Battle of Deir ez-Zor

Battle of Deir ez-Zor
	Part of the Syria-Lebanon Campaign of World War II
	; Map of Syria and Lebanon during World War II
Date	3 July 1941
Location	Deir ez-Zor, Syria ; Coordinates: 35°20′00″N40°09′00″E / 35.33333°N 40.15000°E
Result	Allied victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom British India ; Transjordan ;	Vichy France Syria ;
Commanders and leaders
Henry Maitland Wilson ; William Slim	Henri Dentz
	Deir ez-Zor Deir ez-Zor 450 km (280 mi) north-east of Damascus on the Euphrates River

Last updated June 10, 2019

The Battle of Deir ez-Zor was part of the Allied invasion of Syria during the Syria-Lebanon campaign in World War II.

The Allies of World War II, called the "United Nations" from the 1 January 1942 declaration, were the countries that together opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War (1939–1945). The Allies promoted the alliance as a means to control German, Japanese and Italian aggression.

Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon to the southwest, the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest. A country of fertile plains, high mountains, and deserts, Syria is home to diverse ethnic and religious groups, including Syrian Arabs, Greeks, Armenians, Assyrians, Kurds, Circassians, Mandeans and Turkemens. Religious groups include Sunnis, Christians, Alawites, Druze, Isma'ilis, Mandeans, Shiites, Salafis, Yazidis, and Jews. Sunnis make up the largest religious group in Syria.

World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries—including all the great powers—eventually formed two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. A state of total war emerged, directly involving more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. The major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history, marked by 50 to 85 million fatalities, most of whom were civilians in the Soviet Union and China. It included massacres, the genocide of the Holocaust, strategic bombing, premeditated death from starvation and disease, and the only use of nuclear weapons in war.

Background

On 8 June 1941, the Allies had launched attacks from the British mandate of Palestine and Trans-Jordan in the south into Lebanon and south-west Syria. The intention was to prevent Nazi Germany from using Vichy French territory as a springboard for attacks on the Allied stronghold of British Egypt as the Allies fought a major campaign against Axis forces further west, in North Africa. By 20 June, Damascus had been captured, and the Allied campaign commander Henry Maitland Wilson ordered two further attacks from western Iraq toward Palmyra and Aleppo.

Mandatory Palestine was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1923 in the Middle East roughly corresponding to the region of Palestine, as part of the Partition of the Ottoman Empire under the terms of the "Mandate for Palestine".

The Emirate of Transjordan, officially known as the Amirate of Trans-Jordan, was a British protectorate established on April 1921.

Lebanon, officially known as the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus is west across the Mediterranean Sea. Lebanon's location at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian hinterland facilitated its rich history and shaped a cultural identity of religious and ethnic diversity. At just 10,452 km², it is the smallest recognized sovereign state on the mainland Asian continent.

The force which gathered at Haditha comprised the 21st Indian Infantry Brigade and the 25th Indian Infantry Brigade of Bill Slim's 10th Indian Infantry Division plus the 2/8th Gurkha Rifles from 20th Indian Infantry Brigade (which had been detached for a different task). The division was to advance up the river Euphrates and take, successively, Abu Kamal, Deir ez-Zor, Raqqa and Meskene on the river before advancing on Aleppo in the far north-west of the country.

Haditha is a city in the western Iraqi Al Anbar Governorate, about 240 km (150 mi) northwest of Baghdad. It is a farming town situated on the Euphrates River at 34°08′23″N42°22′41″E. Its population of around 25,700 people, predominantly Sunni Muslim Arabs. The city lies near the Buhayrat al Qadisiyyah, an artificial lake which was created by the building of the Haditha Dam, the largest hydroelectric facility in Iraq.

The 21st Indian Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the Indian Army during World War II. It was converted from the Quetta Brigade in September 1940, and assigned to the 9th Indian Infantry Division. In March 1941, it was transferred to the 10th Indian Infantry Division and took part in the Anglo-Iraqi War in May 1941. The brigade then moved to Egypt and came under command British Eighth Army between July and November 1942. It returned to Iraq, assigned to the 8th Indian Infantry Division, in November 1942 and moved with to Damascus in March 1943. In September the division arrived in Taranto in southern Italy and the brigade remained with 8th Indian Division throughout the rest of the Italian Campaign apart from short attachments to the British 78th Infantry Division in November 1943, and the British 6th Armoured Division between April and May 1944.

The 25th Indian Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade formation of the Indian Army during World War II. It was formed in February, 1941 at Ahmednagar in India and assigned to the 10th Indian Infantry Division. The brigade was attached to the 8th Indian Infantry Division in August 1941, and took part in the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran. Returning to the 10th Indian Division in August 1941, they arrived in the desert just in time for the Battle of Gazala and continued to fight in the Western Desert Campaign and later in the Italian Campaign. While in Italy the brigade was attached to the British 46th Infantry Division from 7 to 11 December 1944.

