The Détachement Français de Palestine et de Syrie was the name given to French forces in the Middle East from 1917 onwards, within the

Egyptian Expeditionary Force The Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) was a military formation of the British Empire, formed on 10 March 1916 under the command of General Archibald Murray from the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force and the Force in Egypt (1914–1915), at the ...

. Although they were commanded in the field by Colonel Gilles de Philpin de Piépape, they were overseen by General Maurice Bailloud who was the Inspector-General. The detachment arrived at

Rafah Rafah ( ) is a city in the southern Gaza Strip, Palestine, and the capital of the Rafah Governorate. It is located south-west of Gaza City. In 2017, Rafah had a population of 171,889. Due to the Gaza war, about 1.4 million people from Gaza C ...

on 25 May 1917.

Composition

Whilst its mounted troops served elsewhere in the

5th Light Horse Brigade The 5th Light Horse Brigade was a mounted infantry brigade of the First Australian Imperial Force (AIF) that served during World War I. The brigade was initially formed as a part-time Australian Army Reserve, militia formation in the early 1900s ...

, the rest of the organisation served alongside the 54th (East Anglian) Infantry Division. It consisted of three labour companies (staffed by men of the 5th Battalion 115th :fr:Régiment d'infanterie territoriale), three artillery batteries and the following combat troops: * ''Régiment de Marche de

Tirailleurs A tirailleur (), in the Napoleonic era, was a type of light infantry trained to skirmish ahead of the main columns. Later, the term "''tirailleur''" was used by the French Army as a designation for indigenous infantry recruited in the French c ...

''; ** 7th Battalion, 1st Regiment of ''Tirailleurs Algériens'' ** 9th Battalion, 2nd Regiment of ''Tirailleurs Algériens'' *''Régiment de Marche de la Légion d'Orient'' ** 1st Battalion ''Arméniens'' ** 2nd Battalion ''Arméniens'' ** 1 Company Syrians * 1 Squadron dismounted Spahis * 1 machine gun platoon. The two battalions of ''Tirailleurs Algériens'' and the rear-echelon battalion of ''Infanterie Territoriale'' arrived at Port Said on 21 April 1917. They were accompanied by supporting elements of an ambulance, veterinary and administrative staff. The ''Légion d'Orient's'' Syrian company arrived at

Port Said Port Said ( , , ) is a port city that lies in the northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, straddling the west bank of the northern mouth of the Suez Canal. The city is the capital city, capital of the Port S ...

on 6 February 1918. The first and second battalions arrived there at the end of April and 15 July 1918 respectively. All three were shipped from

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

in 1918. Capitaine Kerversau's squadron of Spahis embarked aboard the ''Hyperia'' in Bizerte on 22 July 1918, for transit to Alexandria, along with a machine gun platoon transported by mules commanded by Lieutenant Delahaye. On 28 July at 9.30pm, the ship was torpedoed at a location more than eighty miles northwest of Port Said. As well as a number of the ship's crew being killed, the horses were lost. One corporal and eighteen other ranks of the squadron perished. As a consequence, the Spahi squadron and machine gun platoon took part in the remainder of the campaign dismounted, alongside the infantry of the DFPS. The men of the DFPS were to see combat at the Third Battle of Gaza, Battle of Hareira and Sheria,

Battle of Megiddo (1918) The Battle of Megiddo was fought between 19 and 25 September 1918, on the Plain of Sharon, in front of Tulkarm, Tabsor and Arara in the Judean Hills as well as on the Esdralon Plain at Nazareth, Afulah, Beisan, Jenin and Samakh. Its name, ...

, and a number of actions throughout the

Battle of Sharon The Battle of Sharon fought between 19 and 25 September 1918, began the set piece Battle of Megiddo (1918), Battle of Megiddo half a day before the Battle of Nablus (1918), Battle of Nablus, in which large formations engaged and responded to mov ...

during the

Sinai and Palestine Campaign The Sinai and Palestine campaign was part of the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I, taking place between January 1915 and October 1918. The British Empire, the French Third Republic, and the Kingdom of Italy fought alongside the Arab Revol ...

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links

General Maurice Camille Bailloud inspecting troops of the Détachement Français de Palestine et de Syrie in Khan Yunis, 11th September 1917

The 1er Regiment Mixte de Marche de Cavalerie du Levant in miniature
Egypt in World War I Expeditionary units and formations French expatriate units and formations Middle Eastern theatre of World War I 20th-century military history of France Military units and formations of France in World War I Military units and formations established in 1917 1917 establishments in British-administered Palestine History of Rafah 20th century in the Gaza Strip {{france-mil-unit-stub