Iraqforce was a British and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

formation that came together in the

Kingdom of Iraq The Hashemite Kingdom of Iraq ( ar, المملكة العراقية الهاشمية, translit=al-Mamlakah al-ʿIrāqiyyah ʾal-Hāshimyyah) was a state located in the Middle East from 1932 to 1958. It was founded on 23 August 1921 as the Kingdo ...

. The formation fought in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Background

During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

defeated the

Ottoman Army The military of the Ottoman Empire ( tr, Osmanlı İmparatorluğu'nun silahlı kuvvetleri) was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire. Army The military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the ...

in the

during the

Mesopotamian Campaign The Mesopotamian campaign was a campaign in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I fought between the Allies represented by the British Empire, troops from Britain, Australia and the vast majority from British India, against the Central Po ...

. Subsequently, the

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference th ...

designated

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...

as the British Mandate of Mesopotamia. From 1920 to the early 1930s,

RAF Iraq Command Iraq Command was the Royal Air Force (RAF) commanded inter-service command in charge of British forces in Iraq in the 1920s and early 1930s, during the period of the British Mandate of Mesopotamia. It continued as British Forces in Iraq until ...

was created as an inter-service

command Command may refer to: Computing * Command (computing), a statement in a computer language * COMMAND.COM, the default operating system shell and command-line interpreter for DOS * Command key, a modifier key on Apple Macintosh computer keyboards * ...

in charge of all

British 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, ...

forces in the mandate-controlled

and was commanded by an RAF officer normally of

Air Vice-Marshal Air vice-marshal (AVM) is a two-star air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes ...

rank. In 1932, the British mandate in Iraq ended and according to the

Anglo-Iraqi Treaty The Anglo-Iraqi Treaty of October 1922 was an agreement signed between the British and Iraqi governments. The treaty was designed to allow for Iraqi self-government while giving the British control of Iraq's foreign policy. It was intended to co ...

of 1930, the United Kingdom was permitted to maintain troops in Iraq. In 1933 or 1934, RAF Iraq Command was renamed the British Forces in Iraq. By the late 1930s, these forces were restricted to two

Royal Air Force station The Royal Air Force (RAF) operates several stations throughout the United Kingdom and overseas. This includes front-line and training air bases, support, administrative and training stations with no flying activity, unmanned airfields used fo ...

RAF Shaibah 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 ...

near

Basra Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is han ...

and RAF Habbaniya west of

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

. On 1 April 1941, during World War II, Rashid Ali seized power in Iraq via a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

'. Ali was supported by three senior Royal Iraqi Army officers and one

Royal Iraqi Air Force The Iraqi Air Force (IQAF or IrAF) ( ar, القوات الجوية العراقية, Al Quwwat al Jawwiyah al Iraqiyyah}) is the aerial warfare service branch of the Iraqi Armed Forces. It is responsible for the defense of Iraqi airspace as well ...

officer, known as the

Golden Square Golden Square, in Soho, the City of Westminster, London, is a mainly hardscaped garden square planted with a few mature trees and raised borders in Central London flanked by classical office buildings. Its four approach ways are north and sou ...

. Rashid Ali proclaimed himself Chief of the National Defence Government. His new government was immediately recognised by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

; it was openly pro-

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

and anti-British.

Nomenclature

The ground forces from

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

that landed in Basra were initially known as Sabine Force (

Major-General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

William Fraser William Fraser may refer to: Military people * William W. Fraser (1844–1915), American Civil War soldier and Medal of Honor recipient * William Archibald Kenneth Fraser (1886–1969), British army officer * William Fraser (British Army officer ...

). From 8 May 1941, Fraser was replaced and the forces in Basra were commanded by Lieutenant-General

Edward Quinan General Sir Edward Pellew Quinan (9 January 1885 – 13 November 1960) was a British Army commander during the Second World War. In the early part of his career, he was involved in Indian Army campaigns in Afghanistan and Waziristan on the N ...

