Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran
In 1940, Britain faced a war with Germany in North Africa and grew deeply concerned about German access to the Persian Gulf. The British government feared that the Abadan Refinery might fall into enemy hands. This refinery processed eight million tons of oil that year and made a crucial contribution to the Allied war effort. Relations between Britain and Iran had been strained since 1931 when Reza Shah unilaterally cancelled the D'Arcy Concession. That agreement from 1901 had given the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company exclusive rights to prospect for Iranian oil for sixty years. Iran received only 16 percent of net profits under that deal. The Shah accused the company of reinvesting new capital into subsidiary companies to exclude significant sums from annual profit calculations. Although he renegotiated a second concession with better terms for Iranians, diplomatic conflict created an impression that the Shah was hostile to British oil interests. Following Operation Barbarossa, the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, Britain and the Soviet Union became formal Allies. A major strategic analysis by C. L. Sulzberger in the New York Times stated that if Germany succeeded, they would likely attack Egypt and push on to Iran and the Persian Gulf. With the Wehrmacht advancing through the Soviet Union, the Persian Corridor formed by the Trans-Iranian Railway offered one of the easiest ways to supply Soviets with Lend-Lease goods sent from the United States. Increasing U-boat attacks and winter ice made convoys to Arkhangelsk dangerous, so the railway seemed increasingly attractive. The two Allied nations applied pressure on Iran and the Shah, which led to increased tensions and anti-British rallies in Tehran.
The war began in the early morning of the 25th of August when RAF aircraft entered Iranian airspace. They bombed targets in the cities of Tehran and Qazvin and various other towns while dropping leaflets urging surrender. The Soviets bombed targets in cities such as Tabriz, Ardabil and Rasht. Civilian and residential areas were hit, and several hundred people were killed and wounded. The Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy attacked from the Persian Gulf, while other British Commonwealth forces came by land and air from Iraq. The Soviet Union invaded from the north, mostly from Transcaucasia, with the 44th and 47th Armies of the Transcaucasian Front under General Dmitry Timofeyevich Kozlov. The 53rd Army of the Central Asian Military District occupied Iran's northern provinces. Air force and naval units also participated in the battle. The Soviets used about 1,000 T-26 tanks for their combat operations. Six days after the invasion, British divisions previously known as Iraq Command were renamed Persia and Iraq Force under Lieutenant-General Edward Quinan. Paiforce was made up of 8th and 10th Indian Infantry divisions, 2nd Indian Armoured Brigade, 4th British Cavalry Brigade, and 21st Indian Infantry Brigade. The British assembled a naval task force under Commodore Cosmo Graham to seize Bandar Shahpur, Abadan, and Khorramshahr. It attacked at dawn on the 25th of August 1941. The naval attack began at 04:10 at Abadan when HMS Dorsetshire opened fire on the Iranian sloop Palang, sinking it in a single salvo.
The Imperial Iranian Army deployed nine infantry divisions, some motorised, with two having tanks. The army had a standing force of 126,000, 200,000 men. While Iran had taken steps through the previous decade to strengthen its army, it lacked enough training, armour, or air power to fight a multi-front war. Reza Shah's modernisations had not been completed by the time war broke out. The army was more concerned with civilian repression than invasions. Iranian troops were armed with the vz. 24 rifle, a Czech version of the Mauser Gewehr 98. They also had other Czech small arms like the ZB vz. 30 and ZB-53. Iran had bought 100 FT-6 and ČKD TNH light tanks as well as some AH-IV tankettes. Further orders had been delayed by World War II. The changing nature of tank warfare in the 1930s made all but 50 of them obsolete when the invasion began. The Imperial Iranian Air Force flew outdated biplanes including British Hawker Fury fighters and French aircraft such as the Bréguet 14 and Blériot-SPAD S.42. The IIAF also had Soviet-made copies of the DH.4 and DH.9A. The Iranians had little time to organise a defence as Allies achieved tactical surprise. Reza Shah refused requests by his generals to destroy road and transportation networks because he did not want to damage infrastructure he had built during his reign. That contributed to the speedy victory of the Allies. With no allies, Iranian resistance was rapidly overwhelmed and neutralised by Soviet and British tanks and infantry.
By 28, the 29th of August 1941, the Iranian military situation was in complete chaos. Major cities were suffering repeated air raids while Tehran water and food supply faced shortages. Soldiers fled in fear of Soviets killing them upon capture. Faced with total collapse, the royal family except the Shah and Crown Prince fled to Isfahan. The collapse of the army that Reza Shah spent so much time creating was humiliating. Many military generals behaved incompetently or secretly sympathised with the British. The Shah ordered the resignation of pro-British Prime Minister Ali Mansur whom he blamed for demoralising the military. He was replaced with Mohammad Ali Foroughi, a former prime minister. When Foroughi entered into negotiations with the British, he implied both he and the people wanted liberation from the Shah's rule. In response to the Shah's defiance, the Red Army on the 16th of September moved to occupy Tehran. Fearing execution by communists, many wealthy people fled the city. Reza Shah announced his abdication as Soviets entered the city on the 17th of September. The British wanted to restore the Qajar dynasty but heir Hamid Hassan Mirza spoke no Persian. Instead, Crown Prince Mohammad Reza Pahlavi took oath to become Shah. Reza Shah was arrested before leaving Tehran and placed into British custody. He was exiled as a British prisoner to British Mauritius for seven months before being sent to South Africa where he died in 1944.
