Iraqforce was a British
and Commonwealth formation that came
together in the Kingdom of
Iraq. The formation fought in the
Middle East during
World
War II.
The ground
forces from India that landed in
Basra
were initially known as Sabine
Force and were under the command of Major-General W.A.K. Fraser. Later, Fraser was
placed in command of all ground forces in Iraq which included both
Sabine Force and
British Forces in Iraq.
Iraqforce was the name of the combined forces. From 8 May
1941,
Iraqforce was commanded by Lieutenant-General
Edward Quinan. From 21 June,
Iraqforce became known as the
Iraq
Command.
On 1 September 1941, after Persia (modern Iran
) was
secured, Iraq Command was re-named "Persia and Iraq Force"
or Paiforce. Paiforce was still
commanded by Quinan and he still reported to India Command.
Iraqforce was variously part of
British India Command,
Middle East Command, and, finally,
Persia and Iraq
Command.
History
During
World War I, the
British Army defeated the
Ottoman Army on the
Middle Eastern Front
during the
Mesopotamian
Campaign. Subsequently, the
League
of Nations designated
Mesopotamia as
a
mandate territory, the
British Mandate of
Mesopotamia.
From 1920 to the early 1930s, "RAF Iraq Command" was created as an
inter-service command in charge of all
British forces in
the mandate-controlled Kingdom of
Iraq. The command consisted of
Royal Air Force,
Royal
Navy,
British Army,
Commonwealth, and locally raised
units and was commanded by an RAF officer normally of
Air Vice-Marshal rank..
In 1932, the British mandate in Iraq ended. However, per the
Anglo-Iraqi Treaty of
1930, the United Kingdom was permitted to maintain troops in Iraq.
In 1933 or 1934, RAF Iraq Command was renamed the "
British Forces in Iraq."
By the late 1930s,
these forces were restricted to two Royal Air Force stations, RAF Shaibah near Basra and RAF Habbaniya
west of Baghdad
.
On 1 April,
Rashid Ali seized
power in Iraq via a
coup
d'état. He was supported by three top level
Royal Iraqi Army officers and one top level
Royal Iraqi Air Force officer who
were collectively known as the "
Golden Square." Rashid Ali proclaimed
himself Chief of the "National Defence Government." His new
government was immediately recognized by
Nazi Germany.
It was openly pro-Nazi
and anti-British.
Sabine
Force was initially despatched from Karachi
by Indian Army Headquarters to seize and
secure the port of Basra and to
supplement the existing British Forces in Iraq at RAF Shaibah and
RAF Habbaniya. British Prime
Minister Winston Churchill saw
Basra as a major supply base in the future for material from the
United
States
. Churchill did not recognize Rashid Ali's
"National Defence Government" as legitimate. Churchill also wanted
to reinstate a more compliant Iraqi government and to protect
British interests in Iraq, notably the oilfields of which the
British-owned Anglo-Persian Oil Company was concession
holder.
On 18 April, a brigade from Karachi landed and Basra was captured.
On 30 April, a second brigade arrived. The Rashid Ali government
demanded that the British forces be removed from Iraq and Iraqi
forces took up positions around RAF Habbaniya. On 2 May, British
aircraft from Habbaniya launched a pre-emptive attack on Iraqi
forces throughout the country.
Anglo-Iraqi War
During the
ensuing Anglo-Iraqi War, a force
from the British Mandate of
Palestine, known as Habbaniya Force (shortened to
Habforce), advanced into Iraq from
Transjordan
. Habforce, with Kingcol in the lead, was to relieve the British
garrison forces besieged at the British
Royal Air Force treaty base at Habbaniya.
Lieutenant-General Quinan in
Iraq
The threat to [Habbaniya]] was removed by actions of the Habbaniya
garrison before any elements of
Habforce arrived.
