Exceedingly rare order to counter insurgents

[Allied Forces]. - Wilson, Henry Maitland. Order to the Civilian Population of all Districts of Syria and the Lebanon.

€ 2,500.00

Strict orders issued to the civilian population in Syria and the Lebanon during World War II, threatening any person who acts against the interests of the British or Allied forces with being tried by a military court and sentenced to death.

In May 1941, Henry Maitland Wilson (1881-1964) was placed in command of British Forces in Palestine and Trans-Jordan, including overseeing the Syria-Lebanon campaign which overthrew the occupying Vichy regime. Wary of German (and other) insurgents, Maitland issued this order - which would have been posted on walls in Beirut and Damascus, likely accounting for the broadsheet's low survival rate. Its six articles prohibit the carrying of firearms and other weapons, firing on British or Allied troops or people employed by them, including "any person who is the owner or occupant of any house or premises from which fire is directed at British or Allied Troops", the destruction of telegraph or telephone wires, stealing or receiving goods stolen from the British or Allied governments, or "do[ing] any other act or thing inimical to the interests or safety of the British or Allied Troops".

There exist two versions of this proclamation, both dated 7 June 1941, with slightly differing wordings of article 6.