Syrian-Lebanese campaign
| date | June 8 to July 14, 1941 |
|---|---|
| place | Syria and Lebanon |
| output | Allied victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| ~ 34,000 soldiers ~ 20 tanks 70 planes 3 cruisers 9 destroyers 2 submarines |
~ 45,000 soldiers ~ 90 tanks 289 planes 3 destroyers 3 submarines |
| losses | |
|
~ 1,000 dead |
1,066 dead |
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The Syrian-Lebanese Campaign , also known as Operation Exporter , was a British and Forces fr. Libres (FFL) offensive against the Vichy-French- controlled area of Syria and Lebanon during World War II .
Little was known of the campaign, even in the countries that were involved. There are indications that the British have censored key facts to avoid reports of the fierce fighting. They feared news of fighting against the French could negatively affect public opinion.
background
After the fall of France in June 1940 Marshal took Philippe Petain government affairs and the so-called. Vichy regime was established that the German Reich collaborated . The military leadership in the mandate of Syria and Lebanon under Commander-in-Chief Eugène Mittelhauser recognized the authority of the government of Vichy in June 1940, but expressly protested against operations by armed forces of the Axis powers from this territory. The British government tried to build political pressure through economic sanctions, including suspending oil supplies from British-controlled Iraq. The Vichy government finally replaced Mittelhauser and his apparatus after a short interim period with his predecessor General Massiet by General Henri Dentz , who was considered to be more loyal and who held the highest civilian office as governor general and also served as commander in chief of the military in the mandate area. The British government took the position of tolerating the Vichy-loyal presence in the Levant and consequently not supporting any attack by the armed forces for a free France (Forces fr. Libres, FFL) under De Gaulle in the colony as long as there was none in the mandate Troops of their war opponents operated. The majority of the 40,000 soldiers in the Armée du Levant (G. Maxime Weygand) remained loyal to the government in Paris. Around 900 men, 35 of them officers, went to British Palestine in 1940 to join De Gaulle. Likewise, a Polish brigade (Karpackich) stationed in Homs fought with full equipment with Mittelhauser's knowledge on British-controlled territory.
In May 1941, German and Italian aircraft with French approval had used Syrian airfields as a stopover for their use in the fighting in Iraq . In addition, at the end of the month Crete fell into the hands of the Germans. On the British side, there were now concerns that the Axis powers could establish themselves permanently in Syria and Lebanon and attack Palestine and Egypt from here , which would have endangered the British oil supply routes in the region through air strikes by the Axis powers. In addition, a possible German march through Turkey was feared, against which it was necessary to protect oneself.
Balance of power
The Vichy-loyal French troops in Syria consisted of around 35,000 military personnel. Four fifths of these soldiers were not French, but colonial soldiers or foreign legionaries. In April 1941, the Levant Army had 27 infantry battalions. The bulk of the infantry made up ten North African battalions and four Foreign Legion battalions . There were also Senegalese units and three mixed French-Senegalese battalions. In June 1941, the Vichy troops in the Levant had 90 modern Renault R-35 tanks and 70 armored cars. 90 modern aircraft were attached to the army. Material and supplies of supplies should allow around six weeks of fighting. Some of the armored vehicles in Beirut had been improvised by the army itself on the basis of US trucks.
The Allied troops deployed for the operation comprised 38,000 soldiers. The majority were 18,000 Australians, followed by 9,000 soldiers from the British Army and 2,000 men from the British Indian Army . In addition there were 5,400 men from De Gaulle's troops. The Allied forces lacked modern tanks, they could only fall back on a few outdated Light Tank Mk VI . In addition, there was also a lack of artillery guns, motor vehicles for supplies and transport, as well as modern anti-tank weapons.
course
Already at the end of May 1941 there had been isolated clashes between Vichy-French and British aircraft. On May 28, 1941, for example, an MS.406 fighter was able to shoot down a British Bristol Blenheim reconnaissance aircraft launched in Iraq over Syria. Between May 24th and 28th, the Vichy government had around 20 Dewoitine D.520 relocated from Algeria to Syria (although two machines had to make an emergency landing in Turkey due to defects). As a result, three British bombers attacked Aleppo airfield on June 5, 1941 and destroyed an aircraft on the ground. On June 8, two brigades of the Australian 7th Infantry Division under General John Lavarack crossed the border north of Acre and Tiberias and marched towards Beirut and Rayak . The British-Indian 5th Infantry Brigade and FFI troops under General Paul Legentilhomme penetrated further east at Dar'a inland to advance on Damascus . A day later the Battle of the Litani broke out, where Australian-British troops fought against soldiers of the Vichy regime who tried unsuccessfully to stop the Australian advance into Beirut.
Four days later fighting broke out again between Australian and Vichy French soldiers. On June 13, the Australian-British advance stalled. General Wavell decided to reinforce the Allied forces at Damascus with the 6th British Infantry Division from Egypt. On June 15, Ju 88 bombers of the German Air Force attacked British warships off Sidon and severely damaged two destroyers, two other British destroyers, HMS Janus and HMS Jackal , were already briefly with the two Vichy-French who left Beirut on June 9 Large destroyers Guépard and Valmy came into action and had suffered considerable damage in some cases. In return, Fairey Swordfish torpedo aircraft managed to torpedo and sink the Vichy-French destroyer Le Chevalier Paul, which was used as an ammunition transporter, about 50 nautical miles off the Syrian coast . The two large destroyers Guépard and Valmy were later able to accommodate the majority of the crew.
