0ne of the most bitter and hard fought campaigns of WWII was one that was "swept under the rug" as soon as it was over. In the early summer of 1941 the Allied Armies invaded Syria to overthrow the Vichy French government there. Troops of DeGaulle's "Free French" movement marched along with soldiers of the 7th Australian Division, the 1st Cavalry Division, and 5th Indian Brigade, only to find their welcome far different from what they had been told to expect.
The Vichy French fought well, in fact, destroying the 5th Indian Brigade before finally having to surrender. (Because the British immediately recovered the prisoners taken from the 5th Indian Brigade after the Vichy French surrender, the temporary loss of the 5th Indian Brigade from the British Order of Battle went unnoticed.)
The 7th Australian Division, reinforcedby elements of the British 1st Cavalry Division and the 6th Australian Division had entered Syria on June 8. The 21st Infantry Brigade would push up the coast to Beirut, while the25th Brigade would advance inland covering the 21st's flank by moving along the road through Merdjayoun. Although the Australians were told to wear their famous "Digger" hats to show that the invading forces were not expecting resistance, within hours of the invasion's start, the "Digger" hats had disappeared and the steel helmets were being wom by all.
Merdjayoun was captured on June 10, and the 25th Infantry Brigade pushed on, leaving detachments to hold the area. The British advance into Syria was over four separate routes, with little ability to shift troops quickly from one route to another. The Vichy French forces in Syria took advance of this fact, and from June 14 to 16, launched a series of sharp counterattacks in an attempt to halt the Allied advance along the different routes.
The Australian commander at Merdjayoun, Lt Col. Monaghan, decided to launch a preemptive strike, and on the night of June 14/15 lead his 2/33rd Battalion out of the town on a wide outflanking march to catch the French off guard. Unfortunately, his troops never got into position to either strike at the French or delay their attack on the town. On the following day, the French attacked the town, and the remaining forces were hard pressed to drive them off.
More Invasion of Syria: June 15th, 1941: "Our Enemies the French"
Back to Table of Contents -- Command Post Quarterly #1
To Command Post Quarterly List of Issues
To MagWeb Master Magazine List
© Copyright 1993 by Greg Novak.
This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web.
Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com