Allied victory United Kingdom IraqMilitary support: Germany[4] Italy[5] Vichy France[6]Asia-Pacific Mediterranean and Middle East Other campaigns Coups The Anglo-Iraqi War was a British-led Allied military campaign during the Second World War against the Kingdom of Iraq, then ruled by Rashid Ali al-Gaylani who had seized power in the 1941 Iraqi coup d'état with assistance from Germany and Italy.

Prior to Iraq's nominal independence in 1932, Britain concluded the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty of 1930, which was opposed by Iraqi nationalists, including Rashid Ali al-Gaylani.

[34] In January 1941, Rashid Ali resigned as prime minister and was replaced by Taha al-Hashimi amidst a political crisis and a possible civil war.

The Golden Square intended to refuse further concessions to Britain, retain diplomatic links with Fascist Italy, and exile prominent pro-British politicians.

[18] The Iraqis fielded police units and about 500 irregulars under Arab guerrilla leader Fawzi al-Qawuqji, a ruthless fighter who did not hesitate to murder or mutilate prisoners.

Under the terms of the 1931 treaty, Iraq was bound to provide assistance to the United Kingdom during times of war; these obligations included permitting the passage of British troops through its territory.

[53] From the outset, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill refused recognition of Rashid Ali's "National Defence Government", labeling it illegal.

[57] On the same day General Archibald Wavell, Commander-in-Chief of Middle East Command, informed London that he could no longer spare the battalion in Palestine and urged diplomacy and possibly a demonstration of air strength, rather than military intervention.

[61] On 20 April, Churchill had written to Anthony Eden, the Foreign Secretary, and indicated that it should be made clear to Ambassador Cornwallis that the chief interest in sending troops to Iraq was the covering and establishment of a great assembly base near Basra.

[14] Meanwhile, Iraqi forces had now occupied vital bridges over the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and reinforced their garrison at Ramadi, cutting off land links to RAF Habbaniya.

Air Vice-Marshal Smart decided to accept the tactical risks and stick to Middle East Command's policy of avoiding aggravation in Iraq by, for the moment, not launching a pre-emptive strike.

[11] Also on 1 May, Ambassador Cornwallis received a response giving him full authority to take any steps needed to ensure the withdrawal of the Iraqi armed forces.

[11] Throughout the day, the pilots from Habbaniya flew 193 sorties[11] and claimed direct hits on Iraqi transports, armoured cars and artillery pieces;[81] however five aircraft had been destroyed and several others put out of service.

The attack was supported by the Assyrian levies, some RAF armoured cars, and two First World War-era 4.5-inch howitzers which had had previously been decorating the entrance of the base's officers' mess.

[87] The Chiefs-of-Staff now ordered that it was essential to continue to hit the Iraqi armed forces hard by every means available while avoiding direct attacks on the civilian population.

RAF armoured cars, reconnoitring ahead, soon found that the village of Sin el Dhibban, on the Fallujah road, was occupied by Iraqi troops.

[90] On 6 May, in accordance with the Paris Protocols, Germany concluded a deal with the Vichy French government to release war materials, including aircraft, from sealed stockpiles in Syria and transport them to the Iraqis.

The French also agreed to allow passage of other weapons and material as well as loaning several airbases in northern Syria, to Germany, for the transport of German aircraft to Iraq.

[4][19][89][nb 13] Major Axel von Blomberg was sent to Iraq with Sonderstab F ("Special Staff F"), the German military mission commanded by General Hellmuth Felmy.

[citation needed] Before Smart launched his airstrikes on 2 May, members of the Iraqi Desert Police had seized the fort at Rutbah for the "National Defence Government.

[113] In response, Major-General Clark had ordered the mechanised squadron of the Transjordan Frontier Force (TJFF), which was based at H4 pumping station, to seize the fort for the British.

In the morning the Arab Legion column arrived and garrisoned the fort whilst Casano's armoured cars continued to fight remnants of the Iraqi Desert Police's forces.

[13] His illness had led to him losing the confidence of his own staff, and he was replaced by the newly promoted Major-General William Slim, who later went on to be one of the most dynamic and innovative British commanders of the war.

[138][139][140] The Luftwaffe responded to the British capture of the city by attacking the Habbaniya airfield, destroying and damaging several aircraft and inflicting a number of casualties.

[145] In response to the initial Iraqi moves, the 10th Indian Infantry Division, under Major-General Fraser, occupied Basra airport, the city's docks, and the power station.

On 2 May, he had been directed as follows: "(a) Develop and organise the port of Basra to any extent necessary to enable such forces, our own or Allied, as might be required to operate in the Middle East including Egypt, Turkey, Iraq, and Iran, to be maintained.

(b) Secure control of all means of communication, including all aerodromes and landing grounds in Iraq, and develop these to the extent requisite to enable the Port of Basra to function to its fullest capacity."

According to Churchill, the landing of the 20th Indian Infantry Brigade at Basra on 18 April was "timely", and in his opinion had forced Rashid Ali into premature action.

[157] Wavell wrote that the "gallant defence" of Habbaniya and the bold advance of Habforce discouraged the Iraqi Army, while the Germans in their turn were prevented from sending further reinforcements by "the desperate resistance of our troops in Crete, and their crippling losses in men and aircraft.

"[160] While Rashid Ali and his supporters were in alliance with the Fascist Regime in Italy[161] the war demonstrated that Iraq's independence was at best conditional on British approval of the government's actions.