3rd Division (Iraq)

The 3rd Division is a formation of the Iraqi Army. It was active by 1941, disbanded along with the rest of the Iraqi Army in 2003, but reactivated by 2005.

History
Before being disbanded in 2003, the previous 3rd Division had been one of the four original divisions of the Iraqi Army, being active in 1941. In July 1958 elements of the division had overthrown the Iraqi government in the 14 July Revolution, with Abd al-Karim Qasim, commander of the 20th Infantry Brigade (an armoured brigade according to Darwish and Alexander) stationed near Ba'quba, the originator of the coup. However the actual overthrow was led by a battalion commander, Abdul Salam Arif, in the 19th Infantry Brigade.

Some time in the 1950s or 1960s the division was converted into the 3rd Armoured Division, which was deployed to the 1967 Six Day War. Iraqi participation in the Six Day War was limited, principally owing to the slow reaction of the 3rd Armoured Division, which had been stationed in eastern Jordan. The 3rd Armoured Division did not organise itself and reach the front line before the Jordanians ceased operations. Later during the events of Black September in Jordan, 1970, the division was still stationed in northeast Jordan. Though the Jordanians needed forces to repel the Syrian invasion, they had to keep the 99th Brigade of their 3rd Armoured Division out of the conflict so that they could watch the Iraqi division.

The 3rd Armoured Division saw service later in the Yom Kippur War, under the command of Brig. Gen. Lafta, and was deployed alongside the Jordanian 40th Armoured Brigade. By that time, 'the division was the elite unit of the army, and Iraqi officers avidly competed to be assigned to it.' The Division suffered heavy casualties during the war, losing more than 157 tanks, 278 dead and 898 wounded. The 8th Mechanised Brigade was completely destroyed on 13 October in an ambush set by four Israeli armoured brigades at Tel Shaar, between Maschara and Nasej. The division later fought in the Iran-Iraq War, Persian Gulf War, operations in the 1990s, and the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Just before the Iraq War it was part of the II Corps, on the Iranian border. It comprised the 6th Armoured Brigade, 12th Armoured Brigade, and 8th Mechanised Brigade. It was disbanded when the Iraqi Armed Forces were formally dissolved by Coalition Provisional Authority Order Number 2.

The division is now is headquartered at Al Kisik. Its units were part of the original three division New Iraqi Army. As of January 2005, the division was commanded by Maj. Gen. Khursheed Saleem Hassan. The 3rd Division was transferred from coalition control to the Iraqi Ground Forces Command on 1 December 2006.

Subordinate units

 * Division Headquarters
 * 9th Motorised Brigade
 * 10th Motorised Brigade ('Desert Lions')
 * 11th Motorised Brigade
 * 12th Brigade (formed in April 2008)
 * 3rd Motor Transport Regiment?