Feature Article (Jan 05)

An Uncommon Valour: The Battle of Habbaniyah

Part One: Setting the Stage

Introduction

I know what you're thinking: we've all heard this story before. It's a plot that anyone who's seen classic Hollywood movies should be very familiar with...

A small, quiet desert outpost suddenly finds itself surrounded and cutoff from the outside world by an angry, well-armed bunch of locals. Despite trying to forestall the inevitable fight through negotiations, the beleaguered garrison ends up having to fight for its very survival against seemingly impossible odds. It's usually a story filled with unprecedented heroism, and the characters perform incredible acts of bravery, sacrificing all to insure the safety of the garrison. More often than not, for the movie to be really, really good, there has to be some sort of spectacular flying scenes, with lots of airplanes buzzing around, bombing and shooting things. The planes are flown by pilots who are commonly portrayed as being foolhardy and cavalier (yet still gentlemen, of course...) and there's always the gruff mechanic who can fix just about anything, possessing the almost mystical ability to cobble together whatever equipment he has by using bailing wire, if need be. Oh, and there has to be some sort of intrigue: maybe a foreign agent or two, trying to persuade the locals that getting rid of those pesky colonialists would be a good idea, and, just to prove he's on their side, the secret agent might even arrange some help for the locals as kind of a "good will" gesture (even though we all know the gesture is really just a ruse designed to help protect his investment...) And, when all the fighting is done and the smoke has cleared, there are our heroes; battered for sure, but alive and well none-the-less.

History is replete with true tales of undaunted courage in the face of adversity. Lots of real battles have occurred that actually have bits and pieces of the plot line mentioned above, but few can say they boast all of that and more. But in telling the story for the Battle of Habbaniyah however, there's one little twist:

It really happened...

With epic tank battles raging in the North African deserts between Rommel's dreaded "Afrika Korps" and Montgomery's 7th armored, (the famed "Desert Rats") and American involvement in World War II vis-à-vis Pearl Harbor still a full eight months away, RAF Habbaniyah was hardly the focus of anyone's attention. It was, for all intents and purposes, a sleepy little out of the way airbase on the fringes of civilization, just perfect for training new pilots for the RAF, without running the danger of them being shot down by a roving Messerschmitt or two. Additionally, dependents could enjoy the relative calm and tranquility of the desert without worrying about the nightly bombing most Britons had to contend with. At RAF Habbaniyah, it was almost as though time had stopped in 1938, and World War II was only a bad dream...

As such, RAF Habbaniyah was hardly prepared to mount any kind of combat operations, much less fight for its life. To be sure, the 80-some-odd aircraft that the No. 4 Service Flying Training School (SFTS) possessed were almost all obsolete (save for the 1 Blenheim Bomber and 9 dated but still effective Gloster Gladiator Fighters), but then it really didn't matter as the "real" aircraft were desperately needed elsewhere, and everybody knew it. The RAF security forces for ground defense were equally unprepared, with an under-strength detachment of antiquated Rolls-Royce armored cars being the only armor available to patrol the nearly eight miles of perimeter fence around the base. Habbaniyah's "1st Company, RAF Armoured Cars" (a.k.a. 1 ACC, or 1st Armoured Car Company), possessed 18 of the World War I vintage vehicles. The base's only anti-aircraft artillery were some old Lewis machine guns, of the kind normally placed in the gunner's defensive positions on aircraft. To make matters worse, the majority of the pilots weren't really pilots at all: they were cadets. Only a small fraction (about 36) of the 2,200 personnel on RAF Habbaniyah were actually pilots – the instructors who comprised the No. 4 Flying School staff. (About the only bright side to all of this being that the No. 4 School instructors were all of "unusually high caliber", despite the fact that none of them had seen combat) So we see, that in almost every respect, RAF Habbaniyah was nowhere near being ready for what was about to unfold. In the end, the Battle of Habbaniyah would not be decided because of the quality of British weaponry or the Brits' superior number of troops; on the contrary, it would be decided entirely by the courage and determination of the pilots, cadets and soldiers of RAF Habbaniyah; if the base were to have any chance to survive at all.

