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on the History Guy, the origin of the
website, along with commentaries
and a site
map. Iraq,
as we know it today, did not exist prior
to World War One. For several hundred
years prior to the First World War, the
mostly Arab region known as Mesopotamia
lay within the Turkish Ottoman Empire.
During that war, the British invaded
Ottoman Mesopotamia, finally conquering
the area. The peace treaty that ended
Turkey's part in World War One, caused the
Turks to give up control of Mesopotamia,
which became known by the older name,
Iraq. The new Iraq was under British
control at first, a fact which caused a
great deal of unrest. The current borders
of Iraq and most Middle Eastern nations,
such as Syria and Palestine/Israel, were
drawn by the conquering Europeans, often
with little regard to the preferences of
the people who were to live in these newly
created nations. Thus,
Iraq became a nation with three large
demographic groups; the Sunni Kurds in the
north, the Sunni (Sunna) Arabs in the
middle of the country, and the Shiite
(Shia) Arabs in the south. The Kurds
wanted a nation of their own, as did the
Kurds living in neighboring Turkey and
Iran. Though the British eventually
granted full independence to Iraq, it was
not without much bloodshed and hard
feelings in Iraq about the long
occupation. Below
is a list, with some details, on the wars
and conflicts of Iraq.
The
immediate causes of this conflict arose
out of the results of the British conquest
of the Mesopotamian region from the
Ottoman Turks during World War I.
Following that war, the British
established, with League of Nations
approval, a colonial-style Mandate over
the region now named “Iraq.”
Many Iraqi nationalists, who believed
independence would result from the
ejection of the Turks, were severely
disappointed with the establishment of the
British Mandate. Other, related events and
issues also inflamed Iraqi Arab opinion
against the British. The Mandate
government almost completely excluded
Iraqis, as the British imported
experienced civil servants from India
(also ruled by Britain) to help administer
the country. In northern Iraq, the British
allowed thousands of Christian refugees
escaping persecution in Turkey, to settle
in mostly Muslim Iraq.
It
should be noted that many similar and
often related Kurdish uprisings took place
in neighboring Turkey and Iran.
Government forces always succeeded in
defeating the rebels in Iraq, Turkey and
Iran. Though Kurds in Iraq and Iran did
enjoy some successes, they almost always
came with the aid of foreign
nations. When the foreign aid
eventually is withdrawn, the Kurds’
success, historically, also fades
away.
1961-
Iraq
threatens Kuwait, claiming that it
belonged to Iraq because of old Ottoman
territorial claims. The British supported
Kuwait by sending military forces to
Kuwait. Saddam Hussein used similar
excuses for his 1991 invasion of
Kuwait. 1973
(March)-
Iraq occupies as Samitah, a border post on
Kuwait-Iraq border. Dispute began when
Iraq demanded the right to occupy the
Kuwaiti islands of Bubiyan and Warbah.
Saudi and the Arab League convinced Iraq
to withdraw. The
Second
Persian Gulf
War
(known in the U.S. as “Operation
Desert
Storm”—Aug.
2, 1990-Feb.
1991
– On August 2, 1990, Iraqi forces
invaded and quickly conquered the small,
oil-rich emirate of Kuwait. Almost
immediately, an international coalition of
nations gathered a powerful military force
under the authority of the United Nations
and the leadership of the United States,
first to defend the United States, first
to defend the oil-rich kingdom of Saudi
Arabia, and secondly, to force Iraq to
withdraw from occupied Kuwait. From the
beginning of the crisis, the United
Kingdom, led by Prime Minister Margaret
Thatcher, worked very closely with the
U.S. in assuming a determined posture
against Saddam Hussein's territorial
ambition.
