421:. The 100-strong Foreign Legion unit stationed there was the 4th Squadron of the 1st Cavalry Regiment, commanded by Captain Landriau. At the time, Rashaya was a relatively large village of 3,000 inhabitants. The fort was small, partially-ruined and situated atop a hill overlooking the town. French reconnaissance flights determined that Zayd's forces, numbering some 3,000 Druze fighters, were assembling near the village. The French headquarters' defenses were bolstered, while regular French army patrols were dispatched around the town. On 18 November, two French units were ambushed by Zayd's men, resulting in two killed, three wounded and three missing in action.
39:
464:, through the remaining weeks of 1925. On 5 December, French forces bombarded Hasbaya from the air and recaptured the village. Hasbaya and Rashaya marked the furthest significant expansion of the Great Syrian Revolt into Lebanon. Rebel activity continued in Lebanon, but by the end of 1925, no major rebel bands still operated. As a result of his perceived mishandling of the rebel capture of Damascus and the immediate aftermath, the French High Commissioner, General
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suicide should they be in danger of capture because he believed that his soldiers would be heavily tortured in captivity. Before
Landriau could carry out his "Camerone-style" charge, French planes bombed the rebels gathering around the fortress's walls and a French relief column of the 6th Spahi Regiment intervened. Zayd's forces thereafter retreated into the Anti-Lebanon Mountains.
430:
reinforcements. Heavy fighting ensued within the fortress walls for three days until a French bayonet charge forced the rebels back behind the fortress's perimeter. Combat during the battle was marked by a lot of hand-to-hand fighting. Dead and wounded men from both sides and camel and horse carcasses straddled the perimeter in the aftermath of the fighting after three days.
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to appeal for assistance from the French military command in the region. By then, forty to fifty men of
Landriau's squadron had been killed or wounded and the rest of the unit had not slept for three consecutive nights. With the grenades in his squadron's arsenal depleted and ammunition mostly run
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between the French
Foreign Legion and the Mexican army. This desperate tactic entailed French soldiers fixing bayonets on their rifles and launching a desperate charge against the enemy, in this case Zayd's men. Landriau instructed each of his men to keep at least one round available to commit
412:
The anti-French revolt's expansion into
Lebanon and stories of massacres targeting local Christians sparked worry among the Christians of southern Lebanon. It also caused consternation among the French Mandatory authorities, who feared that the brewing anti-French uprising by the Druze and
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On 20 November, Zayd and his fighters opened heavy fire against French positions in
Rashaya from the surrounding hilltops. As night fell, the rebels breached the defenses and captured part of the fortress. They were forced to withdraw by French resistance, but returned during the day with
472:. The rebels' defeat at Rashaya marked a turning point in the revolt in favor of the French. By the spring of 1926, the rebels in Syria were largely defeated. Sporadic clashes between the rebels and French continued through the summer of 1927, but there had been no major engagements.
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By the battle's end, about 400 of Zayd's rebels were killed and 34 were confirmed wounded. Landriau's 4th
Squadron's losses amounted to 58 dead and wounded. Armed engagements between the French and Druze rebels continued in the Mount Hermon region, particularly in
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quarter of
Damascus, but withdrew after Maydani notables urged him to retreat for fear of further French bombardment. Meanwhile, fighting took place across the eastern suburbs of Damascus, with French forces consisting of troops from the
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of southern
Lebanon could generate into a sectarian civil war throughout Lebanon. On 5 November, French Foreign Legion cavalrymen established a headquarters in the fort of
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in
Damascus. However, with the uptick in peasants made homeless by the French assaults on the villages, the number of recruits into the various rebel bands swelled.