The effects of war were very disruptive for Iran. Much state bureaucracy had been damaged by invasion while food and essential items became scarce. The Soviets appropriated most harvest in northern Iran leading to food shortages for general public. British and Soviet occupiers used grain delivery as bargaining chip. Food crisis worsened because foreign troops needed to eat and use transport network to move military equipment. Britain pressured Shah to appoint Ahmad Qavam as prime minister who mismanaged entire food supply and economy. In 1942 bread riots took place in Tehran where martial law declared and several rioters killed by police. Inflation increased by 450 percent imposing great hardship on lower and middle classes. In some areas there were famine deaths though virtually no armed resistance against occupation occurred. At end of August 1942 German intelligence agents spread leaflets in Tabriz and other cities. An underground fascist organisation called Melnune Iran was founded. Agents instigated anti-government protests in Lake Urmia region. Bakhtiari and Qashqai peoples carried out armed resistance against new government.
The Persian Corridor became route for massive flow of supplies over five million tons of matériel to Soviet Union and British in Middle East. In 1943, thirty thousand Americans helped man the Persian Corridor. Between twenty-six and thirty-four percent of supplies sent to Soviet Union under Lend-Lease Act went through Iran. Americans assuaged Iranian fears of colonisation by confirming they would respect independence of Iran. US also extended Lend-Lease assistance to Iran and began training Iranian army. Arthur Millspaugh became finance minister but ran into much opposition trying to direct Iranian finances. There were two notable German attempts to undertake operations against Allies in 1943. Operation François used dissident Qashqai people to sabotage British and American supplies bound for Soviet Union. Also in 1943, Operation Long Jump allegedly failed as German plot to assassinate Big Three Allied leaders at Tehran Conference. The Soviets stationed in northern Iran while British south of Hamadan and Qazvin partitioned country for duration of war.
On the 12th of December 1945 after weeks violent clashes a Soviet-backed separatist People's Republic of Azerbaijan was founded. Kurdish People's Republic established late 1945. Iranian government troops sent to reestablish control blocked by Red Army units. When deadline for withdrawal arrived on the 2nd of March 1946 six months after end of war, British began withdraw. Moscow refused citing threats to Soviet security. Soviet troops did not withdraw from Iran proper until May 1946 following Iran official complaint to newly formed United Nations Security Council. That became first complaint filed by country in UN history and test for UN effectiveness resolving global issues aftermath war. However UN Security Council took no direct steps to pressure Soviets to withdraw. The invasion code name Operation Countenance largely unopposed by numerically and technologically outmatched Iranian forces. Multi-pronged coordinated invasion took place along Iran borders with Kingdom of Iraq, Azerbaijan SSR, and Turkmen SSR. Fighting began the 25th of August ended the 31st of August when Iranian government under Reza Shah Pahlavi formally agreed surrender having already agreed ceasefire the 30th of August. Two powers announced they would stay until six months after end war with Nazi Germany which turned out the 2nd of March 1946.
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Common questions
What caused the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran in 1941?
The British government feared that German access to the Persian Gulf and the Abadan Refinery might fall into enemy hands following Operation Barbarossa. The Axis invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941 made Britain and the Soviet Union formal Allies seeking to secure the Persian Corridor for Lend-Lease supplies.
When did the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran begin and end?
Fighting began on the 25th of August 1941 when RAF aircraft entered Iranian airspace and Soviet forces invaded from the north. The Iranian government formally agreed to surrender after a ceasefire on the 30th of August, ending active combat by the 31st of August 1941.
Who led the Soviet forces during the invasion of Iran?
General Dmitry Timofeyevich Kozlov commanded the 44th and 47th Armies of the Transcaucasian Front which invaded from the north mostly from Transcaucasia. The 53rd Army of the Central Asian Military District occupied Iran's northern provinces while using about 1,000 T-26 tanks for combat operations.
What happened to Reza Shah after the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran?
Reza Shah announced his abdication as Soviets entered Tehran on the 17th of September 1941 before being arrested and placed into British custody. He was exiled as a British prisoner to British Mauritius for seven months before being sent to South Africa where he died in 1944.
Why did Soviet troops not withdraw from Iran until May 1946?
Moscow refused to withdraw citing threats to Soviet security despite the deadline for withdrawal arriving on the 2nd of March 1946 six months after the end of war with Nazi Germany. Soviet troops finally withdrew from Iran proper in May 1946 following an official complaint by Iran to the United Nations Security Council.