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{{short description|Battle in Syria during the Syria-Lebanon campaign in World War II}}
{{EngvarB|date=November 2022}}
{{For|other battles of that name|Battle of Palmyra (disambiguation){{!}}Battle of Palmyra}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict = Battle of Palmyra
| partof = the [[Syria-Lebanon Campaign]] of [[World War II]]
| image = Palmyra, 1941.jpg
| image_size = 300px
| caption = Palmyra occupied by British Commonwealth troops after the battle
| date = 1 July 1941
| place = [[Palmyra]], [[Mandatory Syria]]
|coordinates = {{Coord|34|33|N|38|17|E|type:event_region:FR|display=inline,title}}
| casus =
| territory =
| result = Allied victory
| combatant1 = {{flag|United Kingdom}}
* {{flagicon|Jordan}} [[Emirate of Transjordan|Transjordan]]
| combatant2 = {{flag|Vichy France}}
* {{flagicon image|Syria-flag 1932-58 1961-63.svg}} [[Mandatory Syrian Republic|French Syria]]
* {{flagicon image|Lebanese French flag.svg}} [[Greater Lebanon|French Lebanon]]
| commander1 = {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[John George Walters Clark|John Clark]]
| commander2 = {{flagicon|Vichy France}} Ghérardi
| strength1 = 1,000
| strength2 = 300
| casualties1 = 85 killed
| casualties2 = 135 killed<br />165 captured
| campaignbox =
{{Campaignbox Syria-Lebanon}}
}}

The '''Battle of Palmyra''' (1 July 1941) was part of the Allied invasion of [[Syria]] during the [[Syria-Lebanon campaign]] in [[World War II]]. British mechanised cavalry and an [[Arab Legion]] desert patrol broke up a [[Vichy French]] mobile column north-east of the city of [[Palmyra]]. They captured four officers and 60 men, which provoked the surrender of the Vichy garrison at Palmyra.

==Background==

In 1941, the [[Vichy French]] had substantial forces in the region and had allowed their air bases to be used as staging posts by the Germans to send aircraft to take part in the [[Anglo-Iraqi War]]. They had also allowed the Germans to use the railway system to send arms and ammunition to Iraq.{{sfn|Mackenzie|1951|p=107}} On 8 June 1941, the Allies had launched two northerly attacks from [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]] and [[Emirate of Transjordan|Trans-Jordan]] into [[Lebanon]] and [[Syria]] to prevent any further interference to Allied interests in the region. By late June, [[Battle of Damascus (1941)|Damascus]] had been taken and the Allied campaign commander, [[Henry Maitland Wilson]] was ready to launch two further thrusts, this time from western Iraq to complete the capture of Syria.

An expanded Brigade group called ''[[Habforce]]'' had during the Anglo-Iraqi war advanced across the desert from Trans-Jordan to relieve the British garrison at [[RAF Habbaniya]] on the [[Euphrates River]] and had then assisted in the taking of [[Baghdad]]. This force was now pulled back to the remote part of Iraq near the Trans-Jordan and Syrian borders. It was tasked with advancing northwest to defeat the Vichy French garrison at [[Palmyra]] and secure the oil pipeline from [[Haditha]] in Iraq to [[Tripoli, Lebanon|Tripoli]] on the Lebanon coast. ''Habforce'' was well suited to the task in the desert because of the inclusion in its strength of the battalion-sized [[Arab Legion]] Mechanised Regiment, which was made up exclusively of desert-dwelling [[Bedouin]] soldiers.

In Palmyra, the core of the French defense was Fort Weygand, located northeast of the ancient ruins. Other posts were placed in the oasis, the ancient city, the hills and at the [[Palmyra Castle|castle]]. The area was defended by the 187 legionnaires of the 15th company of the [[6th Foreign Infantry Regiment]], by Bedouins of the [[Méhariste|1st light company of the desert]], and some air force crawlers. In total, these forces brought together about 300 men under the command of Commander Ghérardi.{{sfn|Henri de Wailly|2006|pp=325–333}}

