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CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY
OF THE IRAQ LEVIES
1915- Major J I Eadie, Special service officer in the Muntafiq Division in Mesopotamia, recruited forty mounted Arabs from the tribes round Nasiriyeh, for duty under the Intelligence Department as bodyguard for political officers in southern and central Iraq. The force was named Arab Scouts.
1916- A memorandum of organization and pay was laid down. Another sixty men were recruited by Major Hamilton, the political officer at Nasiriyeh. In June the force was amalgamated, raised to 250 men and renamed the Nasariyeh Mounted Guard.
1917- By July of this year the force was increased to 500 mounted men and 400 dismounted. Uniforms were issued, but did not prove popular with the Arab force.
1918- The force rose to a strength of 5,467 of Arab, Kurd, Turkoman, Marsh Arab and Assyrian Militia.
1919- The Force became known as the Militia. Major C. Boyle became the inspecting officer. The Lee Enfield 303 short magazine was issued as standard rifle. A voluntary system of recruiting was introduced. Orders for the Force were published. July- the name was changed again to Levies and the Force was split. A striking force numbered 3,075 and district Police numbering 1,786. August 8th- Captain Willey, Lieutenant MacDonald and Sergeant Troop in command of the Kurdish Levies were murdered at Amadyia, General Nightingale with two battalions of Assyrian Militia, undertook a retaliatory action against the Kurds at Amadyia. The campaign lasted three weeks, the success of the Assyrians led them being taken as the main part of the Iraq Levies. November- The political officer J.H. Bill and Captain K.R. Scott were attacked and killed by Kurds at Bira Kapra
1920- An Arab rebellion broke out, some Arab Levies deserted under pressure from their countrymen. 300 Levies made a successful night raid at Al Baidah. June- Fifty Arab Levies were attacked at Mahmudiyeh, the force fell back, loosing five killed and eight wounded. July 9th- Captain Priestly Evans and sixty Levies were attacked at Khan Jadwal, captain Priestly and ten levies were killed, they inflicted 100 casualties on the enemy. August- Captain J.T. Bradfield, Sgt Maj Newton and 35 Kurd and Arab Levies were killed at Sharaban. First Arab Levy to be awarded Military Medal for bravery "Yuzbashi Hasoon Ibn Falayfil".
1921- The Cairo conference was held, the future of the force was decided. Orders were issued as follows; "The function of the Iraq Levies is to relieve British and Indian troops in Iraq and Kurdistan. The Iraq Army was to be formed and the Arab Levies were required to join it. Assyrians are to be recruited".
Order of Officer Rank stood as; [Derived from Ancient Assyrian Military Rank]
RAB Khaila; Force Leader
RAB Tremma; Leader of 200
RAB Emma; Leader of 100
RAB Khamshi; Leader of 50
Non- Commissioned
Regimental Sergeant Major
Company Sergeant Major
Staff Sergeant
Sergeant
Corporal
Lance Corporal
April 19th- The recruitment of Assyrian began in Midan. At first this was not successful. The Assyrians wanting the British to keep their promise and return them to their homes. After a great effort by the British, they managed to persuade 250 to join. The first Assyrian officer to be appointed was RAB 50 Yusuf Yokhana, who became Signaling officer of the first Assyrian Battalion. October 22nd- The Force stood as follows; Four Cavalry Regiments, one Pack battery, two Battalions infantry and three machinegun companies. December 26th- An Assyrian officer, RAB 50 Polus Elias was wounded at Batas after a river crossing to attack Turkish positions. Captain Carvosso and Lieutenant Burridge were killed.
1922- July- Orders were issued; No more Arabs were to be enlisted, they were required to join the new Iraq Army, those serving were not re-engaged, Military clauses from the treaty of 1922 between Britain and Iraq allowed for the existence of the Levies in the reference to “ local forces of the imperial garrison” and the ordinances which were promulgated to implement this treaty automatically covered the Levy force by preference to “ members of the British Forces who are inhabitants of Iraq”.- Lewis Guns were issued.- After the successful campaign at Batas, 1,500 more Assyrians were enlisted as additional infantry battalions, the recruitment officer's were Lt Col Barke, David D' Mar Shimon and RAB 100 Danniel Ismail. Fifty men from the Assyrian companies at Zakho were selected to form a Pack Battery under Captain Devenish. A further party of one Assyrian officer and 50 other ranks was to be trained as Machinegun teams under Lt Simpson, a Squadron was formed under RAB 100 Shain Gewergis. June 18th- Captain Bond and Capt Makant were shot in the back by Kurds at Mortaka. Col Minet with the first Assyrian cavalry, The Sulaimani Cavalry, a company of the 15th Sikhs and the Assyrian machinegun company took action against the Kurds. The Sulaimani commander deserted to the enemy. The operation was successful. The Levies lost 13 Killed and 19 wounded. The Assyrian Machinegun company did extraordinary well and was thanked at the end of the operation by the General officer commanding. October- The RAF took over command from the Army and Col H.T. Dobbin took over command of the Levies –
The Force stood at Cavalry 1,410-Infantry 3248-Pack Battery and Depot 383.
