41-5-2 Anglo–Iraqi War 41-5-31

Anglo-Iraqi war begins - 41-5-2 > .
Anglo-Iraqi War - Jabz > .
Brits capture Rutba; 20-5-12 USSR recognizes Rashid Ali al-Gaylani as PM > .
British win in Iraq - WW2 - May 31 1941 > .

Neutrality breached: The British Invasion of Iraq - Tipsy > .  

The Anglo–Iraqi War (2–31 May 1941) was a British-led Allied military campaign against Iraq under Rashid Ali, who had seized power during the Iraqi coup d'état (41-4-1, WW2) with assistance from Germany and Italy. The campaign resulted in the downfall of Ali's government, the re-occupation of Iraq by the United Kingdom, and the return to power of the Regent of Iraq, Prince 'Abd al-Ilah, an ally to the United Kingdom.

41-4-1 Iraqi coup d'état ..
41-5-2 Anglo–Iraqi War 41-5-31 ..

41-4-27 Fall of Athens

41-4-26 Fall of Greece to Axis Powers - 41-4-27 > .

The Greek capital Athens fell on 27 April, and by 1 June, after the capture of Crete, all of Greece was under Axis occupation. After the invasion King George II fled, first to Crete and then to Cairo. A nominally Greek right-wing government ruled from Athens, but it was a puppet of the occupiers.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axis_occupation_of_Greece .

Stratis Mirivilis (Στρατής Μυριβήλης) Free Greek Radio - 41-4-27 > .
Efstratios Stamatopoulos (Στρατής Μυριβήλης, 30 June 1890 – 19 July 1969) was a Greek writer. He is known for writing novels, novellas, and short stories under the pseudonym Stratis Myrivilis. He is associated with the "Generation of the '30s". He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature three times (1960, 1962, 1963).

41-4-1 Iraqi coup d'état

1941 Iraqi Coup - Jabz > .

Anglo-Iraqi War - Jabz > .
Brits capture Rutba; 20-5-12 USSR recognizes Rashid Ali al-Gaylani as PM > .
British win in Iraq - WW2 - May 31 1941 > .
Neutrality breached: The British Invasion of Iraq - Tipsy > .  

> Arab Militaries >>

24-8-29 Detailed Analysis: Why Arabs Lose Wars - Magical > .

> Iraq >> 

24-8-30 [Potential Impacts of Iraq-Turkey 'Development Road'] - Caspian > .

The 1941 Iraqi coup d'état (Arabic: ثورة رشيد عالي الكيلاني), also called the Rashid Ali Al-Gaylani coup or the Golden Square coup, was a nationalist and pro-Nazi Coup d'état in Iraq on 1 April 1941 that overthrew the pro-British regime of Regent 'Abd al-Ilah and his Prime Minister Nuri al-Said and installed Rashid Ali al-Gaylani as Prime Minister.

The coup was led by four Iraqi nationalist army generals, known as "the Golden Square", who intended to use the war to press for full Iraqi independence following the limited independence granted in 1932. To that end, they worked with German intelligence and accepted military assistance from Germany and Italy. The change in government led to a British invasion of Iraq and subsequent occupation until 1947.

 ...

On 18 April, Britain reacted by landing the Indian 20th Infantry Brigade at Basra, the first elements of Iraqforce. Britain claimed it was entitled to do this under its defence treaty with Iraq. This treaty was essentially dictated by the British without negotiation or agreement before independence was granted to Iraq. It gave Britain unlimited rights to station and transit troops through Iraq without consulting the Iraqi government.

...

The Anglo–Iraqi War (2–31 May 1941) was a British-led Allied military campaign against Iraq under Rashid Ali, who had seized power during the Second World War with assistance from Germany and Italy. The campaign resulted in the downfall of Ali's government, the re-occupation of Iraq by the United Kingdom, and the return to power of the Regent of Iraq, Prince 'Abd al-Ilah, an ally to the United Kingdom.

41-4-1 Iraqi coup d'état ..
41-5-2 Anglo–Iraqi War 41-5-31 ..

41-3-27 Battle of Cape Matapan 14-3-29

Italian Fleet Smashed (1941) > .

After The Battle Of Cape Matapan (1941) > .  

The Battle of Cape Matapan - Drach > .

Cunningham's Victory > .   

Matapan Aftermath > .

After The Battle Of Cape Matapan (1941) > .  

The Sinking of the Pola > .

In late March 1941, as British ships of the Mediterranean Fleet covered troop movements to Greece, Mavis Batey, a cryptographer at Bletchley Park, made a breakthrough, reading the Italian naval Enigma for the first time. The first message, the cryptic "Today’s the day minus three," was followed three days later by a second message reporting the sailing of an Italian battle fleet comprising one battleship, six heavy and two light cruisers, plus destroyers to attack the merchant convoys supplying British forces. As always with Enigma, the intelligence breakthrough was concealed from the Italians by ensuring there was a plausible reason for the Allies to have detected and intercepted their fleet. In this case, it was a carefully directed reconnaissance plane.

As a further deception, Admiral Cunningham made a surreptitious exit after dark from a golf club in Alexandria to avoid being seen boarding his flagship, the battleship HMS Warspite. He had made a point of arriving at the club the same afternoon with his suitcase as if for an overnight stay, and spent time on the golf course within sight of the Japanese consul. An evening party on his flagship was advertised for that night but was never meant to take place.

At the same time, there was a failure of intelligence on the Axis side. The Italians had been wrongly informed by the Germans that the Mediterranean Fleet had only one operational battleship and no aircraft carriers. In fact the Royal Navy had three battleships, while the damaged British aircraft carrier Illustrious had been replaced by HMS Formidable.

[Courtesy of the 19-year-old crypotographer at Bletchley Park], the Battle of Cape Matapan (Ναυμαχία του Ταινάρου) was a WW2 naval engagement between British Imperial and Axis forces, fought from 27–29 March 1941. The cape is on the south-west coast of the Peloponnesian peninsula of Greece. Following the interception of Italian signals by the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) at Bletchley Park, ships of the Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy, under the command of the Royal Navy's Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham, intercepted and sank or severely damaged several ships of the Italian Regia Marina under Squadron-Vice-Admiral Angelo Iachino. The opening actions of the battle are also known in Italy as the Battle of Gaudo.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cape_Matapan .

41-3-9 Edward R. Murrow reports on the mood in WWII Britain

Edward R. Murrow reports on the mood in WWII Britain - March 9, 1941 > .