Iraqi Revolt Against The British

Iraqi Revolt Against The British

Belligerents United Kingdom

• British India

Iraqi rebels

• Shia tribesmen
• Sunni tribesmen

Commanders and leaders Sir Arnold Wilson Mehdi Al-Khalissi Strength 120,000 men (later reinforced with an additional 15,414 men)
63 aircraft 131,000 Casualties and losses 400 killed
600 missing
1,100-1,800 wounded
11 aircraft destroyed 6,000-9,000 killed 2,050-4,000 killed; 4,800-6,150 wounded

The Great Iraqi Revolution of 1920, or the 1920 Iraqi Revolt, started in Baghdad in the summer of 1920 with mass demonstrations by Iraqis, including protests by embittered officers from the old Ottoman army, against the British occupation of Iraq. The revolt gained momentum when it spread to the largely Shia regions of the middle and lower Euphrates. Sheikh Mehdi Al-Khalissi was a prominent Shia leader of the revolt.

Sunni and Shia religious communities cooperated during the revolution as well as tribal communities, the urban masses, and many Iraqi officers in Syria. The objectives of the revolution were independence from British rule and creation of an Arab government. Though the revolt achieved some initial success, by the end of October 1920, the British had crushed the revolt. Although the revolt was largely over by the end of 1920, elements of it dragged on until 1922.

During the 1920 revolt, another anti-British rebellion took place in the north Iraq by the Kurds, who were trying to gain independence. One of the major Kurdish leaders of the Kurdish revolt was Sheikh Mahmoud Barzanji.