1923- The Levies now consisted of half Assyrians and half Kurd, a battalion of Marsh Arabs and a few Turkomans. Kurdish sheikh Mahmud, declares himself King of Kurdistan, with Turkish support and troops he occupies Rowandoz. March- Operations against Rowandus began. The new Iraq Army took over command of Sakho from the 2nd Assyrian Cavalry Regiment. The 1st Marsh Arab Battalion moved from Nasiriyeh to Baghdad. April- The 2nd and 3rd Assyrian Cavalry Regiments were amalgamated and became the 2nd Cavalry Regiment.
May- Levy Pay office moved from Baghdad to Mosul. July- started the enlistment of Yizidis, It was proposed to form a Yezidi Squadron it’s officers were to be either Assyrian or Yizidi, this scheme did not work, as the Yizidis proved too difficult to train, they were enlisted in the 4th transport Battalion, but this also did not work and were all discharged. The Chaldeans were also discharged; reason given, "they did not make good soldiers". Shiekh Mahmud begins a second rebellion and occupies Sulaimani.
August- Mosul- Two Assyrian children were killed by Arabs. No one was brought to justice.
1924- May- An Assyrian Levie from the 2nd battalion was wounded in the Bazar in Kirkuk. A riot broke out; as a result five Assyrian Levies were killed. They in turn killed fifty armed Arabs. The Assyrians were evacuated from Kirkuk. Nine Levies were found guilty of murder and put into Baghdad Jail. They served less than a year in Jail. July- operations to re-occupy Sulaimani commenced. The 2nd Assyrian battalion, Armored car company and a detachment from the Iraq Army reoccupied Sulaimani, Shiekh Mahmood retired to Barzinjah. September- A Turkish force crossed the Hazil River and was threatening the village of Zakho. A combined force of Levies and Irregular Assyrian Militia under the command of Col Barke delt with the situation. For this operation RAB 100 Shain Gewergis and RAB 50 Zia Giwargis were decorated. During this year three officers died of disease, Captain McWhinnie, Capt Hammond, H.E. Bois and Sergeant Dawson.
1925- Shiekh Mahmoud continues attacks on British and Iraqi troops. 200 Assyrian Irregulars were raised and armed to support the Levies. After several operations, this force was cut down to 69 men under RAB 50 Maxut Niko and RAB 50 Raoul Youkhana, it was officially named the 69th Light Horse. Captain Coffey was killed on a recon patrol at Sitak. June 25th- RAB 50 Shlimon Sliwo attacked a Kurdish strong hold with a bayonet charge killing five men.
1926- March- RAB 50 Zia Nannoo, with fifteen men held off a Kurdish attack at Faqra Pass, while RAB 50 Gewergis Shabo counter-attacked. The Kurds scattered leaving twelve rifles behind. June, Lt Curtis and RAB 50 Barkho Hormis were mentioned in dispatches after a counter attack on Shiekh Mahmoods Kurds at Kangi Manga, and Pte Khaninia Yakub was awarded for gallantry in action.
1927- The cutting down of the force began. The First Marsh Arab battalion was transferred to the Iraqi Army and became its 7th battalion. The Assyrian Pack Battery was disbanded and its personnel joined the 4th Assyrian battalion. The 1st and 2nd Kurd regiments were disbanded. The operations against Shiekh Mahmood came to an end he made terms with the Government. In the final battle, the following were mentioned in dispatches; RAB 50 Eshu Saper, CQMS Baito Mako and Cpl Barkho Bobo. The force now consisted of a Medical branch, three infantry battalions and a machinegun company, all of whom were Assyrian, with the exception of transport.
1928- Jan 9th Lt Haerick was killed in an airplane crash at Baghdad. The 4th Assyrian battalion was disbanded. The force was reduced to two battalions the first and second Assyrian battalions and two machinegun sections also Assyrian. The practice of allowing soldiers to retain their rifles on discharge ceased.
July- The Levies passed from the control of the colonial office to the Air Ministry and its Headquarters was transferred to Hinadi.
1929- Lt M.H. Wallace died of Malaria in August. The Anglo-Iraqi treaty was drawn up; as a result, the force was to be reduced to 1,250 by April 1933.
1930- September- Occurred election riots in Sulaimani. Following this, Shiekh Mahmoud suddenly reappeared from Persia and attacked Penjvin, the Levies were in defense and the attack failed.
