German troops in Iraq during WWII
German troops in Iraq during WWII
Does anybody have any info or images of the german troops that were helping the insurgent Iraqis in WWII? From what I've heard there were mainly luftwaffe crew in that region.
Your correct in that only the Luftwaffe supported the Iraqi revolt. The German op's got off to a bad start when a recce plane from Damascus (Syria0 was shot down by the Iraqi's, the pilot was Major Axel von Blomberg, son of the German Field Marshall.
Plans were made to set-up a Fliegerfuhrer Irak under Colonel Werner Junck with an intial force of 14 Me110's and 7 He111's bombers from FliegerkorpsVIII plus transport aircraft. There were to be based eventually at Baghdad with a light AA Btty. The Italians sent some 12 CR42 fighters, which arrived in Mosul on May 27th'41.
By May29th Axis aircraft losses were 14 Me110's, 5 He111's and 3 CR42's. Junck at the end only had 4 "bombs"
Andy
Plans were made to set-up a Fliegerfuhrer Irak under Colonel Werner Junck with an intial force of 14 Me110's and 7 He111's bombers from FliegerkorpsVIII plus transport aircraft. There were to be based eventually at Baghdad with a light AA Btty. The Italians sent some 12 CR42 fighters, which arrived in Mosul on May 27th'41.
By May29th Axis aircraft losses were 14 Me110's, 5 He111's and 3 CR42's. Junck at the end only had 4 "bombs"
Andy
Hi!
There were not only Luftwaffe in Iraq. The revolt
was also led by the military secret service of the
germans. Several officers of the Brandenburg unit
organized the revolt and led the iraqis in the battles.
There is an interesting book about the theme from
Werner Brockdorff: Geheime Kommandotruppen im
2. Weltkrieg. I don`t know if it`s available in english,
but if you are interested I can get more detailed in-
formation about the iraqi revaolt and translate it for
you.
Maybe it lasts a bit, because I am not at home at the
moment.
There were not only Luftwaffe in Iraq. The revolt
was also led by the military secret service of the
germans. Several officers of the Brandenburg unit
organized the revolt and led the iraqis in the battles.
There is an interesting book about the theme from
Werner Brockdorff: Geheime Kommandotruppen im
2. Weltkrieg. I don`t know if it`s available in english,
but if you are interested I can get more detailed in-
formation about the iraqi revaolt and translate it for
you.
Maybe it lasts a bit, because I am not at home at the
moment.
Here is an extract of the instruction no.30, may 23rd 1941:
1. The arabic movement for freedom in the middle east is our ally against England. In this connection, the uprising in iraq is especially important....
2. I order, in connection with my decision to support the iraq:
- assistance from the Luftwaffe
- delievery of weapons
- to dispatch a military mission
3. The military mission (alias Sonderstab F) is under the command of General der Flieger Felmy. The tasks are:
- to advice and support the iraqi army
- to get connections to forces, which are hostile against England
- to get experience for the german army
There were two Arabian groups, supported by the Germans. The first one was the German-Arabian legion, which was commanded by Major Dr. von Hippel. It was multi-ethnic with soldiers from France, Algeria, Morocco, Serbia and Germany. But its military worth was low. The second and much more important one was the Arabian brigade.
There were also German special forces brought to action, but there are very few information about it.
All quotes are from the book: Geheime Kommandotruppen im 2. Weltkrieg, Werner BrockdorffThe inadequate equipped and trained Iraqi army could only achieve a bit of resistance. Nevertheless, for a while it seemed that the Arabian brigade, a motley collection of Arabic volunteers and under German command, could change the war in the middle east. The size of the Arabian brigade was 25000 volunteers and it was commanded by Leutnant Brecht, Leutnant Dreesen and Hauptmann Berger. The Arabian brigade fought in Susa, the valley if the Tigris and all over Iraq.
With support of their Indian, Australian, South-African and French allies, the English troops defeated the Iraq within 30 days.....
The leaders of the Iraq escaped to Persia, which was attacked by Soviet and English forces shortly afterwards.....
The German military mission in Persia organised the resistance, but it was senseless. Nevertheless the Leutnants Dr. Meinhard and von Hammerstein fought against the Soviets in the north, together with Persian troops, until 1945.
There were also German special forces brought to action, but there are very few information about it.
As promised, plenty of golden nuggets in this site
http://www.orbat.com/site/data/historic ... y1941.html
http://www.orbat.com/site/data/historic ... y1941.html