Siege of Najaf (1918)

Siege of Najaf (1918)
Part of the Mesopotamian Campaign of World War I and the prelude of the 1920 Iraqi Revolt[note 1]
Aerial view of Najaf, 1918
Date 23 March – 4 May 1918 (1 month, 1 week and 4 days) Location Najaf 32°00′N 44°20′E / 32°N 44.33°E / 32; 44.33 Result British victory
Belligerents
British Empire Pro-British sheikhs: Saiyid Mahdi al Saivid Salman	Jam'iya al-Nahda al-Islamiya Anti-British sheikhs Haji ‘Atiyah Abu Qulal Kadhim Subhi Haji Sa‘ad ibn Haji Radhi
Commanders and leaders
Francis Balfour William M. Marshall  †	Najm al-Baqqal   ... and others
Strength
1 brigade[2]	~30,000 citizens[2]
class=notpageimage| Location within Iraq

The siege of Najaf was an engagement between the British Army and Iraqi rebels in the city of Najaf during the First World War. The city had fallen under the control of four sheikhs in 1915 after an anti-Ottoman uprising, and was put under British control in 1917. In 1918, as it became clear that the British were aiming to occupy rather than liberate Iraq, an anti-British movement named Jam'iya al-Nahda al-Islamiya was formed in Najaf to oppose British rule. The uprising began on 19 March when a British officer, William M. Marshall was murdered in the citadel of Najaf. The British subsequently laid siege to the city on 23 March, cutting all supply routes to the city before it ultimately surrendered on 4 May 1918. Rebel leaders were sentenced to death on 25 May. The siege is often seen as a precursor to the 1920 Iraqi Revolt. The extent of the rebellion's impact on the development of Iraqi nationalism is disputed.

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