Wehrmacht in Iraq 1941

Wilhelm · Post by **Wilhelm** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 5:44 pm

Wehrmacht in Iraq 1941

and the Arab Brigade May-July 1941

I have just finished researching this article,
take a look at my website.

http://www.bills-bunker.privat.t-online.de/69289.html

Cheers, Bill.

missyd · Post by **missyd** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 6:48 pm

Very Interesting! Well done Bill!!!!

It is possible that the WH hoped to get to the oil field of Irak (just like GWB)?

The Bagdad railway built by the germans ... was it involved in WWII?

Shergar · Post by **Shergar** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 8:50 pm

great work i really enjoyed reading that

Ted · Post by **Ted** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 3:45 am

Fantastic Bill, really great, you must have spent ages finding out all that info !
cheers Ted.

Wilhelm · Post by **Wilhelm** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 8:36 am

I would like to add some additional comments.

Why did I research the subject?
My specialist research area is foreign volunteers in German service.
But nothing interests me more than when these volunteers come from
the British Empire, for example, British renegades, Indian Azad Hind or Free Arabs.
I split the volunteers up into three groups, Military, Broadcasters and Secret Agents.

Wehrmacht in Iraq 1941

1. Where the mission failed.

The mission failed in it´s main aim, a total uprising in the Arab world against
the British Empire. This was because of two things, the failure to capture
the RAF base at Habbaniya and the poor showing of the Iraqi army.
No matter how dedicated the "Arab Brigade" was, without the full support
of the Iraqi army, they could not win in the long-term.

2. Where the mission won.

With a handful of German officers and NCOs they raised an Arab Brigade within
a matter of a few days and set the middle-east on fire!
They captured fifty supply boats loaded with arms and ammunition and wiped out
three to four thousand Empire troops. tying down many thousands more including
Glubb-Paschas Arab Legion, all formations that were needed in North Africa
when Rommel was at his most dangerous!

3. Propaganda victory

The nerve of it all. The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem steps onto a podium
and reviews an Arab marchpast and holds a speech.
At the same time a Luftwaffe detachments perform a flypast!
All of this takes place hundreds of miles behind the British lines!

Although it did not really effect the war in any big way, I strongly believed that this story needed to be told.

Cheers, Bill.

Steve Das Reich · Post by **Steve Das Reich** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 2:03 pm

Excellent piece of work Willi, what you going to research next.

Shergar · Post by **Shergar** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 2:35 pm

hopefully he will do an article about the irish in the ss

Franz repper · Post by **Franz repper** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 4:24 pm

Thank you bill for putting the time and effort into this I enjoyed this and look forward to the next

missyd · Post by **missyd** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 7:29 pm

Hope you'll do some research for the swiss men in the SS ....

Wilhelm · Post by **Wilhelm** » Fri Mar 23, 2007 12:07 am

Shergar wrote:hopefully he will do an article about the irish in the ss

If you look at the "British free Corps" section of the website, you will find:

SS Medical Department

Doctor Patrick O´Neill (Irish)

SS-Jagdverbande "Mitte"

SS-Unterscharführer James Brady (Irish)

SS-Mann Frank Stringer (Irish)

Also under "Americans in the Waffen-SS" you will find:

Peter Delaney (Irish-American)

I hope that helps?

Franz repper wrote:Thank you bill for putting the time and effort into this I enjoyed this and look forward to the next

Perhaps something about British Secret Agents in German service?

Or radio broadcasters?

missyd wrote:Hope you'll do some research for the swiss men in the SS ....

I do not know too much about them, numbered about 600, I have a few
photos in veteran Waffen-SS magazines somewhere from the 1950´s.

Steve Das Reich wrote:Excellent piece of work Willi, what you going to research next.

Thanks for your support Steve

Helmut Von Moltke · Post by **Helmut Von Moltke** » Tue Apr 03, 2007 2:55 pm

Bill,

You have to read Franz Kurowski's book on the Brandenburgers. It has a section on the Luftwaffe in Iraq and the Abwehr's activities there as well.

The Germans in Iraq wore Iraqi uniforms.

K

missyd · Post by **missyd** » Tue Apr 03, 2007 6:05 pm

I do not know too much about them, numbered about 600, I have a few photos in veteran Waffen-SS magazines somewhere from the 1950´s.

Bill,
If by chance you find these pictures .... could you scan them for me? I just need more material about these men in the SS ....

von bock · Post by **von bock** » Sun Jun 10, 2007 11:09 am

well done bill i enjoyed that

very interesting reading

Schwartz Vogel · Post by **Schwartz Vogel** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 11:46 am

Very interesting thread Bill thanks for sharing it with us.

ottoss · Post by **ottoss** » Wed Feb 27, 2008 3:07 pm

Hey bill did any irish fight for the germans?

wwii axis reenactment forum

forum for axis reenactors, living history, wehrmacht ss reenacting

Wehrmacht in Iraq 1941

Wehrmacht in Iraq 1941

great work

hopefully he will do the irish in the ss

Re: hopefully he will do the irish in the ss

Re: Wehrmacht in Iraq 1941

Re: Wehrmacht in Iraq 1941