the 4th Division was in Al Diwaniyah, on the main rail line from Baghdad to Basra. Also based within Baghdad was the Independent Mechanized Brigade composed of: Light Tank Company (Fiat L3/35 tankettes); Armoured car company (14 Vickers Crossley); Two battalions of "mechanized" infantry; One "mechanized" machine-gun company; One "mechanized" artillery brigade. All these "mechanized" infantry units were transported by trucks. The authorized manpower of the Iraqi Infantry Brigades at full strength were of 26 officers and 820 other ranks, 46 Bren light machine guns; 8 Vickers heavy machine guns (in two platoons of 4 MGs each) and 4 anti-air Lewis guns. Hostilities between the British and the Iraqis lasted from 2 May to 30 May 1941. The German government despatched an aviation unit, Fliegerführer Irak, and Italy send limited assistance, but both were too late and far from adequate. Britain pulled together a small force from its armies in the Levant, which handily defeated the much larger but thoroughly incompetent Iraqi army and air force, marched on Baghdad and ousted the military commanders (that were sentenced to death by hanging) and their prime minister, Rashid Ali al-Gaylani. In their place the British re-installed Nuri al-Said, which dominated the politics of Iraq until the overthrow of the monarchy and his assassination in 1958. Nuri al-Said pursued a largely pro-western policy during this period. The army was not disbanded, however. Instead, it was maintained to hinder possible German offensive actions via the southern parts of the Soviet Union. 1948 Arab–Israeli War The 1948 Arab–Israeli War was the first combat experience of independent Iraqi forces after the Second World War, and its first war outside its territory. Baghdad joined the Arab states in their opposition to the creation of the Jewish national homeland in Palestine, and in May 1948 sent a sizeable force to help crush the recently independent state of Israel. The Iraqi Army by then boasted 21,000 men in 12 brigades, with the Royal Iraqi Air Force having a force of 100 aircraft (mostly British); sending initially 5,000 men in four infantry brigades and an armoured battalion with corresponding support personnel. Iraq continuously sent reinforcements to its expeditionary force, peaking at 15–18,000 men. Iraq also contributed 2,500 volunteers to the Arab Liberation Army (ALA), an irregular force commanded by the former Ottoman officer Fawzi al-Qawuqji. Before the Arab League resolution to attack Israel, the ALA was used to fight the