Battle of Qanawat

On 10 and 11 December 1925, French troops launched an offensive to secure Qanawat, a sacred site and strategic point in the Druze massif. The attack aimed to cut rebel communication lines between Suwayda and northern villages. Despite initial progress supported by aviation, French forces met fierce resistance in wooded ravines. Fighting turned into positional warfare. The village was briefly occupied, but the French retreat was precipitated by the extension of combat.

Qanawat is a Druze spiritual high place and a natural fortified position. After the failure at Suwayda, French high command attempted to weaken the logistical heart of resistance by attacking in concentric waves the villages of the massif. But complex geography, traditional tunnel networks, and local solidarity offered insurgents a tactical advantage. The general staff hoped for a rapid and visible victory to justify reinforcements sent from Morocco and Algeria.

The attack began at dawn with intense aerial bombardment, targeting zones supposed to shelter rebel chiefs. Colonial units advanced on three axes through ravines and woods around Qanawat. The Druze used vegetation and walls to lay ambushes, harass columns, and disorganise communications. Druze cavalry attacked rear lines. Combat became confused, with numerous losses due to friendly fire and rudimentary explosive traps.

The relative failure at Qanawat demonstrated the military impasse into which the French army in the Levant was sinking. Metropolitan opinion began to be moved by the human and moral cost of this repression. On the ground, rebels gained confidence, multiplying raids in the Deraa plain. France had to reorganise its dispositions by dividing Jabal al-Druze into sectors to be methodically encircled. General Sarrail would soon be replaced by General Henri de Jouvenel, in an attempt to adopt a more political strategy.