ORDER OF BATTLE // July 21, 2014
First Battle of Tikrit
Estimated force strength by side, with confidence labels per surviving record.
Forces engaged
2 sides catalogued · combined 4,030–29,015 estimated
Irak
2,015–27,000
Medium-confidence figure
État islamique
2,015
Medium-confidence figure
Battle context
The First Battle of Tikrit was part of the immediate Iraqi government response to the rapid territorial losses of the 2014 Northern Iraq offensive, during which ISIL and Ba'athist loyalists had seized Tikrit. The battle represented one of the early attempts by Iraqi forces to reverse ISIL's gains in the Sunni heartland north of Baghdad. The wide disparity in recorded force sizes reflects the uncertain and fluid conditions of the conflict at this stage of the Iraqi Civil War, when government forces were attempting to reconstitute after the collapse of several divisions in the June offensive.
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