The Middle East theatre of World War II is often thrown in with North Africa and the Mediterranean,
when, in reality, thousands of soldiers still
fought and died there, and it was certainly of significance to the rest of the war.
In this video, we shed some light on this somewhat forgotten theatre.
Before we delve into some of the major conflicts of the Middle East theatre,
it's important we understand what was at stake. In short, British and Soviet interests.
A few months prior to the start of World War II, Britain established Middle East Command,
which was based in Cairo, Egypt. Its job was to direct British land forces protecting its
territories in North Africa and the Middle East, primarily from the Italians and Germans. If the
Middle East fell into Axis hands, they could use it as a land passage via which they could
attack the USSR's underbelly and possibly even British-controlled India,
or, from the opposite direction, British-controlled Egypt. When Italy declared war
on Britain and France on the 10th of June 1940, things started heating up in the Middle East,
and Axis and Allied troops deployed there went toe to toe over the next two and a half years,
dragging the locals into the ring alongside them. There was even at least one conflict
in which the British and Soviets put a local, non-Axis nation on the spit. Let's get into it.
One of the earliest conflicts in the Middle East theatre was actually a series of decisive strikes
by Fascist Italy. Between June 1940 and June 1941,
bombers of the *Regia Aeronautica* laid waste to the British Mandate of Palestine,
destroying port facilities and oil refineries, and ending at least 150 lives.
One of the most devastated cities was Haifa, where 50 bombs where dropped on one major
oil terminal and refinery on the 29th of July 1940 alone, though most of casualties
throughout this year occurred in the city of Tel Aviv. On the 9th of September 1940,
Italian SM.82 bombers were intercepted by British aircraft on their way to bomb Haifa, and withdrew.
On their way back, they were instructed to drop their payloads on a port in Tel Aviv instead.
But they missed, hitting a civilian area and ending 137 lives, many belonging to children.
What happened in Iraq, however, wasn't quite so one-sided.
Throughout most of May 1941, the British — with their Middle Eastern, British Commonwealth,
and Greek allies — conducted a military campaign against Iraq, which enjoyed German,
Italian, and Vichy French support. This conflict would come to be known as the Anglo–Iraqi War.
Long story short, Iraq's Prime Minister Rashid Ali al-Gaylani was a nationalist
who wanted the British to go home and leave Iraq to the Arabs. While, on the other hand,
the British sought to return Prince 'Abd al-Ilah — a friend of theirs — to power. The British Royal
Air Force had been using two air bases in Iraq up until this point — one near the city of Basra
and the other near Habbaniya, just under 90 kilometres west of Baghdad. But now,
Prime Minister Rashid Ali demanded they cease their activities, on threat of military action.
In turn, the British bolstered their troops at both air bases, with the 10th Indian Division
securing Basra. The majority of the fighting, however, occurred around the base at Habbaniya,
which around 9,000 of Rashid Ali's troops had surrounded by the 1st of May 1941,
significantly outnumbering the 2,500 British and British-allied combatants inside.
The following day, the British retaliated from the sky,
hitting Iraqi positions, infrastructure, and aircraft with RAF aircraft. Despite the aerial
support they had been receiving from the Germans and Italians, the Iraqis withdrew four days later.
Reinforced from Jordan, the British used their momentum to move on Fallujah and, on the 29th of
May, Baghdad, where they were joined by the 10th Indian Division from Basra. Despite the numerical
superiority enjoyed by the Iraqis, Rashid Ali fled, his government collapsed, and an armistice
was signed, reinstating Prince 'Abd al-Ilah — all before the Allies had physically occupied Baghdad.
On numbers, Allied forces were, in fact, outnumbered throughout the entirety of the
Anglo–Iraqi War, with one infantry division and two brigade groups going up against
four Iraqi divisions, comprised of some 30,000 troops in total.
After fighting *Luftwaffe* aircraft in Iraq, the Allies deduced that said aircraft had been
refuelled in Vichy French-controlled Syria and Lebanon, and wanted to deny Germany that luxury,
fearing they would use the Vichy French territory to launch attacks on Egypt.
On the 8th of June 1941, British, Australian, Free French, and British Indian troops invaded Syria
and Lebanon out of Palestine and Iraq, initiating Operation Exporter or the Syria–Lebanon Campaign.
Unlike the Anglo–Iraqi War, both sides were able to provide naval support out
of the Mediterranean Sea, and it was, as such, a battle which featured naval, army, and air forces,
with the Allies boasting around 34,000 troops,
and the Vichy French and their Middle Eastern allies boasting around 35,000.
The Vichy French, however, had 289 aircraft, compared to just over 50 Allied aircraft.
Unfortunately for the Vichy French, most of their planes were destroyed before they left the ground.
Overall, while the French put up a solid fight — taking between 6,300 and 8,900
casualties and losing more than 5,600 Frenchmen to defection — the Allies were more prepared for it.
They rolled through the Vichy French territory from the northeast and south, securing all of the
northeast by the 8th of July, and pressing the Vichy French into the Mediterranean.
Just three days later, the Vichy French started negotiations for an armistice,
and by the 14th of July, they had surrendered.
The final act of the Middle East theatre began just over a month later,
when the Brits and Soviets got all chummy and set their sights on Iran, setting in motion
what came to be known as the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran or Operation Countenance.
With the German Invasion of the USSR well underway at this point, the Soviets needed all the material
aid they could get from their new ally Great Britain. While other supply lines existed,
the prospect of using Iran as a supply line was just too good to ignore,
especially when there were sweet, sweet oil fields up for grabs too. The only problem was
that Iran's Shah, Rezā Pahlavi, was mates with the Germans and wouldn't let the Allies move
through his country. As it turned out, however, this wasn't very much of a problem at all.
On the 25th of August 1941, three Soviet armies, two British Commonwealth divisions, and three
British Commonwealth brigades, amounting to some 200,000 troops, invaded Iran, which had as many as
200,000 troops on call itself. But the Iranians were taken by surprise, and while they weren't
entirely outgunned, they hadn't the resources to stave off the two world powers closing on
their country like a noose. After the Allies bombed a few cities, such as Tehran and Qazvin,
and after some relatively minor scraps — resulting in just over 100 Allied casualties and 1,000
combined Iranian military and civilian deaths — the Shah ordered his forces to stand down,
wanting to maintain his country's neutral status. By the 31st of August, the invasion had ended,
and Iran was well and truly occupied. The Shah abdicated and fled, and in September 1943,
the country he had once ruled declared war on Germany and, in turn, became member of the UN,
meaning it technically wasn't occupied by the Allies — *technically.*
Of course, we've barely scratched the surface of the Middle East theatre, and we haven't
even considered the post-war consequences of Allied and Axis meddling in the Middle East.
But what do you think? Do you agree that the Middle East theatre is somewhat forgotten?
How did you find our brief overview? Lastly, do you know of any other battles
that occurred in this theatre? Please share your thoughts in the comments.