Syria–Lebanon campaign

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 Empire 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 British fought Operation Battleaxe to end the siege of Tobruk and the East African Campaign (10 June 1940 – 27 November 1941) in Ethiopia and Eritrea.

The French conducted a vigorous defence of Syria but, on 10 July, as the 21st Australian Brigade was on the verge of entering Beirut, the French sought an armistice. At one minute past midnight on 12 July, a ceasefire came into effect and ended the campaign. The Armistice of Saint Jean d'Acre (Convention of Acre) was signed on 14 July at the Sidney Smith Barracks on the outskirts of the city. While the surrender was being held, Time magazine referred to the Syria–Lebanon campaign as a "mixed show", and the campaign to this day remains relatively unknown, even in the countries that participated in it.