Review Shmuel Moreh and Zvi Yehuda, Edited by, Al-Farhud, The 1941 Pogrom in Iraq, The Hebrew University Magnes Press, 2010

Moreh, Shmuel and Yehuda, Zvi, Edited by, Al-Farhud, The 1941 Pogrom in Iraq, The Hebrew University Magnes Press, 2010

 

Al-Farhud, The 1941 Pogrom in Iraq is one of the few books about the attack upon Baghdad’s Jews after the conclusion of the Anglo-Iraq War. It has many first-hand accounts of the violence which is the highlight of the collection. Like any anthology there are other chapters that are flawed. The major contribution of the collection is that it gives the background causes to the attacks and then the impact it had upon the community.

Review Edwin Black, Banking On Baghdad, Inside Iraq’s 7,000-Year History of War, Profit, and Conflict, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2004

Black, Edwin, Banking On Baghdad, Inside Iraq’s 7,000-Year History of War, Profit, and Conflict, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2004

 

Edwin Black’s Banking On Baghdad, Inside Iraq’s 7,000-Year History of War, Profit, and Conflict joins his later The Farhud, Roots of the Arab-Nazi Alliance in the Holocaust as two horrible books on Iraq. That’s because in both volumes Iraqis disappear from their own history. The first third of Banking is fine covering ancient Iraqi history. When it gets to the later Ottoman times to almost the end the narrative is dominated by Western desires to exploit Iraq’s oil. It then gets sidetracked by the Mufti of Jerusalem making an alliance with the Nazis. Most of the story is dominated by Western governments, oil companies and the Mufti of Jerusalem rather than Iraqis.

Review Britain’s 2 Wars With Iraq 1941 1991

El-Solh, Raghid, Britain’s 2 Wars With Iraq 1941 1991, Garnet Publishing Limited, 1996

 

Raghid El-Solh’s Britain’s 2 Wars With Iraq 1941 1991 is a tale of two halves. It covers the Anglo-Iraq War which was part of the larger World War 2 conflict as well as the Gulf War. The author argues that England has historically attempted to maintain the status quo in the Middle East which came into conflict with various Iraqi leaders. The coverage of first war is quite good while the section on the Gulf War reads like Saddam era propaganda.

Review New Babylonians, A History Of Jews In Modern Iraq

Bashkin, Orit, New Babylonians, A History Of Jews In Modern Iraq, Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2012

 

New Babylonians, A History Of Jews In Modern Iraq by Orit Bashkin is an outstanding book about how Jews attempted to become citizens of Iraq and then how the state turned against them. She argues that Jews adopted Arab language, culture and the politics of the day. Things changed after World War II as the government and Arab nationalist groups began equating Jews with Zionism and persecuted the community leading to the majority to leave for Israel. Bashkin did a huge amount of research into Iraqi papers, journals and writers of the time which gives his book a great deal of depth as she covers territory that has not been discussed by others.

Review Britain’s Informal Empire In The Middle East, A Case Study of Iraq 1929-1941

 Silverfarb, Daniel, Britain’s Informal Empire In The Middle East, A Case Study of Iraq 1929-1941, New York Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986

 

Daniel Silverfarb’s Britain’s Informal Empire In The Middle East, A Case Study of Iraq 1929-1941 is about how England tried indirect rule in Iraq from the 1920s-30s and failed which led to the 1941 Anglo-Iraq War. Britain agreed to Iraqi independence in 1932 hoping that it could preserve its interests. Instead several issues such as air bases, minorities, Arab nationalism, Kuwait, and the economy caused increasing tensions. Silverfarb presents a very detailed argument mostly based upon British government documents about how the UK's measures actually divided the two countries and led to war.

Review Iraq Between the Two World Wars, The Militarist Origins of Tyranny

Simon, Reeva Spector, Iraq Between the Two World Wars, The Militarist Origins of Tyranny, New York, Chichester, West Sussex: Columbia University Press, 2004

 

Iraq Between The Two World Wars, The Militarist Origins of Tyranny by Reeva Spector Simon is a very well written and interesting book about how Germany influenced Iraq, shaped its concept of pan-Arabism and led to the 1941 Anglo-Iraq War. Simon argues the Iraqi military’s ideas on how to unify Iraq and create an Arab federation had their origins in the German model of nationalism and militarism, which they had initially learned about during the Ottoman period. This led the army to enter politics and overthrow governments in coups and eventually side with the Axis during World War II. Simon believes that these ideas continued afterward leading to the end of the monarchy and eventually Saddam Hussein. That last part is the only crack in the author’s argument.

