2RHPZ
01-05-2005, 10:08 AM
'Remarkable example of military daring'
VFW Magazine
Sept, 2003
by Trevor Royle
On April 3, 1941, a military coup in Baghdad forced out the pro-British regent, the Emir Abdul Illah and his ward, the 'four-year-old King Faysal II. In their place, Prime Minister Rashid Ali Al-Kaylani became titular head of state.
This put the British in a dilemma as not only was Rashid Ali pro-German, but there was an immediate danger that the vital Mosul oil fields would fall into enemy hands. Although over-stretched in the war against Italy and Germany in North Africa, Britain acted promptly to meet this new threat.
The main air bases at Shaiba and Habbaniya on the Euphrates River were secured and reinforced with Wellington heavy bombers, an Indian infantry division was dispatched to Basra, the aircraft carrier HMS Hermes was deployed to the Gulf, and Royal Air Force (RAF) bombers attacked military targets in Baghdad.
In response, the Iraqi army besieged the base at Habbaniya, and the vital overland oil pipeline to the Mediterranean was threatened with closure.
If the RAF bases fell into Iraqi hands, British ground forces would have to advance from Basra without air cover, and there were fears that Rashid Ali's forces would be reinforced by German aircraft.
To meet the threat, Gen. Archibald Wavell, commander-in-chief of Middle East Forces, ordered an immediate advance to be made from Transjordan (Jordan) to relieve Habbaniya.
The task was given to a brigade consisting of three cavalry regiments and a mechanized infantry bittalion under the command of Maj. Gen. J.G.W. Clark. But it was clear that it would be unable to reach Habbaniya in time.
In advance of the main attack, a flying column was ordered to cross the desert and engage the Iraqi forces outside Habbaniya. Known as "Kingcol," it consisted of 2,000 men drawn from the Household Cavalry Regiment (Life Guards and Royal Horse Guards) and the 1st Essex Regiment together with supporting artillery and armored vehicles.
Accompanying it in the reconnaissance role was the Desert Mechanized Regiment of the Arab Legion. The Kingcol commander was Brigadier J.J. Kingstone.
Despite the difficult desert terrain and the searing summer temperatures (which reached 120 degrees Fahrenheit), Kingcol reached Habbaniya on May 17, having taken five days to make the desert crossing. On Kingstone's approach, the besieging Iraqi forces fell back on Baghdad or began surrendering. Two days later, the RAF attacked the bridge over the Euphrates at Fallujah-300 Iraqi soldiers surrendered, and the road to Baghdad was open.
For the main attack on the Iraqi capital, Clark divided his forces. While the bulk of the mechanized infantry and artillery advanced up the main road to Baghdad under Kingstone's command, a smaller force composed of Household Cavalry and Arab Legion attacked from the north.
By May 30, both were in striking distance of Baghdad. Although the Iraqi army enjoyed numerical superiority and was expected to put up fierce resistance, its commanders had been demoralized by the speed and aggression of the British advance. It was further discomforted by the arrival of the 10th Indian Infantry Division in Basra. Most of the troops in the Iraqi army's five infantry divisions were inexperienced conscripts.
Clark's force was overextended and depended on supply and re-supply over long lines of communication. Still, its unexpected arrival outside Baghdad was the deciding factor. On the night of May 29, Rashid Ali escaped across the border to Persia (Iran). A cease-fire was arranged the next day, and the Emir Abdul Illah was returned as regent.
The entire operation had lasted 30 days, with British and Arab Legion casualties of 34 KIA and 64 WIA.
Although operations in Iraq were minor compared to other campaigns of WWII, they were of great significance at the time: had Rashid Ali remained in power he would have taken Iraq onto the side of the Axis powers. And the country's oil assets would have fallen into enemy hands.
Winston S. Churchill recognized that fact when he wrote in his History of the Second World War (Vol. 3) that despite the difficulties, "the result was crowned with swift and complete success."
Major J.B. Glubb, the Arab Legion commander (later Lt. Gen. Sir John Bagot Glubb), added a soldier's perspective in his autobiography, A Soldier with the Arabs, when he described the Kingcol's cross-desert incursion as "one of the most remarkable examples of military daring in history."
TREVOR ROYLE, a noted British military historian, is author of Glubb Pasha: The Life and Times of Lt. Gen. Sir John B. Glubb, Commander of the Arab Legion, (1992) and other books.
