Editing Axis powers (section)

== Bilateral Pacts with the Axis Powers ==
Some countries colluded with Germany, Italy, and Japan without signing either the Anti-Comintern Pact, or the Tripartite Pact. In some cases these bilateral agreements were formalised, in other cases it was less formal. Some of these countries were puppet states established by the Axis Powers themselves.

=== Burma (Ba Maw government) ===
{{Main|Japanese occupation of Burma|State of Burma|Burma National Army}}
The Japanese Army and Burma nationalists, led by [[Aung San]], seized control of Burma from the United Kingdom during 1942. A [[State of Burma]] was formed on 1 August 1943 under the Burmese nationalist leader [[Ba Maw]]. A treaty of alliance was concluded between the Ba Maw regime and Japan was signed by Ba Maw for Burma and Sawada Renzo for Japan on the same day in which the Ba Maw government pledged itself to provide the Japanese "with every necessary assistance in order to execute a successful military operation in Burma". The Ba Maw government mobilised Burmese society during the war to support the Axis war-effort.<ref name="Seekins1">{{cite book |last1=Seekins |first1=Donald M. |title=Historical Dictionary of Burma (Myanmar) |date= 2017 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1538101834 |page=438 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Nmc2DgAAQBAJ&q=%22Ba+Maw%22+%22axis%22 |access-date=27 October 2020}}</ref>
 
The Ba Maw regime established the Burma Defence Army (later renamed the [[Burma National Army]]), which was commanded by [[Aung San]] which fought alongside the Japanese in the [[Burma campaign]]. The Ba Maw has been described as a state having "independence without sovereignty" and as being effectively a Japanese puppet state.<ref name="Yoon1">{{cite journal |last1=Yoon |first1=Won Z. |title=Military Expediency: A Determining Factor in the Japanese Policy regarding Burmese Independence |journal=Journal of Southeast Asian Studies |date=September 1978 |volume=9 |issue=2 |pages=262–263 |doi=10.1017/S0022463400009772 |jstor=20062727 |s2cid=159799719 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20062727 |access-date=25 October 2020|url-access=subscription }}</ref> On 27 March 1945 the Burma National Army revolted against the Japanese.

===Thailand===
{{See also|Thailand in World War II}}

[[File:Phot and Tojo.jpg|thumb|[[Phraya Phahonphonphayuhasena|Phraya Phahon]] (far left), [[Thawan Thamrongnawasawat|Thawan Thamrong]] (left), and [[Direk Jayanama]] (right) with [[Hideki Tōjō]] (center) in Tokyo 1942]]

As an ally of Japan during the war that deployed troops to fight on the Japanese side against Allied forces, [[History of Thailand (1932–1973)|Thailand]] is considered to have been part of the Axis alliance,<ref name="Fry et al1">{{cite book |last1=Fry |first1=Gerald W. |last2=Nieminen |first2=Gayla S. |last3=Smith |first3=Harold E. |title=Historical Dictionary of Thailand |date=2013 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0810875258 |page=221 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XaRtAAAAQBAJ&q=%22Thailand%22+%22part+of+the+axis%22&pg=PA221 |access-date=27 October 2020}}</ref><ref name="Merrill & Patterson1">{{cite book |last1=Merrill |first1=Dennis |last2=Patterson |first2=Thomas |title=Major Problems in American Foreign Relations, Volume II: Since 1914 |date=2009 |publisher=Cengage Learning |isbn=978-1133007548 |page=343 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cQAIAAAAQBAJ&q=%22Thailand%22+%22part+of+the+axis%22&pg=PA343 |access-date=27 October 2020}}</ref><ref name="Bowman1">{{cite book |last1=Bowman |first1=John Stewart |title=Facts About the American Wars |year=1998 |publisher=H.W. Wilson Company |isbn=9780824209292 |page=432 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_yoOAQAAMAAJ&q=%22thailand%22%20%22axis%20power%22 |access-date=7 February 2021}}</ref> or at least "aligned with the Axis powers".<ref name="Smythe">{{cite journal |last1=Smythe |first1=Hugh H. |title=Thailand Minority Groups |journal=Phylon |date=Third Quarter 1964 |volume=25 |issue=3 |pages=280–287 |doi=10.2307/273786 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/273786 |access-date=2 April 2021 |publisher=Clark Atlanta University|jstor=273786 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> For example, writing in 1945, the American politician [[Clare Boothe Luce]] described Thailand as "undeniably an Axis country" during the war.<ref name="Luce1">{{cite journal |last1=Booth Luce |first1=Clare |title=Not Unduly Exacting About Java |journal=Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the US Congress |date=14 December 1945 |page=A5532 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GnhGwAbjXw8C&q=%22Siam%22+%22Axis%22+%22Ally%22&pg=SL1-PA5532 |access-date=27 October 2020 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office}}</ref> 
 
