Persian Corridor
The Persian Corridor was a supply route through Iran into Soviet Azerbaijan by which British aid and American Lend-Lease supplies were transferred to the Soviet Union during World War II. Of the 17.5 million long tons of US Lend-Lease aid provided to the Soviet Union, 7.9 million long tons (45%) were sent through Iran.[1]
This supply route originated in the US and the UK with ships sailing around the Cape of Good Hope to the Persian Gulf. From there, the materiel transited Iran to the Soviet Union. Other supply routes included the Northern route across the Arctic, and the Pacific Route which handled US cargo at Vladivostok and then used the Trans-Siberian Railway across the Soviet Union.
This Persian Route became the only viable, all-weather route to be developed to supply Soviet needs.
Strategic need for supply to Soviets[edit]
After the Dunkirk evacuation and the agreement with Vichy France, Germany was essentially without any military opposition in mainland Europe until Hitler launched Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. To relieve pressure from the Soviets, British, and later American, leaders sought to open a Second Front in Europe. Realizing that would take time, the Western Allies made the strategic decision to provide Stalin with material support substantial enough to ensure that the Red Army could continue to engage the bulk of the German military. The Allies established protocols that defined the type and amount of material that would be delivered and when. German military action on the Arctic route, prevented the US from meeting the first protocol. That caused increasing pressure on the Allies to develop the Persian Corridor.