Mount Gorz is located west of the city of Soran and north of the city of Rawanduz, separated by the Gali Ali Bag valley from Mount Korek, through which the Hamilton Road passes. Any force that controlled it had special importance during Aylul Revolution, and in 1974, when the Iraqi government resumed the war, it intended to attack via Gorz and seize the Diana plain, and from there attack Mount Zozik, Hassan Bag, Sirtiz, and the Bisha strait.
As indicated, their forces had withdrawn to Gorz, Korek, and Khalifan at the beginning of the year, so the leadership of the revolution decided to control the Gorz mountain range, expel the Iraqi Army forces in those places, and prevent them from advancing from this point. On April 18, 1974, the Peshmerga forces in Diana prepared, were transported in cars to the village of Balkian at the foot of Mount Gorz, and that night the Peshmerga commanders met to plan and attack. The village had previously housed a headquarters for one of the Iraqi Army brigades, but it had been moved to the Spilik area west of the town of Khalifan.
According to the attack plan, the next day, the outposts on top of Mount Gorz were shelled by Artillery of the Revolution led by Hali Topchi. After the shelling, the Peshmerga approached the military checkpoints of the Iraqi Army, but they could not attack at first due to the mines planted around the outposts. However, they thought of opening a corridor through the mined area to reach their destination via this corridor, and they were able to overcome this obstacle through one of the Peshmerga members who had received training in how to clear mines and explosives in this field during his time in the ranks of Aylul Revolution, and with the help of another Peshmerga element, the corridor was finally opened. Afterwards, the Peshmerga forces, led by battalion commander Haji Birokhi, launched an attack on the army outposts, and after a fierce battle, they were able to seize all the outposts except for one. The Peshmerga's sacrifices in that attack were the martyrdom of three and the wounding of 13 others.
About a month later, the revolution leadership decided to seize that outpost, so Artillery of the Revolution began first by shelling the outpost heavily. That same night, the Peshmerga forces attacked the aforementioned outpost led by Haji Birokhi, Jadir Gwezi, and Aziz Khan Muhajir with appropriate plans and tactics, and they entered it and were able to seize it. Many soldiers present in the outpost were killed and others fled, and the Peshmerga forces did not suffer losses in this attack, but the Iraqi Army suffered heavy losses, as it left about 40 corpses of its dead soldiers on the battlefield.
Nineteen days after the Peshmerga forces took control of the Mount Gorz outposts, the Iraqi government launched an attack to retake the outposts via mercenary armed forces. After fierce fighting, the Peshmerga forces retreated from some outposts, but with the help of support forces, the situation of the battle changed and ended in favor of the Peshmerga, as they were able to regain control of the outpost, and the mercenary attack was repelled, as they left a number of corpses on the battlefield.
To strengthen and fortify their positions and protect lives, the Peshmerga forces dug trenches throughout this mountain range and were very concerned about their safety, as they covered the positions with trees, gables, and rocks. This tactic of the Peshmerga forces had a great effect in protecting them.
After a period of time, the Iraqi Army launched a wide-scale attack via a large force on Gorz during the night with the aim of controlling the mountain and continuing its advance from there. The Iraqi Army's campaign against the Peshmerga positions began intensively, and the Peshmerga forces continued to defend themselves, but Artillery of the Revolution played an effective role in supporting the Peshmerga and draining the Iraqi Army. The battle continued until dawn, and as a result, the Iraqi Army was defeated in its attack this time and failed, leaving about 100 to 120 dead on the battlefield, which confirms that the Iraqi Army tried several times to advance from Mount Gorz and reach the Diana plain.
On September 8, 1974, the Iraqi Army again launched a large-scale attack on the Gorz and Korek mountains, but it was defeated and retreated, resulting in the death of more than 400 of its personnel whose corpses were left on the battlefield. Therefore, the Peshmerga forces remained on Mount Gorz even after the Iraqi Army launched a successful attack supported by tanks on Mount Korek on September 19, where it was able to control Korek and Rawanduz, and the Peshmerga forces left Mount Gorz and retreated behind Diana to establish another defensive line.
Sources:1- Masoud Barzani, Barzani and the Kurdish Liberation Movement, Volume Three, Part Two, First Edition, (Erbil - 2004).
2- Ghazi Adel Gardi, A Peshmerga in the Service of Barzani ... Haji Birokhi, Volume One, Second Edition, (2020).
3- Sangar Ibrahim Khoshnaw, Military Events of the Aylul Revolution 1970-1975, First Edition, (Erbil - 2022).
4- Interview: Qadir Hassan Sitkani, Peshmerga of the Aylul Revolution, December 31, 2022.
5- Archive of the Encyclopedia Committee of the Kurdistan Democratic Party.