Two British soldiers with the 20th Armoured Brigade marched across a baked-earth parade ground at Basra airport and slowly lowered the dark blue flag emblazoned with a white clenched fist, then folded it carefully between them. With that brief gesture, the war in Iraq ended for the British Army yesterday.

An American colour guard then marched in with the black and red pennant of the Warhorse Brigade, signalling that control had shifted from British Forces to the US Army.

It was a routine yet historic moment, attended by John Hutton, the Defence Secretary, British and American commanders and a host of Iraqi senior officers and senior sheikhs who had driven in from Basra city, until a year ago the scene of terrifying sectarian violence but now calmer, with Iraqi army gun vehicles and police checkpoints on almost every street.

The Last Post was sounded earlier and a list was read of the 234 servicemen and women, from Britain, Italy and Denmark, as well as the Indian truck drivers and private security contractors killed in the past six years. In the sweltering midday heat dozens of soldiers had to be helped inside.

The contours of past battles and bombings could be traced from the litany of names — clusters of British dead from a helicopter crash in the early days of the war, the six military policemen slaughtered by angry Iraqi tribesmen in Majd al-Kbeir in June 2003, the 19 Italian carabinieri killed by a truck bomb at their base in al-Nasiriyah in November that year. Later came the victims of battles with al-Mahdi Army militiamen in Basra and al-Amarah, and the frequent roadside bombs that proved the Army’s worst enemy.

Towards the end the grim roll call gradually started to feature the US soldiers whose colleagues will replace Britain in mentoring and monitoring the Iraqi Army’s 14th Division in the south.

After the ceremony Mr Hutton praised the 179 British troops who died in the mission to secure Basra, although he admitted that the path had not been easy. “Iraq’s progress over the six years, no matter how un- even or uncertain it may have appeared at times, shows that their sacrifice has not been in vain,” he said. Mr Hutton said that there would need to be a “proper investigation” into the failings of the mission, during which Basra fell into sectarian violence and control was lost to Iranian-backed militiamen who infiltrated the British-trained security forces to murder, kidnap and torture at will.

An offensive by the Iraqi Army last year finally defeated the militias after the British had withdrawn to their base at their airport, where they suffered constant rocket and missile attacks. Even yesterday’s transfer of authority was prefaced with a warning to the assembled officers and dignitaries of what to do in the event of a rocket attack.

As the ceremony continued, British troops began packing up in preparation for leaving the country in the coming weeks. Armour was stripped from Challenger tanks, Warrior armoured personnel carriers were serviced for the road and Lynx helicopters were stripped of their rotors: after midnight last night all combat missions would be conducted by US forces. Many of the British troops are bound for future conflict in Afghanistan.

In nearby hangars and garages, American personnel of the 4th Infantry Division prepared Apache helicopters and Humvee gun trucks for the mission that they have inherited from the departing British.

Sergeant-Major Neil Rudge, 32, of The Queen’s Royal Hussars, said that his most satisfying memory was of 2004, when he trained Iraqi policemen to shoot. “I really enjoyed working with the Iraqi police, and seeing them going from not having a clue, even shooting themselves in the leg sometimes, to learning how to handle a weapon,” he said.

Few of the British soldiers had any regrets about leaving the featureless, scorching desert of southern Iraq, where militiamen and tribesmen have done their best to kill them. “I can’t wait to see the back of the place,” one soldier said. “I’ve been here 18 months and it hasn’t changed a bit.”

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