Editing Syrian Armed Forces (section)

===From Mandate to Independence (1923–1945)===
The [[French Mandate]] volunteer force, which would later become the Syrian army, was established in 1923 with the threat of [[Arab nationalism|Syrian Arab nationalism]] in mind. Although the unit's officers were originally all French, it was, in effect, the first indigenous modern Syrian army. In 1925, this force was expanded and designated the [[Army of the Levant|Special Troops of the Levant]] (Troupes Spéciales du Levant). In 1941, during the [[World War II|Second World War]], the Army of the Levant participated in a futile resistance to the [[Syria–Lebanon Campaign]], the British and [[Free French]] invasion that ousted the [[Vichy French]] from Syria.

After the [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] takeover, the army came under the control of the Free French and was designated the [[Army of the Levant|Levantine Forces]] (Troupes du Levant).{{sfn|Sinai|1987|page=190}} French Mandate authorities maintained a [[gendarmerie]] to police Syria's vast rural areas. This paramilitary force was used to combat criminals and political foes of the Mandate government. As with the Levantine Special Troops, French officers held the top posts, but as [[Evacuation Day (Syria)|Syrian independence]] approached, the ranks below major were gradually filled by Syrian officers who had graduated from the [[Homs Military Academy]], which had been established by the French during the 1930s. In 1938, the Troupes Spéciales numbered around 10,000 men and 306 officers (of whom 88 were French, mainly in the higher ranks). A majority of the Syrian troops were of rural background and minority ethnic origin, mainly [[Alawites|Alawis]], [[Druze]]s, [[Kurd]]s and [[Circassians]]. By the end of 1945, the army numbered about 5,000 and the gendarmerie some 3,500. In April 1946, the last French officers were forced to leave Syria due to sustained resistance offensives; the Levantine Forces then became the regular armed forces of the newly independent state and grew rapidly to about 12,000 by the time of the 1948 Arab−Israeli War, the first of four Arab−Israeli wars involving Syria between 1948 and 1986.{{sfn|Sinai|1987}}