[[History of Thailand (1932–1973)|Thailand]] waged the [[Franco-Thai War]] in October 1940 to May 1941 to reclaim territory from [[French Indochina]]. [[Japanese invasion of Thailand|Japanese forces invaded Thailand]] an hour and a half before the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]] (because of the International Dateline, the local time was on the morning of 8 December 1941). Only hours after the invasion, Prime Minister Field Marshal [[Plaek Phibunsongkhram|Phibunsongkhram]] ordered the cessation of resistance against the Japanese. An outline plan of Japan-Thailand joint military operations, whereby Thai forces would invade Burma to defend the right flank of Japanese forces, was agreed on 14 December 1941.<ref name="Murashima">{{cite journal |last1=Murashima |first1=Eiji |title=The Commemorative Character of Thai Historiography: The 1942–43 Thai Military Campaign in the Shan States Depicted as a Story of National Salvation and the Restoration of Thai Independence |journal=Modern Asian Studies |date=October 2006 |volume=40 |issue=4 |pages=1056–1057 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3876641 |access-date=1 April 2021 |publisher=Cambridge University Press|doi=10.1017/S0026749X06002198 |jstor=3876641 |s2cid=144491081 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> On 21 December 1941, a military alliance with Japan was signed and on 25 January 1942, [[Sang Phathanothai]] read over the radio Thailand's formal declaration of war on the United Kingdom and the United States. The Thai ambassador to the United States, [[Mom Rajawongse]] [[Seni Pramoj]], did not deliver his copy of the declaration of war. Therefore, although the British reciprocated by declaring war on Thailand and considered it a hostile country, the United States did not.

The Thais and Japanese agreed that the Burmese [[Shan State]] and [[Karenni States|Karenni State]] were to be under Thai control. The rest of Burma was to be under Japanese control. On 10 May 1942, the Thai [[Phayap Army]] entered Burma's eastern Shan State, which had been claimed by Siamese kingdoms. Three Thai infantry and one cavalry division, spearheaded by armoured reconnaissance groups and supported by the air force, engaged the retreating Chinese 93rd Division. [[Kengtung]], the main objective, was captured on 27 May. Renewed offensives in June and November saw the Chinese retreat into [[Yunnan]].<ref>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091027105102/http://geocities.com/thailandwwii/shans.html |archive-date=2009-10-27|url=http://geocities.com/thailandwwii/shans.html |title=Thailand and the Second World War }}</ref>

In November 1943 Thailand signed the Greater East Asia Joint Declaration, formally aligning itself with the Axis Powers. The area containing the [[Shan States]] and [[Kayah State]] was annexed by Thailand in 1942, and four northern states of [[British Malaya|Malaya]] were also transferred to Thailand by Japan as a reward for Thai co-operation. These areas were ceded back to [[Burma]] and Malaya in 1945.<ref name="Darling">{{cite journal |last1=Darling |first1=Frank C. |title=British and American Influence in Post-War Thailand |journal=Journal of Southeast Asian History |date=March 1963 |volume=4 |issue=1 |page=99 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20067423 |access-date=1 April 2021 |publisher=Cambridge University Press|doi=10.1017/S0217781100000788 |jstor=20067423 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> Thai military losses totalled 5,559 men during the war, of whom about 180 died resisting the Japanese invasion of 8 December 1941, roughly 150 died in action during the fighting in the Shan States, and the rest died of malaria and other diseases.<ref name="Murashima" />
The [[Free Thai Movement]] ("Seri Thai") was established during these first few months. Parallel Free Thai organizations were also established in the United Kingdom. [[Ananda Mahidol|The king's]] aunt, Queen [[Rambai Barni]], was the nominal head of the British-based organization, and [[Pridi Banomyong]], the regent, headed its largest contingent, which was operating within Thailand. Aided by elements of the military, secret airfields and training camps were established, while American [[Office of Strategic Services]] and British [[Force 136]] agents slipped in and out of the country.