After it
arrived, Habforce and a portion of the Habbaniya garrison
then advanced onwards through Fallujah
to capture Baghdad. By
31 May, an armistice was signed and the government collapsed.
From early May, the troops in Iraq were under the operational
control of Army Headquarters, Middle East Command in Cairo,
reverting to India command on 18 June. From 21 June,
Iraqforce became known as the
Iraq Command.
Syria-Lebanon Campaign
In June and July 1941, after Iraq was secured, elements of
Iraq
Command took part in the
Syria-Lebanon campaign and while
active in Syria they once more came under Cairo Headquarters'
authority.
Anglo-Soviet Invasion of Persia
In late
August, Iraq Command then conducted the Anglo-Soviet invasion of
Persia in conjunction with forces advancing from the Soviet Union
. A new formation,
Hazelforce, based
on the 2nd Indian Armoured Brigade was formed within
Iraq
Command during this effort.
British trucks near Baghdad,
1943.
On 1
September 1941, after Persia
(modern Iran) was
secured, Iraq Command was re-named "Persia and Iraq Force"
or Paiforce. Paiforce was still commanded
by Quinan and he still reported to India Command. In January 1942,
Persia and Iraq once again came under Middle East Command and, in
February 1942, Quinan's headquarters was re-designated as
Tenth Army.
In 1942, with the growing threat from the German advance in the
Caucasus, it was felt that the area should
come under a General Headquarters which could bring a heavy focus
to the area. Previous experience of controlling the area both from
Cairo and Delhi had not proved ideal and both these General
Headquarters were by this time fully committed in the
Western Desert Campaign and to the
Burma Campaign respectively. In
August 1942, it was decided therefore, as part of the changes made
bringing in
Alexander and
Montgomery to Middle East Command and
Auchinleck to India Command, to create a new, separate command, the
"
Persia and Iraq Command,"
to be led by
General Sir
Maitland Wilson and based in
Baghdad.
Order of Battle - Iraq May 1941
Commanded by
Major-General W.A.K. Fraser (until 8 May).
Lieutenant-General Edward Quinan (from 8 May).
Arriving At Basra on 9 June:
Arriving at Basra on 16 June:
Order of Battle - Syria June and July 1941
Commanded by Lieutenant General Edward Quinan
During the Syria-Lebanon campaign Iraqforce consisted of:
- 10th Indian Infantry Division -Major-General William Slim
- 20th Indian Infantry Brigade - Brigadier Donald Powell
- 21st Indian Infantry Brigade - Brigadier C.J. Weld
- 25th Indian Infantry Brigade - Brigadier Ronald Mountain
- 17th Indian Infantry Brigade (detached from 8th Indian Infantry Division) -
Brigadier Douglas Gracey
- Habforce - Major-General J.G.W. Clark
- 4th Cavalry Brigade - Brigadier J.J. Kingstone
- 1st Battalion The Essex Regiment
- Arab Legion Mechanized Regiment
- 237th Battery 60th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery
- An Australian battery of 2 pounder anti-tank guns
- 169th Light Anti-aircraft Battery
Order of Battle - Persia August and September 1941
Commanded by Lieutenant General Edward Quinan
During
the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Persia (modern day Iran) Iraqforce
was redesignated Paiforce. Paiforce consisted of:
See also
Notes
- Footnotes
- Lyman, p.19
- Playfair, p. 178
- Wavell (1946), pp. 1–4 in
- Lyman, p.19
- Wavell, (1946), p 10 in
- Mackenzie, p. 591
- Playfair, p. 186.
- Mackenzie, p. 101
- Maritn, p. 44
- Lyman, p. 88
- Lyman, p. 88
- Citations
- Lyman, p.19
- Playfair, p. 178
- Wavell (1946), pp. 1–4 in
- Lyman, p.19
- Wavell, (1946), p 10 in
- Mackenzie, p. 591
- Playfair, p. 186.
- Mackenzie, p. 101
- Maritn, p. 44
- Lyman, p. 88
- Lyman, p. 88
References
- officially published in the
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