1932- June; The Assyrians alarmed by the imminent withdrawal of British control on Iraq, decide upon the concentration of all Assyrians in the Amadia area. All Assyrian officers [less one] jointly presented a manifesto to the commanding officer, requesting their discharge within thirty days; the other ranks followed the lead of their officers. The British feared if this were allowed to happen they would loose all authority in Iraq and it would cause the Anglo-Iraq treaty to break down, having a large concentration of trained soldiers in one area was a concern not only to the British but also to the Iraqi’s, to buy time, they decided to allow discharge over a four month period, A British battalion was flown in from Egypt when discharges commenced at the end of June, but after negotiations between the High Commissioner and the Mar Shimon, the movement collapsed and by 12th of July all returned to normal, there was no disorder, in all 8 officers and 288 other ranks were discharged, British troops were withdrawn on the 16th July.
1933- Agust 7th- A massacre of three thousand unarmed Assyrian men, women and children by Iraqi troops occurred at the village of Semele, and Northern Iraq. No one was held responsible for the massacre and no one brought to justice, On the 28th November 1933, in the House of Lords, His Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury said: “I have seen accounts of those who were present. I have heard that it was more shocking than anything that was seen during the war. And I have read a letter from an independent and trustworthy person in Iraq, by no means friendly to the Assyrians, who said that such an exhibition of savage fanaticism has probably seldom been seen. There is no question that it was done by the Iraqi army….and shortly afterwards the commander of the Army Sidqy Beg was promoted to Pasha."
In August occurred a serious clash between the Assyrian civilians and the Iraqi Army. For security, a large number of Assyrians decided to flee Iraq and find safety in Syria, under French control at the time, some settled, others returned to collect their families, on return a battle took place, and there were considerable casualties on both sides. - The Transport and machinegun companies ceased to exist as separate units, both being divided between the two Assyrian battalions. Kirkuk was occupied by a platoon from the 2nd battalion to guard the Wireless and other RAF stores. The Force stood at; Levy Headquarters, Headquarters Wing, 4 Assyrian Companies at Hinaidi, one Assyrian company at Mosul, Two Arab recruit companies at Basra, one Kurdish recruit company at Hinaidi.
1934- During this year, the League of Nations made various attempts to remove the Assyrians from their ancient homeland and re-settle them elsewhere.
1935- The French government after securing a deal on Iraqi Oil, agreed to a suggestion made by the League to settle some Assyrians in Syria. As a first step, 3,000 were transferred to the settlement in the Khabour area and to assist this movement, one Assyrian company was disbanded and an additional Arab company recruited in Basra.
1936- Two Assyrian companies were disbanded owing to migration, but later in the year were reformed with new Assyrian recruits. The Levies duties continued as escorts and guards.
1937- Habbaniya was occupied and used as an RAF base.
1938- The force strength in this year stood at; H.Q, Hospital, four Assyrian companies, two Arab companies, one Kurdish company.
10/12/38 Bristol Blenheim Mk I. serving with 30 Squadron at Habbaniya, coded P (80 flying hours) and crashed 60 miles south-west of Habbaniya, Iraq in bad weather killing S/L P.Kinsey (Command Signals Officer), Capt. J.B.Harvey (Argyle & Sutherland Highlanders attached to the Iraq Levies), Sgt. V.Garside (Pilot) and AC1s F.Gamble, L.Cooper and R.Carpenter. The aircraft was not found for 10 days. The crash was presumed to be due to iced-up carburettors. The passengers and crew were buried in Habbaniya War Cemetery, Iraq.
1939- One Arab company was disbanded and replaced by Assyrians. The force strength was increased by another 270 Assyrian recruits.
1940-1941- The Iraqi forces joined the Axis powers. The battle for Habbaniya took place. the force was increased by another 11,000 recruits, mostly Assyrian, but also Kurd and Yezidi.
1942- The force consisted of; H.Q, Depot, Specialist Assyrian companies, 40 service companies and a new parachute company, which consisted of 75% Assyrian and 25% Kurd. A disciplinary code was drawn up based largely on the Indian Army act. A ruling was also received from the embassy that under the existing treaty arrangements and Ordinances, it was lawful for all members of the British Forces to be subject to British, Indian or other Military Law.
1942 April 8th - A number 17 Assyrian company truck overturns at Quayara, North Iraq, No 2637 Pte Gewergis Yousiph was Killed and the driver No 1288 Yousip Youkhana received serious internal injuries and was hospitalised in Mosul.
