What do you think?
Rate this book
Osprey Campaign #373
Syria and Lebanon 1941: The Allied Fight against the Vichy French
A detailed study of the Syrian and Lebanon campaign of World War II.
In June 1941, Australian, British, Indian, and Free French forces invaded the Vichy French-controlled Mandate of Syria and Lebanon. They were outnumbered, and faced an enemy that had more artillery, tanks, and aircraft. They fought in rocky, mountainous terrain, through barren valleys and across swollen rivers, and soon after the initial advance faced a powerful Vichy French counterattack on key strategic positions. Despite these difficulties, the Allies prevailed, and in doing so ensured that the territory did not fall into German or pro-German hands, and thus provide a springboard from which Axis forces could attack British oil interests in Iraq, or the key territory of Palestine. This book examines the high military and political strategy that lay behind the campaign, as well as the experiences and hardships as endured by the men on the ground. The battles in Syria and Lebanon were complex actions, often at the battalion level or below, and this work uses extensive war diaries and records available to make sense of the actions and examine how they affected the wider campaign.
In June 1941, Australian, British, Indian, and Free French forces invaded the Vichy French-controlled Mandate of Syria and Lebanon. They were outnumbered, and faced an enemy that had more artillery, tanks, and aircraft. They fought in rocky, mountainous terrain, through barren valleys and across swollen rivers, and soon after the initial advance faced a powerful Vichy French counterattack on key strategic positions. Despite these difficulties, the Allies prevailed, and in doing so ensured that the territory did not fall into German or pro-German hands, and thus provide a springboard from which Axis forces could attack British oil interests in Iraq, or the key territory of Palestine. This book examines the high military and political strategy that lay behind the campaign, as well as the experiences and hardships as endured by the men on the ground. The battles in Syria and Lebanon were complex actions, often at the battalion level or below, and this work uses extensive war diaries and records available to make sense of the actions and examine how they affected the wider campaign.
- GenresMilitary History
96 pages, Paperback
First published February 15, 2022
25 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 26, 2022
Seems like a good overview of a lesser known theater of World War 2.
October 18, 2023
After the RAF and the Royal Navy had secured the UK from the Nazis across the channel in the Battle of Britain -and while the Royal Navy and her Imperial Allies were fighting the Battle of the Atlantic- a lot of people think Britain just had the Western Desert and Greece to focus on. In reality- even as they secured the Lend-Lease deal with the USA- they needed to secure their Global flanks against enemies they could beat while they figured out the Rommel puzzle. Along with the campaigns against the Italians in Ethiopia and Somalia- this meant cleaning up the Vichy French control of Syria and Lebanon- especially when the specter of Luftwaffe and or even Fallschirmjager (Parachutists) assisting a sudden Arab Nationalist Revolt in Iraq reared its head. Britain- so thinly stretched in Egypt, Greece, the horn of Africa and Iraq and Iran- saw a quick and cheap campaign against the Vichy French and their largely Colonial Army a good option -especially when their Free French Allies would lead the way and turn their Vichy opponents over to the allied cause...?
Three Columns moved north from Palestine and TransJordan- and the Vichy Army proved more able than they sounded. The Vichy Colonial officers were not interested in helping the Germans use their airfields to assist the Iraqis- they did as little as they could there- but they were motivated by defending hard enough to prevent the German from occupying what was left of unoccupied Vichy France. The Allies- Australians and Indians fought in these battles as well as UK troops- found they had not made each column powerful enough. Indian Divisions that had to be sent to the Gulf to secure Iraq - were then used to kick in the back door of resistance-one of the early Campaigns of the future Marshal Slim. Eventually, the Allies did gain control of the entire area- just in time to be able to supply the Soviets through Iran. Australian academic David Sutton takes us through the whole campaign with the sort of focus we have come to expect from these Osprey books- loads of B/W photos, colour photos and maps/diagrams/painting to show off particularly important point. I loved it- but then this has been one of my pet interests as a Colonial battle within WWII.
There are only political adult themes and no overly graphic injury passages, so this is an Ok book for a Junior Reader of about 10/11 years. For the Gamer/Modeler/Military Enthusiast -this is a great starting point for a campaign that can let you use your 1940 French, and your 1942/43 French Colonials from Tunisia/Italy- against your UK/Aus/Indian 8th Army lads (Brits in Shorts)- and you still get French Foreign Legion on both sides! For Modelers- a good starting point to builds/dioramas from this struggle. The Military enthusiast gets a look at a little remembered- but pivotal campaign in the logistical and raw materials part of overall WWII . This is that one book a gamer can hand to a Warhammer dude at the club- and bring him up to date on this campaign- if that's what the club is doing. A strong addition to the Campaign series from Osprey.
Three Columns moved north from Palestine and TransJordan- and the Vichy Army proved more able than they sounded. The Vichy Colonial officers were not interested in helping the Germans use their airfields to assist the Iraqis- they did as little as they could there- but they were motivated by defending hard enough to prevent the German from occupying what was left of unoccupied Vichy France. The Allies- Australians and Indians fought in these battles as well as UK troops- found they had not made each column powerful enough. Indian Divisions that had to be sent to the Gulf to secure Iraq - were then used to kick in the back door of resistance-one of the early Campaigns of the future Marshal Slim. Eventually, the Allies did gain control of the entire area- just in time to be able to supply the Soviets through Iran. Australian academic David Sutton takes us through the whole campaign with the sort of focus we have come to expect from these Osprey books- loads of B/W photos, colour photos and maps/diagrams/painting to show off particularly important point. I loved it- but then this has been one of my pet interests as a Colonial battle within WWII.
There are only political adult themes and no overly graphic injury passages, so this is an Ok book for a Junior Reader of about 10/11 years. For the Gamer/Modeler/Military Enthusiast -this is a great starting point for a campaign that can let you use your 1940 French, and your 1942/43 French Colonials from Tunisia/Italy- against your UK/Aus/Indian 8th Army lads (Brits in Shorts)- and you still get French Foreign Legion on both sides! For Modelers- a good starting point to builds/dioramas from this struggle. The Military enthusiast gets a look at a little remembered- but pivotal campaign in the logistical and raw materials part of overall WWII . This is that one book a gamer can hand to a Warhammer dude at the club- and bring him up to date on this campaign- if that's what the club is doing. A strong addition to the Campaign series from Osprey.
March 21, 2022
good view of topic
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews