Free French Leaders at Damascus, 1941
Here we see a group of the Free French leaders who had taken part in the invasion of Syria, photographed at Damascus on 21 June 1941. In the centre is General Catroux, governor of Syria after the conquest. To the left, wearing a beret, is General Collet, who had joined the Free French a few months before the invasion. On the right, with his arm in a sling, is General le Gentilhomme, commander of the 1st Free French Division during the invasion.
How to cite this article:
Rickard, J (22 June 2026), Free French Leaders at Damascus, 1941 , https://www.historyofwar.org/Pictures/pictures_free_french_leaders_damascus.html
Syria and Lebanon 1941 – The Allied Fight against the Vichy French, David Sutton.
A useful account of a campaign that is often just a footnote in wider histories of the fighting in the Middle East, but that saw the Vichy French in Syria put up a rather harder fight than expected, but also saw the Allies adapt well to the changing circumstances, taking Damascus early in the campaign and completing the conquest of Syria in just one month (Read Full Review)
