into Iraq on 28 May. The RAF shot down a Vichy Martin 167F bomber over the British Mandate of Palestine on 6 June. While German interest in the French mandates of Syria and Lebanon was limited, Adolf Hitler permitted reinforcement of the French troops by allowing French aircraft en route from Algeria to Syria to fly over Axis-controlled territory and refuel at the German-controlled Eleusina air base in Greece. The activity of German aircraft based in Greece and the Dodecanese Italian Islands of the Aegean was interpreted by the British as support for Vichy troops, but although Dentz briefly considered accepting German assistance, he rejected the offer on 13 June. By the end of the Anglo-Iraqi War, all 14 of the original German Messerschmitt Bf 110 aircraft sent to Syria and five Heinkel He 111 and a large number of transport aircraft had been destroyed by the British. Palestine and Iraq The British-led invasion of Syria and Lebanon aimed at preventing Germany from using the Mandatory Syrian Republic and Greater Lebanon, controlled by Vichy France, for attacks on Egypt as the British fought the Western Desert Campaign (1940–1943) against Axis forces in North Africa. In September 1936, the French had ceded autonomy to Syria but it retained rights to maintain some armed forces and two airfields in the territory. The British were concerned about potential attacks by Nazi Germany from Syria and Lebanon, or that the Germans might gain access to airfields there. An additional concern related to the possibility of German troops on the Eastern Front linking up with Vichy forces if Germany defeated the Soviet Union, by advancing south through the Caucasus. Both contingencies were unlikely, but would have exposed Allied forces in Egypt to a northern front at a time when all available resources were needed to halt Axis advances from the west. On 1 April 1941, after a coup d'état, Iraq, on the eastern border of Syria, came under the control of nationalists led by Rashid Ali, who was willing to appeal for German support. The Anglo-Iraqi War (2–31 May 1941) led to the installation of a pro-British government. British forces to the south of Syria in Mandate Palestine were under the command of General Sir Henry Maitland Wilson and consisted of the 7th Australian Division (minus the 18th Brigade, which was in North Africa, besieged at the siege of Tobruk), Gentforce with two Free French