Franco-Syrian War

Franco-Syrian War, Interwar Period
	; Syrian soldiers at Maysalun, 1920
Date	March, 1920 – July 25, 1920
Location	Arab Kingdom of Syria
Result	King Faisal expelled to Mandatory Iraq; French victory; establishment of French Mandate of Syria
Belligerents
France French West Africa;	Arab Kingdom of Syria Arab militias;
Commanders and leaders
Henri Gouraud	King Faisal; Yusuf al-'Azma; Arab militias:; Ibrahim Hananu; Subhi Barakat; Saleh al-Ali;
Strength
	70,000 men
Casualties and losses
	5,000 killed

The Franco-Syrian War took place during 1920, between the Hashemite rulers of the newly established Arab Kingdom of Syria and France. During a series of engagements, which climaxed in the Battle of Maysalun, French forces defeated the forces of the Hashemite monarch King Faisal, and his supporters, entering Damascus on July 24, 1920. A new pro-French government was declared in Syria on July 25, headed by 'Alaa al-Din al-Darubi.^[7] and eventually Syria was divided into several client states under the French Mandate of Syria and Lebanon. The British government, concerned for their position in the new mandate in Iraq, agreed to declare the fugitive Faisal as the new king of Iraq.

Background

Near the end of World War I, the Egyptian Expeditionary forces of Edmund Allenby captured Damascus on September 30, 1918, and shortly thereafter on October 3, 1918, Hashemite ruler Faisal entered Damascus as well, in the final stages of the Arab Revolt against the Ottomans. On October 5, 1919, with the permission of General Allenby, Faisal announced the establishment of an Arab constitutional government in Damascus.

Following the implementation of the 1916 Sykes-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 the French Army of the Levant, centered in Syria.

While events transpired in Europe that would eventually render the Arab Kingdom of Syria into a French mandate, it would also catalyze Syrian nationalist societies like al-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 member Hashim al-Atassi was elected its president.^[8] On June 25, the King-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.^[8] 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. The Anglo-French Agreement provided for the withdrawal of British troops from Syria and signaled the end of the British military involvement in Syria.

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.^[9] 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.

Warfare chronology

Countrywide revolts

Map of the Arab Kingdom of Syria, declared on 8 March 1920

In the aftermath of the Clemenceau negotiations in January 1920, violent attacks against French forces occurred sporadically across Syria and effectively the Syrian Congress assembled in March 1920 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 independent Arab 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 the San Remo Conference was called together by the League of Nations in April 1920 to explicitly establish the mandate of the French over Syria. Shortly, the war of Syrian Arab nationalists with the French became a devastating campaign for the new proclaimed Arab Kingdom of Syria. Several violent incidents in the region initiated by Arab militias, like the Battle of Tel Hai, led to further international support of 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 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,^[8] but his message would not reach the general and King Faisal’s defense minister Yusuf 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.

Battle of Maysalun

In spite of King Faisal's 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 Syria would not surrender without fighting, in order to deny the French occupation any legitimacy. The Battle of Maysalun resulted in a crushing Syrian defeat. The French forces under the command of General Mariano Goybet easily defeated the Syrian forces. Yusuf al-'Azma was killed in the battle.

Final stages

The final stage of the war took place on July 24, 1920,^{[citation needed]} when the French forces entered Damascus without any resistance. The next day, the Arab Kingdom of Syria was abolished, and French rule officially reinstalled.

Aftermath

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 the states of Damascus (1920), State of Aleppo (1920), Alawite State (1920), Jabal Druze (1921), the autonomous Sanjak of Alexandretta (1921) (modern-day Hatay) and the State of Greater Lebanon (1920), which became later the modern country of Lebanon.

Bibliography

France Syria Occupation 1919-1920

References

^ ^a ^b Caroline Camille Attié: Struggle in the Levant: Lebanon in the 1950s, I.B.Tauris, 2004, ISBN 1860644678, page 15-16.
^ "The Franco-Syrian War of 1920 Participants: France vs. Syrians Dates: March, 1920, to August 7, 1920 Battle-Related Deaths: France—3,500; Syria—unknown; Where Fought: Middle East Initiator: France." [1]
^ Peretz "In the meantime in 1919 Faisal's Arab force began to clash with French troops. In March 1920, the Syrian congress in Damascus directly challenged France by proclaiming Syria- including Lebanon, Palestine and Transjordan - independent and offering Faisal the crown... both sides immediately began to prepare for war." [2]
^ Benny Morris. Victims. the date of the first attack of Arabs against French interest on March, 1st.
^ Tom Segev in One Palestine. Complete. the date of the first attack of Arabs against French interest on March, 1st.
^ ^a ^b Tauber E. The Formation of Modern Syria and Iraq. p.22
^ Tauber E. The Formation of Modern Syria and Iraq. p.37
^ ^a ^b ^c Eliezer Tauber. The Formation of Modern Syria and Iraq. Frank Cass and Co. Ltd. Portland, Oregon. 1995.
^ Elie Kedourie. England and the Middle East: The Destruction of the Ottoman Empire 1914-1921. Mansell Publishing Limited. London, England. 1987.

[caroline-1] Caroline Camille Attié: Struggle in the Levant: Lebanon in the 1950s, I.B.Tauris, 2004, ISBN 1860644678, page 15-16.

