{"id":6012,"date":"2026-03-01T00:06:24","date_gmt":"2026-03-01T00:06:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swaidamag.com\/?p=6012"},"modified":"2026-04-01T10:27:53","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T10:27:53","slug":"the-first-french-military-entry-into-jabal-al-druze","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swaidamag.com\/en\/the-first-french-military-entry-into-jabal-al-druze\/","title":{"rendered":"The First French Military Entry into Djebel-Druze"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"image_print\"<\/a><\/div>\n

Nawras Aziz<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Georges Catroux, through diplomacy, money, political and administrative measures, managed to outline the shape of the State of Djebel-Druze. He had to find a pretext to send military forces to effectively take control of affairs in the mountain and ensure that Salim al-Atrash’s government implemented the French plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a first step, Catroux wrote a proclamation, which aircraft distributed over Swaida in August 1921. From this proclamation: (1)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“To the esteemed inhabitants of Djebel-Druze: Aircraft are flying in large numbers over your lands, and a great French force is heading towards Swaida; if you raise your eyes to the sky or turn them to the ground, you will see with your own eyes the signs of the power and authority of a great state, the authority of the state whose mandate you requested, whose favors you acknowledged when it granted you administrative independence, and whose great support you recently appreciated when you demanded your rights to delimit the lands. Some instigators of discord coming to you from beyond the borders seek to sow seeds of division among you, to mislead you regarding your true interests, and deceive you with fabrications they invent about the intentions of the mandatory power and its strength; with these intrigues, they place obstacles in the path of progress and development that the French state offers you.” (1)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whom did Catroux mean by “instigators of discord”? What was the pretext used by the French forces to enter Djebel-Druze militarily? And what is the story of Asad al-Atrash and the 16 Druze horsemen who aroused French fears?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. The Central Figure<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before the French Mandate entered the region, many young Druze joined the forces of Sharif Husayn and adopted the project of the Arab Emirate. Some of them were still serving in the ranks of Prince Abdullah’s army in Transjordan adjacent to Djebel-Druze, and among these was Asad al-Atrash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asad al-Atrash, according to the al-Atrash family tree in a French document preserved in the diplomatic archives, is Asad son of Farhan son of Ibrahim Pasha al-Atrash, born in 1887, brother of Fahd Bek al-Atrash, father of the artist Farid and the artist Asmahan; another French document indicates that he was the son-in-law of Nasib Bek al-Atrash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The French accuse Asad al-Atrash of wanting to annex Djebel-Druze to Prince Abdullah’s authority and become its ruler. A French military force moved to arrest him along with his companions, but as a result of the intervention of leaders from the al-Atrash family, he later surrendered himself to the French without allowing a military confrontation to occur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. French Documents<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Catroux succeeded in finding the appropriate pretext, as French documents preserved in the archives of the Ministry of Defense in Vincennes near Paris clarify the real reasons for sending French forces to the mountain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We review some of these documents:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first document: (2) dated (August 15, 1921), an intelligence bulletin numbered R\/17 issued by the French Mission in Djebel-Druze, includes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“On August 12, 1921, the arrival of Asad al-Atrash coming from Transjordan in official uniform was observed, accompanied by about 15 men and with him Turki Amer from the village of al-Hayt; their entry into the city of Swaida carrying a Sharifian flag caused concern at the French Mission in Swaida, as Asad and his companions went to the al-Tarshan guesthouse where they were received by Abd al-Karim al-Atrash (with the rank of major in Abdullah’s army) in addition to Ali Ubayd and members of the Sharif’s party in Swaida. Asad launched a propaganda campaign stating that Prince Abdullah (strongly supported by the British) would soon be king of Damascus, that his forces were countless, and that Ramadan Shallash ‘leader of the Arab tribes in Deir ez-Zor’ would arrive at the mountain at the head of several thousand horsemen and Bedouins from the Majali tribe in Karak; among the propaganda carried by Asad al-Atrash and his companions was that Ibrahim Hananu is currently gathering large forces under the supervision of Turkish officers, and upon his arrival, the French delegation would have no choice but to leave for Beirut.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second document: (3) dated (October 3, 1921), a 9-page report numbered 385\/o submitted by Major Pouille (the officer responsible for the first military campaign entering Djebel -Druze), in which he explains the reasons for the military entry: “Due to the emergence of a state of unrest in Djebel-Druze resulting from the arrival of Asad al-Atrash (the renegade Druze who was with Prince Abdullah in Transjordan) who claimed he came to take over Djebel-Druze in the name of Prince Abdullah, King of Transjordan, and due to this unrest also resulting from the clear disputes between the major Druze families, the command decided to occupy Swaida, the capital of Djebel-Druze.