Review Understanding Iraq, the Whole Sweep of Iraqi History, from Genghis Khan’s Mongols to the Ottoman Turks to the British Mandate to the American Occupation

Polk, William, Understanding Iraq, the Whole Sweep of Iraqi History, from Genghis Khan’s Mongols to the Ottoman Turks to the British Mandate to the American Occupation, New York, London, Toronto, Sydney: Harper Perennial, 2006

Understanding Iraq was one of many book written because of the 2003 invasion. Historian William Polk had decades of experience with that nation and even lived there for a time in the 1950s. The purpose of his book was to try to educate the West about Iraq and draw parallels between the past and present. Polk largely succeeded although there were a few problems along the way.

World War II In Iraq and Syria Interview With Case Western’s Prof Broich

British troops at Habbaniya Air Base, Anbar which was surrounded by the Iraqis during the start of the 1941 Anglo-Iraq War (Imperial War Museim)

In 1941, the British overthrew the government of Prime Minister Rashid Al-Gailani in Iraq and invaded Syria. Baghdad had reached out to the Germans and Italians, Syria was run by Vichy France, and Prime Minister Winston Churchill believed that the Axis was making a play to take over the Middle East. These two conflicts are barely mentioned in World War II histories today, but at the time it was a major event for all those involved. John Broich, an Associated Professor of History at Case Western Reserve University recently published a book on this subject Blood, Oil and the Axis: The Allied Resistance Against A Fascist State In Iraq and the Levant, 1941. This is an interview with Prof. Broich about the war in Iraq and Syria.

Review Blood, Oil and the Axis: The Allied Resistance Against A Fascist State In Iraq and the Levant, 1941

Broich, John, Blood, Oil and the Axis: The Allied Resistance Against A Fascist State In Iraq and the Levant, 1941, New York: Abrams Press, 2019

In 1941 the British were facing one crisis after another. The Germans sent the Afrika Korps to North Africa, and then Yugoslavia and Greece fell to the Nazis. Into this mix came the March 1941 coup in Iraq where a group of Arab nationalist officers seized power, causing the pro-English monarchy to flee, and the new Iraqi government to reach out to the Axis. That led to the Anglo-Iraq War and then the invasion of Syria as Prime Minister Winston Churchill believed that Germany and Italy were making a play for the Middle East’s oil and to cut the Suez Canal. This is the topic of John Broich’s Blood, Oil and the Axis: The Allied Resistance Against A Fascist State In Iraq and the Levant, 1941. The author deals with not only the political background to this conflict and the military history, but also includes personal experiences from the Allied, Axis and Vichy French sides. This book gives a thorough account of Iraq in World War II, and one of the best coverages of the fighting in Syria.

Review Iraq And Syria 1941, The Politics and Strategy of the Second World War

Review Warner, Geoffrey, Iraq And Syria 1941, The Politics and Strategy of the Second World War, Cranbury: Associated University Presses, 1979

When people think of World War II in the Middle East they inevitably refer to the German General Irwin Rommel versus the British in North Africa. Few know that Iraq and Syria were involved in the conflict as well. That began with Hitler’s moves to seize Yugoslavia, Greece, Crete and the arrival of the Afrika Corps to Libya which led London to believe that Hitler was planning on seizing Egypt and the oil fields in Iraq and Iran. Baghdad then reached out to the Axis for support. England wouldn’t stand for that leading to the Anglo-Iraq War and then the invasion of Syria. Geoffrey Warner in Iraq And Syria 1941 documents three sides to this conflict, the British, the Axis and the Iraqis, while neglecting Syria a bit.

