The 'Hammurabi' Armored Division (Arabic: فرقة حمورابي المدرعة) was an elite formation of the Iraqi Republican Guard. It was named after Hammurabi; a Babylonian King known for the set of laws called Hammurabi's Code, which constitute one of the earliest surviving codes of law in recorded history.
| Hammurabi Armoured Republican Guard Division | |
|---|---|
 Hammurabi Division brigade tactical markings. The brigade numbers were often, but not always, written inside the triangle. The color of the bottom stripe changed according to tank regiment or mechanized battalion. | |
| Active | May 1986 – 2003 |
| Country |  Iraq |
| Allegiance | .svg){kind=small} Ba'athist Iraq |
| Branch |  Iraqi Republican Guard |
| Type | Armoured Division |
| Role | Shock troops |
| Size | ≈10,000 (1991) |
| Engagements | |
| Commanders | |
| Last Commander | Najim Abdallah Zahwen Al Ujayli[1] |
| Notable commanders | Ra'ad al-Hamdani |
The division was decisively defeated by the United States Armed Forces in 1991, when it was forced out of Kuwait after suffering heavy casualties, and again in 2003, when the United States invaded Iraq. The latter resulted in the total collapse of the division as its senior officers abandoned their posts, and it was never reformed as the Republican Guard itself was disbanded following the fall of Saddam Hussein's government.
History
editIn 1990 the division included the 17th Armoured Brigade under Brigadier General Ra’ad Hamdani and the division commander was Major General Qais Abd al-Razaq, a "very practical man."[2]
The division played a central role in the invasion of Kuwait which took place in August 1990. On the morning of August 2, 1990, near the Mutla Pass, a battle took place between the Vickers MBT of the 6th Mechanized Brigade, Kuwait Army, and the T-72s of the division's 17th Armoured Brigade. Kuwaiti tanks were able to knock out one T-72 during the ambush, but were defeated, and the commander of the 6th Brigade captured.[3] Only 20 surviving Vickers tanks were able to retreat to Saudi Arabia.
A Hammurabi Division command after-action report recorded that the division suffered 99 killed, 249 wounded, and 15 missing during the invasion of Kuwait.[4]
1991 Gulf War
editThe division commander has stated that he ordered his tanks to use high-explosive anti-personnel munitions, rather than anti tank rounds, so as to minimize Kuwaiti casualties in tank engagements of the invasion.[5]
Towards the end of the war the division was involved in the controversial Battle of Rumaila, when US Army forces under Lt. Gen. Barry McCaffrey nearly annihilated the retreating division near the Rumaila oil field, resulting in the division suffering some 7,000 casualties.[6]
There are differing reports about the composition of the division in the late 1990s. But both Cordesman, "Key Targets in Iraq," February 1998, and Sean Boyle, in Jane's Intelligence Review, September 1997, list the 8th, 14th and 17th Brigades. Cordesman writes that the 8th and 14th were mechanised while the 17th was an armoured brigade.
2003 invasion of Iraq
editDuring the Invasion of Iraq the division was given orders to retreat from Suwayrah on the night of 5 April 2003 after several days of bombardment by American planes. Further orders on exactly where to regroup were not forthcoming, and senior officers disappeared, leading to mass desertions and the collapse of the division.[7]
References
edit- ^ "Multinational Coalition Forces Iraq (MCFI)" (PDF). Thetorturedatabase.org. Retrieved 2017-05-17.
- ^ Kevin M. Woods (May 2008). "Iraqi Perspectives Project Phase II. Um Al-Ma'arik (The Mother of All Battles): Operational and Strategic Insights from an Iraqi Perspective, Volume 1 (Revised)" (PDF). Institute for Defense Analyses. p. 88. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 17, 2019.
- ^ "Iraqi Perspectives Project Phase II. Um Al-Ma'arik (The Mother of All Battles): Operational and Strategic Insights from an Iraqi Perspective, Volume 1 (Revised May 2008). Kevin M. Woods. Institute for Defense Analyses. 2008. P.117-118" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-05-17. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
- ^ “Letter by Hammurabi Forces Command (Republican Guard) on analysis of Kuwait Liberation combat, dated 5 September 1990,” in Hussain 'Isa Mal Allah, comp., Iraqi War Criminals, p. 170.
- ^ Woods, Kevin M (May 2008). "Um Al-Ma'arik (The Mother of All Battles): Operational and Strategic Insights from an Iraqi Perspective" (PDF). Iraqi Perspectives Project Phase II. Institute for Defense Analysis. Archived from the original on July 2, 2013. Retrieved 2015-11-19.
- ^ Pike, John. "Hammurabi Division". www.globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
- ^ Hindiyah, Terry McCarthy I. (4 May 2003). "What Ever Happened to the Republican Guard?". Time. Retrieved 14 May 2017.