Iraqforce

Iraqforce was a British and Commonwealth formation that came together in the Kingdom of Iraq. The formation fought in the Middle East during World War II.

During World War I, the British Army defeated the Ottoman Army on the Middle Eastern Front during the Mesopotamian Campaign. Subsequently, the League of Nations designated Mesopotamia as a mandate territory, the British Mandate of Mesopotamia. From 1920 to the early 1930s, "RAF Iraq Command" was created as an inter-service command in charge of all British forces in the mandate-controlled Kingdom of Iraq. The command consisted of Royal Air Force, Royal Navy, British Army, Commonwealth, and locally raised units and was commanded by an RAF officer normally of Air Vice-Marshal rank.

In 1932, the British mandate in Iraq ended. However, per the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty of 1930, the United Kingdom was permitted to maintain troops in Iraq. In 1933 or 1934, RAF Iraq Command was renamed the "British Forces in Iraq." By the late 1930s, these forces were restricted to two Royal Air Force stations, RAF Shaibah near Basra and RAF Habbaniya west of Baghdad.