The role of Turkey in World War II in the spring of 1941
Turkey's refusal
Let's start from this moment. On April 1, 1941, a pro-Nazi military coup took place in Iraq, known as the "Rashid Ali al Gailani coup" or the "Golden Four coup".
After April 1, 1941, a massacre began in Iraq of everyone who outwardly resembled the British.
Realizing that he could not stand against the British alone, Rashid Ali al Gailani turned to Hitler for help. Although Germany these news From Iraq, they were very encouraged, with the provision of assistance to the government of Rashid Ali al Gailani, or as it was also called, the "Government of the Golden Four", a problem arose.
The fact is that the sea route to Iraq was tightly closed by the British, Germany did not have a common border with Iraq, as well as with Iran. Nevertheless, Germany had troops, and therefore she turned to the Turkish government with a request to allow a limited German contingent to pass through Turkish territory to Iraq.
But the Turks refused. Then the Germans asked the Turks to allow them to at least smuggle through the territory of Turkey weapon to Iraq. In fact, Turkey refused this to Nazi Germany. Turkey also rejected the request of the Germans to use its airspace.
As a result, the issue of effective assistance to Iraq by Germany hung in the air.
Real story
According to historical On April 10, William Fraser was appointed commander of the British forces in Iraq, and soon the transfer of ground troops from India to Basra began. Already on April 12, 1941, the BP7 convoy, which included 8 transports guarded by the Yarra sloop (HMAS Yarra), departed from Karachi. On April 17, a British battalion from Karachi was airlifted to the RAF Shaibah air force base near Basra.
On April 17, a British convoy entered the Shatt al-Arab River, and at 09:30 on April 18, troops began to unload in Basra.
On April 18, the transfer of troops over the Karachi air bridge to the Shaiba Air Force Base was also completed.
On April 19, the unloading of British troops in Basra was completed, without encountering any resistance from the Iraqis.
So, in reality, the British brought troops from India to Iraq and, starting a march from Basra, took Baghdad by the end of May. On May 31, 1941, the mayor of Baghdad signed an armistice between Britain and Iraq in the presence of the British ambassador. British ground and air forces occupied the most important strategic points in Iraq. Then, the military contingents involved in the suppression of the anti-British uprising in Iraq were soon used by the British command to occupy Syria and Lebanon, subordinate to Vichy France.
As a result, by the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the Germans in the Middle East and Asia Minor did not have a single square meter of territory under their control.
virtual history
Now let's consider what would happen if Turkey responded to Germany's request to allow a limited German contingent to enter Iraq through Turkish territory.
So, virtual reality - Turkey in April 1941 let German troops into Iraq through its territory. Fortunately, the Germans could comfortably travel directly from Vienna to Baghdad by rail. Turkey also provided the Germans with its airfields, including in the east of the country, not far from Iraq (and from Baku with its oil fields too).
In virtual history, as a result of joint German-Turkish assistance to the pro-Nazi government of Iraq, the British counter-offensive against Baghdad was stopped, heavy fighting began in Iraq, as a result of which the British troops in Iraq were defeated. As a result, a pro-Nazi regime led by Rashid Ali al-Gaylani was firmly established in Iraq. Syria and Lebanon remained under the control of the pro-Nazi Vichy government. In Iran, let me remind you, a rather pro-Nazi shah also ruled.
For the British command, there was a real threat that the Germans could strike in the direction of the Suez Canal from Lebanon and Syria through Palestine. The unenviable position of the British was seriously aggravated by the fact that the Germans got the opportunity through pro-Nazi Iran to provide assistance to the Indian fascists, of whom there were more than enough in India.
In real history, the Germans on March 31, 1941 in Libya dealt a powerful blow to the British,
On the night of April 4, Italo-German troops occupied Benghazi without a fight, and on April 10 approached Tobruk, which was surrounded by them the next day. The attempts of the Italo-German troops to seize Tobruk on the move were unsuccessful, and they directed their main forces towards Egypt. On April 12, troops entered Bardia; on April 15 they occupied Sidi Omar, Es Sallum, the passage of Halfaya, and the oasis of Jarabub. On this their progress in real history stopped.
And in virtual history, fighting heavy battles in Iraq not so much with the Iraqi army as with the Germans, the British can no longer transfer Indian troops from India to all fronts of the Second World War. On the contrary, the British high command is forced to reinforce British troops in India, from where reinforcements were sent to Iraq.
