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War breaks out and Iran finds itself in the crosshairs of the superpowers. They had pledged to be neutral, but that didn't mean anything. With the fate of the nation and the world at stake, Iran has to face down enemies far above their weight class and two of the most powerful nations on the planet try to impose their will on the newly modernized nation. Like most international politics, the background is multi-layered and complex. To simplify, during World War I, large portions of the Middle Eastern nation of Persia was occupied by the Ottoman Empire, Britain, Russia, and had significant German influence even though it was a neutral nation. After the war, a coup led by nationalist Reza Khan
overthrew the government and established himself as Minister of War, then Prime Minister, and eventually as Shah of Persia, changing his name to Reza Pahlavi. In 1935, the nation also changed its name from Persia to Iran, which it has kept to the present day. These are the basics of a vastly more complex series of events. Anyway, thanks to their previous occupation of the country, the Iranians were understandably less than thrilled with the British and the Russians, now the Soviet Union, and favored ties with Germany, who was a major trade partner. Iran was also undergoing major economic, technological, and military reforms and German experts were invited to help with the process. Between 600 and 1,000 Germans lived in Iran, mostly working in
communications and transport sectors, including technicians from the Junkers Aircraft Company. When the war broke out, Iran was neutral, but this didn't mean it was ignored. The British still held a significant stake in Iran, including the Abadan oil refinery, which provided them with about 8 million tons of oil a year. Now, wartime economies were not exactly thriving. Man, to be honest, for a lot of people today, it doesn't feel all that different. Prices go up, gas gets expensive, and the basics start costing more than they should. This isn't going to make you rich, and it's definitely not solving any global oil shortages, but today's sponsor, FreeCash, might help cover things, like some gas. FreeCash is a
website where you can earn a little extra money in your spare time by doing simple things, like playing games, completing surveys, testing apps. It's free to join. There's no minimum cash out, and companies basically pay for feedback. You just get a cut for your time. You can cash out through PayPal, crypto, or gift cards for places like Amazon and Apple, so it's pretty flexible. The platform has paid out millions to users and is rated highly on Trustpilot, so people are actually getting paid. So, if you want something that can help take the edge off rising costs, check out FreeCash using the link in the description. Now, back to it. Then, Germany kicked off Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet
Union in 1941. The Soviets were now British allies in the war, and Iran found itself in a very precarious position. It was feared that Germany would strike towards the oil-rich Caucasus, and then the Germans would not stop at the Iranian border. A German-controlled Iran would deprive the British of Iranian oil and threaten the vital trade route between British controlled Egypt and India, as well as trade routes to the Soviet Union. Both powers saw the strategic need to occupy Iran, but needed a better pretext. They placed diplomatic pressure on Reza Pahlavi to expel German nationals and to allow their use of a vital railroad.
Pahlavi refused, and the joint British and Soviet invasion of Iran was inevitable. On paper, Iran was massively outclassed by two of the most powerful nations in the world. In the Iranian corner, there were nine army divisions supported by a burgeoning armored force which included 50 Czech TNH light tanks, 50 tankettes armed with a pair of machine guns each, and possibly up to 100 armored cars with mounted 37 mm guns. They also had at least 175 mm and 100 mm howitzers, as well as many mortars and lighter artillery, though this is difficult to confirm with any certainty. The air force was less impressive, made up of mostly outdated aircraft, and only around 40 were in flying condition. There are some reports
that Iran had at least 10 P-40 Tomahawks purchased from the United States, but this is difficult to confirm and didn't play any role in the fighting, even if they did exist, since they were allegedly still in their shipping crates. Their navy was centered around two Italian-built sloops of 950 tons each. These were small ships, similar to destroyers, but not as fast or nimble, and designed for coastal patrol, anti-aircraft, and anti-submarine warfare. They also had 10 or so smaller patrol boats, more of a coast guard than a real navy. In the other corner were the British, who sent the 8th and 10th Indian infantry divisions supported by an armored force centered around light
