Wednesday, January 29, 2014

This Day in WWII History: Jan 29, 1942: Iran signs Treaty of Alliance with Great Britain and USSR

 Somewhere in the Persian corridor. A United States Army truck convoy carrying supplies for Russia making a rest stop in the desert.

On this day, Britain and the USSR secure an agreement with Iran that offers the Iran protection while creating a "Persian corridor" for the Allies—a supply route from the West to Russia.

 Somewhere in the Persian corridor. A United States Army truck convoy carrying supplies for the aid of Russia. A truck near the top of the snow-covered mountain making the difficult climb. An Iranian native is leading his livestock on the road.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/PersianGulfCommand.jpg

 Somewhere in the Persian corridor. A United States Army truck convoy carrying supplies for Russia

Early in the war, Iran collaborated with Germany by exporting grain to the Axis power in exchange for technicians. But the Allies viewed Iran as a valuable source of oil and conveniently situated as a route for shipping Western war material east to the USSR.

File:Soviet tankmen of the 6th Armoured Division drive through the streets of Tabriz (2).jpg

 https://thehistorynerd.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/convoy_persia_ww2_800.jpg

Somewhere in the Persian corridor. A United States Army truck convoy carrying supplies for Russia, moving by a disabled truck. This truck will be repaired by a crew of mechanics riding at the end of the convoy.

On August 25, 1941, both Allied powers invaded Iran (which Prime Minister Winston Churchill preferred to call "Persia," so there would be no confusion between "Iran" and "Iraq"), the Soviets from the north and the Brits from the south. In four days, the Allies effectively controlled Iran.

Somewhere in the Persian corridor. A United States Army truck convoy carrying supplies for Russia. Ready to start.

Somewhere in the Persian corridor. A United States Army truck convoy carrying supplies for the aid of Russia. Part of the convoy pulling up a mountain road. The convoy leader in a jeep at the left.

 Somewhere in the Persian corridor. A United States Army truck convoy carrying supplies for Russia moving on a desert road.

On September 16, the ruling shah abdicated, and his 23-year-old son, Muhammad, assumed power and pushed through the Iranian parliament the Treaty of Alliance, which allowed the Allies freedom to move supplies through the country and gave them whatever else they needed from Iran to win the war. The new shah also vowed "not to adopt in his relations with foreign countries an attitude which is inconsistent with the alliance."

File:Soviet and British troops rendezvous in the desert near Quazvin.jpg

File:Rezashah.jpg

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In exchange, Iran was promised wartime protection from Axis invasion—and a guarantee that the Allies would leave Iranian soil within six months of the close of the war.

File:Tehran Conference, 1943.jpg

 Russian officers in black leather coats surrounded by a group of American soldiers, truck drivers at a dumping spot for supplies which the Americans brought through the Persian corridor. This was one of the first all-American convoys to make the trip bringing aid to Russia. Somewhere in Iran.

The alliance started off shakily: the Soviets bought up most of Iran's grain harvest, which caused a bread shortage and riots in the streets. Allied troops put the rebellion down, and the United States shipped in grain to compensate for the losses.

 File:Iranian women watch an Allied supply convoy halted somewhere on the Corridor. 1943.gif
 File:Supply train through the Persian Corridor.jpg

 Somewhere on the Persian corridor. A United States Army truck convoy carrying supplies for the aid of Russia at a fueling point.

 The Soviet Union then attempted to agitate for the overthrow of the shah by supporting the Tudeh (Farsi for "masses") party, which the Soviets believed would be more generous in oil concessions. Tudeh forces did manage temporarily to take over northern Iran in December 1944.

 

 http://iranian.com/Iranica/July97/Donya/Images/Photo.gif

When the war ended, the Allies began leaving Iran as promised—except for the USSR. Complaints were made to the United Nations, and pressure was applied by the United States and Great Britain, as this was a violation of one of the terms of the Treaty of Alliance. The Soviets finally began pulling out of Iran in April 1946, but as they withdrew, they continued to foster more bloody rebellions between the shah's government and the Tudeh; the Tudeh were decisively defeated in December 1946 when the shah declared martial law.

File:British supply convoy in Iran, headed by Soviet BA-10 armored vehicle.jpg

 File:Soviet troops are crossing the border with Iran.jpg

Taken from: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/iran-signs-treaty-of-alliance-with-great-britain-and-ussr [29.01.2014]

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