VFW Magazine
Sept, 2003
by Trevor Royle
On April 3, 1941, a military coup in Baghdad forced out the pro-British regent, the Emir Abdul Illah and his ward, the 'four-year-old King Faysal II. In their place, Prime Minister Rashid Ali Al-Kaylani became titular head of state.
This put the British in a dilemma as not only was Rashid Ali pro-German, but there was an immediate danger that the vital Mosul oil fields would fall into enemy hands. Although over-stretched in the war against Italy and Germany in North Africa, Britain acted promptly to meet this new threat.
The main air bases at Shaiba and Habbaniya on the Euphrates River were secured and reinforced with Wellington heavy bombers, an Indian infantry division was dispatched to Basra, the aircraft carrier HMS Hermes was deployed to the Gulf, and Royal Air Force (RAF) bombers attacked military targets in Baghdad.
In response, the Iraqi army besieged the base at Habbaniya, and the vital overland oil pipeline to the Mediterranean was threatened with closure.
If the RAF bases fell into Iraqi hands, British ground forces would have to advance from Basra without air cover, and there were fears that Rashid Ali's forces would be reinforced by German aircraft.
To meet the threat, Gen. Archibald Wavell, commander-in-chief of Middle East Forces, ordered an immediate advance to be made from Transjordan (Jordan) to relieve Habbaniya.
The task was given to a brigade consisting of three cavalry regiments and a mechanized infantry bittalion under the command of Maj. Gen. J.G.W. Clark. But it was clear that it would be unable to reach Habbaniya in time.
In advance of the main attack, a flying column was ordered to cross the desert and engage the Iraqi forces outside Habbaniya. Known as "Kingcol," it consisted of 2,000 men drawn from the Household Cavalry Regiment (Life Guards and Royal Horse Guards) and the 1st Essex Regiment together with supporting artillery and armored vehicles.
Accompanying it in the reconnaissance role was the Desert Mechanized Regiment of the Arab Legion. The Kingcol commander was Brigadier J.J. Kingstone.
Despite the difficult desert terrain and the searing summer temperatures (which reached 120 degrees Fahrenheit), Kingcol reached Habbaniya on May 17, having taken five days to make the desert crossing. On Kingstone's approach, the besieging Iraqi forces fell back on Baghdad or began surrendering. Two days later, the RAF attacked the bridge over the Euphrates at Fallujah-300 Iraqi soldiers surrendered, and the road to Baghdad was open.
For the main attack on the Iraqi capital, Clark divided his forces. While the bulk of the mechanized infantry and artillery advanced up the main road to Baghdad under Kingstone's command, a smaller force composed of Household Cavalry and Arab Legion attacked from the north.
By May 30, both were in striking distance of Baghdad. Although the Iraqi army enjoyed numerical superiority and was expected to put up fierce resistance, its commanders had been demoralized by the speed and aggression of the British advance. It was further discomforted by the arrival of the 10th Indian Infantry Division in Basra. Most of the troops in the Iraqi army's five infantry divisions were inexperienced conscripts.
Clark's force was overextended and depended on supply and re-supply over long lines of communication. Still, its unexpected arrival outside Baghdad was the deciding factor. On the night of May 29, Rashid Ali escaped across the border to Persia (Iran). A cease-fire was arranged the next day, and the Emir Abdul Illah was returned as regent.
The entire operation had lasted 30 days, with British and Arab Legion casualties of 34 KIA and 64 WIA.
Although operations in Iraq were minor compared to other campaigns of WWII, they were of great significance at the time: had Rashid Ali remained in power he would have taken Iraq onto the side of the Axis powers. And the country's oil assets would have fallen into enemy hands.
Winston S. Churchill recognized that fact when he wrote in his History of the Second World War (Vol. 3) that despite the difficulties, "the result was crowned with swift and complete success."
Major J.B. Glubb, the Arab Legion commander (later Lt. Gen. Sir John Bagot Glubb), added a soldier's perspective in his autobiography, A Soldier with the Arabs, when he described the Kingcol's cross-desert incursion as "one of the most remarkable examples of military daring in history."
TREVOR ROYLE, a noted British military historian, is author of Glubb Pasha: The Life and Times of Lt. Gen. Sir John B. Glubb, Commander of the Arab Legion, (1992) and other books.