1941 Iraqi coup d'état
The 1941 Iraqi coup d'état (Arabic: ثورة رشيد عالي الكيلاني, Thawrah Rašīd ʿAlī al-Kaylānī), also called the Rashid Ali Al-Gaylani coup or the Golden Square coup, was a nationalist coup d'état in Iraq on 1 April 1941 that overthrew the pro-British regime of Regent 'Abd al-Ilah and his Prime Minister Nuri al-Said and installed Rashid Ali al-Gaylani as Prime Minister.
| 1941 Iraqi coup d'état | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of World War II | |||||||
Coup leader Salah al-Din al-Sabbagh in 1930 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
|
Iraq Supported by: United Kingdom |
Golden Square Supported by: Germany Italy | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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'Abd al-Ilah Regent of Iraq Taha al-Hashimi Prime Minister of Iraq |
Rashid Ali al-Gaylani Salah al-Din al-Sabbagh 3rd Division Commander Kamil Shabib 1st Division Commander Fahmi Said Independent Mechanized Brigade Commander Mahmud Salman Chief of the Air Force | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| Royal Guard |
3rd Infantry Division 1st Infantry Division Independent Mechanized Brigade | ||||||
The coup was led by four Iraqi nationalist army generals, known as "the Golden Square", who intended to use the war to press for full Iraqi independence following the limited independence granted in 1932. To that end, they worked with German intelligence and accepted military assistance from Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. The change in government led to the British invasion of Iraq and subsequent occupation until 1947.