Although fully occupied in confronting the Germans and Italians in Africa and the Balkans during the spring and summer of 1941
Although fully occupied in confronting the Germans and Italians in Africa and the Balkans during the spring and summer of 1941, Britain’s Middle East Command soon found itself embroiled in three peripheral campaigns within the region. The first of these related to the Kingdom of Iraq, which was created after the First World War with the breakup of the Ottoman Empire. In 1920 Iraq became a British mandate. Ten years later the two parties signed a treaty granting Iraq independence in 1932. As part of this treaty, Britain retained the right to transit troops through the newly independent nation. Likewise, Iraq was required to maintain internal security for its vital oil infrastructure and to provide the British with all aid, including the use of railways, rivers, ports and airfields, in the event of war. Finally, the British were allowed to maintain two RAF bases within the country. One of these was at Shaibah near Basra, while the other was at Habbaniya about 55 miles west of Baghdad