Iraq:
A Country Study Helen Chapin Metz,
Federal Research Division, Library of
Congress. 1990, U.S. Government Printing
Office. firstworldwar.com--capture
of Basra Uprisings
and betrayals: a brief history of the left
in Iraq--By
Felix Zorba and Roberto Sarti
-- "The
History Guy" is a Registered Trademark. Contact
the webmaster
Please
cite this source when appropriate: Lee,
R. "The History Guy: The Wars of Iraq" http://www.historyguy.com/wars_of_iraq.html
Pages
on Middle Eastern History Site
Map--revision
in progress
A chronicle of newer
and more recent conflicts and wars from
around the globe
A listing of wars
and war pages on the History Guy site
Copyright
© 1998-2010 Roger A. Lee and History Guy
Media; Last Modified: 01.03.10
World
War One—1914-1918
-Also
known as the Great War, this conflict
brought about the end of the Turkish
Ottoman Empire, which aligned itself with
the German-led Central Powers. The Turks
fought largely against the British Empire
forces mostly in Ottoman Palestine, and
Ottoman Mesopotamia, and the Russian
Empire in the Caucasus region and
neighboring Iran. In November, 1914,
British forces landed at Basra, in what is
now southern Iraq. Despite a serious
British defeat at al-Kut in 1916, Baghdad
fell to the British army in March, 1917.
By November, 1918, the British had gained
control over most of the Ottoman vilayets
(provinces) that formed Iraq.
The
Great Iraqi Revolution
(known
in Iraq as Ath
Thawra al Iraqiyya al
Kubra
and by the British as the
Arab
Revolt of
1920)—May
1920-Feb.
1921-Rebellion
by Iraqi Arabs against the rule of the
British Mandate. The rebellion was
suppressed by the British military. This
can be considered the First Anglo-Iraqi
War.
Kurdish
Revolt—1922-1924
-Rebellion
by Iraqi Kurds against the British
Mandate. Kurdish tribesmen, led by Sheik
Mahmud, a powerful Kurdish leader,
attempted to establish an independent
Kurdish nation. British forces, primarily
using airpower, suppressed the
rebellion. This turned out to be the
first of many Kurdish rebellions against
the British Mandate and later, against the
Iraqi government. As with many of
the later Kurdish uprisings, the rebels
were put down with some aid from rival
Kurds.
Assyrian
“Revolt” and
Massacre--
August,
1933--
The Iraqi military, using a supposed
revolt as an excuse, massacre at least 600
Iraqi Assyrian Christians.
Shia
Tribal
Revolt-1935-Shiite
uprising against the Iraqi
government.
Anglo-Iraqi
War of
1941
(Rashid Ali Coup)--During World War
Two, Iraqi politician Rashid Ali seized
power in Iraq and aligned himself with the
German-led Axis Powers. British forces
invaded Iraq and quickly defeated the
Iraqi military.
Kurdish
Revolt—1943
(July to
October)-Rebellion
suppressed by the Iraqi Army and the
British RAF. Led by Mullah Mustafa
Barzani.
Kurdish
Revolt--1945
(August 10 to
October)-Rebellion
suppressed by the Iraqi Army and the
British RAF. Led by Mullah Mustafa
Barzani, who escaped into Iran after
breaking through an Iraqi Army force. Once
in Iran, Mustafa Barzani and his forces
joined the army of the new “Mahabad
Republic,” the first independent,
though in this case, (short-lived) Kurdish
state. After Mahabad’s crushing
by the Iranian Army, Barzani led his
forces back into Iraq on April 28,
1947.
Kurdish
Campaign
—1947
(May 27 to June
15)-
After returning to Iraq from the failed
Mahabad Republic, Iraqi government actions
(arrests, executions, etc.) caused Mustafa
Barzani and 496 followers to begin a
fighting retreat from the Barzan region in
northern Iraq through Turkey and into Iran
in an attempt to reach the Soviet Union.
They reached the U.S.S.R. on June 15,
1947, followed by the Iranian Army.
(O’Ballance, 1973).
al-Wathbah
Uprising-
(Jan.
to May,
1948)
-- Anti government uprising led by Iraqi
leftists. This revolt was sparked by the
Treaty of Portsmouth, in which Iraq agreed
to let Britain keep military bases in Iraq
and maintain continued influence in Iraqi
foreign affairs. The imposition of martial
law in May, 1948 allowed the government to
crush the rebellion, just in time for the
Iraqi army to travel to Palestine for the
First Arab-Israeli War.
