The Iran-Iraq War: Volume 1, the Battle for Khuzestan, September 1980-May 1982

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The Iran-Iraq War was one of the bloodiest conflicts of the 20th Century and accidentally created the current nightmare of Islamic fundamentalist terrorism. There have been many books on the conflict but this is the first detailed military history using materials from both sides, as well as materials obtained from US Intelligence circles and British Governmental archives. It provides a unique insight into a war which began through miscalculation and rapidly escalated into the longest conventional conflict in the post Second World War era. The first volume looks at the background and describes in detail how Saddam Hussein decided to invade but hamstrung the Iraqi Army to restrict its greatest success to a narrow strip of territory in Iran's southern province of Khuzestan. This left the Iraqis unable either to advance or withdraw and exposed them to ever greater and more successful Iranian counter-strokes which drove them out in May 1982 in the ferocious Battle of Khorramshahr. AUTHORS: E.R. Hooton is a successful retired defence journalist, including acting as a Jane's Yearbook editor. Tom Cooper is an Austrian aerial warfare analyst and historian. Farzin Nadimi is a writer and researcher of the Middle Eastern and Persian Gulf defense and security affairs, with a focus on Iran-Iraq War military history, energy security and geopolitics, economic warfare, and oil and gas industries. 48 colour photos, 80 b/w photos, 18 colour profiles, 7 maps, 6 table

Reviews

"Color and B&W photos illustrate Helion's account. Abbreviations, extended captions, maps, selected bibliography and chapter endnotes further season the study. And color profiles nicely sample participating warplane and armor livery... the book conveniently chronicles the war's initial phases."-- "Cybermodeler"
"This book is a valuable addition to the Middle East War series and deserves a place in the collection of anyone interested in the military conflicts of the region. Modellers will be rewarded with a valuable visual reference, as well as an inspiring read which will have you poking around in your stash, looking for a suitable kit to build from the conflict. Highly recommended."-- "Britmodeller"
"...this book is jam packed with excellent information about the early stages of the Iran-Iraq War and I look forward to seeing future volumes."-- "Military Modelling"
"I don't believe we were ever told in the western press just how horrific this two-year stretch of the war actually was, and it falls to authors such as E R Hooton to remind and educate us in that regard.""-- "Books Monthly"
"I suspect that this volume could literally be a game-changer for the 1980s enthusiast...Inspirational, and excellent value, richly deserving of one of the editor's medals."-- "Miniature Wargames"
"Interesting and authoritative...well worth a read."-- "Classic Military Vehicles" (3/1/2017 12:00:00 AM)
"Photos, text and profile images will give you an idea on how to paint and weather your model in order to achieve a nice finish. Moreover, publication has great educational value, and I am sure you will know more about the beginning of the conflict and the reasons why it gradually evolved into such big war."-- "DetailScaleView"
"The books themselves are large, and eighty pages long. They are full of pictures of the war, and also have a good amount of large colored side views of the of the different planes, armor, and other vehicles. These are excellent for model makers. The military and political history of the war is fascinating, and the books' writing only serves to make it that much better. These volumes are another score for Helion&Company."-- "A Wargamers Needful Things"

Author Bio

E.R. Hooton is a successful retired defence journalist, including acting as a Janes Yearbook editor. He is the author of more than a dozen military history books ranging from the Balkans Wars 1912-13, air operations over the Western Front 1916-18, the breaking of the Hindenburg Line 1918, the Red Army 1937-41, air operations 1939-45 and the Communist Chinese victory of 1945-51. Tom Cooper is an Austrian aerial warfare analyst and historian. Following a career in the worldwide transportation business during which he established a network of contacts in the Middle East and Africa he moved into narrow-focus analysis and writing on small, little-known air forces and conflicts, about which he has collected extensive archives. This has resulted in specialisation in such Middle Eastern air forces as of those of Egypt, Iran, Iraq, and Syria, plus various African and Asian air forces. As well as authoring and co-authoring more than 50 books - including an in-depth analysis of major Arab air forces at wars with Israel in period 1955-1973 - and over 1000 articles, Cooper is editor of Helion's five @War series. Farzin Nadimi is a writer and researcher of Middle Eastern and Persian Gulf defense and security affairs, with a focus on Iran-Iraq War military history, energy security and geopolitics, economic warfare, and oil and gas industries. He has a Master's degree in War Studies from King's College London and a PhD in Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Manchester. He lives in Washington, DC and is currently working at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.