Syria increasingly becomes an unstable situation

In November 1940, a very strong pro-Vichy commissioner, General Henri Dentz, was appointed. As the year moved towards and end, more Germans arrived in Syria. The Free French had tried to promote their cause in Syria, but only succeeded in riling the French and Syrians. General de Gaulle visited the Middle East in April 1941. Everyone was opposed to using British forces in Syria, and they were stretched to the breaking point, already. After the fall of Greece, the commanders in the Middle East worried about the Germans making an airborne landing in Syria. Meanwhile, the situation in Iraq had gone critical, and General Wavell was forced to take command of that operation. By 12 May 1941, intelligence arrived that German aircraft were landing in Syria. The German arrival prompted the Turks to move troops up to the Syrian border. This is based on the account in Vol.II of the Official History.