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On August 16, 1921, Operations Order No. 3\/2811 was issued, stipulating the formation of a mobile military force under Major Pouille’s command to head to Djebel-Druze, consisting of: half a battalion from the 415th Infantry Regiment, two battalions from the 2nd Senegalese Infantry Regiment, one squadron from the Spahi Cavalry (1st Regiment), half a battery of 75mm guns, one battery of 65mm guns, an engineering section, an ammunition section, a medical unit, a wireless station, two mule units, an armored train (4).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These forces were assembled in the Izra’ area in Daraa on August 17, 18, and 19, 1921, where a supply and evacuation base was established; the forces were divided into two sections: the Izra’ command unit under Lieutenant Chateignon (consisting of the 415th Infantry battalion plus the armored train), while the rest of the forces were in the second section named ” Djebel-Druze Military Convoy” under Pouille. By Special Order No. 9\/3 dated August 20, 1921, Pouille was tasked with the mission of “occupying Swaida to halt all attempts at Sharifian propaganda in Druze lands.” (5)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report also includes daily details on the advance of the French forces toward the mountain and their first arrival on its lands on August 21, 1921, specifically at Al-Mazra’a, before continuing their march in the following days and reaching most points of the mountain. Pouille mentions in his report that one day before the French forces arrived at the mountain, specifically on August 20, Asad al-Atrash announced his surrender and was accompanied by his uncle Nasib and some Druze notables to the French delegation headquarters in Damascus, passing by Major Pouille’s camp at Bosr al-Harir in Daraa en route. (6)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After Asad al-Atrash surrendered himself in an attempt to prevent any military action against Swaida, the French forces entered the mountain and established a garrison; Catroux expressed this achievement in a secret letter sent to General Henri Gouraud on August 28, 1921, numbered 1347\/SP, stating at its beginning: “An unprecedented event in the history of the mountain: a military force entered the mountain without the need to engage in any battle” (7).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is clear from the previous documents that the French were waiting for a pretext to justify their military intervention in Djebel-Druze, exploiting the disturbances that Asad al-Atrash’s movements might cause. It appears that the French opportunity came with Asad al-Atrash’s launch of a propaganda campaign against their presence in the region, prompting France to mobilize a large military force under Major Pouille to penetrate the mountain and control it, under the pretext of maintaining order and preventing sedition, and the pretext of disputes and divisions among the Druze families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On this basis, the main conclusions are summarized as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First: The French seized their first opportunity, which may have been opportune and justified in the eyes of public opinion, to send military forces ensuring their control over Djebel-Druze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second: Asad al-Atrash and the opposing Druze youth played a pivotal role in arousing French fears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Third: The French military intervention was prepared and based on pretexts pointing to real threats against French stability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fourth: A large and organized military force was actually sent to control Djebel-Druze under the pretext of curbing counter-propaganda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite Asad al-Atrash’s surrender and the entry of French military forces into Djebel-Druze, this did not end the conflict but paved the way for a new phase of resistance and tension, whose features would become clear in a short period. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sources<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(1) SHDN, carton GR4-H-118-001, 0066
(2) SHDN, carton GR4-H-118-001, 0048-0049
(3) SHDN, carton GR4-H-246-013, Rapport du lieutenant-colonel PAULET sur la colonne du Djebel Druze
(4) Previous reference
(5) Previous reference
(6) SHDN, carton GR4-H-246-013-0095, Rapport du lieutenant-colonel PAULET sur la colonne du Djebel Druze
(7) CADN, Carton 1Sl\/1\/V\/551, lettre confidentielle, n 1347\/SP, 28-08-1921<\/p>\n\n\n\n



Swaida Intellectual Digital Magazine<\/em>. (2026). Vol. 1(3). ISSN: 3099-3172 (online).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Nawras Aziz 1. Introduction Georges Catroux, through diplomacy, money, political and administrative measures, managed to outline the shape of the State of Djebel-Druze. He had to find a pretext to send military forces to effectively take control of affairs in the mountain…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5440,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[195,224],"class_list":["post-6012","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-swaida-druze-archive","tag-swaida-druze-archive","tag-224"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swaidamag.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6012","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swaidamag.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swaidamag.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swaidamag.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swaidamag.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6012"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/swaidamag.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6012\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6205,"href":"https:\/\/swaidamag.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6012\/revisions\/6205"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swaidamag.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swaidamag.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6012"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swaidamag.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6012"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swaidamag.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6012"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}