Background

After its defeat in World War I, the Ottoman Empire ceased to exist as such and the majority of the territory once under its control was placed under British mandate and jurisdiction. The country we now know of as modern day Iraq was formed in 1920, drawn along arbitrary lines by the amalgamation of several former Ottoman provinces and colonies, namely the three provinces or "Vilayets" of Mosul, Baghdad and Basra. Although this assisted the British governing authorities with the administration of the country, (the sheer size of the country, coupled with poor communications meant it required a large British presence to keep the peace) it also led to a cantankerous relationship between the Iraqi and British governments, as many of the former Ottoman colonies merely tolerated each other at best, and downright hated each other at worst. Iraq was a difficult, inhospitable land being populated by many different races and with many tribal factions and Sheikhdoms. And, no matter how much they hated each other, they all found a common ground in hating the Brits. So, like it or not, for the better part of the twenties Iraq found itself under a tenuous but workable British mandate. This lasted until Iraq was finally given its own independence by a treaty that was drawn up between the two countries in 1927, with the treaty recognizing Iraq as an independent, sovereign nation later that same year. The new Iraqi government astutely recognized that the maintenance and protection of British communications and supply lines would be in the best interests of both parties, so sites for British troops and aircraft were granted in the south near Basra and to the west of the Euphrates, under the stipulation that these forces "shall not constitute in any manner an occupation, and will in no way prejudice the sovereign rights of Iraq." (Creating, in effect, little sovereign British colonies within Iraq; a situation not entirely unlike the Vatican in Rome) The treaty also stated that Britain must pull all of its military assets out of Baghdad, once the aforementioned bases were established. This treaty, intended to be valid for 25 years, was to come into effect after Iraq joined the League of Nations. Iraq would eventually be admitted to the League of Nations on October 3rd, 1932, becoming the first of the former Ottoman colonies to do so. Further modifications to this treaty in 1930 stated that Iraq would maintain internal order and defend itself against foreign aggression, supported by Britain, if need be. In addition, Iraq guaranteed assistance to Britain in the event of a war and allowed the safe passage of troops through the country. (This was simply in compliance with a treaty provision which stated that in the event of an imminent threat of war, the two parties would take a "common defense position") It was also decided that the two RAF bases agreed upon were to be established at Shaibah, near the southern port city of Basra, with the other being located at Habbaniyah, along the main Baghdad-Haifa highway.

The Habbaniyah site was chosen because there was a ready supply of water from the Euphrates, a large flat area for the airfield and a nearby lake for flying boats and recreation. (The lake would later become an important stop-over for British flying boats traveling to India; as the only other feasible route was around the Cape of South Africa, this practice would continue into the mid-fifties) Official RAF reports from the period also indicate that it was considered an ideal defensive position, despite the fact that the proposed site was situated on low ground, next to the Euphrates River (i.e. a possible flood plain), positioned less than 60 miles from a potentially hostile Baghdad, and over watched 1,000 yards to the south by a commanding, 150-foot-high plateau. Regardless of the realities, the contract was soon let, and construction on the new base began in earnest in 1934, with the main contractor being a Mr. Humphrey of Knightsbridge. The small army of workers needed to build such a sprawling base was housed in temporary quarters that were built on the south-east side of the main base, near what is known as present day "Civil-Coolie Camp". The worker's camp was to become a permanent fixture outside of Habbaniyah and it soon acquired the nickname of "Humphreya", obviously due in homage of their bosses' name. (Interestingly enough, it would still be known as Humphreya well into the late fifties, some 20 plus years later; maps dated as late as 1959 still show the gate leading to the housing area as the "Humphreya Gate")

As for Habbaniyah itself, for the first three or so years of its existence, the base was called "RAF Dhibban", following the normal RAF practice of naming bases for the nearest large city or town (RAF Mildenhall, RAF Lakenheath, etc.) Unfortunately, this name was obviously chosen hastily, as it was later found out that the village closest to the new base, Sinn Adh Dhibban, was so named because of the flies that the locals had to contend with for most of the year. The bases' close proximity to Habbaniyah Lake (about 4 km to the south) and the numerous Oleander trees which had been planted along the roadsides on base, naturally led to the more appropriate (and tasteful) name: RAF Habbaniyah. (Habbaniyah, being a word when roughly translated from the Arabic meaning "of the Oleander") Naming blunders aside, construction proceeded along, with the base being fully open in March 1937. The title "RAF Habbaniyah" became official in May, 1938. The first operational use of the airfield however, wasn't until October, when 30 Squadron, RAF, officially moved in. In accordance with the terms of the treaty of 1927, all the various units at Hinaidi, outside of Baghdad, transferred to Habbaniyah and the newly named RAF Habbaniyah officially opened in October, 1938.

RAF Habbaniyah soon became a favorite posting among the pilots and aircrews of the RAF, with the peace and tranquility of the desert making for a rewarding experience for dependents. The excellent, year-round flying weather meant it would be a perfect home for the No 4 SFTS, and the Communications Flight, or "Comms Flight" as it became known, whose job it was to perform liaison and re-supply missions along Iraq's oil pipelines, thus maintaining Britain's interests in the region. The servicemen and dependants stationed at RAF Habbaniyah (or "Habbites" as they called themselves) enjoyed this quiet, almost idyllic, life for several years. The base provided numerous leisure opportunities and on lazy, sunny afternoons the residents could take advantage of any number of first class recreations, including: a golf course, a polo "pitch" (both of which would be of great importance later on...), stables and riding trails, beautiful lush botanical gardens (complete with reflecting pools), and even boasted a full-sized Olympic swimming pool. There was also a unique indoor/outdoor cinema "The Astra", and numerous clubs to occupy the time. Of course, the base also had an active church community, and four beautiful chapels were built. The exotic land outside of the bases' perimeter held even more adventure, with Baghdad less than an hour or so away by car. All of this was soon to change, however, as war clouds and rumblings were on the horizon, even as construction was finishing on Habbaniyah.

Nazi Germany began its horrific rampage through Europe in August, 1939. A valiant Poland fell in less than 3 weeks; France in 39 days the following spring. A stark reality soon set in: Britain stood alone against the German juggernaut.

To be continued in next month's newsletter...