BLOOD, OIL AND THE AXIS: The Allied Resistance Against a Fascist State in Iraq and the Levant, 1941

1-222490

Spring 1941 was a high point for the Axis war machine. Western Europe was conquered; southeastern Europe was falling, Great Britain on its heels; and Rommel's Afrika Korps was freshly arrived to drive on the all-important Suez Canal.

Tells the story of Iraq and the Levant during this most pivotal time of the war. The browbeaten Allied forces had one last remaining hope for turning the war in their favor: the Axis running through its fuel supply. But when the Golden Square -- four Iraqi generals allegiant to the Axis cause -- staged a coup in Iraq, elevating a pro-German junta and prompting military cooperation between Vichy French-occupied Syria and Lebanon and the Axis, disaster loomed.