Note on sources and methods
Maps. "To extinguish peace from the Earth": where the Middle East and the world stood in spring 1941
"Snares around you. And sudden dread": the crisis begins in Iraq: Linchpin
"When they ride in the ships, they call upon God": the Indian Army comes to Iraq
"Hemmed in by the desert": the siege of Habbaniya
"Summon the people from all over Israel": where they were when they were called to Iraq: Jack Bartlett, David Smiley, Harry Chalk, and the Arab Legion
"He guides whom he pleases": how Freya Stark came to Iraq
"Lift up a banner against the walls of Babylon!": Cleveland buses and the Luftwaffe invade Iraq
"Set thy face against is, and besiege it": the Battle of Fallujah
"That my wonders may be multiplied": the Battle for Baghdad
"Go abroad in the land": how they came to Syria-Lebanon: Jack Hasey and Roald Dahl
"He who practices deceit": Henri Dentz and Rudolf Rahn on the eve of the war for Syria-Lebanon
"There is no blame on the blind man": the invasion of a global army begins
"These curses shall come upon you and overtake you": the allies at the edge of defeat
"They too suffer as you suffer": reinforcements: the Indian Army and the cavalry drive on Syria
"The beginning and the end"