History Hustle
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Why Iraq Joined the Axis
Posted
February 15, 2025
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February 15, 2025
18,513
1,246
213
7.88%
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13:28Now PlayingIn April 1941, Iraq, under Prime Minister Rashid Ali al-Gaylani, sought Axis support to end British influence. Driven by nationalism and anti-colonial sentiment, he overthrew the pro-British regent and sought military aid from Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. The Axis saw an opportunity to disrupt British control of Middle Eastern oil and supply lines.
Germany and Italy promised arms and aircraft, prompting Iraq to attack the British airbase at Habbaniya in May 1941. In response, Britain launched a swift invasion, fearing Axis expansion in the region. British forces, reinforced from India and Transjordan, defeated the Iraqi army within weeks. Rashid Ali fled, and the pro-British Hashemite monarchy was restored.
The failed pro-Axis coup underscored the strategic importance of the Middle East in WWII, as Britain moved to secure oil resources and prevent further Axis influence in the region, ensuring continued control over vital supply routes.
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SOURCES
– The British Mandate in Iraq, 1914-1932 (Toby Dodge)
– The Iraqi Mandate: An Examination of the Relationship between Britain and Iraq in the Aftermath of the First World War (Victoria Whitecotton)
– Understanding Iraq. A Whistlestop Tour from Ancient Babylon to Occupied Baghdad (William R. Polk).
– Nafi, Basheer M. (Spring 1997). "The Arabs and the Axis: 1933–1940". Arab Studies Quarterly. 19.
– Iraq Between the Two World Wars. The Militarist Origins of Tyranny (Reeva Spector Simon).
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