Battle of Beirut

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v • d • e Syria-Lebanon Campaign

Litani River – Kissoué – Merdjayoun– Jezzine – Damascus – Palmyra – Deir ez Zor – Damour – Beirut

The Battle of Beirut (12 July 1941) marked the end of hostilities in the Syria-Lebanon campaign of World War II.

On 8 July, even before the fall of Damour, the Vichy French commander, General Henri Dentz, had sought an armistice: the advance on Beirut together with the Allied capture of Damascus in late June and the rapid advance of Allied troops into Syria from Iraq in early July to capture Deir ez Zor and then push on towards Aleppo had made the Vichy position untenable. At one minute past midnight on 12 July a ceasefire came into effect. For all intents and purposes, this ended the campaign and an armistice was signed on July 14 at the “Sidney Smith Barracks” on the outskirts of the city of Acre.

The triumphant entry of the Australian 7th Division into Beirut successfully established the Allied occupation of Lebanon. Beirut later became an important Allied base for Mediterranean naval operations.