Deir ez-Zor was the chief city of eastern Syria with two important bridges across the Euphrates River.

Deir ez-Zor is the largest city in eastern Syria and the seventh largest in the country. Located 450 km (280 mi) to the northeast of the capital Damascus on the banks of the Euphrates River, Deir ez-Zor is the capital of the Deir ez-Zor Governorate. In the 2004 census, it had a population of 211,857 people.

The battle

The advance units of 10th Indian Division left Haditha on 27 June and captured Abu Kamal without opposition. By 30 June, the main force was concentrated there and moved out on 1 July toward Deir ez-Zor. Progress on the poor road was slow and made more difficult by air attacks from Vichy aircraft but by early afternoon there were units within 9 miles of Deir ez-Zor.^[1]

Slim's original plan was to attack the city from the south-east whilst sending a flanking force wide round the south-east and which would attack along the road to Aleppo in the enemy's rear. Fuel was running low and the risk of the flanking force running dry and becoming immobile just as it came into contact with the enemy had to be considered. Slim decided that the risk was justified by the opportunity it afforded of taking the Vichy defenders by complete surprise.

The 2/10th Gurkha Rifles attacked from the south-west at 09:00 on 3 July. The flanking column (comprising infantry of 4/13th Frontier Force Rifles and armoured cars of the 13th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers) had left Mayadin at 04:15, crossing the Palmyra road running south-west across their path about 20 mi (32 km) from Deir ez-Zor and reaching the Aleppo road by 10:30. As Slim had hoped, surprise was complete and the flanking force advanced rapidly into the city, capturing the bridges intact and destabilizing the defences facing the Gurkhas advancing from the south-east. By 11:00, these positions were abandoned and the two attacking forces joined up in the city. By 15:30, the last opposition in the city had been silenced although the Vichy air force continued to make telling attacks on the Allied ground forces.^[2]

Only 100 prisoners were taken because the bulk of the Syrian troops changed into civilian clothes and merged into countryside. However, 50 lorries, nine guns and five aircraft were captured and a considerable haul of arms, ammunition and petrol was made.^[3]

Aftermath

On 5 July, Raqqa was taken without opposition although the Vichy continued to hold the upper hand in the air and the Vichy airforce continued to inflict casualties such that supply convoys took to travelling at night. Meanwhile, two brigade groups each with two infantry battalions—operating independently under HQ British Troops Iraq—made moves in northern Iraq: 10th Indian Infantry Division's 20th Indian Infantry Brigade made a feint from Mosul and 8th Indian Infantry Division's 17th Indian Infantry Brigade (1/12th Frontier Force Regiment and 5/13th Frontier Force Rifles) advanced into the far north-east of Syria (the Bec du Canard or Duck's Bill province)^[4] capturing a long length of railway intact and large stores of arms and ammunition whilst sustaining no casualties. The Vichy forces withdrew westward along the Mosul-Aleppo railway, and Slim detached some of the Gurkha and Lancers force to head northwards from Raqqa on the Euphrates. They were involved in a skirmish at the Euphrates crossing at Djerablous.^[5]

By 8 July, 10th Indian Division was advancing on Aleppo threatening the rear of the main Vichy forces around Beirut. The Vichy position had become untenable provoking General Dentz—the Vichy commander—to ask for an armistice. Negotiations began on 11 July, and the armistice terms were signed on 14 July.^[6]

Bibliography

Mackenzie, Compton (1951). Eastern Epic. London: Chatto & Windus. OCLC 1412578.
Playfair, Major-General I.S.O.; Flynn, Captain F.C. (RN); Molony, Brigadier C.J.C. & Toomer, Air Vice-Marshal S.E. (2004) [1st. pub. HMSO:1956]. Butler, J.R.M. (ed.). The Mediterranean and Middle East: The Germans come to the help of their Ally (1941). History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series. II. Uckfield, UK: Naval & Military Press. ISBN 1-84574-066-1.

Related Research Articles

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References

↑ Compton Mackenzie, p. 122
↑ Compton Mackenzie, pp. 123-4
↑ Compton Mackenzie, p.123
↑ Playfair, p. 217
↑ Compton Mackenzie, p. 124
↑ Compton Mackenzie, p 125

v t e Deir ez-Zor
History	Deir ez-Zor Camps (1910s) Battle of Deir ez-Zor (3 July 1941) Clashes (2011–14) Bombing (19 May 2012) Hatla massacre (11 June 2013) Siege (2014–17)
Education	Al-Furat University Al-Jazeera University
Landmarks	Airport Armenian Genocide Memorial Church (destroyed 2014) Suspension bridge (destroyed 2014)
This list is incomplete.