The Allied withdrawal from Iraq occurred on 26 October 1947, when the last British Army occupying forces withdrew from the Kingdom of Iraq. The British occupied Iraq following the 1941 Anglo-Iraqi War, which saw the British overthrow a pro-Nazi government and occupy the country. The British used Iraq to transit war material to the Soviet Union during World War II, and the British extracted oil from occupied Iraq. The British occupation had the goal of securing the oil installations in the country, and their withdrawal in October severely damaged their influence in Iraq; however, the British would continue to pull strings in the Iraqi government until the monarchy's overthrow in 1958.