Iran used Basij militiamen armed with Kalashnikovs and RPG-7s, the Army's 77th Mechanized Division of Khorasan equipped with M47 and M48 tanks, 106mm recoilless rifle, 130mm and 230mm artillery, supported by attack helicopters, and IRGC's 31st Ashura Division which was armed with captured Iraqi tanks.

The Basijis were lined up early in the morning and sent on offence earlier than was planned because the enemy was expecting something.

The Iranian 77th mechanized division broke through the encirclement, defeating the Iraqis and relieving the Basijis.

Eventually, while initially successful, the Iranian offensive petered out because it was not meant to be a breakthrough attack, due to shortages of logistics, and Iraqi chemical weapons.

The offensive, while successfully diverting some of Iraq's armor away from the battlefield in Basra, did not prevent the Iraqis from stopping the Iranian attack against the city.