Editing Basij Infantry Company (section)

==IRL==
[[File:Iraniraqwar-front-1980s.jpg|300px|right|thumb|It might look like a Halloween Party, and cute if you live on Cadia]]
The Basij started out as your standard paramilitary youth toughs for the new revolutionary government, but they were quickly mobilized by the Iranian government into an ad-hoc milita force shortly after the Iran-Iraq war started. The Basij's ranks were open and encouraged membership from the age of twelve to eighty, with very little training (if any) given.  Similar to the Volkssturm of Nazi Germany during the last days of the Third Reich and the revolutionary mobs of the first French Republic the performance of the Basij was mixed at best. At times, their fanatical nature gave them the edge in night raids into the Iraqi lines, the dark making up for a lack of armor or transport besides their own feet in closing with the enemy. At other points, Basij units were used as human mine clearers and machine gun bait, paving the way for the better trained army units or softening up resistance with human wave attacks. The casualties they suffered during offensive operations was wildly disproportionate with that of any other unit, especially at the start of the war.

In terms of attack tactics, the Basij would develop a relatively effective method of breaking through Iraqi static defenses, although at a heavy cost. 20+ man squads would engage in probing attacks on the line, looking for gaps in defensive works. When a weakpoint was discovered, the reserve sections would be sent in to force the issue, World War 1 style. "Human Wave" attacks are often what this is characterized as, but it was more similar to the infiltration assault tactics used by the Allies for Trench raids and the Chinese in Korea. These squads would attempt to suppress, surround, and close with the enemy, overrunning the static defenses and seizing the position. By their very nature, these assaults were often bloody and resulted in high casualties when the defenders weren't overrun quickly.

Towards the end of the war, the Basij had essentially become more of a proper militia and military unit. Organization, training, and equipment, while not amazing, were all vastly improved by 1985 to the point that they could be considered a dedicated light infantry force. And like any light infantry force, they would get absolutely slaughtered whenever heavier elements of the Iraqi forces decided to show up. 

The Basij are ''somewhat'' unfairly maligned as a force of nothing more than Shia fanatics and child soldiers. While of course this is in part an accurate description of the Basijs makeup (see the above pics), it isn't entirely true and taints the overall picture of the nature of this war from the Iranian perspective. Many Basij members came from other ethnic and religious groups across Iran (including Jews, Kurds, Arabs, and Zoroastrians), and many were not motivated so much by a Shia 'love of Martyrdom' but rather a sense of genuine patriotism (and/or a disdain for the Iraqi army and its brutal tendencies). Many were the products of middle class families, and even women joined the Basij (in auxiliary roles, of course). For the Iranian people, this war was and still is a point of national unity, and everyone who died in the Basij, regardless of faith or ethnicity, is a martyr to the revolution.

One must remember that during the Iran-Iraq was, a vast majority of the worlds powers supported Iraq, and as such the Iranian government was often depicted as near comically evil. There are many stories about the Basij going into battle with 'golden keys to paradise' (though these are almost certainly false.) This is not to deny that many children were practically press ganged or encouraged to join the Basij, and many suffered terribly in the fighting with the Iraqi army. 

It is important to remember this was for the Iranian people and government, a war of national survival and identity. Extreme measures were taken by both sides. For the Iraqis, it was chemical weapons use. For the Iranians, it was a willingness to send the young and the old alike into the meat grinder. The Iran-Iraq War was unbelievably brutal, and the suffering of millions is testimony to man’s inhumanity to one another.
 
{{Iranian Forces in Team Yankee}}