As the war dragged on, the Thai population came to resent the Japanese presence. In June 1944, Phibun was overthrown in a coup d'état. The new civilian government under [[Khuang Aphaiwong]] attempted to aid the resistance while maintaining cordial relations with the Japanese. After the war, U.S. influence prevented Thailand from being treated as an Axis country, but the British demanded three million tons of rice as reparations and the return of areas annexed from [[British Malaya|Malaya]] during the war. Thailand also returned the portions of [[British Burma]] and French Indochina that had been annexed. Phibun and a number of his associates were put on trial on charges of having committed war crimes and of collaborating with the Axis powers. However, the charges were dropped due to intense public pressure. Public opinion was favourable to Phibun, as he was thought to have done his best to protect Thai interests.

===Soviet Union===
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-121-0011-20, Polen, deutsch-sowjetische Siegesparade.jpg|thumb|upright|German and Soviet soldiers during the official transfer of [[Brest, Belarus|Brest]] to Soviet control in front of picture of Stalin, in the aftermath of the invasion and [[Partitions of Poland#"Fourth Partition"|partition of Poland]] by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union in 1939]]{{See also|Germany–Soviet Union relations, 1918–1941|German–Soviet Axis talks|Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact|Soviet invasion of Poland}}
 
In 1939 the Soviet Union considered forming an alliance with either [[Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact negotiations|Britain and France]] or with Germany.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Nekrich, A. M. (Aleksandr Moiseevich)|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/36023920|title=Pariahs, partners, predators : German-Soviet relations, 1922–1941|year=1997|publisher=Columbia University Press|others=Freeze, Gregory L., 1945–|isbn=0-231-10676-9|location=New York|pages=112–120|oclc=36023920}}</ref>{{sfn|Shirer|1960|pp=495-496}} When negotiations with Britain and France failed, they turned to Germany and signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact in August 1939. Germany was now freed from the risk of war with the Soviets, and was assured a supply of oil. This included a secret protocol whereby territories controlled by [[Second Polish Republic|Poland]], Finland, [[Estonia]], [[Kingdom of Romania|Romania]], [[Latvia]] and [[Lithuania]] were divided into [[spheres of interest]] of the parties.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Internet History Sourcebooks|url=https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/mod/1939pact.asp|access-date=2020-10-29|website=sourcebooks.fordham.edu}}</ref> The Soviet Union sought to re-annex some of territories that were under control of those states, formerly acquired by the [[Russian Empire]] in the centuries prior and lost to Russia in the [[aftermath of World War I]]; that included land such as the [[Kresy]] (Western [[Belarus]] and Western Ukraine) region ceded to Poland after losing the [[Soviet-Polish War]] of 1919–1921.<ref>Eastern Europe, Russia and Central Asia 2004, Vol. 4. London, England: Europa Publications, 2003. pp. 138–139.</ref>

On 1 September, barely a week after the pact had been signed, [[Invasion of Poland|Germany invaded Poland]]. The Soviet Union [[Soviet invasion of Poland|invaded Poland from the east]] on 17 September and on 28 September signed a [[German-Soviet Frontier Treaty|secret treaty]] with Nazi Germany to coordinate fighting against the [[Polish resistance movement in World War II|Polish resistance]]. The Soviets targeted intelligence, entrepreneurs and officers with mass arrests, with many victims sent to the [[Gulag]] in Siberia, committing a string of atrocities that culminated in the [[Katyn massacre]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://avalon.law.yale.edu/subject_menus/nazsov.asp|title=Avalon Project – Nazi-Soviet Relations 1939–1941|website=avalon.law.yale.edu}}</ref> Soon after the invasion of Poland, the Soviet Union [[Occupation of Baltic Republics|occupied the Baltic countries]] of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania,{{sfn|Senn|2007|p={{page needed|date=March 2012}}}}{{sfn|Wettig|2008|pp=20–21}} and annexed [[Bessarabia]] and [[Bukovina|Northern Bukovina]] from Romania. The Soviet Union attacked Finland on 30 November 1939, which started the [[Winter War]].{{sfn|Kennedy-Pipe|1995|p={{page needed|date=March 2012}}}} Finnish defenses prevented an all-out invasion, resulting in an [[Moscow Peace Treaty|interim peace]], but Finland was forced to cede strategically important border areas near [[Leningrad]].

