Battle of Maysalun

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Maysalun


caption=Henri Gouraud on horseback inspecting his French troops at Maysalun
partof=the Franco-Syrian War
date=July 23, 1920
place=Maysalun Pass, Anti-Lebanon mountains (Syria)
result=French victory
combatant1=flagicon|France France
combatant2=flagicon|Arab Revolt Syria
commander1=flagicon|France Henri Gouraud
commander2=flagicon|Arab Revolt Yusuf al-Azmah†
strength1= 9000 (includes tanks and airplanes)
strength2= 3000 (older light equipment)
casualties1= 42 dead and 154 injured
casualties2= 400 dead

The Battle of Maysalun, also called "The Battle of Maysalun Pass", took place between Syrian and French forces about 12 miles west of Damascus on July 23, 1920. The battle occurred when the French moved to topple the newly proclaimed nationalist government of Hashim al-Atassi under King Faisal. An independent Kingdom of Syria had recently been proclaimed after an Arab army, which included British colonel T. E. Lawrence, defeated the Ottomans and captured Damascus. However, as a result of negotiations between the western powers at the San Remo conference, and the secret Sykes-Picot Agreement between Britain and France, the French were given a mandate over Syria by the League of Nations, which Faisal and his government refused to recognize. Faisal also refused to recognize Lebanese independence from Greater Syria. The French had set up the republic on the remnants of a former Ottoman Christian-majority autonomous province. The French forces advanced out of Beirut, led by General Gouraud. Some Maronite Lebanese reportedly fought on the French side, unwilling to join a Muslim-dominated Kingdom of Syria.

King Faisal ordered the Syrian army not to resist the French advance, but Syrian defence minister General Yusuf al-Azmah, who was 36 years old at the time, insisted on leading his forces to oppose their advance. The French forces under the command of General Mariano Goybet easily defeated the Syrian forces, which consisted of a few hundred regular soldiers from the newly formed army and hastily-summoned citizen volunteers from Damascus. Yusuf al-Azmah was killed in the battle, and he is considered by some a Martyr who went to an already lost battle, knowing that he would die for the glory of Syria. The French entered Damascus later the next day and Gouraud went to the tomb of Saladdin, kicked it, and said: "Awake Saladin, we have returned. My presence here consecrates the victory of the Cross over the Crescent". King Faisal was exiled. The battle ushered in the new era of French colonialism and led to more revolts in Northern Syria and Damascus.

Further reading

* Sami M. Moubayed, "The Politics of Damascus 1920-1946. Urban Notables and the French Mandate" (Dar Tlass, 1999)
* M. Shakir, "Islamic History"