Goraz Mountain is located west of the city of Soran and north of the city of Rawandiz. It separates Gali Ali Beg from Korak Mountain, through which the Hamilton Road passes. In the days of the Aylul Revolution, it had special importance for any force that could gain control over it. In 1974, when the Iraqi government restarted the war, it intended to attack through Goraz and take control of the Diana plain, and from there to attack Zozk Mountain, Hasan Beg, Sartiz, and the Besha gorge.
As indicated, their forces had withdrawn to Goraz, Korak, and Khalifan at the beginning of the year. Therefore, the leadership of the revolution decided to take control of the Goraz mountain range, expel the Iraqi army forces from that location, and prevent them from advancing at that point. On April 18, 1974, the Peshmerga forces in Diana prepared themselves. At night, they were transported by car to the village of Balakian in the northern part of the foothills of Goraz Mountain. That same night, the Peshmerga leaders met to set the attack plan. It is clear that a military brigade headquarters of the Iraqi army had previously existed in that village, but at that time 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 Goraz Mountain were bombarded by the revolution's artillery under the command of Hali Topchi. After the shelling, the Peshmerga approached the Iraqi army's military points, but due to the mining of the surroundings of the outposts, they could not carry out the attack at first. Instead, they thought of opening a path through the mined area to reach their destination. For this, through a Peshmerga experienced in removing and defusing mines and explosives, who had received training in this field by the revolution, and with the help of another Peshmerga, they were able to overcome this obstacle and open the path. Then, the Peshmerga forces, under the command of Haji Berokhi, the battalion commander, launched an attack on the Iraqi army's outposts. After a fierce battle, they were able to take control of all the outposts except for one. In this Peshmerga attack, there were three martyrs and 13 wounded.
After nearly a month, the revolution leadership decided that it was necessary to take control of that outpost as well. First, the revolution's artillery began heavy shelling of the outpost. On the same night, the Peshmerga, with a suitable battle plan and tactics under the command of Haji Berokhi, Jadir Gwezi, and Azizkhan Mahajir, carried out an attack on the outpost and entered it in a short time and took control of it. Many of the soldiers who were in the outpost were killed and the others fled. In this attack, the Peshmerga suffered no losses, but the Iraqi army suffered heavy losses, as the bodies of nearly 40 killed soldiers were left on the battlefield.
Nineteen days after the Goraz mountain outposts were taken over by the Peshmerga forces, the Iraqi government carried out an attack to recapture those outposts using mercenary forces (Jash). After a fierce battle, the Peshmerga retreated from some outposts, but due to the arrival of support forces, the situation of the battle changed and ended in favor of the Peshmerga. The Jash attack was defeated and they left a number of bodies on the battlefield.
The Peshmerga forces, to strengthen and fortify the positions and for the safety of the Peshmerga's lives, dug trenches and good pits throughout the mountain range, covering their tops with wood, corrugated iron, and branches and stones. This tactic of the Peshmerga forces had a great effect on their protection.
After a while, the Iraqi army, on one night, launched a major attack on Goraz with a large force with the aim of recapturing the mountain and continuing its advances from there. The Iraqi army's campaign against the Peshmerga positions began very intensely, and the Peshmerga continued to resist, but the revolution's artillery played an effective role in supporting the Peshmerga and exhausting the Iraqi army, as the battle continued until dawn. In the end, the Iraqi army's attack was defeated again and was not successful, as nearly 100 to 120 of their dead were left on the battlefield. This confirms that the Iraqi army tried several times to advance from Goraz Mountain and reach the Diana plain.
On September 8, 1974, the Iraqi army again launched a widespread attack from two fronts on Goraz and Korak mountains, but it was not successful, was defeated, retreated, and suffered heavy losses, resulting in more than 400 dead whose bodies were left on the battlefield. From then on, the Peshmerga forces remained on Goraz Mountain until after the attack that the Iraqi army carried out on the top of Korak Mountain with a successful military plan supported by tanks on September 19, and was able to take control of the foothills of Korak and Rawandiz. The Peshmerga left Goraz Mountain and withdrew to behind Diana to establish another line of defense.
Sources:1- Masoud Barzani, Barzani and the Kurdish Liberation Movement, Volume Three, Part Two, First Edition, Erbil 2004.
2- Ghazi Adil Gardi, A Peshmerga in the Service of Barzani... Haji Berokhi, 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, 31/12/2022.
5- Archive of the Kurdistan Democratic Party Encyclopedia Board.