The late spring and early summer of 1941 was a busy time for British forces in the Middle East theatre

The late spring and early summer of 1941 was a busy time for British forces in the Middle East theatre. Of the various campaigns underway, the conflict in North Africa was paramount.

 On a secondary note, East Africa still required considerable attention as the British mopped up sizable Italian forces in the interior of Abyssinia. Likewise, there was the continuing struggle in the Mediterranean where the British sought to retain Malta, support their forces in North Africa and interdict Axis supply traffic. This was no easy task and was made more difficult by the fleet’s recent heavy losses off Crete. 

Finally, in addition to these major campaigns, the British had to wage secondary operations to secure areas not directly involved in the conflict. Of these latter operations, none was more draining on limited British resources than the fight to secure Syria. This action was prompted by recent Vichy collaboration in allowing the Germans access to local Syrian airfields and supplying materiel resources to support an Iraqi revolt against the British. 

In terms of the latter, the British learned that Vichy authorities had recently dispatched four railway trucks with arms and ammunition and two trains loaded with aviation fuel and an artillery battery to Iraq. Wary of continued Vichy collaboration and/or the prospect that Germany might use Syria or neighbouring Lebanon as a springboard for further offensive action, the British resolved to eliminate this threat from the region.

Therefore, on 8 June a force initially consisting of the 7th Australian Division, the 5th Indian Brigade Group, a Free French contingent and other minor units invaded Syria and Lebanon from Palestine. The expressed purpose for this action was to remove Axis influence from these areas. To carry this out, the British advanced on three fronts with the objective of capturing Beirut, Rayak and Damascus and then proceeding on to take Palmyra, Homs and Tripoli.

 Contesting this offensive was a Vichy force of 35,000 men, 120 guns, 90 tanks and 90 combat aircraft. Unlike recent events in Iraq, this defending force put up strong resistance, and the British quickly found themselves embroiled in heavy fighting. By the 13th all three British advances had stalled after making initial inroads into Vichy territory. In the days that followed, Vichy forces launched a series of counterattacks that failed to decisively dislodge the British, but generally continued to impede their forward progress. The British did make some headway in their advance towards Damascus, but even this success came at a laborious pace.

While this was underway, a number of British and Vichy warships participated in the fighting. For the French, this included the destroyers Guépard and Valmy, the sloop Elan and submarines Caïman, Marsouin and Souffleur, which were all stationed in Beirut at the time of the British invasion. Initial British naval units assigned to the operation included the 15th Cruiser Squadron consisting of Phoebe, Ajax and Coventry, the landing ship Glengyle and eight destroyers. Over a period of several days commencing on 8 June, these varied naval units conducted a series of operations to support their competing ground forces.

 For the British, this included the landing of commando parties, the shelling of French positions, the defence of their own coastal advance and a blockade to prevent the arrival of Vichy reinforcements and supplies. No British ships were sunk during these operations, although a handful of vessels sustained damage. On the 9th the British destroyer Janus clashed with Guépard and Valmy off Sidon. During this fight Janus suffered heavy damage before the arrival of additional British destroyers forced the Vichy warships back to Beirut. 

Then on the 15th German and Vichy bombers (the former operating from Crete) attacked British ships off Sidon and damaged the destroyers Isis and Ilex.

For its part, the small French naval contingent initially fared well, but quickly suffered waning fortunes as the conflict progressed. A matter of primary importance for the Vichy forces was their desperate need to receive supplies and reinforcements.

 To help fulfil this requirement, the French navy dispatched two destroyers from Toulon to bring ammunition to Beirut. On 16 June British Swordfish torpedo-bombers from the Cypress-based No. 815 Squadron attacked and sank one of these destroyers, Chevalier Paul, west of Latakia on Syria’s northern coast. The second Vichy destroyer, Vauquelin, safely arrived in Beirut, but was then damaged there by British bombers on the 17th.

 In the days that followed the British continued to tighten their blockade with the arrival of additional British warships, and the French found it increasingly difficult to transit the waters around Syria and Lebanon. On 23 June Guépard tried to break the British blockade, but was driven off by British warships.

 Two days later the British submarine Parthian sank the French submarine Souffleur as the latter was recharging its batteries in the Bay of Djounieh. Then on 4 July Albacore torpedo-bombers from No. 829 squadron sank the 2,778-ton French supply ship Saint Didier off the coast of Anatolia. With this, French authorities recalled a second supply ship that was en route to Syria, and a subsequent attempt to run troop-laden destroyers through to Tripoli was abandoned when British reconnaissance aircraft located the force.

As Vichy fortunes deteriorated at sea, so too did they decline on land.

 On 21 June Damascus fell to the advancing British forces. On the same day the British expanded their offensive by launching Habforce into Syria from Iraq with the objective of capturing Palmyra. This was later followed by elements of the 10th Indian Division, which also advanced out of Iraq to threaten the Vichy flank and rear. 

As this was happening, Vichy strength declined as losses, desertions and the effects of the British blockade increasingly took their toll. On 9 July the British captured Damour thus compromising the main French defensive position before Beirut. With this, the Vichy commander, General Henri Dentz, realized the situation was beyond salvation, and he requested a ceasefire on the 11th. 

Three days later an armistice was signed in which the Free French assumed territorial command over Syria and Lebanon while Britain retained overall strategic control. The cost in obtaining this outcome amounted to 3,300 British and 1,300 Free French casualties as well as 27 RAF aircraft. Vichy casualties were originally announced as 521 killed, 1,037 missing, 1,790 wounded and 3,004 prisoners, but after the war General Dentz raised the fatality number to 1,092. 

Finally, total Vichy aircraft losses amounted to 169 of which 42 were lost in aerial combat or to anti-aircraft fire, 45 were destroyed on the ground and the bulk of the remainder were abandoned or lost due to accidental causes.

Pictured here is a 25-pounder gun in action during the advance into Syria on 13 June 1941. Jarche J, Public Domain. Also pictured is the aforementioned British submarine HMS Parthian seen in Beirut harbour in January 1943. Allen, E E (Lt), Public Domain.

 For more information on this and other related topics, see Blue Water War, the Maritime Struggle in the Mediterranean and Middle East, 1940-1945.