Battle of Jezzine (1941) 1941
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 13 June 1941 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1941 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | World War II era (1939–1945) | derived from year |
| Location | Lebanon | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Asia | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Syria–Lebanon campaign | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 33.3200, 35.3500 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Jezzine (13 June 1941) was part of the Australian 7th Division's advance on Beirut during the five-week-long Syria-Lebanon campaign by the Allies against Vichy French forces in Syria and Lebanon. Jezzine, Lebanon, is about halfway between the Lebanese border with Mandatory Palestine and Beirut.
This battle was one of several hard-fought actions during the Australian advance on Beirut from Mandatory Palestine. Australian troops from the 25th Brigade (less the 2/33rd Battalion) attacked Jezzine on 13 June 1941, following the capture of Merdjayoun, which the Allies temporarily captured on 11 June 1941, allowing the commander of the Australian 7th Division, Major General John Lavarack to switch the 25th Brigade's focus north towards Jezzine, leaving a small force to hold Merdjayoun, which was later subjected to a heavy counter-attack.
During the fighting for Jezzine, when his company suffered casualties from intense machine gun fire, Private Jim Gordon, 2/31st Battalion, took it upon himself to crawl forward and neutralise the Vichy position with rifle and bayonet. Gordon, originally from Rockingham, Western Australia, was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions near Jezzine. Jezzine Barracks in Townsville, Queensland, is named after this battle.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Jezzine (1941) (revision 1370444217), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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Other battles of the Syria–Lebanon campaign
- Battle of Damascus (1941) 1941
- Battle of Damour 1941
- Battle of Deir ez-Zor (1941) 1941
- Battle of Kissoué 1941
- Battle of Merdjayoun 1941
- Battle of Palmyra (1941) 1941
- Battle of Sidon (1941) 1941
All 8 battles of the Syria–Lebanon campaign →
Browse more: battles in Lebanon · Asia · World War II era battles