. On 18 June, Quinan was placed in command of all ground forces in Iraq which included ''Sabine Force'' and British Forces in Iraq as ''Iraqforce''. From 21 June, ''Iraqforce'' was called Iraq Command.Lyman, p.19 On 1 September 1941, after

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

(modern

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

) was invaded, ''Iraq Command'' was renamed "Persia and Iraq Force" (PAI Force).MacMunn, passim ''PAI Force'' was still commanded by Quinan and he still reported to India Command. ''Iraqforce'' was variously part of

India Command Following the Kitchener Reforms of 1903 during the British Raj, the Commander-in-Chief, India, enjoyed control of the Army of India and answered to the civilian Viceroy of India. The Commander-in-Chief's staff was overseen by the Chief of the Ge ...

Middle East Command Middle East Command, later Middle East Land Forces, was a British Army Command established prior to the Second World War in Egypt. Its primary role was to command British land forces and co-ordinate with the relevant naval and air commands to ...

and then

Persia and Iraq Command The Persia and Iraq Command was a command of the British Army established during the Second World War in September 1942 in Baghdad. Its primary role was to secure from land and air attack the oilfields and oil installations in Persia (officially ...

Prelude

''Sabine Force'' was despatched from

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

by GHQ India to seize the port of Basra and to supplement the British Forces in Iraq at RAF Shaibah and RAF Habbaniya. British

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

saw Basra as a major supply base in the future for material from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. Churchill did not recognise Rashid Ali's "National Defence Government" as legitimate. Churchill also wanted to reinstate a more compliant Iraqi government and to protect British interests in Iraq, notably the oilfields of which the British-owned Anglo-Persian Oil Company was concession holder. On 18 April, a brigade from Karachi landed and captured Basra; on 30 April, a second brigade arrived. The Rashid Ali government demanded that the British forces be removed from Iraq and Iraqi forces took up positions around RAF Habbaniya. On 2 May, British aircraft from Habbaniya launched a surprise attack on Iraqi forces throughout the country.

Military operations

Anglo-Iraqi War

During the ensuing war, a force from the

British Mandate of Palestine British Mandate of Palestine or Palestine Mandate most often refers to: * Mandate for Palestine: a League of Nations mandate under which the British controlled an area which included Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan. * Mandatory P ...

, known as ''Habbaniya Force'' (shortened to '' Habforce''), advanced into Iraq from Transjordan. ''Habforce'', with '' Kingcol'' in the lead, was to relieve the British garrison forces besieged at the Royal Air Force treaty base at RAF Habbaniya. The threat to Habbaniya was removed by actions of the garrison before any elements of ''Habforce'' arrived. After it arrived, ''Habforce'' and a portion of the Habbaniya garrison then advanced through

Fallujah Fallujah ( ar, ٱلْفَلُّوجَة, al-Fallūjah, Iraqi pronunciation: ) is a city in the Iraqi province of Al Anbar, located roughly west of Baghdad on the Euphrates. Fallujah dates from Babylonian times and was host to important Je ...

to capture Baghdad. By 31 May, an armistice had been signed and the government collapsed. From early May, the troops in Iraq were under the operational control of Army Headquarters, Middle East Command in Cairo, reverting to India command on 18 June. From 21 June, ''Iraqforce'' became known as the ''Iraq Command''.

Syria-Lebanon Campaign

In June and July 1941, after Iraq was secured, elements of ''Iraqforce''/''Iraq Command'' took part in the Syria–Lebanon campaign and, while active in Syria, they once more came under the authority of the Cairo Headquarters.

Anglo-Soviet Invasion of Persia

PikiWiki Israel 4214 Israel Defense Forces

In late August 1941, ''Iraq Command'' conducted the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Persia, in conjunction with forces advancing from the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

. A new formation, ''Hazelforce'', based on the 2nd Indian Armoured Brigade was formed within ''Iraq Command'' during this effort. On 1 September, after Persia (modern Iran) was secured, ''Iraq Command'' was renamed "Persia and Iraq Force" or ''Paiforce''. ''Paiforce'' was still commanded by Quinan and he still reported to India Command. In January 1942, Persia and Iraq once again came under Middle East Command and, in February 1942, Quinan's headquarters was re-designated as Tenth Army. In 1942, with the growing threat from the German advance in the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historica ...

, it was felt that the area should come under a General Headquarters which could bring a specific focus to the area. Previous experience of controlling the area from Cairo and Delhi had not proved ideal and both these General Headquarters were by this time fully committed in the Western Desert Campaign and to the Burma Campaign respectively. In August 1942, it was decided therefore, as part of the changes made bringing in

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

and Montgomery to Middle East Command and Auchinleck to India Command, to create a new Persia and Iraq Command, to be led by

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

Sir Maitland Wilson and based in Baghdad.