[2] "The Franco-Syrian War of 1920 Participants: France vs. Syrians Dates: March, 1920, to August 7, 1920 Battle-Related Deaths: France—3,500; Syria—unknown; Where Fought: Middle East Initiator: France." [1]

[3] Peretz "In the meantime in 1919 Faisal's Arab force began to clash with French troops. In March 1920, the Syrian congress in Damascus directly challenged France by proclaiming Syria- including Lebanon, Palestine and Transjordan - independent and offering Faisal the crown... both sides immediately began to prepare for war." [2]

[4] Benny Morris. Victims. the date of the first attack of Arabs against French interest on March, 1st.

[5] Tom Segev in One Palestine. Complete. the date of the first attack of Arabs against French interest on March, 1st.

[tauber22-6] Tauber E. The Formation of Modern Syria and Iraq. p.22

[tauber37-7] Tauber E. The Formation of Modern Syria and Iraq. p.37

[Tauber1995-8] Eliezer Tauber. The Formation of Modern Syria and Iraq. Frank Cass and Co. Ltd. Portland, Oregon. 1995.

[9] Elie Kedourie. England and the Middle East: The Destruction of the Ottoman Empire 1914-1921. Mansell Publishing Limited. London, England. 1987.

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[5]

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v t e List of modern conflicts in the Middle East
1910s	Italo-Turkish War World War I Middle Eastern theatre Battle of Robat Karim Arab Revolt Armenian genocide Assyrian genocide Mount Lebanon starvation Unification of Saudi Arabia Simko Shikak revolt 1919 Egyptian revolution Turkish War of Independence Anglo-Turkish War Al-Jazeera Front Greco-Turkish War Turkish–Armenian War Franco-Turkish War Revolts United States Mahmud Barzanji revolts
1920s	Franco-Syrian War Iraqi Revolt (1920) Intercommunal conflict in Mandatory Palestine Adwan Rebellion Arab separatism in Khuzestan Great Syrian Revolt Sheikh Said rebellion
1930s	Ararat rebellion Ahmed Barzani revolt Simele massacre Saudi–Yemeni War (1934) Goharshad Mosque rebellion 1935–1936 Iraqi Shia revolts 1935 Yazidi revolt 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine Dersim rebellion
1940s	World War II Italian bombing of Palestine Allied invasion of Iraq Syria–Lebanon campaign Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran 1943 Barzani revolt Al-Waziri coup Al-Wathbah uprising Kurdish separatism in Iran Iran crisis of 1946 Arab–Israeli conflict 1948 Arab–Israeli War Suez Crisis 1967 Six-Day War 1973 Yom Kippur War 1982 Lebanon War
1950s	1952 Egyptian revolution 1953 Iranian coup d'état Jebel Akhdar War Cyprus Emergency Suez Crisis Yemeni–Adenese clan violence 1958 Lebanon crisis 1958 Iraqi revolution 1959 Mosul uprising
1960s	Cyprus crisis of 1963–1964 Iraqi–Kurdish conflict First Iraqi–Kurdish War Second Iraqi–Kurdish War Dhofar Rebellion North Yemen Civil War Feb. 1963 Iraqi coup Mar. 1963 Syrian coup Nov. 1963 Iraqi coup Aden Emergency 1964 Hama riot Israeli–Palestinian conflict 1948 Palestine war First Intifada Second Intifada 1966 Syrian coup d'état
1970s	Black September in Jordan Yemenite War of 1972 Turkish invasion of Cyprus Shatt al-Arab clashes Lebanese Civil War Political violence in Turkey Islamist uprising in Syria 1977 Shia uprising in Iraq NDF Rebellion Yemenite War of 1979 Iranian Revolution Consolidation of the Iranian Revolution 1979 Qatif Uprising Grand Mosque seizure 1979–1980 Shia uprising in Iraq
1980s	Iran–Iraq War 1980 Turkish coup d'état Kurdish–Turkish conflict Turkey–PKK conflict South Yemen civil war 1986 Egyptian conscripts riot 1986 Damascus bombings 1987 Sharjawi coup d'état attempt Mecca massacre Abu Nidal's executions
1990s	Gulf War (1990–1991) 1991 Iraqi uprisings Terror campaign in Egypt (1990s) Yemeni Civil War (1994) Iraqi Kurdish Civil War Islamic insurgency in Saudi Arabia (2000–present) Operation Desert Fox al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen 1999 Shia uprising in Iraq
2000s	Iraq War Balochi insurgency in Iran 2004 Qamishli riots Houthi insurgency in Yemen Iran–Israel proxy conflict 2006 Lebanon War Fatah–Hamas conflict South Yemen insurgency
2010s	2011 Bahraini uprising Egyptian Crisis Sinai insurgency Insurgency in Egypt (2013–present) Syrian civil war Turkish involvement in Syria Syrian War spillover in Lebanon Iraqi insurgency (2011–2013) War in Iraq (2013–2017) Islamic State insurgency in Iraq (2017–present) Yemeni crisis Yemeni civil war (2014–present)
2020s	2021 Beirut clashes Israel–Hamas war Israel–Hezbollah conflict (2023–present) Red Sea crisis
This list includes World War I and later conflicts (after 1914) of at least 100 fatalities each Prolonged conflicts are listed in the decade when initiated; ongoing conflicts are marked italic, and conflicts with +100,000 killed with bold.