Review The Role of the Military In Politics, A case study of Iraq to 1941

Review Tarbush, Mohammad, The Role of the Military InPolitics, A case study of Iraq to 1941, London and New York: Routledge, 1982

There are many parallels between pre-World War II and post-2003 Iraq. For example, several books have compared the British Mandate in Iraq after World War I with the U.S. occupation following the 2003 invasion. Each time a western country attempted to reconfigure the area to serve its interests, and each time the locals resisted, first with the 1920 Revolt and then with the insurgency and the Sadrist uprisings. Few have talked about how the politics were similar during the two time periods. During both occasions, the political parties had no real ideologies and were really vehicles for leading politicians to assume power, enrich themselves, and maintain their followers. Likewise, Iraqi institutions were weak and unable to deal with any real opposition or meet the demands of the public. While not explicitly part of Mohammed Tarbush’s The Role Of the Military In Politics, A case study of Iraq to 1941 because it was published in 1982, it’s easy to draw these parallels from his insights into early Iraq.

Review Persian Gulf Command, A History of the Second World War In Iran and Iraq

Jackson, Ashley, Persian Gulf Command, A History of theSecond World War In Iran and Iraq, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2018

When historians cover World War II in the Middle East they focus almost exclusively upon North Africa with the Italians and Germans attacking the British in Libya and Egypt. In 1941, there was a war between the English and Iraqis. Afterward London ordered the invasion of Syria and then Iran to protect what was the empire’s leading source of oil, along with supply lines. This little known slice of the war is what Ashley Jackson wrote about in Persian Gulf Command, A History of the Second World War In Iran and Iraq. The problem with the book is that after covering the war and invasions, Jackson gets lost in the details. It’s like he spent all this time researching these topics and couldn’t help but share every little thing he found. That makes the second half of the book tedious to read.

Review Rashid Ali al-Gailani, The Nationalist Movement in Iraq 1939-1941

Review Hamdi, Dr Walid, Rashid Ali al-Gailani, The Nationalist Movement in Iraq 1939-1941, London: Darf Publications Ltd., 1987

The government of Prime Minister Rashid Ali al-Gaylani and the Golden Square officers are an important, yet little known period of Iraqi and World War II History. At the very start of the war, a small group of pan-Arabist army officers backed Premier Gaylani who overthrew the monarchy, and aligned the country with the Axis powers of Germany and Italy. The draw wasn’t fascism, but rather the belief that the war offered their country a means to escape British hegemony, which remained after London created Iraq and ruled it as mandate from 1920-32. That led to a war with German and Italian intervention, which Iraq lost. While there are a few other books that cover this period, Rashid Ali al-Gailani, The Nationalist Movement in Iraq 1939-1941 is the most extensive and focuses upon the Iraqi rather than the British side of the conflict.

Review Iraq 1941, The Battles for Basra, Habbaniya, Fallujah and Baghdad

Review Lyman, Robert, Iraq 1941, The Battles for Basra, Habbaniya, Fallujah and Baghdad, Oxford, Long Island: Osprey Publishing, 2006

The 1941 Anglo-Iraq War is considered a small sideshow of World War II. At the time the British thought that the Germans and Italians were making a play on the Middle East via Iraq that would threaten its entire eastern empire. The Iraqi government and military thought that the war could force the British out after it had dominated the country since its creation after World War I. For Berlin, it saw a way to extend its hand in the Middle East against a greatly weakened London. Iraq and Germany didn’t believe their actions would lead to war, but it resulted in a short, but violent conflict that pitted British, Iraqi, Jordanian, German, and Indian troops against each other.

VIDEOS: Voices of the Iraq's Farhud

Iraq’s First Battle of Fallujah 1941

Today the Iraqi forces are attempting to take the city of Fallujah back from the Islamic State. The first time the town was fought over however was in 1941 during World War II. During that time the British were attempting to take Baghdad and overthrow the government of Premier Rashid Ali Gaylani that was allied with the Germans and Italians.