The Soviet Union provided material support to Germany in the war effort against Western Europe through a pair of commercial agreements, [[German-Soviet Commercial Agreement (1939)|the first]] in 1939 and [[German-Soviet Commercial Agreement (1940)|the second]] in 1940, which involved exports of raw materials ([[phosphates]], [[chromium]] and [[iron ore]], [[mineral oil]], grain, cotton, and rubber). These and other export goods transported through Soviet and occupied Polish territories allowed Germany to circumvent the British naval blockade. In October and November 1940, [[German–Soviet Axis talks|German–Soviet talks]] about the potential of joining the Axis took place in Berlin.{{sfn|Roberts|2006|p=58}}{{sfn|Brackman|2001|pp=341–343}} [[Joseph Stalin]] later personally countered with a separate proposal in a letter on 25 November that contained several secret protocols, including that "the area south of [[Batum]] and [[Baku]] in the general direction of the [[Persian Gulf]] is recognized as the center of aspirations of the Soviet Union", referring to an area approximating present day Iraq and Iran, and a Soviet claim to Bulgaria.{{sfn|Brackman|2001|pp=341–343}}{{sfn|Nekrich|Ulam|Freeze|1997|pp=202–205}} Hitler never responded to Stalin's letter.{{sfn|Donaldson|Nogee|2005|pp=65–66}}{{sfn|Churchill|1949|p=589}} Shortly thereafter, Hitler issued a secret directive on [[Operation Barbarossa|the invasion of the Soviet Union]].{{sfn|Nekrich|Ulam|Freeze|1997|pp=202–205}}{{sfn|Roberts|2006|p=59}} Reasons included the Nazi ideologies of [[Lebensraum]] and [[Heim ins Reich]]<ref>{{Cite book|last=Baranowski|first=Shelley|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iA-NZ_RgP5kC&q=continental+Lebensraum|title=Nazi Empire: German Colonialism and Imperialism from Bismarck to Hitler|year=2011|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-85739-0}}</ref>

===Vichy France===
{{main|Vichy France}}
The German army entered Paris on 14 June 1940, following the [[battle of France]]. Pétain became the last [[Prime Minister of France|Prime Minister of the French Third Republic]] on 16 June 1940. He sued for peace with Germany and on 22 June 1940, the French government [[Armistice with France (Second Compiègne)|concluded an armistice]] with Hitler and Mussolini, which came into effect at midnight on 25 June. Under the terms of the agreement, Germany [[occupied France|occupied two-thirds]] of France, including Paris. Pétain was permitted to keep an "[[Armistice Army|armistice army]]" of 100,000 men within the [[Zone libre|unoccupied southern zone]]. This number included neither the army based in the [[French colonial empire]] nor the [[French Navy]]. In Africa the Vichy regime was permitted to maintain 127,000.{{sfn|Bachelier|2000|p=98}} The French also maintained substantial garrisons at the French-mandate territory of [[Mandatory Syrian Republic|Syria]] and [[Greater Lebanon]], the [[French Madagascar|French colony of Madagascar]], and in [[French Somaliland]]. Some members of the Vichy government pushed for closer cooperation, but they were rebuffed by Pétain. Neither did Hitler accept that France could ever become a full military partner,{{sfn|Paxton|1993}} and constantly prevented the buildup of Vichy's military strength.

After the armistice, relations between the Vichy French and the British quickly worsened. Although the French had told Churchill they would not allow their fleet to be taken by the Germans, the British launched naval attacks intended to prevent the French navy being used, the most notable of which was [[Attack on Mers-el-Kébir|the attack on the Algerian harbour of Mers el-Kebir]] on 3 July 1940. Though Churchill defended his controversial decision to attack the French fleet, the action deteriorated greatly the relations between France and Britain. [[Propaganda in Nazi Germany|German propaganda]] trumpeted these attacks as an absolute betrayal of the French people by their former allies.
[[File:France map Lambert-93 with regions and departments-occupation.svg|thumb|France during the war; [[German occupation of France during World War II|Occupied and annexed zones by Germany]] in shades of red, [[Italian occupation of France during World War II|Italian occupation zones]] in shades of yellow and striped blue, [[zone libre|"Free zone"]] in blue.]]

