Upon the establishment of the Republic of Kurdistan in the Year 1946, we see that this Kurdish republic faced a set of problems and obstacles from Iran and its allies such as Britain and America, which were in Iran at that time due to the Second World War. As an example of these problems, we can see the battles that broke out in the Kurdish Areas under the control of the Republic of Kurdistan between the Peshmerga forces belonging to the republic and the Iranian Military forces. One of the most important of these battles that took place between these two forces was the "Qarawe" battle, where the Barzani Peshmerga forces participated and played an effective role, and emerged as a Kurdish force capable of achieving victory over the Iranian Military. Therefore, we would like here to talk about this battle in which the Barzani Peshmerga forces were among the main figures.
After the establishment of the Peshmerga force belonging to the Republic of Kurdistan and its division into several battalions, as the Barzani Peshmerga forces were among the strongest and most experienced Kurdistan forces in defense, they were sent to the Saqqez front, which was facing the greatest threat from the Iranian forces. When the Kurdish forces took control of the cities of Miandoab, Sardasht, and Saqqez, the first battle in which the Barzanis participated in the Republic of Kurdistan was the "Qarawe" battle on 30 April 1946. A battalion of Barzani forces participated under the leadership of Colonel Bakr Abdulkareem Huwezi with a number of other officers from the Barzani forces such as Hamad Amin Mirkhan, Mamand Masih, Faris Kani Buti, Hassan Suleiman Kakshar, and Omar Agha Khilani, all of whom were company commanders in that battalion, in addition to a part of the Qadirkhani and Faizullah Beg forces led by Hama Rashid Khani Baneii.
They faced the Iranian Military forces and the "Deh-Bokri" tribal armed forces loyal to the Iranian Military in the heights of Qarawe village near the city of Saqqez, who had arrived at the Altuni Zhero area and were advancing towards Qarawe and Sera, and they possessed cavalry, infantry, and heavy weapons. The reason for the arrival of these forces to "Qarawe" and that border returns to the desire of the Iranian Military to deliver food supplies, weapons, and Ammunition to both the Sardasht and Baneh camps besieged by the Republic of Kurdistan forces, but because the Peshmerga forces belonging to the Republic of Kurdistan controlled the Saqqez-Baneh and Saqqez-Sardasht roads, and the Iranian Military did not possess sufficient air power at that time to deliver food and Ammunition to its forces by air, it resorted to its ground forces and sent a column of 600 people led by the Commander of the Iranian forces in Saqqez, Colonel Kasra, to the area. The Iranian forces and the Deh-Bokri forces agreed that the Military would attack the Peshmerga forces from the south and east of Sera, and that the Deh-Bokri forces would attack the Peshmerga forces from the north and west of Sera.
In contrast to that Military plan of the Iranian Military, the Fourth Company force - Barzani, led by Bakr Agha Huwezi, positioned the Barzani forces in three locations. He positioned one of these forces led by Mamand Masih on the eastern side of Qarawe, and he positioned the second part under the supervision of Hamad Amin Mirkhan on the heights opposite the hill below Qarawe towards Saqqez, while Bakr Agha himself positioned himself with four gunmen between these two forces that we mentioned on a hill opposite Qarawe. According to Najafqoli Pessian, the number of Peshmerga forces in that battle was about 500 people! The "Deh-Bokri" forces that were with the Iranian Military three days before the start of that battle burned the Mirawa Bukan bridge, and with this, they were able to cut the communication line between Mahabad and Bukan. During the "Qarawe" battle, Mustafa Khoshnaw, who was from the Baluka Ahmad Awa valley, wanted to go to help Colonel Bakr Agha Huwezi's forces, but Hama Rashid Khani Baneh prevented him from going to Qarawe. To justify this position by Hama Rashid Khani Baneh, Mangur offered an excuse saying: ((If Mustafa Khoshnaw leaves that mountain, the Deh-Bokris will be able to enter Sera easily)). Bakr Agha Huwezi also mentions that after the battle began and was at its peak, Hama Rashid Khan, when he heard the sounds of artillery and aircraft, tried to leave the village of Sera and retreat backwards, but Mirhajj went to him and prevented him from rushing and leaving his place! After three hours of fighting, Mamand Masih, Hamad Amin Mirkhan, and Colonel Bakr Agha Huwezi from their side attacked the village of Qarawe from the hills they were on. There was a plain between that village and the Barzanis, and a small number of Peshmerga were able to quickly run across that plain and reach the village and disable the machine guns that were being used against the Peshmerga, and after that, most of the Peshmerga attacked Qarawe and killed 16 Iranian soldiers on one of the hills in that village where the Iranian forces were positioned. After that, Abdullah Khoshnaw and two Barzani Peshmerga attacked two cannons that were on the other side of the Altun River, but the Iranians moved those cannons to the "Malqarni" mountain. On the evening of the same day, the Barzani forces were able to surround the lower Altun village and seize the village police station full of food supplies and two horses. In addition to that, the gains of the Barzani forces in that battle were 42 prisoners, 160 Brno rifles, 14 boxes of Ammunition, a telephone, a wireless device, four Brno machine guns, and a lot of wheat and barley that was in the lower Altun station, in addition to two horses, blankets, and much equipment, and more than 100 Iranian Military soldiers were killed. As a result of a fierce battle, the Barzani forces were able to achieve victory, and they were able to defeat a force estimated at about 800 people. A number of Iranian soldiers were captured in that battle and sent to Mahabad, and in exchange for all those gains, the Peshmerga forces did not suffer any losses in that battle.
