The Assault on

Rutbah , image_skyline = File:USMC-090101-M-0493G-066 (cropped).jpg , imagesize = , image_caption = A rooftop view of Ar-Rutbah on 1 January 2009 , image_map = , pushpin_map = Iraq , subdivision_type = Country , subdivisio ...

Fort was fought during the

Anglo-Iraqi War The Anglo-Iraqi War was a British-led Allied military campaign during the Second World War against the Kingdom of Iraq under Rashid Gaylani, who had seized power in the 1941 Iraqi coup d'état, with assistance from Germany and Italy. The c ...

between British and Transjordanian forces and Iraqi forces loyal to

Rashid Ali Rashid Ali al-Gaylaniin Arab standard pronunciation Rashid Aali al-Kaylani; also transliterated as Sayyid Rashid Aali al-Gillani, Sayyid Rashid Ali al-Gailani or sometimes Sayyad Rashid Ali el Keilany ("Sayyid, Sayyad" serves to address higher st ...

Background

On 1 May 1941, forces loyal to

occupied the fort at

. An advanced party from

Habforce Habforce was a British Army military unit created in 1941 during the Anglo-Iraqi War and still active during the Syria-Lebanon campaign during the fighting in the Middle East in the Second World War. Creation and composition Habforce, short for ...

was dispatched to combat them.

Conflict

On 8 May 1941, a column of the

Arab Legion The Arab Legion () was the police force, then regular army of the Emirate of Transjordan, a British protectorate, in the early part of the 20th century, and then of independent Jordan, with a final Arabization of its command taking place in 195 ...

, under

Glubb Pasha Lieutenant-General Sir John Bagot Glubb, KCB, CMG, DSO, OBE, MC, KStJ, KPM (16 April 1897 – 17 March 1986), known as Glubb Pasha, was a British soldier, scholar, and author, who led and trained Transjordan's Arab Legion between 1939 a ...

, reached the fort at

. They picketed the ground surrounding the fort, to wait for the impending

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

bombardment. The fort was defended by approximately 100 policemen, the majority of which were Iraqi Desert Police. The H4-based Blenheims of No. 203 Squadron RAF arrived and bombed the fort, and thinking that the fort had surrendered, left. The fort did not surrender and the RAF returned twice that day to bomb the fort without success. The next day, the RAF continued to bomb the fort at intermittent intervals. One plane sustained such heavy small-arms fire that it crashed on the way back to the airfield, killing the pilot. That evening, 40 trucks armed with machine guns arrived at the fort to reinforce the garrison. Half of the trucks were irregulars under the command of

Fawzi al-Qawuqji Fawzi al-Qawuqji ( ar, فوزي القاوقجي; 19 January 1890 – 5 June 1977) was a leading Arab nationalist military figure in the interwar period.The Arabs and the Holocaust: The Arab-Israeli War of Narratives, by Gilbert Achcar, (NY: Hen ...

and the other half were Iraqi Desert Police. Glubb decided to withdraw his soldiers back to H3 to await the reinforcement of the main column. The Arab Legion arrived back at H3 on the morning of 10 May, and found No. 2 Armoured Car Company RAF under Squadron Leader

Michael Casano Michael Peter Casano, MC (7 June 1913 – 2006), was a Squadron Leader in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. He is probably best remembered as the leader of the force of armoured cars that took part in the Relief of Habbaniyah, ...

waiting there. The squadron had been sent up ahead of the main column to assist the Arab Legion in taking Rutbah. Casano took his armoured cars to Rutbah whilst the Arab Legion replenished their supplies at H3. Casano's armoured cars fought an action against al-Qawuqji's trucks for most of the rest of the day, and although the result was not decisive the trucks retired to the east under the cover of dark to leave the garrison to its fate. That night the RAF succeeded in a night bombing, with several bombs landing inside the fort. Following the withdrawal of al-Qawuqji's trucks and the successful bombing by the RAF, the garrison withdrew from the fort under the cover of dark. In the morning on the day of the 11 May, the Arab Legion column arrived and garrisoned the fort whilst Casson's armoured cars continued to fight remnants of the Iraqi Desert Police's forces. During the day,

James Joseph Kingstone Brigadier James Joseph "Joe" Kingstone DSO & Bar MC CBE, DL (26 August 1892 – 20 September 1966) was an officer in the British Army during the First and Second World Wars. Military career Kingstone was born in Milton Lilbourne, Wiltshire, ...

, the commander of

Kingcol Kingcol was a British Army flying column created during the Anglo-Iraqi War. Creation and composition ''Kingcol'' was created to allow a portion of ''Habforce'' to relieve RAF Habbaniya as soon as possible. The column was named after its command ...

, along with some of his staff and a protective troop of the

Blues and Royals The Blues and Royals (Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons) (RHG/D) is a cavalry regiment of the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry Regiment. The Colonel of the Regiment is Anne, Princess Royal. It is the second-most senior regiment in ...

and Life Guards, departed H3 for the fort at Rutbah. Leaving his protective troop at the edge of the town, Kingstone and

Somerset de Chair Somerset Struben de Chair (22 August 1911 – 5 January 1995) was an English author, politician, and poet. He edited several volumes of the memoirs of Napoleon. Early and personal life De Chair was the younger son of Admiral Sir Dudley Rawson ...

, his assistant, proceeded on to the fort and met with Glubb Pasha.de Chair, p. 16

Aftermath

A film of the conflict was produced by

British Pathé British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and published on 9 June 1941 as 'The War In Iraq'.

Notes

References

Secondary Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rutbah Fort, Assault on Iraq–United Kingdom military relations 1941 in Iraq Conflicts in 1941 Invasions of Iraq Iraq in World War II Kingdom of Iraq Middle East theatre of World War II May 1941 events