Orders of battle

Iraq, May 1941

Commanded by Major-General William Fraser (until 8 May).

Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Edward Quinan (from 8 May). *

10th Indian Infantry Division The 10th Indian Infantry Division was a war formed infantry division of the Indian Army during World War II. In four years, the division travelled over from Tehran to Trieste, fought three small wars, and fought two great campaigns: the ...

- Major-General W.A.K. Fraser (until 16 May). Major-General William Slim (from 16 May).Mackenzie, p. 101 **

13th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers The 13th Lancers is an armoured regiment of Pakistan Army. It was formed in 1923 as 13th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers by the amalgamation of 31st Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers and 32nd Lancers. On Partition of India in 1947, the regiment wa ...

(reconnaissance regiment in armoured cars) ** 3rd Field Regiment

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

** 32nd Field Regiment Royal Artillery ** 157th Field Regiment Royal Artillery **

20th Indian Infantry Brigade The 20th Indian Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the Indian Army during World War II. History The brigade was formed in September 1940, by the conversion of the Khojak Brigade and assigned to the 9th Indian Infantry Divis ...

Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

Donald Powell Donald Powell Distinguished Service Order (21 October 1896 – 8 August 1942) was an officer in the British Indian Army during World War I and World War II Biography Donald Powell was born on 21 October 1896, at Jhansi and baptised on 4 January ...

*** 2nd battalion

8th Gurkha Rifles The 8th Gorkha Rifles is a Gorkha regiment of the Indian Army. It was raised in 1824 as part of the British East India Company and later transferred to the British Indian Army after the Indian Rebellion of 1857. The regiment served in World War I ...

*** 2nd battalion

7th Gurkha Rifles The 7th Gurkha Rifles was a rifle regiment of the British Indian Army, before being transferred to the British Army, following India's independence in 1947 and after 1959 designated as the 7th Duke of Edinburgh's Own Gurkha Rifles. History F ...

*** 3rd battalion

11th Sikh Regiment The 11th Sikh Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. They could trace their origins to 1922, when after World War I the Indian government reformed the army moving from single battalion regiments to multi battalion regiments.S ...

** 21st Indian Infantry Brigade- Brigadier Charles Weld *** 4th battalion

13th Frontier Force Rifles The 13th Frontier Force Rifles was part of the British Indian Army, and after 1947, Pakistan Army. It was formed in 1922 by amalgamation of five existing regiments and consisted of five regular battalions. History The 13th Frontier Force Rifle ...

*** 2nd battalion 4th Gurkha Rifles *** 2nd battalion

10th Gurkha Rifles The 10th Princess Mary's Own Gurkha Rifles, (abbreviated to 10 GR), was originally a rifle regiment of the British Indian Army. The regiment was formed in 1890, taking its lineage from a police unit and over the course of its existence it had a ...

** 25th Indian Infantry Brigade - Brigadier Ronald Mountain *** 3rd battalion

9th Jat Regiment The 9th Jat Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. It was formed in 1922, after the Indian government reformed the army, moving from single battalion regiments to multi battalion regiments. World War II The Regiment saw a g ...

*** 2nd Royal battalion 11th Sikh Regiment *** 1st battalion 5th Mahratta Light Infantry * Ground Forces at RAF Habbaniya -

Harry Smart (until 5 May). Colonel Ouvry Roberts (from 5 May). ** 1st battalion

The King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) The King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army. It served under various titles and fought in many wars and conflicts, including both the First and the Second World Wars, from 1680 to 1959. In 1959, the ...

** 1,200 Assyrian and Iraqi Levies - Lieutenant-Colonel J. A. Brawn **

Number 1 Armoured Car Company RAF The No.1 Armoured Car Company RAF was a military unit of Britain's Royal Air Force (RAF) based in Iraq and which played a role in the defence of RAF Habbaniya during World War II. Creation On 19 December 1921, "No. 1 Armoured Car Company ...

