Iraqi Revolt
| Iraqi Revolt of 1920 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
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Iraqi rebels
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Sir Arnold Wilson Clive Kirkpatrick Daly Gerard Leachman † Agha Petros Malik Khoshaba |
Shaalan Abu al-Jun Muhsin Abu-Tabikh Ja'far Abu al-Timman Shaalan Abu al-Jun Muhammad Hasan Abi al-Mahasin Mirza Taqi al-Shirazi Mirza Mahdi al-Shirazi Mehdi Al-Khalissi Mahmud Barzanji Dhari ibn Mahmud Habib al-Khaizaran Omar al-Alwan Other heads of iraqi tribesmen | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
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60,200 (26,000 noncombatants)–120,000 (later reinforced with an additional 15,414 men) 63 aircraft | 131,000 | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
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500–1,000 killed 1,100–1,800 wounded 11 aircraft destroyed 600 missing |
2,050–10,000 killed 4,800–6,150 wounded | ||||||||
The Iraqi Revolt of 1920, also known as the Iraqi War of Independence or Great Iraqi Revolution began in Baghdad in the summer of 1920 with mass demonstrations by Iraqis, including protests by embittered officers from the old Ottoman Army, against the British who published the new land ownership and the burial taxes at Najaf. The revolt gained momentum when it spread to the middle and lower Euphrates.
Sunni and Shia religious communities cooperated during the revolution as well as tribal communities, the urban masses, and many Iraqi officers in Syria. The objectives of the revolution were independence from British rule and the creation of an Arab government. The revolt achieved some initial success, but by the end of October 1920, the uprising was suppressed by the British, although elements of it dragged on until 1922.