Syria–Lebanon campaign

Uncommon card · No. 147973

The Syria–Lebanon campaign, also known as Operation Exporter, was the liberation of Syria and Lebanon from German control in June and July 1941 by British Commonwealth forces during the Second World War. On 1 April 1941, after the Iraqi coup d'état, Iraq was controlled by Iraqi nationalists led by Rashid Ali al-Gaylani, who appealed for Italian and German support. The Anglo-Iraqi War (2–31 May 1941) led to the overthrow of the Ali regime and the installation of a pro-British government. During this conflict, Admiral François Darlan allowed German aircraft to use Vichy airfields in Syria for attacks against the British in Iraq. The British invaded Syria and Lebanon in June to prevent the Axis powers from using the Syrian Republic and French Lebanon as bases for attacks on Egypt, during an invasion scare in the aftermath of the Axis victories in the Battle of Greece (6–30 April 1941) and the Battle of Crete (20 May – 1 June). In the Western Desert Campaign (1940–1943) in North Africa, the...

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