Alawite revolt of 1919

Syrian Revolt of 1919
Shaykh Saleh al-Ali, commander of the Syrian Revolt of 1919.
Date 1919 – 1920 Location French Mandate for Syria and Lebanon Result French victory
Belligerents
France	Syrian insurgents
Commanders and leaders
Henri Gouraud	Saleh al-Ali

The Syrian Revolt of 1919 was an uprising lead by Shaykh Saleh al-Ali against the newly-established French mandate of Syria, primarily in the An-Nusayriyah Mountains on the Syrian coast. The rebellion was one of the first acts of violent resistance against the French mandate forces, and it allied itself with other rebellions in the country, including the rebellion of Ibrahim Hananu in Aleppo and Antioch and the resistance in Maysalun by Yusuf al-Azmeh.

Background

In 1918 the French occupied the Syrian coast and began to move into the interior. On December 15, 1918, Saleh al-Ali called for a meeting of prominent Alawi notables in the town of Sheikh Badr. Al-Ali alerted the attendees that the French had already occupied the Syrian coast with the intention of separating the region from the rest of the country, and urged them to revolt and expel the French from Syria. When the French authorities heard of the meeting, they sent a force from Al-Qadmus to the town of Sheikh Badr in order to arrest Saleh al-Ali. Al-Ali and his men ambushed the force at the village of Niha, west of Wadi al-Oyoun. The French forces were defeated and suffered more than 35 casualties.

Organizing the rebellion

After the initial victory, al-Ali started to organize his rebels into a disciplined force, with its own general command and military ranks. The army was supported by the local population, and some women supplied water and food and replaced the men at work in the fields. Al-Ali also allied himself with the rebellion of Ibrahim Hananu in Aleppo, the uprising in Talkalakh by the Dandashi tribe and the revolt in Antioch by Subhi Barakat. He also received funds and arms from Kemal Atatürk of Turkey which was also at war with France at the time.

In July 1919, in retaliation to French attacks against rebel positions, al-Ali attacked and occupied several Ismaili villages that were allied to the French. A truce was concluded between the two, but the French violated it by occupying and burning the village of Kaf al-Jaz. Al-Ali retaliated by attacking and occupying al-Qadmus from which the French conducted their military operations against him.

Final stages

See also: Franco-Syrian War

The balance of power began to shift in favor of the French after they conquered Damascus, defeating a makeshift army at the Battle of Maysalun on 24 July 1920. In November, General Henri Gouraud mounted a full-fledged campaign against Saleh al-Ali's forces in the An-Nusayriyah Mountains. They entered al-Ali's village of Ash-Shaykh Badr and arrested many Alawi notables. Al-Ali fled to the north, but a large French force overran his positions and al-Ali went into hiding. A French court-martial convened in Latakia and sentenced him to death in absentia.