When World War II broke out in Europe a group of Iraqi politicians and military officers sided with the Axis. This was due to three major factors. First, the Germans swept through Europe, and were threatening Egypt by 1941 leading many in the Iraqi elite to believe that the British would eventually lose. Second, politicians, members of the military, and the general public were all resentful of England’s domination of the country, which had created the nation after World War I as a mandate, imposed the monarchy, and ran the country’s oil industry. At the same time, Berlin and Rome were actively courting Baghdad, and those two countries were seen as possible role models for the development of Iraq. Together that led to the April 1941 coup led by four officers known as the Golden Square that put Rashid Ali Gaylani into power and forced Abdullah Regent of Iraq to flee the country. The new government was widely popular because of its anti-British stance. Germany and Italy immediately released a joint statement saying they supported the coup and offered military support as well. The prime minister and the Golden Square officers wanted to push the British out of Iraq, but did not want to use force. They believed that England would let Iraq slide out of its control as it was defeated in the war. That did not play out as planned as the country became a battlefield in the conflict

Immediately after the coup, Prime Minister Winston Churchill began making plans to remove Gaylani from power to make sure that Iraq stayed under Britain’s influence. In April Churchill ordered forces from India, Transjordan, and Egypt to be sent to Iraq. By the middle of the month, the first troops had arrived at an airbase in Shaibah, Basra, the port of Basra, and the Habaniya airbase in Anbar. PM Gaylani responded by sending the army to surround the Habaniya where they gave an ultimatum to the British to stop their operations there. That was rejected, and the Battle of Habaniya ensued with an Iraqi defeat. The British then started a march on Baghdad, which led to the Battle of Fallujah.

Fallujah was considered the best crossing point of the Euphrates River in Anbar on the road to Baghdad. The Iraqis had flooded most of central Anbar by releasing water from the river. Ramadi had a large Iraqi army contingent and was also isolated by the flooding so that was not considered a good target. Fallujah was considered much easier, and had a bridge across the Euphrates.

The British commander Colonel Ouvry Roberts planned a multi-pronged approach to taking the town. First, there would be heavy bombing of Fallujah to undermine morale. Then leaflets would be dropped demanding that the Iraqis surrender. A four pronged attack on the town would then be launched hoping to seize the bridge before it could be blown up. The main task of seizing the structure would fall on 100 Iraqi levies that had been trained by the British to originally protect the Habaniya base. Another attack would be made by more levies and Indian Ghurkas supported by armored cars and howitzers from the north to cut off reinforcements that might be sent from Ramadi. A thrust from the south would be made using boats to maneuver the flooded Eurphrates. Another contingent of troops would be flown into the east to cut the Fallujah-Baghdad road and block any Iraqi forces being sent from the capital.

On May 19, 1941 the Battle of Fallujah began. At 5 am 57 British planes bombed the town for an hour. The leaflets were then dropped calling for the Iraqis to give up. At dawn, the troops were landed in the west by plane to cut the Fallujah-Baghdad road. Another bombing run was made on the town, and then the Iraqi levies made a charge on the bridge backed by some armored cars. The bridge was seized and the town taken by the end of the day. Ten tons of bombs had been dropped on the city, 300 Iraqis were captured, and the levies didn’t take a single casualty as they rushed the Fallujah Bridge. Most of the Iraqi troops in the town did not put up a fight and stripped off their uniforms and either tried to blend in with the population or fled.

The Iraqis were not so easily defeated however, and tried to take back the town on May 22. A unit from the Iraqi 6^th Infantry Brigade launched a counter attack to try to expel the British. They were discovered at night as they were approaching, but could not be turned back by a small reconnaissance force. At 3 am they reached the outskirts of town on the northeast and started firing mortars on the British positions leading to their withdrawal inside Fallujah proper. Two Iraqi tanks then entered the town, but were destroyed. The British then launched their own attack, which pushed the Iraqis out of Fallujah just as the sun rose. The Iraqis then switched to the southeast with an infantry and tank assault. Nine hours of fighting later and they were turned back. By then reinforcements arrived from Habaniya and cleared the town by 6 pm after some very heavy fighting. A few days later German planes, which had been sent to aid Gaylani’s government strafed the town while Iraqi artillery shelled it. By then it was firmly under British control. Their next move was to take the Iraqi capital, which eventually happened leading Gaylani to flee to Iran.

The Battle of Fallujah played a major role in defeating the pro-German and pro-Italian government in Baghdad and ensure that Iraq would stay in the Allied camp during World War 2. London was worried that if Iraq fell to the Axis it would cut off an important source of oil and threaten its petroleum interests in Iran as well. Iraq also operated as part of the trade route to India. Winston Churchill therefore saw Iraq as a strategic asset to maintain the British empire. Some of the tactics used then are also being employed now such as attacking the city from all sides, heavy bombardments to loosen the defenses, and the dropping of flyers. In 1941 the Iraqis were defeated, but in 2016 they will come out victorious.

