Need for help: Northern Transjordan during Syria-Lebanon Offensive 41

Hello everyone!


As an intern at a German Archaological Institute I currently document remains of military installations in Northern Jordan, assumingly erected during WW2 in preparation of the Operation Exporter in Syria-Lebanon (June-July 41). Regarding the installation's certain use and their historical context, I'm still struggling, so maybe someone here can help me

The remains are located on a hill's plateau, close to a village called Umm Qays and not far from the Golan Heights and the Sea of Galilee. There are fragments of something that should have been a water pipeline system, pumping water from its source in the valley on the plateau, from where it had been distributed to diverse cisterns on the hill. Close to the assumed course of the pipeline there is a round installation of concrete with a deeper rectangle extension (picture P1240692), which I would place on the first sight as a gun emplacement. Then there is an ominous trench system, including two semicircular buildings (P1240463) and a cistern (P1240452). In addition, many locals say that there should have been an underground hospital, too. It had never been finished but destroyed again, before the soldiers left the place, as they should have done it with most of their buildings.

I uploaded a few of the pictures here, maybe they seem familiar to someone here?

Following some literature about the Royal Bombay Sappers & Miners, I assume that there was the 18th Field Company of the Indian Engineers (4th Indian Division Command, 5th Indian Infantry Brigade) together with the 1st Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers Regiment stationed in May/June '41 in this area. But it's hard for me to imagine that the Arab Legion (the British-controlled Transjordan force) was not involved somehow in the operation on it's own territory, at least after the withdrawal of the British troops.

Maybe there is someone here who knows more about the cooperation between two different forces in cases like this? Getting access to army documents from the Jordanian side is not that easy, so maybe one of you has advice on where to find details about this issue?
If a person knows more about the question, in which cases the British Army destroyed it's own military buildings, erected in foreign countries, I'm also grateful for every advice! As I am, too, about advices on digitalized sources for further information regarding the activities of the 18th Field Company and the Fusiliers Battalion and ideas, which other units might have been involved.

Thank you very much in advance!


Best regards

Clara

 

Hello Clara,

what you have photographed are likely Jordanian Army positions from the six-day war. Any left over buildings/emplacements/works from the Second World War era will have been repaired, built, upgraded by Jordanian forces , only to be fought over, extensively shelled, battered in 1967.

I'll keep looking from the British angle, but determining a link from any construction remains that you've recently looked over back as far as The Second World War may be a step too far.

Good luck with your research, always,

Jim.

 

A look through any "Palestine Exploration Quarterly" editions from the time may have some clues Clara (things you should be able to find online in the meantime).

Kind regards, always,

Jim.

 

"Umm Qais’ strategic position and proximity to Palestine, Israel and the Golan heights put it again on the front line of the Arab-Israeli conflicts of the 20th Century."

"Talib Al-Rousan recalls, with pride, witnessing frequent evenings and night-time penetrative operations through the enemy’s lines by Jordanian military units based near the village, using the hilly and complex topography of the area and its proximity to the Lake Tiberias and the Palestine-Jordan border region. Often these triggered immediate Israeli responses with heavy bombing of the area from the air and from Israeli artillery on the Golan Heights on the opposite side of the Yarmouk river valley. Most of the residents recall long nights when they took shelter in the ancient tombs and water cisterns cut deep into the rock of the hill when Israel’s ground and air forces bombed the village houses."

"when a battle starts, we used to hide in the caverns. There was one artillery battery here in ‘Al Ain road’ and whenever it gets in volved in a battle, you would see no one above the ground level, everyone would hide under the ground”.

https://www.ummqaisheritage.com/politics-conflict

An intersting area without doubt Clara but I can't help but think they are post World War Two installations and remains.

Kind regards, always,

Jim.

 

Clara,

Given the strategic position the UK & allies found themselves in the region 1940-1941 I would be surprised if fortifications were built by them before Vichy French held Lebanon & Syria was invaded on 8/6/1941. I note the Wiki entry does not mention any offensive action from Jordanian (then Trans-Jordan) territory. See: Syria–Lebanon campaign - Wikipedia

There was close co-operation with the Arab Legion, with a cadre of UK officers, notably "Glubb Pasha" their C.O. 1939-1956. See: John Bagot Glubb - Wikipedia Long ago I read his autobiography, but now have no memory of it's contents. It used to be available in local libraries. See Post 2 for a short history of the Legion: Arab Legion

A British military presence was very limited during and after WW2, although in 1958 a small force was sent during a political crisis to Aqaba. See: The last British soldiers, members of the Cameronians, to leave Jordan, 3 November 1958 | Online Collection | National Army Museum, London

Except for a strange 1945 post-VE-Day crisis: Levant Crisis - Wikipedia

Very different to Palestine where there was a large military presence, after Op Exporter ended.

Looking at your photo P1240692 (1) kleiner.pdf I would suggest the circular pit is more likely to be for a mortar, than a piece of artillery and for WW2 and after most likely to be a 3" and later 81mm mortar.

Only the 5th Indian Infantry Brigade was involved in Op Exporter, including 1st Bn. Royal Fusiliers, Wiki does show two Royal Bombay Sappers & Miners 18th and 21st Field Company, were assigned to the division. See: 4th Infantry Division (India) - Wikipedia and Post 6 in: 4/6 Rajputana Rifles

The 5th were:

From: Lt Col C J Boulter OBE MC, RA 24kms by road to Umm Qays

The War Diary for the 5th Indian is here: Syria 1941 | WW2Talk I have not looked at it.

A variety of online searches were made and with exceptions of those threads shown nothing was found for the period your are interested in.

