Battle of Palmyra (1941)

Battle of Palmyra
Part of the Syria-Lebanon Campaign of World War II
Palmyra occupied by British Commonwealth troops after the battle
Date 1 July 1941 Location Palmyra, Mandatory Syria Result Allied victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom Transjordan	Vichy France French Lebanon
Commanders and leaders
J.G.W. Clark

 United Kingdom

Vichy France

The Battle of Palmyra (1 July 1941) was part of the Allied invasion of Syria during the Syria-Lebanon campaign in World War II. British mechanized cavalry and an Arab Legion desert patrol broke up a Vichy French mobile column northeast of the city of Palmyra. They captured four officers and 60 men, which provoked the surrender of the Vichy garrison at Palmyra.

In 1941 the Vichy French had substantial forces in the region and had allowed their air bases to be used as staging posts by the Germans to send aircraft to take part in the Anglo-Iraqi War. They had also allowed the Germans to use the railway system to send arms and ammunition to Iraq. On 8 June 1941 the Allies had launched two northerly attacks from Palestine and Trans-Jordan into Lebanon and Syria to prevent any further interference to Allied interests in the region.

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