tanks. Air power was provided by a squadron each of Hurricane fighters, Blenheim bombers, and Vickers Vincent biplane scout bombers, as well as six Vickers Valencia transports. There was also a naval force consisting of several sloops and at least one merchant cruiser. The Soviets left anything resembling subtle behind and sent the 44th, 47th, and 53rd armies, several hundred tanks, though most of these were outdated T-26 light tanks, and over 400 fighter planes. This was more than enough to totally overwhelm Iran's military by weight of numbers. On August 25th, 1941, the invasion of Iran, dubbed Operation Contenance by the British, kicked off. The overall plan was a pincer movement, the British invading from the south through bases in Iraq,
while the Soviets struck from the north through the Caucasus and Central Asia. Iran knew that it had little chance against such overwhelming odds and called out to the United States to help them preserve their status as a neutral nation. President Roosevelt's response was disappointing, to say the least. In so many words, he stated that the threat posed by Nazi Germany meant that any measure to stop them was acceptable. He phrased it more eloquently than that, but no matter the wording, Iran was on its own. The opening of the invasion was carried out at dawn on the 25th. The HMS Shoreham turned the Pallang into a coral reef with the first salvo. An amphibious landing of the Indian 8th Division soon
secured the vital oil refineries at Abadan, and at the same time, the port of Bandar Shahpur was captured by an Australian merchant cruiser. The Iranian sloop Babur was sunk by the Australian sloop Yaora. Blenheim bombers of the RAF bombed several airfields, neutralizing much of Iran's air force. Some fighters did become airborne, but these weren't a threat so much as targets for the escorting Hurricane fighters. The land invasion kicks off when the Indian 8th Division leaves their base in Basra, Iraq, and surges into Iranian territory. While the 10th pushes in from the border town of Khanaqin, they made some initial success, but Iranians were hitting far above their weight class, and both
attacks met stubborn resistance by August 27th. These were temporary setbacks, however, and by the next day, they managed to land some serious blows to the Iranian forces, capturing Shahabad and the regional capital of Khorramshahr. To the north, the Caspian Sea coastal town of Astara was captured by the Soviet 44th Army and elements of the Red Navy. They were stopped temporarily at the city of Rasht and the port of Bandar Palavi. Then Soviet bombers took to the skies and began bombardment of the city which surrendered by August 28th. The 53rd Army struck out towards the city of Mashhad capturing the airport. The Iranian 15th Division fought back as best they could but it was shattered and Red Army soldiers captured the city. The outdated Soviet T-26 tanks were
generally inferior to the German Panzers but in Iran they faced no significant resistance at all. The few dozen biplanes the Iranians managed to get airborne were overwhelmed by the hundreds of Soviet fighters. With no other choice the Shah asked for a ceasefire when British and Soviet forces managed to link up on August 30th and 31st effectively ending the conflict. In total the British lost 22 KIA and 42 wounded. The Soviets around 40 dead. Iranian losses were around 800 soldiers and civilians killed though the exact numbers are unknown. In spite of their efforts Iran was overwhelmed. They lacked the necessary commanding communication equipment to coordinate their defenses, were caught off guard
and were also massively outnumbered. This breakdown in leadership even saw some generals fleeing the field and leaving their men on their own. The Anglo-Soviet invasion lasted six days in total. On September 16th Reza Shah abdicated in favor of his son Mohammad Reza Pahlavi who was much more cooperative to the allies. He would spend the rest of his life in exile in South Africa. With the allies now firmly in control of Iran they demanded that they cut off all ties with Germany and other Axis powers. In January 1942 Britain, the Soviet Union, and Iran signed the Tripartite Treaty of Alliance. The treaty guaranteed Iranian sovereignty and most importantly, it also stated that the allies would leave
Iran after the war. In September 1943, Iran declared war on Germany and a few months later was the site of a meeting between Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin and Franklin Roosevelt where they discussed plans for the war and a post-war world. During the war, Iran was a vital link that allowed millions of tons of lend-lease supplies to reach the Soviet Union from the United States. This came at a cost with resources and manpower diverted to the Trans-Iranian Railway, there weren't enough devoted to farming and this led to inflation, food shortages and a famine in the country. When the war was over, Britain lived up
to their treaty obligations and they, along with American troops, withdrew in early 1946. The Soviets, however, needed a little extra motivation. They had been secretly funding at least two separatist movements in Azerbaijan and Kurdistan in Iran's northern territory, but that's a story for another day. Finally, in May 1946, the Soviets left. One of the first episodes of the Cold War.