First
Arab-Israeli
War
-1948-1949-Israel
declared independence from the British
Mandate Authority on May 1, 1948, and is
subsequently invaded by the armies of
Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Transjordan, Iraq,
and Saudi Arabia. This is actually a
continuation of the violence between
Jewish (Israeli) militias and Palestinian
Arab militias in the leadup to the British
withdrawal. The war concludes on July 20,
1949 with the last Israeli armistice with
the Arab nations. A legal state of war
continued to exist, despite the temporary
end of conventional combat. A legal state
of war between Iraq and Israel continues
to this day.
Army
Revolt/Coup-
July
14, 1958--Brigadier
General Abdul Karim el Qassim overthrows
the royal government of King Faisal II.
Both the king and Prime Minister Nouri al
Said are killed. Qassim soon withdrew Iraq
from the pro-Western Baghdad Pact and
established friendly relations with the
Soviet Union.
Mosul
Revolt--March,
1959--Pro-Qassim
communist militia , called the People's
Resistance Force, violently suppressed an
anti-Qassim Sunni Army faction made up
mostly of junior officers.
Kirkuk
Violence-1959--Pro-Qassim(pro-Communist)
Kurds and People's Resistance Force killed
ethnic Turkomen in Kirkuk .
Kurdish
Revolt—1961-1970
–After a period of relative calm,
Iraqi government promises of Kurdish
autonomy, or self-rule, went unfulfilled,
sparking discontent and eventual rebellion
among the Kurds in 1961. Mullah
Mustafa Barzani is again a leader of the
Kurdish forces. Beginning in 1963,
Syrian Army and Air Force units aid the
Iraqi military in fighting against the
Kurds. A cease-fire in 1964, lasting
until April of 1965, can be seen as
a dividing point between two separate
conflicts, though this web site interprets
this rebellion as one continuous
conflict. This prolonged period of
Kurdish-Iraqi fighting ends in 1970 with a
cease-fire and a government guarantee of
Kurdish autonomy.
Six-Day
War (3rd Arab-Israeli War)
1967--Israel
launched a pre-emptive attack on Egypt,
Jordan, and Syria, fearing they were
preparing to launch their own attack. The
Israeli air force also attacked Iraqi
airfields. Iraq sent ground forces to
support the Jordanians and the
Syrians.
Ramadan
(Yom Kipper) War
-1973-1974
-Egypt and Syria launched a surprise
attack on Israel during the Jewish Yom
Kippur holiday. The attack also fell on
the Muslim holiday of Ramadan. Iraq sent
army and air forces to support
Syria.
Kurdish
Revolt -March,
1974
-–In March, 1974, Kurdish rebels
led by Mullah Mustafa Barzani (having
survived an assassination attempt)
rebelled against the government. The
Kurds felt that the government was not
living up to the agreement which ended the
previous revolt. The Iraqi Kurds were
supported by the Shah (King) of
neighboring Iran, who sought to put
pressure on the Iraqi government over a
border dispute. The Kurds were also
assisted by the American Central
Intelligence Agency (CIA), who opposed the
Iraqi government due to its friendly
relations with the Soviet Union.
After an agreement between the Shah of
Iran and Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein in
1975, (which temporarily settled the
border dispute until the Iran-Iraq War
began in 1980), the Kurds collapsed under
intense Iraqi military pressure. The
CIA, allied to the Shah, also suspended
aid. Kurds cite this betrayal by two
key allies as evidence supporting their
future distrust of American attempts to
incite them to fight Saddam Hussein’s
forces in the 1990s and in the early years
of the 21st Century.
Intra-Kurdish
warfare 1978-1979
--In
1975, Jalal Talabani formed the Patriotic
Union of Kurdistan (PUK)-urban-based and
leftist) in opposition the Barzani-led
Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP).