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377:, which marked the southwestern end of the Anti-Lebanon range. In the latter region, Zayd began preparing Druze peasants for an offensive against southern
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and thus expand the revolt westward, thereby cutting the French links between
Damascus and the port cities of Lebanon, including the
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By November, rebel forces were in firm control of the region immediately north of the Ghouta plain, including the
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442:) against the rebels as a last-ditch effort to break the siege. "Camerone-style" is in reference to the 1863
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out (about fifteen rounds per soldier was left), Landriau decided to launch a "Camerone-style charge" (
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units looting numerous villages and estates in the region, contributing to the fledgling morale of
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region just west of Mount Hermon in the southern Lebanon. The next day, they took control of
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Our Friends Beneath the Sands: The Foreign Legion in France's Colonial Conquests 1870-1935
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The village of Rashaya with its citadel, where the battle was fought, late 19th century
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Syria and the French Mandate: The Politics of Arab Nationalism, 1920–1945
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328:, Damascus's immediate countryside. On 26 October, Zayd al-Atrash, a
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by the French following the rebels' brief capture of the city led by
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on 18 October, the stronghold of rebel resistance moved back to the
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381:. Zayd's intent was to establish a direct link with the Druze of
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was recalled to France and replaced by a civilian politician,
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389:–Damascus railway. On 9 November, Zayd's forces captured
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After pushing back the rebels, the French garrison sent
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278:was a four-day battle fought at the citadel of
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332:rebel commander and brother of rebel leader
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686:Kahana, Ephraim; Muhammad, Suwaed (2009).
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689:The A to Z of Middle Eastern Intelligence
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770:Windrow, Martin; Roffe, Michael (1971).
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405:inhabitants. Zayd also took control of
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336:, attempted to lead a foray into the
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401:, where they killed several of its
312:Following the heavy bombardment of
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824:Massacres of Christians in Lebanon
809:Battles of the Great Syrian Revolt
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728:Lepage, Jean-Denis G. G. (2008).
668:Dictionary Of Modern Arab History
282:on 20 – 24 November 1925 between
73:Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon
734:. McFarland & Company, Inc.
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37:
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713:. Princeton University Press.
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1:
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692:. The Scarecrow Press, Inc.
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373:, and the eastern slopes of
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707:Khoury, Phillip S. (1987).
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571:Kahana and Suwaed, p. 101.
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773:The French Foreign Legion
613:Windrow and Roffe, p. 28.
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36:
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749:Windrow, Martin (2010).
360:Syrian Arab nationalists
804:1925 in Mandatory Syria
665:Bidwell, Robin (1998).
369:region as far north as
31:The Great Syrian Revolt
16:Military battle in 1925
367:Anti-Lebanon Mountains
286:rebels and the French
126:Commanders and leaders
776:. Osprey Publishing.
343:French Foreign Legion
159:Casualties and losses
115:French Foreign Legion
819:November 1925 events
651:Khoury, pp. 181–182.
622:Lepage, pp. 131–132.
308:Great Syrian Revolt
292:Great Syrian Revolt
208:Great Syrian Revolt
164:58 dead and wounded
55:20–24 November 1925
444:Battle of Camerone
288:Army of the Levant
110:Army of the Levant
814:Conflicts in 1925
470:Henry de Jouvenel
276:Battle of Rashaya
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334:Sultan al-Atrash
318:Hasan al-Kharrat
296:French Mandatory
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92:Belligerents
290:during the
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151:100 cavalry
798:Categories
476:References
347:Circassian
241:al-Suwayda
169:34 wounded
167:~400 dead
451:Aftermath
407:Marjayoun
231:al-Mazraa
403:Maronite
351:Moroccan
314:Damascus
294:against
256:Damascus
146:Strength
60:Location
29:Part of
458:Mas'ade
419:Rashaya
399:Kawkaba
391:Hasbaya
379:Lebanon
371:an-Nabk
302:Prelude
280:Rashaya
261:Rashaya
226:al-Kafr
221:Salkhad
105:France
65:Rashaya
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759:
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425:Battle
387:Beirut
338:Maydan
326:Ghouta
298:rule.
154:~3,000
80:Result
355:spahi
330:Druze
284:Druze
778:ISBN
757:ISBN
736:ISBN
715:ISBN
694:ISBN
673:ISBN
460:and
320:and
274:The
251:Hama
52:Date
393:in
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
