Fratricidal Fighting

The Allied invasion of Syria and Lebanon was conducted primarily by the 7th Australian Division, the 5th Indian Infantry Brigade and the brigade-strength Free French Division. A week later they were about ten miles south of Damascus but facing strong Vichy defenses. The veteran Indian brigade broke through …

1941-06-20

81

The Allied invasion of Syria and Lebanon was conducted primarily by the 7th Australian Division, the 5th Indian Infantry Brigade and the brigade-strength Free French Division. A week later they were about ten miles south of Damascus but facing strong Vichy defenses. The veteran Indian brigade broke through to the city’s outskirts, only to find itself cut off and sorely pressed. On the right, the Free French seized all the steep, boulder-strewn Djebel el Kelb, save for Hill 740 which prevented them from coming to the Indians’ assistance. On the 20th, the Free French made another attempt to overcome this last barrier.

Damascus, Syria

The Syria–Lebanon Campaign, also known as Operation Exporter, was the British invasion of Vichy French Syria and Lebanon from June–July 1941, during the Second World War. The French had ceded autonomy to Syria in September 1936, with the right to maintain armed forces and two airfields in the territory. On 1 April 1941, the 1941 Iraqi coup d'état had taken place and Iraq had come under the control of Iraqi nationalists led by Rashid Ali, who appealed for Italian and German support. The Anglo-Iraqi War (2–31 May 1941) led to the overthrow of the Ali regime and the installation of a pro-British government. During this conflict, key Vichy figure Admiral François Darlan had allowed German aircraft to use Vichy airfields in Syria for attacks against the British in Iraq. The British invaded Syria and Lebanon in June, to prevent Nazi Germany from using the Vichy French-controlled Syrian Republic and French Lebanon as bases for attacks on Egypt, during an invasion scare in the aftermath of the German victories in the Battle of Greece (6–30 April 1941) and the Battle of Crete (20 May – 1 June). In the Western Desert Campaign (1940–1943) in North Africa, the British were preparing Operation Battleaxe to relieve the siege of Tobruk and were fighting the East African Campaign (10 June 1940 – 27 November 1941) in Ethiopia and Eritrea. The Vichy French made a vigorous defence of Syria; but, on 10 July, as the 21st Australian Brigade was on the verge of entering Beirut, the French sought an armistice.

French / British

Vichy French

Scenario Type = Standard