As you know one representation of divine assistance in the wars fought by the holy prophet of Islam (pbuh) was making the enemy troops appear fewer in number in the eyes of the Muslim army: “He showed them to you, when you met, as few in your eyes, and He made you [appear] as few in their eyes” {Quran; 8:44}. The Quran [also] says we showed you more in number in their eyes while showing them smaller in number in your eyes.
You know that morale is one of the most essential elements in fighting a war. If morale is lacking, no matter how big the number of troops is, it won’t be effective. So when the enemy appears to be small in number, it gives morale to the other side; and I could feel it during the war.
It is now alright to tell you about a fact: "there was a time when we had a single regiment against two and a half Iraqi divisions in the west of Ahvaz, and even that regiment was hard as equipped as a battalion. The Iraqis would not advance out of fear of this regiment. They came as close as 20 km of Ahvaz. Why didn’t they advance? What was stopping them? A regiment positioned in front of them, entrenched in the ground. When we went to oversee this regiment’s positions, we felt sorry for our small number of forces. It was a weak regiment, initially as small as a battalion. If I told you the number of tanks they had, everyone would be surprised. In terms of weapons, especially armored vehicles, and numbers, it was a small and weak regiment. This regiment had grounded two adverse divisions. About 2 or 3 km away from this regiment, there was the famous Dobb-e Hardan [a village near Ahvaz] that you have probably heard of, and was captured back later; that is the forces of Islam captured it back and liberated it. Dobb-e Hardan was a military command of Iraqi forces. Two and a half armies were stationed there, and our forces were outnumbered.
They would not advance out of fear of this one regiment. In their eyes, we were made many. Instead, our soldiers created small teams made up of 50 to 60 fighters, volunteers, or regulars of the IRGC or the Army or a mixture, and they penetrated the enemy’s defense lines, deep inside an ocean of enemy forces—and it really was an ocean of enemies—dealing blows, destroying a few tanks and coming back.
This was because they were audacious, counting the enemy weak and small in numbers. This is help coming from God, and I saw it myself. That is, counting them [the Iraqi forces] small, and us being made many in their eyes, was a blessing from God. Of course, I see this blessing as a result of our forces’ attention [to God]. At that time, I had repeatedly remembered and mentioned in my Friday prayer sermons, those who strove in trenches, alongside tanks, at the war fronts, with such purity, and attention to God. These are of course the underlying causes of that blessing from God.
March 30, 1982