1941 Iraqi coup d'état

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The 1941 Iraqi coup d'état, also known as the Rashid Ali Al-Gaylani coup or the Golden Square coup was a military coup in Iraq on April 3, 1941[1] that overthrew the regime of the Regent 'Abd al-Ilah and installed Rashid Ali as Prime Minister. It was led by four Iraqi nationalist army generals, known as "the Golden Square".

The Golden Square intended to use the war to press for full Iraqi independence following the limited independence granted in 1932. To that end, they worked with German intelligence and accepted military assistance from Germany.

On 18 April, Britain reacted by landing the Indian 20th Infantry Brigade at Basra. Britain claimed it was entitled to do this under its defense treaty with Iraq. This treaty was essentially dictated by the British without negotiation or agreement before independence was granted to Iraq. It gave the British unlimited rights to station and transit troops through Iraq without consulting the Iraqi government.

In the following days, the new Iraqi government moved substantial ground forces to the plateau overlooking the large RAF base at Habbaniya. Upon arrival, the Iraqis demanded that the British not move any troops nor aircraft in or out of the base. The British responded by first demanding that the Iraqis leave the area and then, following the expiration of an ultimatum given in the early hours of May 2, launched an attack. The base had immediately available a force of 96 mostly obsolete aircraft, most of which were used for training. The Iraqi air force, which included a number of modern US and Italian built machines, proved to be no match for the RAF The British had 2,200 troops to defend the base and 12 armoured cars. By the second day of fighting, a few more Blenheim fighter bombers arrived.

With assistance from the ground forces at the base and the levies (Iraqi troops raised by the British), the Iraqi troops were forced back to Falluja and the air battle was taken to the remaining Iraqi airforce bases; Habbaniya had essentially lifted the siege upon its resources.

Reinforcements, in what became known as "Iraqforce," came from two directions. British, Transjordanian, and Arab Legion forces arrived in two columns (Habforce and KingCol) across the desert from the Transjordan. Additional Indian forces continued to arrive in Basra.

The Iraqi army was driven out of Falluja and pursued to Baghdad, which fell within a week. This cleared the way for the nominal restoration of the Regent and the pro-British government. British military occupation of Iraq continued until late 1947.

During the course of the Iraq war, minor reinforcements for the nationalists were received from both Germany and Italy. Arriving aircraft were crudely painted with Iraqi colours. A few Luftwaffe aircraft flew sorties from Mosul against both the base at Habbaniya and the relieving Commonwealth forces moving across from Transjordan. This was done to little effect.

However, the Vichy French authorities in the Syrian Mandate had given some assistance to both the pro-Axis Iraqi nationalists and to the Germans (providing staging bases for the Luftwaffe). Even before the end of the Iraq campaign, this had led to RAF attacks on airbases in Syria. The Vichy assistance to the Axis and the British air attacks in response would lead to the full scale invasion of Vichy-occupied Syria within weeks in the Syria-Lebanon campaign.

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