Battle of al-Musayfirah  The Battle of al-Musayfirah (also spelled Battle of Messifre or Battle of Moussiefre) was one of the major military engagements between Druze rebels and the French Army on 17 September 1925, during the early stage of the Great Syrian Revolt, which continued on until 1927. After initial rebel victories against French forces at al-Kafr and then al-Mazraa, an advance guard of the French Army, then under the leadership of General Maurice Gamelin, was dispatched to the village of al-Musayfirah on 15 September. After clearing the village of its inhabitants, they set up fortifications in preparation for an assault on al-Suwayda. The battle commenced on 16 September when Druze rebels launched an early morning attack against French positions. Unable to significantly breach French lines, the rebels experienced heavy casualties after sunrise when they were consistently bombarded by French aircraft for three hours. The rebels subsequently withdrew, although a number were captured by French forces prior. Several of al-Musayfirah's residents were also killed before and during the battle. The French victory, the first significant one during the revolt, paved the way for their capture of al-Suwayda on 24 September, although they withdrew two months later due to inhospitable conditions. After the defeat of the Ottomans and their subsequent withdrawal from Syria, the country was occupied by France in 1918, and later established the French Mandate over the area. It set up several autonomous entities (Damascus State, Aleppo State, Greater Lebanon, Alawite State and Jabal Druze State). The latter comprised the predominantly Druze-inhabited Jabal al-Arab (also known as "Jabal al-Druze") region in southeastern Syria, east of the Hauran. Although the Druze leadership at the time favored autonomous rule from Damascus, tensions developed when the inhabitants viewed the increasing involvement of the French authorities as overriding interference in their affairs and a way of undermining the Jabal's traditional leadership, particularly the al-Atrash family. From 1922, a number of incidents involving the two sides eventually led to the Druze leader Sultan Pasha al-Atrash declaring an uprising against the French in July 1925, which became known as the Great Syrian Revolt. The Druze won important battles at al-Kafr and al-Mazraa in mid and late July and the defeated French forces came under the new leadership of Maurice Gamelin who arrived in Damascus in mid-September to assemble his troops in preparation for a move against al-Musayfirah, located west of the Jabal, and from there al-Suwayda, the principal city of the Jabal.