Attack at night in the coastal sector in Syria on 10 June 1941

The 21st Australian Brigade was moving up the coast in Syria and Lebanon to the north. The 2/27th Battalion was ordered to attack at midnight on the night of 10 and 11 June 1941. The battalion had moved north along the road to a point "just south of Adloun and Innsariye". There was an artillery barrage for a half an hour. One company was to the right of the road and the other was on the road and to the left. The men encountered heavy gunfire from both sides of the road and took casualties. Someone tossed a grenade into a building that ignited gasoline. The fire lit up the scene and the right company turned towards the fire. A patrol on the left noticed eight light tanks warming up their engines. This news caused Brigadier Stevens to order some artillery to move forward. They guns arrived with Brigadier Stevens and the artillery regiment commander. They fired 12 rounds at a stone house where they found four dead French soldiers. This is based on the account in Vol.II of the Australian Official History.