| Franco-Syrian War | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theinterwar period | |||||||||
 Syrian soldiers atMaysalun, 1920 | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
 France |  Syrian Arab Kingdom | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Alexandre MillerandHenri GouraudMariano GoybetGeorges Clemenceau | King Faisal  Yusuf al-'Azma † Ibrahim Hananu[7]Subhi Barakat[7]Saleh al-Ali | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 70,000 French soldiers[2] | Unknown | ||||||||
TheFranco-Syrian War took place during 1920 betweenFrance and theHashemite rulers of the newly establishedArab Kingdom of Syria. During a series of engagements, which climaxed in theBattle of Maysalun, French forces defeated the forces of the HashemitemonarchKing Faisal, and his supporters, enteringDamascus on July 24, 1920. A new pro-French government was declared in Syria on July 25, headed by 'Alaa al-Din al-Darubi[8] and the region ofSyria was eventually divided into severalclient states under theMandate for Syria and the Lebanon. TheBritish government, concerned for their position in the new mandate inIraq, agreed to declare the fugitive Faisal as the new king of Iraq.
Near the end ofWorld War I, the Egyptian Expeditionary forces ofEdmund Allenbycaptured Damascus on September 30, 1918, and shortly thereafter on October 3, 1918, Hashemite ruler Faisal entered Damascus as well, in the final stages of theArab Revolt against the Ottomans. On October 5, 1918, with the permission of General Allenby, Faisal announced the establishment of an Arab constitutional government inDamascus.
Following the implementation of the initially secretive 1916Sykes-Picot Agreement, which divided the occupied remnants of the Ottoman Empire between France and Britain, French military administration was established in the Levant.General Henri Gouraud was appointed as representative of the French government in the Middle East and commander of theFrenchArmy of the Levant, centered in Syria.
While events transpired in Europe that would eventually render theArab Kingdom of Syria into a French mandate, it would also catalyze Syrian nationalist societies likeal-Fatat (the Young Arab Society) to make preparations for a national congress. These Syrian nationalist societies advocated complete independence for an Arab Kingdom, uniting the Arab world under the Hashemite ruler Faisal. The first official session of the Syrian Congress was held on June 3, 1919, and al-Fatat memberHashim al-Atassi was elected its president.[9] On June 25, theKing-Crane Commission arrived in Damascus to a flurry of leaflets which said “Independence or Death”. On July 2, 1919, the Syrian Congress passed a number of resolutions pertaining to the formation of Syria as a completely independent constitutional monarchy with Faisal as king, asking for assistance from the United States, and the refusal of any rights claimed by the French.[9] The hopes of Faisal that either the British or Americans would come to his aid and intervene against the French quickly faded with what many consider the defining catalyst for the creation and destruction of the Arab Kingdom of Syria: the Anglo-French Agreement, which provided for the withdrawal of British troops from Syria starting on 1 November, renderingOETA East a sole Arab administration on 26 November 1919, thus having the French only answer to themselves in the upholding of theAnglo-French Declaration. It was signed on 15 September 1919 by Lloyd George and Clemenceau.[10]
Eventually, Faisal would be forced into negotiations with Clemenceau in January 1920 which stipulated that the French would uphold the existence of the Syrian state and would not station troops in Syria as long as the French government remained the only government supplying advisers, counselors and technical experts.[11] News of this compromise did not bode well with Faisal’s vehemently anti-French and independence minded supporters who immediately pressured Faisal to reverse his commitment to France, which he did.
In the aftermath of the Clemenceau negotiations in January 1920, violent attacks against French forces occurred sporadically across Syria. In March 1920, the Syrian Congress assembled to declare Faisal the king of Syria, as well as to officially set up the Arab Kingdom of Syria with Hashim al-Atassi as Prime Minister. An independentArab Kingdom of Syria was proclaimed in Damascus on March 8, 1920, in an apparent dispute with the French over the nature of its rule. This action was immediately repudiated by the British and French and theSan Remo Conference was called together by theLeague of Nations in April 1920 to explicitly establish themandate of the French over Syria.
Syrian Arab nationalists rejected the mandate and went to war with the French. The war soon became a devastating campaign for the newly proclaimedArab Kingdom of Syria. Several violent incidents in the region initiated by Arab militias, like theBattle of Tel Hai and theraid on Samakh, led to further international support for the French.
The League of Nations having given the French Mandate of Syria as planned, the French General Gouraud issued an ultimatum to the Syrian Arab government to disband its troops and submit to French control. Worried about the results of a long bloody fight with the French, King Faisal himself surrendered on July 14, 1920.[9] However, his message would not reach the General and King Faisal’s defense ministerYusuf al-'Azma, who ignoring the King, led an army to Maysalun to defend Syrian Arab Kingdom from French advance. The Hashemite government of Damascus submitted reluctantly to the French ultimatum and disbanded its troops.
In spite of King Faisal's reluctant acceptance of France's ultimatum,Yusuf al-'Azma refused to give in. He raised a small body of disbanded troops and civilians, poorly armed relative to the modern, well-equipped professional French Army, and led them to Maysalun. Although he had no illusions about the outcome of the battle, al-'Azma wanted to make it clear that Arab Syria would not surrender without fighting, in order to deny the French occupation any legitimacy. TheBattle of Maysalun on July 24 resulted in a crushing Syrian defeat. The French forces under the command of GeneralMariano Goybet easily defeated the Syrian forces. Yusuf al-'Azma himself was killed in the battle. LebaneseMaronite volunteers reportedly fought alongside the French in the battle and openly celebrated the French victory.[12]
The final stage of the war took place on July 24, 1920, when the French forcesentered Damascus without any resistance. The next day, theArab Kingdom of Syria was abolished, and French rule officially reinstalled.
Following the San Remo conference and the defeat of King Faisal's short-lived monarchy in Syria at the Battle of Maysalun, the French general Henri Gouraud established civil administration in the territory. The mandate region was subdivided into six states. They were theState of Damascus (1920),State of Aleppo (1920),Alawite State (1920),Jabal Druze (1921), the autonomousSanjak of Alexandretta (1921) (modern-dayHatay inTurkey) and theState of Greater Lebanon (1920), which became later the modern country ofLebanon.
At the battle of the Maysalun Pass, in the Anti-Lebanon, the French did crush the forces of King Faysal in July 1920, which finally opened the way for their occupation of Damascus. Maronite volunteers reportedly fought with the French in the battle, and there were open Maronite celebrations of the French victory, or rather of the Arab defeat. This was not to be forgotten in Damascus.
At the battle of the Maysalun Pass, in the Anti-Lebanon, the French did crush the forces of King Faysal in July 1920, which finally opened the way for their occupation of Damascus. Maronite volunteers reportedly fought with the French in the battle, and there were open Maronite celebrations of the French victory, or rather of the Arab defeat. This was not to be forgotten in Damascus.
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