Battle of Jahra

Battle of Jahra
Kuwait Red Fort
Date 10 October 1920 Location Kuwait Red Fort, Al-Jahra, Kuwait Result Kuwaiti victory Al-Jahra Village Successfully Defended Ikhwan retreat from the Red Fort Uqair Protocol of 1922 British involvement in the Kuwait-Najd War
Belligerents
Nejd and Hasa Ikhwan[1]	Kuwait House of Sabah
Commanders and leaders
Faisal al-Dwaish	Salim I (Commander of Defense Security Force Cavalry and Infantry of Al-Kout Fortress) Sheikh Jaber Al-Abdullah II Al-Sabah (General cavalry commander) Sheikh Ali Khalifa Al-Abdullah II Al-Sabah † Sheikh Duaij Salman Al-Sabah † Sheikh Abdullah Jaber Al-Abdullah II Al-Sabah †
Strength
3,000-4,000 men	1,500–4,000 men
Casualties and losses
400-500 killed	300 killed

The Battle of Jahra occurred on 10 October 1920 during the Kuwait–Najd War, pitting Sheikh Salem Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah, the ruler of Kuwait,^[2][3] against the Ikhwan forces led by Faisal al-Duwaish, the sheikh of the Mutayr tribe. The confrontation took place in the village of Al-Jahra, located west of Kuwait City.^[4] The battle resulted in a costly victory for the Ikhwan, who succeeded in capturing Jahra village. Sheikh Salem, along with some of his forces, took refuge in the Red Palace, where they fortified themselves.^[5][6]

The Ikhwan then besieged the fort and offered terms of reconciliation to Sheikh Salem, which he refused. This prompted the Ikhwan to launch an attack on the palace, but they failed to breach its defenses. Despite the successes of the Kuwaiti forces in repelling the attackers, the defenders faced severe difficulties due to a lack of water, making it hard to endure the siege. As the second day of fighting began, their patience was nearly exhausted. However, the arrival of reinforcements by sea to Kuwait City provided much-needed relief.

Faisal Al-Duwaish, in an attempt to gauge the condition of the besieged, sent a Ikhwan jurist to negotiate terms of reconciliation. Sheikh Salem pretended to accept these terms but had no intention of honoring them, focusing instead on ending the siege. He instructed his secretary to draft a letter to Faisal Al-Duwaish, feigning submission to the reconciliation terms, on the condition that the Ikhwan withdraw from the palace and Jahra. As a result, the Ikhwan withdrew to Subaihiya in southern Kuwait on 12 October 1920.^[7]

The Ikhwan, after their initial siege and failed assault on the Red Palace during the Battle of Jahra, attempted to negotiate with Sheikh Salem Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah to finalize the reconciliation process. However, Sheikh Salem declined their terms and instead sought British military assistance. In response, the British deployed military forces to Kuwait and issued a stern warning to the Ikhwan via aerial leaflet drops over their camp in Subaihiya, advising them to halt any further attacks on Kuwait.

Simultaneously, Ibn Saud, the ruler of Najd, intervened by dispatching a delegation to Faisal al-Duwaiish, the leader of the Ikhwan, urging him to abandon his plans for another assault on Kuwait. Under this combined pressure from both the British and Ibn Saud, the Ikhwan withdrew from their camp in Subaihiya and returned to Najd.

Ultimately, the ruler of Muhammara, Sheikh Khazʽal Ibn Jabir, played a key role in mediating the conflict. He facilitated a reconciliation between Sultan Abdul Aziz Al Saud of Najd and Sheikh Salim Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah of Kuwait, bringing an end to the tensions between the two sides.^[8]

Part of a series on the
History of Kuwait
Prehistoric and ancient
Mesopotamia Bahra 1 H3 (Kuwait) Subiya Ubaid period Failaka Island Dilmun Ikaros Agarum Kazma Umm an Namil Akkaz Teredon
5th–18th century
Maishan 5th–13th century Battle of Chains 629 / 633 Kazma 636 Portuguese control 1500s Bani Utub invasion of Bahrain 1782–1783 Battle of Riqqa 1783 Ibn Ufaisan's Invasion 1793
18th century to 1961
Sheikhdom of Kuwait 1752–1961 Battle of Khakeekera 1811 Sheikh Humoud's Revolt 1828 Siege of Basra 1831 Siege of Al-Zubair 1833 Invasion of Muhammara 1837 Al-Hasa Expedition 1870–1871 Kuwaiti–Rashidi war 1900–1901 Battle of Jo-Laban 1903 Battle of Hadia 1910 Anglo-Ottoman Convention 1913 Mesopotamian Campaign 1914–1918 Kuwait–Najd War 1919–1920 Battle of Jahra 1920 Ikhwan Revolt 1927–1930
Kuwait since 1961
State of Kuwait 1961–1990 1991–present Operation Vantage 1961 Abdul Karim Qasim's crisis 1961–1963 Six-Day War 1967 Samita border skirmish 1973 October War 1973 Terrorism attack on the Japanese Embassy in Kuwait 1974 Kuwait bombings 1983 Aircraft hijackings 1984–1988 Attempted assassination of Emir Jaber 1985 Invasion of Kuwait 1990 Republic of Kuwait 1990–1991 Gulf War 1990–1991 Kuwaiti oil fires 1991 Palestinian exodus from Kuwait 1990–1991 2015 Kuwait mosque bombing 2015
See also
List of museums in Kuwait History of Bahrain Al Zubara
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