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Description

For official use only To accompany Military Report

This is a simple and attractive military map of Iraq dating to the mid-twentieth century. The map is detailed, showing roads, cities, rivers, pipelines, cables, and more. Detail extends slightly into neighboring regions including Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Turkey, and Iran.

Based on style and spellings, the map was almost certainly produced by the British military. Britain had long-standing interests in the region, having initially abandoned its bases in the country but invading when a pro-axis government took power. In the 1950s, Britain would join the Baghdad Pact in which it sought to solve Iraq's problems with modernization, but endemic corruption stifled any progress. Dating can be ascribed with the ill-defined nature of independent Kuwait.

The map was first issued in 1935, as Britain was in control of the region. It was reissued in 1940 on the eve of the Anglo-Iraqi War. We cannot be sure of which edition this map is.

The map shows oil being piped out of Kirkuk to Mediterranean ports in the west. It also shows the Iraqi-Saudi and Kuwaiti-Saudi Neutral Zones.