Timeline Of Anglo-Iraq War During World War 2

Jan 28 Regent Abdullah made moves against PM Gaylani for his pro-German views

leading to plot against Regent

Jan 31 PM Gaylani forced form office by British pressure

Apr 1 Golden Square officers back coup leading to Gaylani to return to power and

            Regent Abdullah fleeing country to Palestine under British protection

Apr 3 Germany sent letter saying it supported coup and offered military aid

Apr 8 PM Churchill orders forces to be put together in India to be sent to Iraq

Apr 9 Germany and Italy make joint statement supporting PM Gaylani and promising

            military and financial support

Apr 10 Hitler decided to give military aid to Iraq

- PM Gaylani said he would honor 1930 Anglo-Iraq Treaty because didn’t want

            confrontation with London

Apr 12 British forces leave India heading for Basra

Apr 16 British tell Iraq that troops will be landing in Basra under Anglo-Iraq Treaty

            Gaylani agrees but says they most leave for other destinations immediately

- German letter arrives in Baghdad saying it would support Iraq revolt against British

Apr 17 Gaylani asked Germany for military assistance

- British battalion from Indian starts arriving at Shaibah airbase in Basra

Apr 18 British troops from India land at Port of Basra

Apr 29 Gaylani sends forces to surround England’s Habaniya airbase in Anbar

Apr 30 Iraq issued ultimatum to British to cease operations at Habaniya base

May 1 Iraqi police opened fire on British workers in Fort Rutba, Anbar

- British bombers sent from Egypt to Habaniya base

May 2 British planes bomb Iraqi forces outside Habaniya starting Anglo-Iraq War

- Grand Mufti in Baghdad declared jihad against England

- Iraqi forces take British fort at Rutba

May 3 British planes bomb Iraqi forces outside Habaniya and Iraqi airbase at Rasheed,

            Anbar

- Churchill orders British troops from Palestine to Iraq

May 4 British expand bombing to Iraqi bases in Rasheed Mosul and Baghdad

May 6 British break siege at Habaniya

- Germany makes deal with Vichy France to send military equipment from Syria to Iraq

- Germany sends air unit to Syria bound for Iraq

May 8 British Arab Legion leaves Palestine for Iraq heading to take back Fort Rutba

            Are attacked by German planes during march

- British take Ashar, Basra

- British air strikes destroy most of Iraqi air force

May 9 German and Italian planes leave Syria to land in Mosul

- British planes bomb Fort Rutba

May 13 German military aid begins arriving from Syria to Mosul

- British forces take Fort Rutba and find it abandoned by Iraqis

- German planes based out of Mosul begin attacking Habaniya base

May 14 German commander arrives to take control of German-Italian forces in Iraq

- German planes bomb British forces in Anbar heading for Habaniya base from Palestine

            and Fort Rutba

May 16 British and German planes bomb opposing forces in Anbar

May 18 British bomb Fallujah

May 19 British forces take Fallujah

May 22 Iraqi counterattack to retake Fallujah repulsed

May 23 German planes attack Fallujah while Iraqis shell town

May 26 Italian planes land in Kirkuk from Syria and start attacking British forces in

Anbar

May 27 Operation Regulta starts with British marching from Fallujah and Basra on

Baghdad

May 28 British forces stopped by Iraqis at Abu Ghraib

- British intelligence officer spread rumors amongst Iraqi military that 100 tanks heading

            for Baghdad

May 29 British forces defeated by Iraqis at Kadhimiya while English break through Iraqi

            defense at Abu Ghraib

- PM Gaylani leaves office and flees to Iran

May 30 British take Baghdad

Jun 1 Regent Abdullah returns to Iraq

SOURCES

Farouk-Sluglett, Marion and Sluglett, Peter, Iraq Since 1958: From Revolution to Dictatorship, London, New York: I.B. Tauris Publishers, 2003

Lyman, Robert, Iraq 1941, The battles for Basra, Habbaniya, Fallujah and Baghdad, Oxford, Long Island: Osprey Publishing, 2006