4th Division (Iraq)

3rd Division
Active c. 1930s–2003;
2004–present
Country Iraq Kingdom of Iraq (c. 1930s-1958)
Iraq Republic of Iraq (1958-1968)
Iraq Ba'athist Iraq (1968-2003)
 Iraq (2004-present)
Allegiance  Iraq
Branch Iraqi Army
Type Motorised Infantry
Size Division
Part of Iraqi Ground Forces Command
Garrison/HQ Tikrit, Iraq
Engagements

Anglo-Iraqi War
2003 invasion of Iraq

Iraq War
Disbanded 2003
Insignia
Division Flag

The 4th Division is an infantry formation of the Iraqi Army. It was formed before 1941, disbanded in 2003, but reactivated after 2004.

It was one of the four original divisions of the Iraqi Army, being active in 1941. At the beginning of the Anglo-Iraqi War it was in Al Diwaniyah on the main rail line from Baghdad to Basra.[1] Before the 2003 invasion of Iraq it was part of the V Corps in northern Iraq, alongside the 1st Mechanised Division.[2] It was disbanded along with the rest of the army by Coalition Provisional Authority Order Number 2 in mid-2003.

It was later reformed. The 4th Division’s battalions are former Iraqi National Guard units, recruited locally. The division is ethnically diverse and had operational control of a number of Strategic Infrastructure Battalions protecting oil pipelines.[3] The Strategic Infrastructure units have now been split off to become the 12th Division. The 4th Brigade of the 4th Division was transferred to the 12th Division, and a new 17th Brigade was being trained in July 2008.

Today its base is in the city of Tikrit. It was certified and assumed responsibility for most of Salah ad Din Governorate and At-Ta'mim Governorate provinces, including the major cities Samarra and Tikrit in 2006.[4] However in mid-2010 it relinquished responsibility of the At-Ta'min Governorate and currently remains responsible for the security of the majority of Salah Ad Din.

The 14th Brigade was deployed as part of the force during the Operation Charge of the Knights in Basra since May 2008, but has subsequently moved to assume responsibility for the Sharquat area north of Tikrit.

Notes

  1. Lyman, Robert (2006). Iraq 1941: The Battles for Basra, Habbaniya, Fallujah and Baghdad. Campaign. Oxford, New York: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-84176-991-6. pp. 25–26
  2. RJ Lee, Key Components of the Iraqi Ground Forces, 2002
  3. House Armed Services Committee, "The Continuing Challenge of Building the Iraqi Security Forces," http://armedservices.house.gov/pdfs/OI_ISFreport062707/OI_Report_FINAL.pdf, 27 June 2007, page 98
  4. "Daily story on MNF-I Webpage, August 9, 2006". Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  5. DJ Elliott, Iraqi Security Forces Order of Battle - Iraqi Army Quick Intervention Corps, 28 February 2010, accessible at Montrose Toast, with changes by wikicontributor mid-2010

External links

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