* '' Habforce'' commanded by Major-General John ClarkMaritn, p. 44 ** Mechanized squadron of the

Transjordan Frontier Force The Trans-Jordan Frontier Force was formed on 1 April 1926, to replace the disbanded British Gendarmerie. It was a creation of the British High Commissioner for Palestine whose intention was that the Force should defend Trans-Jordan's northe ...

- Refused to enter Iraq and were disarmed. ** Detachment 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 ...

- John Glubb ''"Glubb Pasha"'' ** Striking force '' Kingcol'' - Brigadier James Kingstone *** 4th Cavalry Brigade - Lieutenant-Colonel

Andrew Ferguson Andrew Ferguson (born June 28, 1956) is an American journalist and author. Career Ferguson is currently a staff writer at ''The Atlantic''. Previously, he was senior editor of ''The Weekly Standard'' (defunct since December 2018), and a columni ...

**** Composite

Household Cavalry Regiment The Household Cavalry Regiment (HCR) is an Armoured Cavalry regiment of the British Army based in Bulford Camp in Wiltshire. It is the brother regiment of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment (HCMR) based at Hyde Park Barracks in London - both ...

**** The

Warwickshire Yeomanry The Warwickshire Yeomanry was a yeomanry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1794, which served as cavalry and machine gunners in the First World War and as a cavalry and an armoured regiment in the Second World War, before being amalg ...

**** The

Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry The Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry (RWY) was a Yeomanry regiment of the Kingdom of Great Britain and the United Kingdom established in 1794. It was disbanded as an independent Territorial Army unit in 1967, a time when the strength of the Territorial ...

*** 237th Battery 60th Field Regiment,

*** A & D Companies, 1st Battalion

Essex Regiment The Essex Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958. The regiment served in many conflicts such as the Second Boer War and both World War I and World War II, serving with distinction in all three. ...

- Major K. F. May - Accompanied by two Bren gun carriers. Personnel carried in transport of the

Royal Army Service Corps The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and dom ...

. *** One anti-tank troop, Royal Artillery ***

Number 2 Armoured Car Company RAF The Number 2 Armoured Car Company RAF was a military unit of the British Royal Air Force (RAF) which was based at Amman in what was then called the Transjordan. It was the counterpart of No.1 Armoured Car Company RAF, which performed a similar r ...

*** Two supply companies,

** Main Body - Lieutenant-Colonel John Nichols, MC *** Headquarters 1st Cavalry Division (elements) *** 1st Battalion Essex Regiment *** 60th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery *** One Battery of anti-tank guns, Royal Artillery Formed from existing units in early June: * ''

Gocol Gocol was a flying column created by the British Army shortly after the Anglo–Iraqi War had ended. Creation and composition ''Gocol'' was a truck-borne flying column created in early June 1941, to pursue and capture Dr. Fritz Grobba, the Germ ...

'' - R. E. S. Gooch * ''

Mercol Mercol was a flying column created by the British Army shortly after the Anglo-Iraqi War had ended. Creation and composition ''Mercol'' was a truck-borne flying column created in early June 1941 to round up irregular troops under Fawzi al-Qawuqj ...

'' -

E. J. H. Merry E is the fifth letter of the Latin alphabet. E or e may also refer to: Commerce and transportation * €, the symbol for the euro, the European Union's standard currency unit * ℮, the estimated sign, an EU symbol indicating that the weight ...

* '' Harcol'' - R. J. Hardy Arriving At Basra on 9 June:Lyman, p. 88 * 17th Indian Infantry Brigade (detached from

8th Indian Infantry Division The 8th Mountain Division was raised as the 8th Indian Infantry division of the British Indian Army. It is now part of the Indian Army and specialises in mountain warfare. The 8th Indian Infantry Division was formed as an infantry division in ...

) - Brigadier

Douglas Gracey General Sir Douglas David Gracey & Bar (3 September 1894 – 5 June 1964) was a British Indian Army officer who fought in both the First and Second World Wars. He also fought in French Indochina and was the second Commander-in-Chief of the P ...

** 1st Battalion

Royal Fusiliers The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. It was known as the 7th Regiment of Foot until the Childers Reforms of 1881. The regiment served in many wars ...

** 1st Battalion (Prince of Wales Own Sikhs)

12th Frontier Force Regiment The 12th Frontier Force Regiment was formed in 1922 as part of the British Indian Army. It consisted of five regular battalions; numbered 1 to 5 and the 10th (Training) Battalion. During the Second World War a further ten battalions were raised. ...

