IRAQ in WWII !

Totally fed up with having my lovely Martin Drewes/Halifax Bomber thread hi-jacked all over the place, I thought I'd start this thread for our Iraq enthusiasts...

And yes, John Frost of Arnhem Bridge fame was in Iraq commanding No 2 Assyrian Company at the otbreak of WWII. He quickly arranged to be posted 'home' but adds this, from his book of memoirs ' Nearly There ' ( Leo Cooper 1991 ) : -

'A few weeks afterwards, troubles came to a head in Iraq. Senior Officers of the Army took control and the Iraqi Prime Minister made unacceptable demands to the British authorities. This was followed by the investment of Habbaniya by an Iraqi Brigade which included artillery. The base was shelled and bombed and in view of its vulnerable position could have been easy meat. However, three companies of the Kings Own Regiment which had arrived from India were flown in and the RAF mobilised every possible aircraft with which to strafe the enemy on the plateau. At the right moment, two companies of the Kings Own, with two Assyrian companies, executed a brilliant sortie and drove the Iraqi forces back to a place called Falujah on the way to Baghdad. An enemy counter-attack nearly regained a crucial bridge at Falujah but highly skilled and gallant fighting by No 1 Assyrian Company, commanded by Alastair Graham, set matters to rights. Soon afterwards a relieving column, mainly comprised of the Life Guards, went on through to rescue the beleaguered British Embassy in Baghdad and there was no more trouble in Iraq for the duration. '

 

Martin, so what your saying here is that the life guards from Halifax under the command of Johnnie Frost took the Arnhem Bridge in Assyria?

Shuuurly shum mishtake...?

Sorry, Ill leave you to your thread, before we get pics of Lancasters bombing the Tigris dams from Kai....

 

Hmmmmm - what I need here is No 1 Assyrian Company to set matters to rights ......

 

Good little page here if anyone really is interested...

http://gabylevies.freeservers.com/custom2.html