The courage and heroism recorded by the Barzanis in that battle is mentioned by Hama Rashid Khani Baneh, the Commander of the Bukan front, in a report he wrote to Qazi Muhammad, and he talks about the courage of the Barzanis and their officers and commanders. Hama Rashid Khani Baneh describes the Barzanis and their forces in the Qarawe battle in this way.
To/ The Supreme Leader of the Republic of Kurdistan, the Exalted
Subject/ Appreciation of the heroic operation carried out by the Barzanis and their officers and commanders
1- With pleasure, freedom, and pride, I present to you the extraordinary heroic operation carried out by the Barzanis and their officers and commanders, although I have briefly presented this information explained in book number (126) dated 12/2/325, so that the Supreme Leader may be informed of this valuable information from these noble brothers of mine, I will present below a suitable example of that.
2- At 11:15 Moscow time before noon on 9/2/1325, the enemy launched a surprise attack on the Sera front on the Malqarni positions that were under the supervision of Mr. Bakr Agha Huwezi. And he launched an attack on the Keli Sera positions that were under the supervision and responsibility of Mr. Mirhajj, and other places also headed towards that place.
3- The right wing, named Kiwi Balwagani, which was under the supervision of Mr. Mustafa Khoshnaw, at the time when the enemy was advancing and firing from all directions, the Peshmerga of the Barzani forces were listening one after another with great enthusiasm and full attention to the orders of their commanders. They were executing the program like soldiers highly trained by the state, applying the curriculum literally to their commanders and officers as if they were experts in the arts of war, raiding, and fighting, such that the pen is unable to describe them.
4- The commanders in the Barzani force, Messrs. Mirhajj, Bakr Agha Huwezi, Mustafa Khoshnaw, and Wahab Agha, have raised my head beyond the ordinary, and I truly appreciate the service of these four young officers in every sense of the word. This is a fundamental condition; these individuals who possess military feelings and etiquette must be placed before the eyes of the High Headquarters of the Republic of Kurdistan, and they must always be encouraged and treated in a manner commensurate with their capabilities and courage.
On this occasion, I request the favor of, in addition to placing the records of their service in their service file, I see it as necessary to officially inform them of the appreciation of their operations and to reward them.
5- The assistants to the aforementioned officers (Messrs. Muhammad Amir Mirkhani, Mamand Masih, Sakora, and Khoshwi Khalil) showed extreme courage and patriotic conduct. Truly, a new army at the beginning of its life in Kurdistan always needs the respect and attention of these people. I request the favor of encouraging these people and appreciating them in a manner commensurate with their operations and heroic courage; this is what we expect from the will of the High Headquarters of our leader.
6- The opinion of the respected leader (Mullah Mustafa) is also the same as this appreciation, and the details are the same as those presented to you.