General Legentilhomme entered the city on June 21 after fierce fighting over Damascus. On the same day, the Habforce , consisting of the British 4th Cavalry Brigade and the Arab Legion , attacked Syria from Iraq and immediately advanced on Palmyra . The initially rapid advance was, however, slowed down for three days from 23 June by violent attacks by Vichy-French Martin 167F bombers. Towards the end of the month, the Indian 10th Division under William Slim also intervened in the fighting from Iraq. Their first destination was Deir ez-Zor .
South of Beirut, the Australian 7th Division managed to take Damur after difficult river crossings on July 9th . The Australians were now only a few kilometers from Beirut, General Dentz's headquarters. The latter offered a ceasefire that came into effect shortly after midnight on July 12th. The collapse of the Vichy-French resistance was also due to the superiority of the British naval forces, including the New Zealand light cruiser HMNZS Leander and the two anti-aircraft cruisers HMS Naiad and HMS Phoebe , which were able to enforce an extensive blockade of the coastlines and thus prevent more extensive supplies of supplies . For example, the Vichy-French forces managed to move supplies, especially ammunition, to the sea only for a short time by the two rapid large destroyers Guépard and Valmy . Last attempts to bring reinforcements by sea were finally abandoned after the sinking of the small freighter Saint Didier (2778 GRT) on July 4, 1941 off the Anatolian coast by a British Fairey Albacore torpedo bomber.
Consequences and losses
On July 14th, the Convention on the End of Hostilities was signed in Acre. The allied troops occupied the entire French mandate area and reached the delivery of the Vichy-French planes. The approximately 38,000 Vichy-French troops were given the choice - contrary to the wishes of the French under De Gaulle - to be repatriated to the mother country with their weapons or to join the FFI troops. Only around 5,700 of them accepted the latter offer. General Georges Catroux took over the civil administration of the area as the general delegate of "Free France".
The remaining naval forces of the Vichy troops moved to Toulon and Bizerta after the surrender . Most of the 179 lost aircraft of the Vichy units were not destroyed in combat (the number of aircraft destroyed by direct enemy action varies between 40 and 60), but fell into the hands of the victors after the end of the fighting and in accordance with the terms of the armistice; some of these aircraft were later used by the FFI. Officially, at least 27 aircraft were lost on the Allied side. Conversely alone could Pierre Le Gloan , the Vichy French flying ace in the 5ème Escadrille hunting group ( Groupe de Chasse five) GC 3/6, until July 5, Hawker Hurricane and a Gloster Gladiator shoot. Since the dogfights were sometimes bitter, the losses could have been higher.
During the fighting, around 3,300 British or Commonwealth and 1,300 FFI soldiers were sidelined by death, wounding or capture. The losses of the Vichy troops including defectors during the fighting amounted to about 6,000 men, including 1,066 dead. Overall, the Vichy troops defended themselves vigorously, even if the French fought on both sides, which is also reflected in the number of victims. The numbers for the fallen and wounded on both sides are close together.
See also
literature
- Bernd Philipp Schröder: Germany and the Middle East in the Second World War (= studies and documents on the history of the Second World War , published by the Working Group for Defense Research , Vol. 16). Musterschmidt, Göttingen 1975, ISBN 3-7881-1416-9 ; in particular the document: Meyer-Ricks report, Sonderstab F ... v. July 4, 1941. as well as passim.
- Piekalkiewicz, Janusz: Air War 1939–1945. Bechtermünz, Augsburg 1998, p. 146f.
Web links
- Allan A. Katzberg: Foundations Of Excellence: Moshe Dayan And Israel's Military Tradition (1880 To 1950)
- World War: Middle Eastern Theater: The Syrian Show Begins . In: Time , June 16, 1941.
- Despatch on Operations in Iraq, East Syria, and Iran From 10th April, 1941 to 12th January 1942 . In: Supplement to the London Gazette , No. 37685, August 13, 1946.
Individual evidence
- ↑ John D. Grainger: Traditional Enemies - Britain's War with Vichy France 1940-1942 , Barnsley, 2013, pp. 83-84.
- ^ Henri de Wailly: Invasion Syria 1941 - Churchill and de Gaulle's Forgotten War , New York, 2016, pp. 17-19.
- ^ John D. Grainger: Traditional Enemies - Britain's War with Vichy France 1940 - 1942 , Barnsley, 2013, p. 96
- ^ Henri de Wailly: Invasion Syria 1941 - Churchill and de Gaulle's Forgotten War , New York, 2016, pp. 31–33
- ^ Henri de Wailly: Invasion Syria 1941 - Churchill and de Gaulle's Forgotten War , New York, 2016, p. 126f
- ↑ a b c Piekalkiewicz, Janusz: Air War 1939–1945. Bechtermünz, Augsburg 1998, p. 146f.
- ^ Alan Chanter: Pierre Le Gloan in the World War II Database , accessed November 12, 2015.
- ^ Ian Stanley Ord Playfair: The Mediterranean and Middle East , Volume 2: The Germans come to help of their ally (in the History of the Second World War. United Kingdom military series ). Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London 1956, p. 222.
- ↑ from Beirut: Meeting of the secret service man (double role) Rud. Rahn with Gen. Henri Dentz; the situation of the Vichy people is hopeless; the Nazis provide fuel for them and arms for Arab militants. Fauzi is said to have local gangs to fight the British. Arabs are to be brought to the special staff F in Athens for training . Source: Federal Archives / Military Archives