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-H25217, Henry Philippe Petain und Adolf Hitler.jpg|thumb|[[Philippe Pétain]] (left) meeting with Hitler in October 1940]]
[[File:Flag of Philippe Pétain, Chief of State of Vichy France.svg|thumb|Personal flag of Philippe Pétain, Chief of State of [[Vichy France]]]]
On 10 July 1940, Pétain was given emergency "full powers" by a majority vote of the [[French National Assembly]]. The following day approval of the new constitution by the Assembly effectively created the [[French State]] (''l'État Français''), replacing the French Republic with the government unofficially called "Vichy France," after the resort town of [[Vichy]], where Pétain maintained his seat of government. This continued to be recognised as the lawful government of France by the neutral United States until 1942, while the United Kingdom had recognised [[Free France|de Gaulle's government-in-exile in London]]. Racial laws were introduced in France and its colonies and many [[History of the Jews in France|foreign Jews in France]] were deported to Germany. [[Albert Lebrun]], last President of the Republic, did not resign from the presidential office when he moved to [[Vizille]] on 10 July 1940. By 25 April 1945, during Pétain's trial, Lebrun argued that he thought he would be able to return to power after the fall of Germany, since he had not resigned.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.elysee.fr/recherche|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090414173559/http://www.elysee.fr/elysee/elysee.fr/francais_archives/la_presidence/la_galerie_des_presidents/iii_eme_republique/albert_lebrun.21008.html|url-status=dead|title=Rechercher sur le site &#124; Élysée|archivedate=April 14, 2009|website=elysee.fr}}</ref>

In September 1940, Vichy France was forced to allow [[invasion of French Indochina|Japan to occupy French Indochina]], a federation of French colonial possessions and protectorates encompassing modern day Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. The Vichy regime continued to administer them under Japanese military occupation. [[French Indochina]] was the base for the Japanese [[Japanese invasion of Thailand|invasions of Thailand]], [[Malayan Campaign|Malaya]], and [[Dutch East Indies campaign|the Dutch East Indies]]. On 26 September 1940, de Gaulle [[Battle of Dakar|led an attack by Allied forces on the Vichy port of Dakar]] in [[French West Africa]]. Forces loyal to Pétain fired on de Gaulle and repulsed the attack after two days of heavy fighting, drawing Vichy France closer to Germany.

During the [[Anglo-Iraqi War]] of May 1941, Vichy France allowed Germany and Italy to use air bases in the [[French mandate of Syria]] to support the Iraqi revolt. British and Free French forces attacked later [[Syria-Lebanon campaign|Syria and Lebanon in June–July 1941]], and in 1942 Allied forces [[Battle of Madagascar|took over French Madagascar]]. More and more colonies abandoned Vichy, joining the Free French territories of [[French Equatorial Africa]], [[French Polynesia|Polynesia]], [[New Caledonia]] and others who had sided with de Gaulle [[Appeal of 18 June|from the start]].

In November 1942 Vichy French troops briefly resisted the [[Operation Torch|landing of Allied troops in French North Africa]] for two days, until Admiral [[François Darlan]] negotiated a local ceasefire with the Allies. In response to the landings, [[Case Anton|German and Italian forces invaded the non-occupied zone in southern France]] and ended Vichy France as an entity with any kind of autonomy; it then became a puppet government for the occupied territories. In June 1943, the formerly Vichy-loyal colonial authorities in [[French North Africa]] led by [[Henri Giraud]] came to an agreement with the [[Free France|Free French]] to merge with their own interim regime with the [[Free France#Creation of the French National Committee (CNF)|French National Committee]] (''Comité Français National'', CFN) to form a [[provisional government]] in [[Algiers]], known as the [[French Committee of National Liberation]] (''Comité Français de Libération Nationale'', CFLN) initially led by Darlan.

In 1943 the [[Milice]], a paramilitary force which had been founded by Vichy, was subordinated to the Germans and assisted them in rounding up opponents and Jews, as well as fighting the [[French Resistance]]. The Germans recruited volunteers in units independent of Vichy. Partly as a result of the great animosity of many right-wingers against the pre-war [[Popular Front (France)|Front Populaire]], volunteers joined the German forces in their anti-communist crusade against the USSR. Almost 7,000 joined ''[[Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism|Légion des Volontaires Français]]'' (LVF) from 1941 to 1944. The LVF then formed the cadre of the [[33rd Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS Charlemagne (1st French)|Waffen-SS Division ''Charlemagne'']] in 1944–1945, with a maximum strength of some 7,500. Both the LVF and the ''Division Charlemagne'' fought on the eastern front.

Deprived of any military assets, territory or resources, the members of the Vichy government continued to fulfil their role as German puppets, being quasi-prisoners in the so-called "[[Sigmaringen enclave]]" in a castle in [[Baden-Württemberg]] at the end of the war in May 1945.