** 1st Battalion

5th Royal Gurkha Rifles 5th Gorkha Rifles (Frontier Force), also abbreviated as 5 GR(FF) is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army comprising Gurkha soldiers of Nepalese origin. It was formed in 1858 as part of the British Indian Army. The regiment's battalions served ...

Arriving at Basra on 16 June: *

24th Indian Infantry Brigade The 24th Indian Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the Indian Army during World War II. The brigade was formed in February 1941, in India and at first assigned to the 10th Indian Infantry Division, and fought in the Anglo-Iraq ...

- Brigadier Roger Le Fleming ** 2nd Battalion

6th Rajputana Rifles The 6th Rajputana Rifles were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. They were formed in 1922, after the Indian government reformed the army. They moved away from single battalion regiments to multi battalion regiments. The regiment se ...

** The Kumaon Rifles ** 5th Battalion 5th Mahratta Light Infantry

Syria: June–July 1941

Commanded by Lieutenant General Edward Quinan During the Syria–Lebanon Campaign Iraqforce consisted of: * 10th Indian Infantry Division -Major-General William Slim ** 20th Indian Infantry Brigade - Brigadier Donald Powell ** 21st Indian Infantry Brigade - Brigadier C. J. Weld ** 25th Indian Infantry Brigade - Brigadier Ronald Mountain * 17th Indian Infantry Brigade (detached from

) - Brigadier Douglas Gracey * ''Habforce'' - Major-General J. G. W. Clark ** 4th Cavalry Brigade - Brigadier J. J. Kingstone ** 1st Battalion The Essex Regiment **

Mechanized Regiment ** 237th Battery 60th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery ** An Australian battery of 2 pounder anti-tank guns ** 169th Light Anti-aircraft Battery

Iran: August–September 1941

Commanded by Lieutenant General Edward Quinan During the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Persia (Iran) Iraqforce was renamed Paiforce, consisting of: * 10th Indian Infantry Division - Major-General William Slim (took overall command of the ground forces) * 8th Indian Infantry Division - commanded by Major-General Charles Harvey **

18th Indian Infantry Brigade The 18th Indian Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the Indian Army during World War II. It was formed in October, 1940 at Meerut in British Raj, India and assigned to the 8th Infantry Division (India), 8th Indian Infantry Divis ...

- Brigadier Rupert Lochner **

19th Indian Infantry Brigade The 19th Indian Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the Indian Army during World War II. It was formed in October, 1940 at Old Delhi in British Raj, India and assigned to the 8th Infantry Division (India), 8th Indian Infantry Di ...

- Brigadier Charles Ford ** 24th Indian Infantry Brigade (until 11 September) - Brigadier Roger Le Fleming ** 25th Indian Infantry Brigade (detached from 10th Indian Infantry Division) - Brigadier Ronald Mountain **

* ''Hazelforce'' - Brigadier John Aizlewood ** 2nd Indian Armoured Brigade Group - Brigadier John Aizlewood ** 9th Armoured Brigade (formerly the 4th Cavalry Brigade) - Brigadier John Currie ** 21st Indian Infantry Brigade (detached from 10th Indian Infantry Division) - Brigadier C. J. Weld *

6th Indian Infantry Division The 6th Infantry Division was an infantry division of the Indian Army during World War II, created on 1 March 1941 in Secunderabad. On 11 September 1941 it was shipped to the Iraq and later Iran. During 1942 and 1943 it was part of the Tenth Ar ...

(from 11 September) - Major-General James Thomson ** 17th Queen Victoria's Own Cavalry (Poona Horse) ** 27th Indian Infantry Brigade - Brigadier Alan Blaxland ** 24th Indian Infantry Brigade (transferred from 8th Indian Infantry Division) - Brigadier Roger Le Fleming

Notes

Footnotes Citations

References

* * * * * * officially published in * in *

External links

* * Ravi Rikhye
India: Paiforce 1942–43
http://www.orbat.com, June 2002 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Iraqforce Military units and formations established in 1941 Military units and formations of the British Army in World War II Ad hoc units and formations of the British Army Military history of India during World War II Middle East theatre of World War II Military history of Iraq Iraq in World War II World War II orders of battle Iraq–United Kingdom relations