Signature
Commander of the Bukan and Sara Region Forces
In exchange for this victory, Qazi Muhammad sent 9000 Tomans as a reward, and sent a Colt submachine gun (a type of weapon) to the battalion. For his part, Mustafa Barzani, as a thank you, presented a pistol and a Brno rifle to Colonel Bakr Abdul Karim Huwezi. In this way, it becomes clear to us that the experience that the Barzani forces had in the field of fighting and the Kurdish officers who were in his forces, most of whom were holders of academic degrees, were always a source of pride and honor for Mustafa Barzani in particular and the Peshmerga forces in the Republic of Kurdistan in general. These forces and fighters who carried arms under the leadership of Mustafa Barzani were a great point of strength for strengthening the relationship between Barzani and the other military commanders in the Republic and the leaders of the Kurdish tribes in the region.
On the other hand, the presence of this force with Barzani will lead to an improvement in their economic situation to some extent, unlike the time when they had recently arrived in the Republic, and they were in a very miserable situation when they arrived in the Republic of Kurdistan.
After the battle ended with the victory of the Peshmerga forces, the soldiers of the Iranian Army who were captured were first sent to the city of Mahabad, and from there they were released by the leaders of the Republic of Kurdistan and returned to Tehran. Eagleton expresses his opinion regarding the Battle of Qarawa as follows: ((The Qarawa affair was closer to an old-fashioned and outdated ambush of the Kurdish ambushes, and not a modern and contemporary battle, but with all that, it showed that there was a military and defensive force in the region, and the Iranian force was completely destroyed in that place)). In any case, this victory achieved by the Kurds brought a lot of warmth and happiness to the new Republic)). By examining this battle, it becomes clear to us that the Battle of Qarawa was important for the Barzani forces from several aspects. First, despite all the problems they were facing and the opposition that some tribal forces in the Republic of Kurdistan were showing against them, they were able to prove that what was circulated about their experience in the field of war was not just theoretical talk, but they practically showed the high level and their experience in the field of fighting for the army of the Republic of Kurdistan. On the other hand, it became clear to the Tehran government that the Barzanis are not a force that can be marginalized in the situation that Iran was in at that time and should not be given much attention. Because we see after this battle that the Iranian forces enter the battlefield with greater force and a more detailed plan in the clashes they conduct with the Barzanis, with the aim of achieving victory over them. Another point related to the Battle of Qarawa and related to the Barzanis is that most of the Peshmerga from the Barzani forces who participated in this battle were in poor health and suffering from typhus fever and malaria, and some of them had just left the hospital and arrived at the battlefield. The reason for this is that in addition to the fact that the Barzanis did not have good food to eat at that time, on the other hand, they were settled by the officials of the Republic of Kurdistan in some areas such as Sara and Qarawa, and although it was a very influential point in terms of defending the Republic, these areas were in those years among the places where the malaria disease spread widely and threatened the health of the residents of the region.
Politically as well, this battle was of special importance to all parties, because politically, the coordination of the Qarawa battle with the continuation of the talks between the government and the Kurdish and Azeri representatives served two issues:
1- If success had been guaranteed in this attack, the Iranian Army forces could have seized the opportunity to penetrate deep into the West Azerbaijan region and reoccupy the city of Mahabad and the Mukriyan region easily. That would have represented a strong winning card for the officials in Tehran from both political and military aspects, and they would have imposed what they wanted on the Kurdish and Azeri representatives in Tehran, and Qavam al-Saltaneh, the Prime Minister of Iran, would not have been embarrassed before the Soviet Union, because the Kurdish issue and the Republic of Kurdistan were not even mentioned in the Qavam-Sadchikov agreement. On the other hand, the Iraqi government was aware of this attack launched by the Iranian Army, because as soon as the Iranian Army began its attack, the Iraqi Army forces also took their full preparations on the border between Iraqi Kurdistan and Iran.
2- If this attack ended in failure (which is what actually happened), the Iranian government could use it as a factor to evade the agreement, along with other factors, to extend the process of a peaceful settlement of the Azerbaijan crisis. With this, the Iranian government would have been completely sure of distracting the Red Army and ending the issue in the United Nations Security Council, and the Soviet Union would also have been waiting for Qavam's promises regarding the establishment of a joint oil company between the Soviets and Iran, so that Moscow could use its influence as pressure on the Azeris to be more flexible towards the central authority in any other round of talks.
