Jan Nesar Captain (Nakhoda Yekom) Houshang Samadi War Memoir

Jan Nesar Captain (Nakhoda Yekom) Houshang Samadi published his memoir about the war in Khorramshahr during the 1980s of Iran and Iraq. He used guerilla warfare techniques to withhold the advancement of Iraqi forces in Iran for 34 days. He received no reinforcement to push back the Iraqi troops from Iran and forced to retreat from the city of Khorramshahr and took nineteen months for him and other branches of the army to liberate the Khorramshahr.

Background: 

During the Mandate of Iraq (1920–32), the British advisors in Iraq were able to keep the waterway binational under the thalweg principle that worked in Europe: the dividing line was a line drawn between the most profound points along the stream bed. In 1937, Iran and Iraq signed a treaty that settled the Shatt al-Arab dispute over control. The 1937 agreement recognized the Iranian-Iraqi border as along the low-water mark on the eastern side of the Shatt al-Arab except at Abadan and Khorramshahr where the frontier ran along the thalweg (the deepwater line) which gave Iraq control of almost the entire waterway; provided that all ships using the Shatt al-Arab fly the Iraqi flag and have an Iraqi pilot, and required Iran to pay tolls to Iraq whenever its ships used the Shatt al-Arab. The treaty of 1937 marked a familiar pattern by the British empire of Divide and rule that was routinely employed in the Indian subcontinent and other British colonial or influenced regions: it ensured long term if not permanent tension between Iran and Iraq. As opposed to using the thalweg principle as advised during the 1920–1932 period, which would have calmed down or ended the river border tensions between the two nations. The Shatt al-Arab and the forest were depicted in the middle of the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Iraq from 1932–1959. 

In the late 1960s, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi developed a strong military and took a more assertive stance in the Near East. In April 1969, Iran abrogated the 1937 treaty over the Shatt al-Arab, and Iranian ships stopped paying tolls to Iraq when they used the Shatt al-Arab. The Shah argued that the 1937 agreement was unfair to Iran because almost all river borders around the world ran along the thalweg, and because most of the ships that used the Shatt al-Arab were Iranian. Iraq threatened war over the Iranian move, but on 24 April 1969, an Iranian tanker escorted by Iranian warships (Joint Operation Arvand) sailed down the Shatt al-Arab, and Iraq was the militarily weaker state—did nothing. The Iranian abrogation of the 1937 treaty marked the beginning of a period of acute Iraqi-Iranian tension that was to last until the Algiers Accords of 1975.

All United Nations' attempts to intervene and mediate the dispute were rebuffed. Under Saddam Hussein, Baathist Iraq claimed the entire waterway up to the Iranian shore as its territory. In response, in the early 1970s, Iran became the chief patron of Iraqi Kurdish groups fighting for independence from Iraq. In March 1975, Iraq signed the Algiers Accord in which it recognized a series of straight lines closely approximating the thalweg (deepest channel) of the waterway, as the official border, in exchange for which Iran ended its support of the Iraqi Kurds.

In 1980, Hussein released a statement claiming to abrogate the 1975 treaty, and Iraq invaded Iran. International law, however, holds that in all cases, no bilateral or multilateral agreement can be revoked by one party only. The main thrust of the military movement on the ground was across the waterway, which was the stage for most of the naval battles between the two armies. The watercourse was Iraq's only outlet to the Persian Gulf, and thus, its shipping lanes were significantly affected by continuous Iranian attacks.

In 1979, Mohammad Reza Shah left Iran, and the revolutionary forces wanted to purge the Imperial Iranian Armed Forces to prevent any military coup. However, Khomeini was the head of state of Iran; he rejected the proposal.  

The newly established system executed high ranking generals and the army pioneered on command and control system. Thus, the situation provided a golden moment for Saddam Hussein to nullify the Algiers accord and attack the oil-rich part of Iran.

Story:

Nakhoda Yekom Houshang Samad was born in Azerbaijan province of Iran. He pursued his education and moved to Tehran. He joined the Iranian Armed Forces as he loved the army. The army transferred him to the city of Manjil to advance in the ranger field. He further studied the art of war by attending a military academy in England to becoming a marine. He specialized in the art of guerilla warfare and gained the distinct army award of the green beret. 

He was in charge of Iran's green beret as the revolution broke out in Iran. In 1979, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi left Iran. The army was in a state of disarray, and some soldiers used illicit drugs. He spoke with the local individuals not to ransack the military equipment as they agreed. There were some employees of the armed forces that they wanted to have a classless army.

He was tired of the chaos in the army and what he experienced in Iran. He asked to be retired from the armed forces so he could relax. As he walked to the commanding officer's office, one Iraqi jet fighter opened fire close by him. He walked into the commanding officer's office; he could choose to leave the army or go to war. His honor did not allow him to leave the military. He went to the city of Khorramshahr; it was mayhem. The fifth column reported everything to the Iraqi army. There 700 special forces, green beret, or Takavaran, were fighting back with Iraqi forces. There were 300 forces composed of Iran's gendarmerie; it had a light assault rifle like M1 Garand or rifle like Borno. Iran's police forces, several Revolutionary Guards, and native individuals.

He asked from the Headquarter for air support such as anti-aircraft, it never happened. On some occasions, Iran's Army provided air support, as Iran's F-4 obliterated Iraq's tank division to the point of no return. 

His forces used ARPG 7 and 106 MM canon to confront Iraq's armory division. After 34 days of house to house combat with the enemy, the headquarter commanded him to retreat from the Khorramshahr. It took another nineteen months for him to liberate of Khorramshahr.

This is not a book about war; this is a book about leadership, honor, courage, and decision-making during difficult times. He also taught how to overcome Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. 

Hoping this book be translated in other languages and a movie to be made from it.

Hoping we no longer hurt one another but to love one another.