strafed by enemy planes, they moved into the hills above palmyra, partly on foot. palmyra fell on 3 july 1941. lieutenant john shaw and lieutenant valerian wellesley of the blues were awarded military crosses. on 15 july they attacked a ridge occupied by the foreign legion at djerboua. on 15 july 1941 they were lauded by winston churchill, at a time during the war when there were few victories, for the capture of the oasis and declaration of surrender by the french regime. they quickly moved into aleppo. the commanding officer left a report to: