19410502 Rashid Ari Rebellion and the Battle of Habbaniya

What was the Rashid Ali Rebellion and the Battle of Habbaniya and why it is important

September 4, 2007

In a brief discussion with a colleague about my Tentacle column from Wednesday, August 29th, 2007 about the upcoming Petraeus Report and the work of Dr. David Kilcullen, ("The Crocodile Dundee Factor" [1]) I mentioned that the British – and the Australians et al are all too familiar with Iraq.

What many Americans are not aware is that the British had indeed fought the Turks in Iraq in WWI - and the Iraqis at the beginning of WWII in a battle at Habbaniya - et sequentia during the Rashid Ali Rebellion.

Very simplistically:

For some contemporary context, Habbaniya is currently a U. S. base of operations called Al Taqqadum, west of Baghdad.

An historian could pick any of the major battles in the Middle East as symbolic of the complexities of the region. I just happened to have landed on the Battle at Habbaniya… However, one could pick the Arab loss to the Iranians at the Battle of the Bridge in 634 or the British loss to the Turks in the Siege of Kut, 1915 – 1916 or when the Shi'ites and Kurds fought the British for independence in 1920.

After WWI the British were given a League of Nations’ mandate on November 11, 1920, to govern portions of the former Ottoman Empire, which included what we now know as Iraq. Iraq was given independence around 1930.

This area of the Middle East was carved up, without any regard to the boundaries of the prevailing sects and religions - or ethnodemographics of the indigenous population of the region… according to the secretly negotiated Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916 between Britain and France. This arbitrary drawing of the boundaries is, to a great extent, the causality of much of the current conflict in the area.

This period between 1915 and 1922 is extraordinarily complex with claims and counter claims, secret negotiations, atrocities and counter atrocities, and abrogated agreements resulting in the Arabs distrusting the West to this very day.

For further research, it involves T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia), The Balfour Agreement of 1917, the 1915 and 1916 Hussein-McMahon Correspondence, the 1917 Russian Revolution, the April 1920 San Remo conference, the League of Nations, the 1920 et sequentia rebellions in which the Shi'ites and Kurds fought the British for independence, and finally the 1922 Winston Churchill protocols. The discovery of a large amount of oil in Kirkuk in 1927 raised the stakes considerably.

Once some working knowledge of this era is achieved, folks will gain a greater understanding of the mess that is today, the Middle East, and why the various factions in Iraq are extremely sensitive about anyone “occupying” their country “for their own good.”

I do not know whether or not American men and women in uniform are given a primer in the complex history of the region before they are deployed. Hopefully they are. Nevertheless, any study of the region’s history exacerbates why a working understanding of Dr. Kilcullen’s work would be quite helpful as a methodology of approach in having the tools to engage, adapt and overcome.[2][3]

To which D9000 responds:

September 5th, 2007

A reply to your hopes, no soldiers are not given the historical background of why Iraq is carved up with so many different religious, ethnic, and political factions.

Most don’t know that the Kurds actually reside in Iraq, Turkey, Iran, and Syria.

The Turks like to mass their troops on the northern border of Iraq and threaten the Peshmurga (Kurdish freedom fighters/militant wing of the PUK/PDK) on a regular basis.

You could probably set your watch to this event just like the overthrow of a regime in Haiti. However like i said, good junior officers and senior NCO's are reading about these things and passing the knowledge down to lower levels.

As for the Battle of Habbaniya, during the Anglo-Iraqi War - the Rashīd `Alī al-Gaylānī Rebellion (April 18 to May 30, 1941) Habbaniya was the site of a battle between the British and German supported Iraqi forces, in which by the end of hostilities, the German Luftwaffe (and to a lesser degree, the Italian air force) got involved.

The short-lived Rashid Ali rebellion was a coup d'etat which brought to power a pro-German (anti-British to be exact) former prime minister by the name of Rashīd `Alī al-Gaylānī on April 2, 1941.

A series of disagreements between the subsequent pro-German Iraqi government and the British forces at the large RAF base at Lake Habbaniya deteriorated into open hostilities on May 2, 1941.

The British prevailed and a series of quick British victories led the British to occupy Fallujah by May 19th and Baghdad days later. The Rashid government quickly fell and by the end of May 1941, the British militarily controlled the country.

Iraq was then used as a base of operations to invade Syria and then Iran with a joint Russian-British effort. The Allied military occupation of Iraq lasted until October 26, 1947.

One account of the “Iraqi Revolt” can be found here: http://www.geocities.com/acrawford0/revolt.html

Also q.v.: the RAF Habbaniya Association.

According to “Hitting Metal with a Hammer:”

“The Commonwealth War Cemetery of Habbaniyah, Iraq, is the final resting place of 289 Commonwealth Servicemen and civilians, including women and children. 257 of them are from WWII.”

“During the intervening years, unlike most other War Cemeteries, Habbaniyah was both neglected and deliberately vandalised. A group of Ghurkas and US servicemen under former Sgt Maj Terry Pearson QO Highlanders, have been restoring Habbaniyah Cemetery.”

Also see some additional commentary and a series of photographs of the Commonwealth War Cemetery of Habbaniyah on Michael Yon’s web site here: “The Ghosts of Anbar, Part 1.”

**Photo credit: the RAF Habbaniya Association.

####
[1] "The Crocodile Dundee Factor":

September 15 is fast approaching. That’s when Gen. David H. Petraeus will give his report to Congress on the progress in the war in Iraq.

General Petraeus has become a household name in America as the military mind tapped to head-up President George W. Bush’s new way forward – or “surge” initiative announced January 10, 2007.

Even though most folks are well aware of General Petraeus, one wonders how many are aware of the work of Dr. David Kilcullen?

Any definitive discourse as to why the current military efforts in Iraq are successful must include some knowledge of Dr. Kilcullen, an Australian counterinsurgency expert.

[2] In reference to Dr. Kilcullen’s work, a colleague – a war in Iraq veteran said:

Kilcullen is absolutely right by D9000

August 27, 2007

This is a fight that cannot be won at brigade or battalion level. This is a fight that junior officers and their supporting NCOs have to win. I am glad they are finally encouraging these concepts are learned down to the lowest levels.

Fortunately for myself, my company commander overseas believed in these practices and we implemented them daily.

By using all of these 28 articles (not that we knew anything about this essay at the time) we reduced the crime rate in our area of operations, reduced roadside bombing and helped build trust through security and building of infrastructure to give them a physical acknowledgement of our dedication to make this mission and their country a success.

The fact of the matter however, is that our basic training and officers training schools are still behind the ball in training these tactics and practices. These operations are not solely the domain of special operations forces anymore and training the conventional force should now reflect that.

Many junior officers are facing the fact that senior officers don’t understand this fight, and don’t want "their" army to change its ways.

Killing the terrorists is a primary objective, but there is so much more that should be going into this mission. Facing this, many junior officers train themselves through self-study and analysis of the contemporary operating environment, and similar historical accounts, such as the Philippines and Algiers.

The biggest factor that will contribute to successful implementation of these 28articles is soldier autonomy. Leadership has to let soldiers make decisions and be able to communicate that information to higher at a very rapid pace.

Giving soldiers at the team level this ability will create a soldier who can think through situations for himself and not just be an order follower.

[3] For more information about my colleague – read my Tentacle column from December 20, 2006: “An Uneasy Truce” – “Christmas is within a week and my thoughts and prayers go out to the men and women in uniform who are deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq…”

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA.
www.kevindayhoff.net
E-mail him at: kdayhoff AT carr DOT org or kevindayhoff AT gmail DOT com
His columns and articles appear in The Tentacle - www.thetentacle.com; Westminster Eagle Opinion; www.thewestminstereagle.com and Winchester Report.