1943- Force strength stood at; 166 British officers, 22 Assyrian companies, 5 Assyrian/Yizidi companies, 10 Kurdish companies, 4 Gulf Arab companies and 3 Baluchi companies. In addition, 11 Assyrian companies were serving in Palestine and 4 in Cyprus. The Parachute Company was embodied in the Royal Marine Commando and later were used in operations in Albania and Greece. 400 Assyrian joined from Syria, they were used in the specialist’s communication companies. Ex-officer Malik Yacou Ismail also joined as a RAB 200. The name of the force was changed to Royal Air Force Levies.
1944- After the invasion of Normandy, consideration was given to the post war strength of the Levies. Proposals were put forward cutting down the establishment to allow only for necessary numbers to protect RAF instillations in Iraq and Persia. November- an Assyrian mobile battalion was formed out of the existing companies and stationed at Habbaniya as a striking force, the parachute company being absorbed in this battalion.
1945- It was decided by Air ministry that post war strength should consist of 60 British officers and 1,900 other ranks. It was also decided that the RAF Regiment should take over command of the Levies and Army personnel would gradually be replaced by RAF personnel. Disbandment of companies started to meet the new establishment.
Order of battle
1/August 1945
1st Battalion
Record Office Habbaniya--15th Assyrian company less one platoon -Habbaniya--39th Kurdish company less one platoon -Habbaniya--27th Kurdish company -Majara--41st Kurdish coy -Karind--33rd Yizidi coy -Karind--1 platoon 39th Kurdish coy -Karind--3rd Assyrian coy -Baghdad West--1 platoon 15th Assyrian coy - H.3--34th signal coy -Habbaniya--35th Motor--Transport coy -Habbaniya--37th H.Q. coy Habbaniya--Training coy -Habbaniya--Paratroop reinforcement platoon -Habbaniya.
2nd Battalion
A company -Habbaniya/B company -Habbaniya/C company -Habbaniya/D company -Habbaniya/HQ Company -Habbaniya/Paratroop coy -Karind/2nd Assyrian coy less one platoon -Mosul/2nd Assyrian coy one platoon -Ser Amadia/17th Assyrian coy -Tehran/49th Assyrian/Yizidi coy less one platoon -Hamadan
3rd Battalion
13th Kurdish coy -Nicosia/44th Kurdish coy less one platoon -Nicosia/44th Kurdish coy one platoon - Lakatamia/40th Kurdish coy -Famagusta/4th Assyrian coy less one platoon -Beirut/4th Assyrian coy one platoon -Aleppo.
4th Battalion
30th Kurdish coy - Ras el Ain/16th Assyrian coy -Ras el Ain/8th Kurdish coy -In transit to Habbaniya
5th Battalion
21st Assyrian coy -Maquil/5th Arab coy -Shaibah/6th Arab coy -Shaibah/24th Arab coy -Shaibah/47th Arab coy -Shaibah/51st Arab coy -Zubair/1st Assyrian coy -Bahrain/29th Assyrian/Yizidi coy -Sharjah/19th Assyrian coy 2 platoons -Sharjah/19th Assyrian coy less two platoons -Jask/29th Assyrian/Yizidi Squadron Sharjah/19th Assyrian squadron two flights -Sharjah/19th Assyrian squadron less two flights -Jask/36th Hospital squadron -Habbaniya.
1946- Further disbandment continued and all Levies were withdrawn from Europe and the Middle East. The Assyrians from Syria were returned with difficulty in dealing with the newly constituted independent Government of Syria over passports and the taking of currency back into Syria; by the end of 1946 170 Assyrian Syrian nationals were still waiting to be repatriated.
October- Names of the units were changed to Wings and Squadrons to conform to the RAF Regiment procedure.
December- Kurdish Squadrons in Cyprus and the Persian gulf were withdrawn.
10/7/46 - Authority was received from A.H.Q. British forces in Iraq, for the payment of Terminal Benefits and war Gratuities to ex-Levy personnel. Generally speaking the terms of the order was as follows:-
The war Gratuity was admissible to personnel enlisted in Iraq at three Tenths of the British rate under the same conditions as laid down for the RAF in AMO. A593/45.
i.e.; per month of War service...Rab Khaila...600 fills - Rab Tremma...525 fills - Rab Emma.....450 fills - Rab Khamshi..375 fills - R.S.M........300 fills - C.S.M........270 fills - Color Sgt...240 fills - Sergeant.....210 fills - Corporal.....180 fills - L/corp/Pte...150 fills. Terminal leave of 56 days was approved for personnel enlisted in Iraq.
1947- 1954- The Levies continued escort and guard duties. Strength stood at; 1200 Assyrians, 400 Kurds, 400 Arabs.
1955- The entire Force was disbanded. Habbaniya was handed back to the Iraqi Government, the British withdrew from Iraq. | 
