A reasonably well written account of a curious moment in WWII. The French homeland was in German hands, and there was the possibility that the Germans, recently having seized Crete, would leap-frog into Syria, and mount an offensive against the Suez Canal from the North. The colonial Government of Syrian wouldn't declare for the Free french, and an invasion was mounted out of Iraq and Palestine by the Allies. Aside from a chapter in William Slim's "Unofficial History", and the relevant chapter in the Official British army History of WWII, this is the only book I've found on this campaign. reread in 2017. ( )