Persia and Iraq Command

The Persia and Iraq Command was a British Army Command established in September 1942 in Baghdad. Its primary role was to secure from land and air attack the oilfields and oil installations in Persia (modern day Iran) and Iraq. Its further role was to ensure the transport of supplies from Persian Gulf ports through Iraq and Persia to the Soviet Union.

Background
During the rebellion in Iraq command of land forces in the country was passed from GHQ India to Middle East Command, as the latter was the only formation that could send effective support for operations in northern Iraq and also because air operations were controlled by the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Middle East. In June 1941 following the conclusion of fighting in Iraq command was passed back to the Commander-in-Chief, India. The British Chiefs of Staff wished to return control of land forces in Iraq back to Middle East Command but decided to let Operation Crusader get underway before making any changes. On 12 December 1941 with Operation Crusader well on the way to success, the German threat from the Caucasus subsided and with the Japanese attacks on Thailand, Malaya and Burma the Chiefs of Staff decided now was the time to make changes to the command structure; to unburden GHQ India so it could now solely “look east” and so that speedier planning could take place for forces in the Middle East and eastern Mediterranean areas. General Archibald Wavell, now the Commander-in-Chief, India, opposed such a move as he believed Iraq to be an overburden and distraction to Middle East Command; General Claude Auchinleck, now commander-in-chief Middle East Command, believed it to be the right move and would allow speedier planning and the administration and operational aspects of all forces in the Mediterranean Basin and Middle East to be more closely related; the Minister of State also supported such a move as it would help to ease the supply situation and would also, at a later date, help co-ordinate the planning of operations with the United States forces if they only had one command to deal with. The Defence Committee agreed with the Chiefs-of-Staff and Middle East Command retook over Iraq on 12 January 1942. All forces in Iraq hitherto known, it appears, as Iraq Command were redesignated Tenth Army.

Formation of the command
In August 1942 the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill accompanied by a senior delegation including the Chief of the Imperial General Staff, General Alan Brooke, held discussions in Cairo which resulted in a reorganisation of Middle East Command. This included the replacement of Auchinleck in his role as GOC-in-C Middle East by General Harold Alexander and in his role as Eighth Army commander by Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery and the splitting of Middle East Command to create a new Persia and Iraq Command. Aware that the Commander-in-Chief, Middle East Command needed to devote his full attention to halting the German-Italian forces in North Africa Churchill wanted to free him of the burden of the forces in Iraq and Persia. With Commander-in-Chief, India also having to devote his full-time attention to fighting the Japanese the solution seemed to be the creation of a new command to guard the northern front. After some resistance the British cabinet approved its creation on 8 August and Auchinleck was offered the command but turned it down. He opposed the idea of the new command, believing that all forces in Iraq and Persia should be under the same leadership as those in the Middle East area. The War Cabinet believed that with the renewed threat from the Caucasus that the argument for a unified command was even stronger now, than it had been in January.

On 21 August 1942, the Persia Iraq Command was offered to General Sir Maitland Wilson who accepted the post. On 18 September, the headquarters was opened in Baghdad. Wilson's tasks, in order of priority, were as follows: First, to secure at all costs from land and air attack the oil fields and oil installations in Persia and Iraq. Second, to ensure the transport from the Persian Gulf ports of supplies to Russia to the maximum extent possible without prejudicing my primary task.

Transition of commanders
In 1943, a series of victories in southern Russia and the success of operations in North Africa rendered the German threat to northern Persia progressively more and more unlikely. Therefore, the forces in Wilson's Command were reduced and the status of the Command was revised. In January, Wilson received orders to despatch the 5th Infantry Division to the Middle East Command and, on 23 January, Wilson was summoned to a conference with the Prime Minister in Cairo. On l0 February, the 56th (London) Infantry Division was also ordered to the Middle East Command. Wilson then decided to re-group the remaining formations within the Command and issued orders for their location in the general area Mosul-Kirkuk. On 17 February, Wilson left for Cairo to take up his new duties as Commander-in-Chief of the Middle East Command.

The Commanders-in-Chief were:
 * 1943 - 1943 Lieutenant General Sir Maitland Wilson
 * 1943 - 1944 Lieutenant General Sir Henry Pownall
 * 1944 - 1945 Lieutenant General Sir Arthur Smith

Order of Battle - Persia and Iraq Command 1942
General Officer Commanding - General Sir Henry Maitland Wilson


 * General Reserve troops
 * 5th Indian Infantry Division - Major-General H. Rawdon Briggs
 * 9th Indian Infantry Brigade - Brigadier W.H. Langran
 * 161st Indian Infantry Brigade - Brigadier D.F.W. Warren
 * Polish 3rd Carpathian Rifle Division - Major-General Stanisław Kopański
 * British 7th Armoured Brigade - Brigadier John Anstice
 * Tenth Army - Lieutenant-General Sir Edward Quinan
 * Army troops
 * 6th Indian Infantry Division - Major-General J.N. Thomson
 * 27th Indian Infantry Brigade - Brigadier A.R. Barker
 * 6th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers
 * 31st Indian Armoured Division - Major-General Robert Wordsworth
 * 3rd Indian Motor Brigade - Brigadier A.A.E. Filoze
 * 252nd Indian Armoured Brigade - Brigadier G. Carr-White
 * 10th Indian Motor Brigade - Brigadier Harold Redman
 * III Corps - Lieutenant-General Sir Desmond Anderson
 * 5th Infantry Division - Major-General Horatio Berney-Ficklin
 * 13th Infantry Brigade - Brigadier V.C. Russell
 * 15th Infantry Brigade - Brigadier H.R.N. Greenfield
 * 17th Infantry Brigade - Brigadier G.W.B. Tarleton
 * 5th Reconnaissance Regiment, Royal Armoured Corps
 * 56th (London) Infantry Division - Major-General Eric Miles
 * 167th (London) Infantry Brigade - Brigadier J.C.A. Birch
 * 168th (London) Infantry Brigade - Brigadier K.C. Davidson
 * 169th (London) Infantry Brigade - Brigadier L.O. Lynne
 * Indian XXI Corps - Lieutenant-General Sir Mosley Mayne
 * 8th Indian Infantry Division - Major-General Charles Harvey
 * 17th Indian Infantry Brigade - Brigadier F.A.M.B. Jenkins
 * 19th Indian Infantry Brigade - Brigadier C.W.W. Ford
 * 10th Indian Infantry Division - Major-General Alan Blaxland
 * 20th Indian Infantry Brigade - Brigadier L.E. MacGregor
 * 25th Indian Infantry Brigade - Brigadier A.E. Arderne

In addition, lines of communication headquarters, either designed Lines of Communications Areas or Sub-Areas or under deception titles such as 2nd Indian Infantry Division, were also ultimately responsible to the command.