After the end of the Qarawe battle, the Tehran government sent a Military Committee headed by General Shafaqi from Tehran to Saqqez under the pretext of investigating the Qarawe battle, and it held a meeting with a delegation from the Republic of Kurdistan headed by Izzat Abdulaziz. In addition to being a smokescreen for camouflage, the dispatch of this committee, which arrived in Sara on May 7, 1946, aimed to find a way to rescue the besieged positions of the Iranian army in the region, and to open the Saqqez-Baneh and Baneh-Sardasht road that was besieged by the Peshmerga forces. In addition to that, the committee, after inspecting the camps in the region, submitted a report to the Ministry of War in which it explained in detail the military Situation in the region, and how to strengthen the Iranian front as a necessity for any future military maneuver in the region, and it presented its proposals regarding it.
Summary:1- The Qarawe battle was important for the Barzani forces in particular, because through this battle they proved that in terms of fighting against the enemies of the Republic of Kurdistan, they were more experienced and loyal to a large extent than the other armed forces in the Republic of Kurdistan.
2- At the time when the Barzani forces were preparing to fight in Qarawe, where a large part of the forces was suffering from a loss of strength and physical ability due to infection with typhus and malaria, but despite this Illness, they were able to record a great and historical victory for the Republic of Kurdistan, because the Iranian army forces came with a large force to attack the military bases of the Peshmerga of the Republic of Kurdistan, but they did not know that they would face this resistance and defense by the Barzani forces.
3- After this battle, the belief of the leaders of the Republic of Kurdistan in the strength and fighting ability of the Barzani Peshmerga increased more than before, and for this reason, the Barzani leaders who participated in this battle were honored by Qazi Muhammad.
4- The Qarawe battle was very important for the Republic of Kurdistan from a political perspective as well, to the extent that we see that after this victory, a high-level committee from the Iranian Ministry of Defense was sent to the region to meet and negotiate with the responsible officials and military commanders in the Republic of Kurdistan.
5- In the negotiations that began after the Qarawe battle between the Iranian Military Committee and the negotiation committee of the Republic of Kurdistan, the important and influential role of the Barzani forces becomes clear to us once again, because due to the experience that Izzat Abdulaziz possessed in the military field, he was appointed head of the negotiation committee of the Republic of Kurdistan in the negotiations with the Iranian military delegation.
Sources:1- Hossein Ali Razmara, Farhang-e Joghrafiyayi-ye Iran (Abadiha) Ostan 3 va 4 Azerbaijan, (Tehran, Entesharat-e Dayereh Joghrafiyayi Setad-e Artesh, 1330.
2- Alaaddin Sajadi, Shorshekani Kurd, Baghdad, Chapkhaney Ma'arif, 1959.
3- Dr. Fereydoon Nouri, Bazavi Barzani, Erbil, Dezgay Chap u Blawkrdnewey Aras, 2007.
4- Archive of the Encyclopedia Committee of the Kurdistan Democratic Party.
5- Najafqoli Pesyan, Az Mahabad-e Khunin ta Karaneh-ye Aras, Tehran, Sherkat Sahami Chap, 1328.
6- Abdulrahman Ghassemlou, Kurte Mezhuyi Hizbi Dimokrati Kurdistani Iran (Chel Sal Xebat le Penaw Azadi), Komisiyoni Chapemeniyi Hizbi Dimokrati Kurdistani Iran, 2003.
7- William Eagleton Jr., The Kurdish Republic of 1946, Seyed Mohammad Samadi, Mahabad, 1361.
8- Mirza Mohammad Amin Manguri, Beserhati Siyasi Kurd 1914ewe heta 1958, Beshi Yekem, Chapi Duwem, (Chapkhaney Roon - Sulaymaniyah - 2000).
9- Colonel Bakr Abdulkarim Huweizi, Gashtek be Komari Mahabad Da, Chapi Duwem, (Dezgay Chap u Blawkrdnewey Aras - Erbil - 2001).
10- Keywan Azad Anwar, Heme Reshid Khani Baneh, le Blawkrawakani Wezareti Roshnbiri, (Chapkhaney Bederkhan - Erbil - 2001).
11- Yasin Sardashti, Kurdistani Iran Lekolineweyeki Mezhuyii le Jullanewey Rizgarixwazi Neteweyii Kurd (1939-1979), Chapi Duwem, (Sulaymaniyah - Chapkhaney Sima - 2011).