IMAGI-NATIONS. PART 33.

 THE DEFENSE OF TEHRAN.

Soon after the initial invasion of Iran, UNION command had realised that the cavalry forces available to 5th army in particular were insufficient. Therefore the cavalry brigades of 1st and 7th armies had been ordered to Iran. They arrived at the front before Tehran on 6th December as the UNION army took up assault positions only seven miles from the outskirts of the city. The three UNION cavalry brigades were instructed to move around the western edge of Tehran and intercept the huge columns of refugees leaving the city. Their instructions were to harry the refugees along their way and seek out and destroy any armed fighters found. Also around this time the government of Syria decided to move their army and Guard towards the frontier with a view to an attack on the western flank of the UNION invasion. In Iraq the government, shocked at the destruction of the Iranian army in October, ordered their army to move to the border with Iran and prepare to defend against a UNION invasion.

In Tehran Suleiman faced an impossible task. At least half of his untrained but fanatical army refused to accept his orders and moved out of the city to face the UNION forces with a view to launching an attack. The rest of his fighters he ordered to dig in inside the city. He concluded that house to house fighting offered more chance of success than meeting the UNION army in the field. However his efforts to deploy his forces were hampered by the literally millions of refugees pouring into the city from the south and the millions more, including the government and religious leaders,  leaving the city towards the north. Rather than being able to prepare defensive positions in the city he found his fighters acting as traffic marshals trying to control vast crowds of people pouring through the city streets.

On the morning of 10th December UNION heavy artillery started to bombard the city. As the heavy shells fell on streets crowed with refugees, destroying buildings and causing huge casualties the situation in Tehran rapidly descended into chaos. In the afternoon when UNION field artillery began to pound the southern edge of the city the situation deteriorated even further. Huge crowds of refugees to the south of the city rushed into the city centre into a nightmare of collapsing and burning buildings and streets strewn with rubble and dead. Overnight the artillery barrage continued without a break. As refugees rushed to escape the city towards the north, many of the fighters in the city by design or accident joined up in the exodus.

During the whole of the following day the same scenes were repeated as shells fell throughout the city which was now burning fiercely. Suleiman realised he could not defend the city and decided to abandon it. He left with those of his fighters as he could muster during the night. By morning of 12th December the city was a blazing wreak. All those who were still alive had left with only stragglers remaining trying to shelter in cellars. To the south of the city the large force of fighters facing the UNION army had watched in horror as their capital city was destroyed behind them. Now on the morning of 12th they had had enough and in their anger and hatred launched an uncoordinated but fierce assault on the UNION positions.

They were met with a hurricane of heavy weapons and rifle fire and point blank field gun discharges. Within an hour the attack had collapsed and the survivors had fled into the remains of the city leaving almost 30,000 dead and wounded on the field. UNION casualties were 16 wounded. UNION commanders decided that any advance into the city would be far too dangerous so held their positions and ordered the artillery bombardment to continue for the rest of the day and overnight.

The bombardment ceased at dawn on 13th December. UNION troops again held their positions all day but on the morning of 14th patrols began a very cautious advance into the city. As they moved in orders were issued to dispatch any wounded Iranian fighters found from the assault of the 12th. When they entered the city they found it deserted of any living thing. Buildings were continuously collapsing and fires still raged. Command decided it was still too dangerous so withdrew the troops. It was decided the army would move round the city to the west and commence an advance towards Iraq. Pioneer battalions were left outside the city to move in and complete the total destruction of the city as soon as they considered it safe to do so.

In the meantime UNION cavalry had moved around the city and had swept along the road from the city towards Iraq causing mayhem among the millions of refugees fleeing north.