On the other hand, the British mobilized a thousand men in battle, commanded by Major-General [[John George Walters Clark|John Clark]]. These troops were part of the column of Brigadier [[James Joseph Kingstone]] of the ''Habforce'' and included the 4th Cavalry Brigade, elements of the Arab Legion of [[John Bagot Glubb]], known as "Glubb Pasha", and the 1st Infantry Battalion of the Regiment of Essex.{{sfn|Henri de Wailly|2006|pp=325–333}}

==The Palmyra actions==

[[File:SyriaWWII en.svg|thumb|Map of Syria and the Lebanon during World War II]]
[[File:Britsh troops near Old Roman colonnade, Palmyra, Syria, 1941 (24984372235).jpg|thumb|British soldiers in the ruins of Palmyra.]]
''Habforce'' split into three columns (two to make flanking manoeuvres on each side of Palmyra). Each one was guided by a detachment from the Arab Legion; they set off on 21 June. A skirmish with [[Bunker#Pillbox|pillboxes]] on the pipeline a few miles east of Palmyra resulted in the element of surprise being lost. ''Habforce'' surrounded Palmyra, sending the Arab Legion troops out on wide-ranging desert patrols to protect ''Habforce's'' flanks and lines of communication. On 28 June, they captured the French fort of [[Sabaa Biyar|Seba' Biyar]] (roughly 60 miles south-west of Palmyra), with the small garrison surrendering without a shot being fired. The next day they occupied [[Al-Sukhnah, Syria|Sukhna]], some 40 miles north-east of Palmyra, which was not occupied by French troops.<ref name="Arab Legion">Steve Rothwell: ''Orders of Battle: Arab Legion''.</ref>

On the morning of 1 July, Sukhna was attacked by the Vichy 2nd Light Desert Company. The Arab Legion occupiers had been reinforced by a squadron from [[4th Cavalry Brigade (United Kingdom)|4th Cavalry Brigade]]'s [[Household Cavalry Regiment]] and after a sharp battle, the French retreated before an enthusiastic charge by Arab Legion troopers and ended up trapped in a box valley before surrendering.<ref name="Arab Legion"/> Whilst hardly the largest battle of the war, its effect was to cause the 3rd Light Desert Company which was garrisoning Palmyra, to lose heart and surrender on the night of 2 July. This freed ''Habforce'' to move 40 miles west along the pipeline to [[Homs]] and threaten the communications of the Vichy forces fighting the [[Australian 7th Division]] on the Lebanese coast.<ref name="Arab Legion"/>

==See also==
* [[Iraqforce|''Habforce'' order of battle as part of ''Iraqforce'']]

== Notes ==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |author=Henri de Wailly |title=Syrie 1941 : La guerre occultée, vichystes contre gaullistes |publisher=Perrin |year=2006 |language=fr }}
* {{cite book |first=Compton |last=Mackenzie |author-link=Compton Mackenzie |title=Eastern Epic: September 1939 – March 1943 Defence |volume=I |publisher=Chatto & Windus |location=London |year=1951 |oclc=59637091}}
* {{cite web|url=http://homepages.force9.net/rothwell/trans-jo.htm| title=Orders of Battle: Arab Legion |access-date=2007-07-10|last=Rothwell|first=Steve| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070805205040/http://homepages.force9.net/rothwell/trans-jo.htm| archive-date= 5 August 2007 | url-status= live}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last=Hinsley |first=F. H. |series=History of the Second World War |title=British Intelligence in the Second World War: Its Influence on Strategy and Operations (abridged edition) |location=London |publisher=[[HMSO]] |year=1994 |orig-year=1993 |edition=2nd rev. |isbn=978-0-11-630961-7}}
* {{cite book |last=Raugh |first=H. E. |title=Wavell in the Middle East, 1939–1941: A Study in Generalship |year=1993 |publisher=Brassey's UK |location=London |isbn=978-0-08-040983-2}}

{{World War II}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}}

[[Category:Military battles of Vichy France|Palmyra]]
[[Category:Syria–Lebanon campaign|Palmyra]]
[[Category:1941 in France]]
[[Category:1941 in Mandatory Syria]]
[[Category:Palmyra]]
[[Category:Land battles of World War II involving the United Kingdom|Palmyra]]
[[Category:July 1941 events]]

Battle of Palmyra (1941) - Revision history

Bot at 13:43, 25 March 2022