That is WW2 out of the way IMHO. There was a tense period in relations between Jordan and Syria, in June-September 1970, when Jordan attacked the Palestinian armed groups and Syria intervened with its army, to be defeated. See: Black September - Wikipedia and Syrian invasion of Jordan - Wikipedia Which involved Irbid, but your area being close to the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights was unaffected.

 

Dear Jim, dear David,


thank you very much for your answers! Yes, there are a lot of military installation assumingly from the Israeli-Arab wars destributed in the area. A closer look on them is sadly not possible at the moment, that's why I focus mainly on the older installations.

My assumption to the presence of (British Army) soldiers during WW2 mainly bases on the local memories:
Many of the people from the village still keep their parents' stories in mind about the presence of soldiers in the 40s, living in camps in the area. There is no consens, if the troops were fully British or mainly Arab (which would speak for an Arab Legion or TJFF unit). But different voices remember that there should have been Indian people around, helping with construction work - this could refer to Indian Sappers and Miners. Then there is the people's shared conviction about a former water pipeline system, erected by soldiers (which would support the thesis of the Sappers and Miners' presence, as the Arab Legion wasn't in posession of engineering forces in this time, as far as I know until now), as well as an underground hospital which should have been destroyed again before it was finished.

There is a report, too, about the Royal Bombay Sappers & Miners' history (THE ROYAL BOMBAY SAPPERS & MINERS 1939 1947 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive) that mentions the presence of their 18th Field Company at the Syrian border at the end of May / beginning of June, "preparing defences, carrying out reconnaissance for demolition schemes along the Syrian frontier and, inevitably, setting up water points for the brigade and also Free French units." (P. 115)
This could fit to the local's version of the story - but of course I'm very far away from any clearness.

Thank you, Jim, for the advice on the "Palestine Exploration Quarterly", sadly I could not find much until now apart from the archaeological stuff. But I did not finish them, too, maybe I have more luck tomorrow.

And thank you, David, too, for your effort and the detailed answer! The War Diary doesn't refer to my place, but also doesn't contain information about the happenings in May. Instead very useful to get a deeper view in the Operation itself.
In "A soldiers with the Arabs" by Glubb Pasha there is nothing regarding the area during WWII at all, I suppose that its military meaning at this time will be not that high that it was mentioned in his biography.
The advice on the mortar pit could be very useful, thanks.


I'm very happy about further assessments of my assumptions - anyway, have a nice evening!

Clara

 

Hello Clara,

An excellent follow up on your part!

I don't think the Arab Legion (as in Glubb Pasha's led Arab Legion) had a presence beyond more than a few men (ever) in the Umm Qays (aka Gadara) environs in 1940, or after. I'll keep looking.

If any 20th century reference to your survey area comes up at all I will let you know soonest.

Good luck, always,

Jim.

 

Hello dear Jim,

I'm sorry that I wasn't clear enough in my first post!

From 1938 to 1943 the AL should have grown from 1,600 to 10,600 members. But how many of them were fit for action in 1941, or how exactly they were distributed, facing that they were also used as a police force... no idea.

Thank you!
I might have opportunity to visit TNA end of August; with an overview of the contemporary happenings and the present forces maybe I can find some useful details there.

Clara

 

Excellent Clara.

Keep digging (in every way!).

Kind regards, always,

Jim.

 

Maybe, just maybe Clara.

Just one of the many, many, many files at TNA Kew that might hold something pertinent to your search (note; it's a needle in a haystack job Clara. Speculative broad search. Heaven only knows if the "British" built in Umm Qays in '40/'41, by proxy or otherwise, and where any note of such might be).



COUNTRIES. Trans-Jordan: Trans-Jordan reserve force (Arab Legion); periodical reports on... | The National Archives

Good luck with all your work, your vocation.

Kind regards, always,

Jim.

 

Oh very interesting, yes I will take a look in the folder, if I visit TNA, and in much more! If I go on risc and concentrate on May/June 41 in the area (supposing that there will be no new discoveries that change my focus), the amount of information might sink a bit. A needle in a haystack job, you're right... But digging in the hay is funny anyway (;


Clara

 

Hello there,


just wanted to give a small update:
My research at TNA was quite profitable. It seems that the British were worried - not only a little bit - about a German advance into the Middle East that would have threaten their access to the oil fields in Persia and the Suez Channel and might have led to an isolation of Turkey.
A summery of my current assumptions: "Fortress Umm Qays" was part of a bigger defence system, erected from 1940/41 to prevent an armoured German advance through the Balkan, Turkey and Syria to Palestine. Different lines of withdrawal were installed between the Turkish-Syrian frontier and Palestine, consisting mainly of such fortresses. They were staffed with diverse kinds of weapons and facilities, in Umm Qays even an underground MDS was built but never used.
In face of a successful German attack through Syria, it would have been duty of Fortress Umm Qays to delay their advance until the British units would have occupied the "Final Fortress Palestine". Preparation of demolition of bridges, streets, useful ressources and facilities etc was one of the fortresses' main tasks, too.

In some weeks maybe I can give more details.

Maybe you have some ideas about Middle East coordinate grids? The coordinates used by the British don't fit into the Palestine Grid (I always end up somewhere north of Cyprus...) and I don't find a converter for the Military Palestine Grid, if something like this exists.
Examples: 20950-22652 or 216546-228328.


Wishing a nice Sunday!

Clara

 

Again to the coordinate grid: I already looked on the Echo Delta website but it doesn't provide grids of the Middle East, as I didn't find notes on them on other websites. And Cassini is used for Europe only, I think. That's why I assume that the Military Palestine Grid might be the right one, but tbh I don't understand much about all this.

Kind regards!