As a result, in virtual reality, the British troops in Egypt did not receive reinforcements. On the contrary, the British command was forced to send part of its already meager forces from Egypt to cover the borders of Palestine and Transjordan from Syria and Iraq.
But it did not help. In Palestine, under the leadership of the Jerusalem mufti, an anti-British uprising broke out.
The Germans, with the support of the military contingents of Vichy France, struck from Syria and Lebanon, and within a week, having passed Palestine, which had rebelled against the British, they found themselves near the eastern bank of the Suez Canal.
From the west towards Cairo, Rommel threw his troops to the weakened British units.
British troops surrendered in Egypt on May 31, 1941.
The British fleet was locked in the Mediterranean, with no bases other than Malta and Gibraltar.
Francisco Franco begins the blockade of Gibraltar, the Germans set up their guns on Spanish territory near Gibraltar, targeting the Strait of Gibraltar.
In the name of salvation fleet, locked in the Mediterranean Sea and several hundred thousand British prisoners taken prisoner in Egypt, on June 5, 1941, Churchill resigned and left for Canada.
The new British government on June 15, 1941 entered into a truce with Germany.
That's it, virtual reality.
A week before June 22, 1941, the USSR was left alone, without future allies, under the threat of attack not only from the West, but also from the south.
The Germans have Iranian and Iraqi oil. From Turkish, Iraqi and Iranian airfields, German bombers simply get not only our oil fields in Baku, but in the Maykop area. The USSR did not yet have other sources of oil at that time.
After Britain's withdrawal from the war, the United States sits exactly across the ocean.
Japan prefers to act together with Nazi Germany against the USSR.
The Italian, German and French (Vichy) fleets enter the Black Sea on June 21, 1941.
In view of the threat of a Japanese attack, the USSR cannot transfer anything to the West.
And, it would seem, what a trifle - the Turks did not let the German limited contingent into Iraq.
Air bridge
But this refusal forced the Germans to look for ways to transfer at least weapons to Iraq by air.
An air bridge to Iraq could well be established from the territory of the Italian islands in the Aegean Sea. Or after the capture of mainland Greece - from Greece. But it was necessary to fly taking into account the need to fly around Turkish airspace. You can’t fly around Turkey from the north, as you run into the territory of the USSR. This means that it is possible to go around the airspace of Turkey only from the south.
That is, first you need to fly from mainland Greece to Vichy Syria.
However, on this route there are two islands - Crete and Cyprus, which, in turn, are very unpleasant and dangerous for the Germans British air bases.
In reality, Germany made attempts to send planes to Iraq. But these were isolated attempts, and sometimes ended unsuccessfully - the planes crashed.
Hit by time trouble, Hitler gives the order to land troops on Crete. Since he still cannot reach Cyprus.
Hitler's order is carried out, and on May 20, 1941, a German airborne assault was landed on Crete.
Despite initial difficulties and significant casualties, the Germans managed to force the British to begin the evacuation of troops from Crete to Egypt on the evening of May 28. And by May 31, 1941, the Germans were able to finally and completely capture Crete.
But, let me remind you, it was on May 31, 1941 that the British were able to regain control of Baghdad.
The Germans didn't make it! And the war went the way it went in reality.
Another effect of the German operation to capture Crete
The point is also that during Operation Mercury, the German landing units lost only about 4 thousand people killed and missing, plus almost 3 people were wounded. Losses of military transport aviation also catastrophic: out of 500 military transport aircraft that took part in the operation, only 185 units remained in service; after Crete, the Germans were left practically without their transport aircraft.
After the end of Operation Mercury, General Student was called to the Führer on the carpet. Hitler, having learned about the losses, was furious, shouts and reproaches against the Student were heard from the huge office of the Reich Chancellery. As a result, Hitler forbade any further large-scale landing operations involving the German Airborne Forces. Including in the future war with the USSR.
As a result, in the Great Patriotic War, despite the numerous reports of our military (especially in the first months of the war) about thousands of German landings allegedly thrown out in our rear with tanks and guns, in fact, the Germans did not land a single operational landing, not even a single operational-tactical one. The top of German achievements is the deployment of small sabotage groups to our rear.
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