait
16th Infantry Division
20th Infantry Division
21st Infantry Division
30th Infantry Division
36th Infantry Division
1st Mechanized Division
6th Armored Division
41st and 42nd Artillery Brigades

V Corps
Northern Iran-Iraqi Border
5 Infantry Divisions

VI CorpsSyrian-Iraqi Border
6 Infantry Divisions

VII Corps
Iraqi-Saudi Border
25th Infantry Division
26th Infantry Division
27th Infantry Division
31st Infantry Division
47th Infantry Division
48th Infantry Division
52nd Armored Division

Jihad Corps
Northwestern Kuwait
10th Armored Division
12th Armored Division

IX Corps
Southern Iraq
45th Infantry Division
49th Reserve Infantry Division
54th Reserve Infantry Division

X Corps
Central Iraq
8 Reserve Infantry Divisions

Republican Guard Forces Command
Just north of Iraqi-Kuwaiti Border
1st RG Armored Division "Hammurabi"
2nd RG Armored Division "Medinah"
3rd RG Mechanized Infantry Division "Tawakalna"
4th RG Motorized Infantry Division "Al Faw"
6th RG Motorized Infantry Division "Nebuchadnezzar"
7th RG Motorized Infantry Division "Adnan"
8th RG Special Forces Division

Baghdad Garrison
5th RG Mechanized Infantry Division "Baghdad"
2 Infantry Divisions
2 Special Forces Brigades

1991 Persian Gulf War Supplement Part 2

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© Copyright 1994 by Greg Novak.
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