1940: Syria

Syria, a French mandated Arabic territory in the Near East, was in 1940 drawn into the vicissitudes which befell France as a result of her collapse in the war against Germany. In preceding years the Syrians had protested repeatedly and violently against the French mandate, and had demanded their independence. The months of the war, the maintenance of a large French army in Syria and the introduction of wartime regulations, put a temporary lull on the outward manifestations of Arab nationalism in Syria. The French army maintained in Syria under the command of General Weygand, who was very familiar with the Syrian situation, represented the most important part of the armed forces at the disposal of the Allies for any defensive action in the Near East and in the Mediterranean. When France gave up the struggle in June 1940, after Italy's entrance into the war, Great Britain was left alone to face the fascist forces in the Mediterranean. There was some hope maintained that the Syrian army under General Eugene Mittelhauser, the French Commander-in-chief in the Middle East, would join Great Britain and the forces of free France, and continue the struggle against the Fascist forces. However, on June 28 General Mittelhauser, in agreement with the French High Commissioner for Syria, Gabriel Puaux, decided to cease hostilities against Germany and Italy, but to maintain the French mandatory administration in Syria and in the Lebanon.

This change in the situation brought about an increased unrest in Syria, where the Arab forces again raised the demand for independence. The neighboring Arab countries, especially Iraq, and Turkey, all allied with Great Britain, were vitally interested that Syria should not become a part of the lands under Fascist domination and serve as a spearhead for the Fascist penetration of the Near and Middle East. An Italian military commission arrived in Syria at the beginning of September, charged with the demobilization of the French army in the Near East under the terms of the armistice. Its arrival was generally regarded as the first attempt to make Syria a jumping-off place for far-reaching activities which might endanger the position of Turkey and of Iraq. The presence of this Italian mission increased the unrest among the Arabs, who feared an Italian penetration of their country.

In June 1940, many Arabs believed that Great Britain would be unable to defend her positions in the Mediterranean single-handed against the vast numerical superiority of the Fascist forces. However, the intervening months with their great successes for Great Britain and Greece against the Italian armed forces which have proved completely powerless so far to break the British hold over the Mediterranean, have changed the attitude of the Arabs and partly also that of some of the French officers and soldiers, several of whom were reported to be joining the British forces. The French colony became divided internally. The dissatisfaction of the Arabs grew more menacing after the assassination of Dr. Abdur Rahman Shahbandar, one of the most gifted Arab national leaders. The idea of a federation of Arab states with an independent Syria as its nucleus gained great momentum.

In view of the importance of Syria, which could easily become the key to the whole strategic situation in the Near East, the French government of Vichy appointed on Nov. 25 Jean Chiappe, a former prefect of the Paris police and a well known friend of Fascism and supporter of French Fascist movements, as French High Commissioner in Syria and Lebanon, to succeed Gabriel Puaux. Chiappe took off from Marseille on an airplane to Syria, but this plane was shot down over the Mediterranean when it flew through a British-Italian combat zone. The Vichy government appointed on Dec. 9 General Henri Dentz as the new High Commissioner and Commander of the French forces in Syria and Lebanon. See also IRAQ.

Archaeological Excavations in Syria.

See ARCHAEOLOGY.