===Iraq===
{{Main|Anglo-Iraqi War}}
[[File:Royal Air Force Operations in the Middle East and North Africa, 1939-1943. CM812.jpg|thumb|left|An [[Royal Air Force|RAF]] officer investigates wrecked Iraqi artillery near [[Habbaniyah|Habbaniya]].]]
In April 1941 the [[Arab nationalist]] [[Rashid Ali al-Gaylani|Rashīd ʿAlī al-Gaylānī]], who was pro-Axis, [[1941 Iraqi coup d'état|seized power in Iraq]]. British forces responded by deploying to Iraq and in turn removing Rashi Ali from power. During fighting between Iraqi and British forces, Axis forces were deployed to Iraq to support the Iraqis.<ref name="Rashīd ʿAlī al-Gaylānī">{{cite web |title=Rashīd ʿAlī al-Gaylānī |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Rashid-Ali-al-Gaylani |website=Britannica.com |access-date=12 February 2021 |date=14 June 2002}}</ref> However, Rashid Ali was never able to conclude a formal alliance with the Axis.<ref name="Silverfarb & Khadduri">{{cite book |last1=Silverfarb |first1=Daniel |last2=Khadduri |first2=Majid |title=Britain's Informal Empire in the Middle East A Case Study of Iraq, 1929–1941 |year=1986 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780195039979 |page=113 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QKvnCwAAQBAJ&dq=%22Iraq%22+%22Rashid+Ali%22+%22Axis%22+%22formal+alliance%22&pg=PA113 |access-date=12 February 2021}}</ref>

Anti-British sentiments were widespread in Iraq prior to 1941. [[Rashid Ali al-Gaylani]] was appointed [[Prime Minister of Iraq]] in 1940. When Italy declared war on Britain, Rashid Ali had maintained ties with the Italians. This angered the British government. In December 1940, as relations with the British worsened, Rashid Ali formally requested weapons and military supplies from Germany.<ref name="Nafi1">{{cite journal |last1=Nafi |first1=Basheer M. |title=The Arabs and the Axis: 1933–1940 |journal=Arab Studies Quarterly |date=Spring 1997 |volume=19 |issue=2 |page=16 |jstor=41858205 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41858205 |access-date=12 February 2021}}</ref> In January 1941 Rashid Ali was forced to resign as a result of British pressure.<ref name="Rashīd ʿAlī al-Gaylānī" />

In April 1941 Rashid Ali, on seizing power in a coup, repudiated the [[Anglo-Iraqi Treaty (1930)|Anglo-Iraqi Treaty of 1930]] and demanded that the British abandon their military bases and withdraw from the country.

On 9 May 1941, [[Mohammad Amin al-Husayni]], the [[Grand Mufti of Jerusalem]] who was an associate of Rashid Ali and in asylum in Iraq, declared [[Jihad]]{{sfn|Jabārah|1985|p=183}} against the British and called on Arabs throughout the Middle East to rise up against British rule. On 25 May 1941, the Germans stepped up offensive operations in the Middle East.

Hitler issued [[Führer Directive No. 30|Order 30]]: "The Arab Freedom Movement in the Middle East is our natural ally against England. In this connection special importance is attached to the liberation of Iraq&nbsp;... I have therefore decided to move forward in the Middle East by supporting Iraq."<ref>{{cite book | last = Churchill | first = Winston | author-link = Winston Churchill | title = The Grand Alliance | series = The Second World War | volume = III | year = 1950 | publisher = Houghton Mifflin | location = Boston | lccn = 51002504 | page = 264}}</ref><ref>[[Franz Kurowski|Kurowski, Franz]] (2005). The Brandenburger Commandos: Germany's Elite Warrior Spies in World War II. Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania: Stackpole Book. {{ISBN|978-0-8117-3250-5}}, 10: 0-8117-3250-9. p. 141</ref>

Hostilities between the Iraqi and British forces began on 2 May 1941, with heavy fighting at [[RAF Habbaniya|the RAF air base]] in [[Habbaniyah]]. The Germans and Italians dispatched aircraft and aircrew to Iraq utilizing Vichy French bases in Syria; this led to Australian, British, Indian and Free French forces [[Syria–Lebanon campaign|entering and conquering Syria]] in June and July. With the advance of British and Indian forces on Baghdad, Iraqi military resistance ended by 31 May 1941. Rashid Ali and al-Husayn, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, fled to Iran, then Turkey, Italy, and finally Germany, where both were welcomed by Hitler and remained throughout the years of the war; Hitler considered Ali to be head of the Iraqi [[government-in-exile]] in Berlin.