Atlas of Battles

commander, 19 engagements

Battles of Saddam Hussein

Battles of Saddam Hussein

Iraqi politician and revolutionary, president of Iraq from 1979 to 2003, 1937 to 2006

Saddam Hussein is recorded as a commander at 19 placed engagements in the atlas between 1980 and 1991: 7 battles, 2 sieges, 2 naval actions and 8 campaigns across 5 present-day countries, most in Iraq (9), Iran (5), Kuwait (2). Taken in date order, the sites lie 5,495 km apart end to end, 343 km between engagements on average. Most belong to Iran–Iraq War (11), Gulf War (7).

Operation Samen-ol-A'emehOperation Tariq al-QodsBattle of the MarshesWar of the CitiesOperation Karbala-4Operation Ramadan ul-MubarakOperation FrictionBattle of Qurah and Umm al MaradimBattle of BubiyanBattle of Phase Line BulletLiberation of Kuwait CampaignOperation Provide ComfortOperation Dawn 9Operation Beit ol-Moqaddas 4Siege of AbadanOperation Undeniable VictorySiege of BasraIraqi invasion of KuwaitBattle of KhafjiSiege of AbadanOperation Undeniable VictorySiege of BasraIraqi invasion of KuwaitBattle of KhafjiTehranBaghdadDubaiAleppoMashhadDamascusIsfahanShirazAmmanDoha500 km30.775N, 48.000E
19 placed engagements, coloured by era. Present-day coastlines; ringed marks are the most widely documented.

Engagements by year

1980: 1 engagements1981: 2 engagements1982: 1 engagements1984: 2 engagements1986: 1 engagements1987: 1 engagements1988: 1 engagements1990: 2 engagements1991: 6 engagements6 in 199119801991
17 dated engagements, one bar per year, coloured by era.

In time order

Siege of Abadan, 1980Operation Samen-ol-A'emeh, 1981Operation Tariq al-Qods, 1981Operation Undeniable Victory, 1982Battle of the Marshes, 1984War of the Cities, 1984Operation Karbala-4, 1986Siege of Basra, 1987Operation Ramadan ul-Mubarak, 1988Operation Friction, 1990Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, 1990Battle of Qurah and Umm al Maradim, 1991Battle of Khafji, 1991Battle of Bubiyan, 1991Battle of Phase Line Bullet, 1991Liberation of Kuwait Campaign, 1991Operation Provide Comfort, 199119801991
One tick per dated engagement; each tick is a link.

Wars 2

Engagements by date

DateEngagementPlaceFrom the lastResult
6 November 1980Siege of AbadanAbadan, IranIranian victory; Iraqi siege broken
1981Operation Samen-ol-A'emehAbadan, Iran2 km EIranian victory; Iraqi siege of Abadan is broken
7 December 1981Operation Tariq al-QodsDasht-e Azadegan County, Iran157 km NIranian...
1982Operation Undeniable VictoryKhuzestan Province, Iran76 km SEIranian victory
February 1984Battle of the MarshesHawizeh Marshes, Iraq97 km WIranian victory
1984War of the CitiesIran503 km E
1986Operation Karbala-4Basra Governorate, Iraq496 km WIraqi victory; Successful Iraqi defense; Iranian offensive...
26 February 1987Siege of BasraBasra Governorate, Iraq31 km WIraqi victory
1988Operation Ramadan ul-MubarakAl-Faw Peninsula, Iraq87 km SEIraqi victory
1990Operation FrictionIraq618 km NWCanadian victory
1990Iraqi invasion of KuwaitKuwait611 km SEIraqi victory
1991Battle of Qurah and Umm al MaradimPersian Gulf, United Arab Emirates559 km SECoalition victory
29 January 1991Battle of KhafjiKhafji, Saudi Arabia439 km NWCoalition victory
1991Battle of BubiyanPersian Gulf439 km SECoalition victory; Iraqi Navy destroyed
26 February 1991Battle of Phase Line BulletIraq664 km NWIraqi victory
1991Liberation of Kuwait CampaignKuwait107 km SECoalition victory
1991Operation Provide ComfortIraq611 km NWEstablishment of Kurdish de facto autonomous region in...
date unknownOperation Dawn 9IraqIranian strategic failure; Minor gains for Iran; Successful...
date unknownOperation Beit ol-Moqaddas 4IraqIranian victory

Sources and method

Commanders come from the commander fields of the English Wikipedia infoboxes of these engagements (CC BY-SA 4.0), resolved to one article each; portrait, dates and description from Wikidata (CC0) and Wikimedia Commons, Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Distances are great-circle distances between recorded sites, not marches.