Syria–Lebanon campaign

The Syria–Lebanon campaign was an Allied offensive in June and July 1941 that defeated Vichy French forces and brought Syria and Lebanon under Allied control.

Operation Exporter: The Allied invasion of Vichy-controlled Syria and Lebanon, launched from Palestine, Transjordan, Iraq, and the sea in June 1941. This was the campaign’s principal invasion operation.
Franco-Thai War: A conflict from 1940 to 1941 between Vichy France and Thailand over territory in French Indochina. Its aftermath increased concern that Vichy authorities might cooperate with Axis forces in the region.
Henry Maitland Wilson: A British general who commanded Allied land forces in the Syria–Lebanon campaign. Wilson directed the campaign’s principal ground operations.
Free France: The movement and political authority led by Charles de Gaulle that continued France’s war against the Axis. After the armistice, Free French authorities took over administration in Syria and Lebanon.
Battle of France: The German invasion of France and the Low Countries in 1940, which ended with French defeat and an armistice. Unlike the 1940 defeat in Europe, this campaign saw Allied forces defeat Vichy French troops.
Battle of Merdjayoun: A series of engagements near Merdjayoun in June 1941 between Allied and Vichy French forces. Fighting around this town exposed the difficulty of advancing through Lebanon’s mountain terrain.
Iraqi coup d'état of 1941: A coup in April 1941 that briefly installed an anti-British government in Iraq before British forces restored control. The coup heightened Allied fears that Syria might become a base for Axis influence.
Claude Auchinleck: A British field marshal who commanded British forces in the Middle East during the campaign. Auchinleck oversaw the wider Middle East command responsible for the operation.
Operation Countenance: The 1941 Anglo-Soviet invasion and occupation of Iran during World War II. The campaign helped secure the western flank of the Allied position supporting the invasion of Iran.
French Resistance: The networks and movements that opposed German occupation and Vichy authority in France during World War II. The Levant campaign was a military conflict with Vichy forces, not an underground resistance in occupied France.

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Mediterranean and Middle East theatre of World War IIBroader topic: This campaign brought the Levant under Allied control after the Axis advance in Iraq.