Shia
unrest in Karbala
-February,
1979--Suppressed
by the Saddam regime. Under Saddam
Hussein, the Shiites (Shia) were a
persecuted religious group, both despite
the fact, and because of, their numerical
majority in the country.
The
First Persian Gulf War (also known as the
Iran-Iraq
War)—1980-1988
- In 1975, Iraq and Iran came to an
agreement on the disputed Shatt al-Arab
waterway which provides Iraq’s only
outlet to the sea. In exchange for
Iran stopping support for Kurdish rebels,
Iraq agreed to share the Shatt al-Arab
with Iran. This and other disputes
over their common border, plus the belief
that the 1979 revolution had weakened
Iran, led Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein to
launch an invasion of Iran on
September 22, 1980. After initial
successes, the Iraqi army ground to a halt
and soon retreated under repeated assaults
by the numerically larger Iranian Army and
Revolutionary Guards. After the
Iranians pushed the war into Iraq,
Saddam’s forces began using chemical
weapons. By 1988, both nations faced
exhaustion and, after nearly a million
casualties between them, agreed to end the
conflict.
Osiraq
Reactor
Raid—June
7, 1981
–Fearing the consequences of a
successful Iraqi nuclear weapons program,
Israel launched a pre-emptive air strike
on the Osiraq nuclear reactor (under
construction) in June, 1981. One of
the pilots (the youngest) in that raid was
Ilan Ramon, who later became Israel’s
first astronaut, and who died in the Space
Shuttle Columbia tragedy on February 1,
2003.
Kurdish
Revolt—1983-1988
–During the Iran-Iraq War
(1980-1988), Iraqi Kurds, aided by Iran,
fought against Iraqi government forces. In
1987 and 1988, the Iraqi military used
chemical weapons to kill thousands of
Kurds (including many civilians) in a
successful effort to break the back of the
resistance.
Iraq-Kuwait
Relations
Kurdish
Revolt—1991
–Encouraged
by the stunning defeat of Saddam’s
forces in Kuwait and spurred by appeals by
President George H. W. Bush of the U.S.,
Kurds rose up against the Iraqi
government With the bulk of his
elite forces having escaped from the
fighting in Kuwait and southern Iraq,
Saddam was able to quell the revolt,
causing hundreds of thousands of Kurdish
refugees to flee into neighboring Turkey
and Iran to escape.
Shiite
Revolt—1991
– Encouraged by the stunning
defeat of Saddam’s forces in Kuwait
and spurred by appeals by President George
H. W. Bush of the U.S., the Shiites of
southern Iraq rose up against the Iraqi
government, only to be crushed by
Saddam’s forces. Sporadic guerrilla
resistance continued, with the bulk of the
Shiite fighting forces seeking refuge in
neighboring Shiite Iran.
The
"No-Fly Zone War"
--1991-2003--Following
the cease-fire ending the Gulf War, the
Allies, (U.S., U.K., and France) had the
right to conduct air patrols over parts of
Iraq to ensure Iraqi compliance with the
cease-fire terms. France soon left the
Coalition, but U.S. and British planes
continued to patrol Iraqi skies, often
drawing anti-aircraft fire from the
ground. Several major bombing campaigns
were launched to punish the Baghdad
regime. This conflict officially ended
when the Third Gulf War began in March,
2003.
Intra-Kurdish
warfare
--1996
–
Combat between various Kurdish
militias.
The
Third
Persian Gulf
War
(known
in the U.S. as “Operation Iraqi
Freedom”)—March
19, 2003-
Present–
The current war can be seen in at least
two distinct phases: The Invasion and the
Occupation. Though Saddam's regime fell
fairly quickly, the insurgency was able to
gain strength in large part because the
U.S. and Coalition leadership was slow to
recognize that they had a nascent
guerrilla movement underfoot. Though the
Iraqi people have voted, and now have an
elected government (featuring a Kurdish
president!), the situation is now changing
from a war against the occupier, to
becoming more of a civil war among Iraqis.