Originally formed in 1959 as a mechanised division,The Times, see History of the Iraqi Army for exact date. it was part of the 3rd Corps (Iraq) in 1978, located at Basra and comprising the 15th (Basra), 19th (Sibay), and 20th Mechanised Brigades, according to British military attaches' reporting.Report on the Iraqi Army (Including the People's Army) July 77 - July 78, Annex B to DA/7/3 dated 31 October 1978, page B17 of 25, on file at The National Archives (United Kingdom), Kew, FCO8/3108. It would later fight in the Iran–Iraq War, and in the Persian Gulf War (including at the Battle of Khafji). The 3rd Armoured and 5th Mechanised Divisions, the assault force for the Battle of Khafji, had both been retrained in 1986–87 and had participated in many of the 1988 offensives.Pollack, Arabs at War: Military Effectiveness, 1948–1991, 2002, p.243–44 On the night of 29–30 January 1991, three of four battalion-sized task forces of the 5th Mechanised Division had been turned back by U.S. Marine covering forces, but the fourth moved into Khafji and was later destroyed there. On 30 January 1991 as the division crossed the frontier for the main attack, the 26th Armoured Brigade became trapped in a minefield and had a large amount of damage inflicted on it. The commander of the III Corps, Major General Salah Aboud Mahmoud, called the attack off as he believed it was impossible to execute the full plan.
