French occupy Ruad island

On 1 September 1915 the French navy occupied the island of Ruad, today Arwad, lying about 3 kilometres from the port of Tartus on the coast of Ottoman Syria. The French called it Rouad. It was a small rocky islet of about 20 hectares, densely built up and inhabited by fishermen and sailors.

A landing with a band

The operation was directed by Vice-Admiral Louis Dartige du Fournet, commander of the French 3rd Squadron, which since the beginning of 1915 had been watching the coasts of Syria and Palestine, its ships using, among others, the harbour of Port Said. Landing companies from the armoured cruiser Jeanne d’Arc and the battleship Jauréguiberry went ashore on the island. According to accounts cited by French naval historians, the sailors marched with a band at their head, and the admiral took possession of the island in the name of France. According to some sources the cruiser D’Estrées also took part in the operation.

A small garrison remained on the island. It was commanded by Lieutenant Albert Trabaud (lieutenant de vaisseau) of Jeanne d’Arc, appointed governor of Ruad. He had at his disposal two warrant officers, a cadet, a doctor, an interpreter and 96 petty officers and sailors, four 65 mm guns and two machine guns. The island was also to be defended by two small armed auxiliaries, Laborieux and the tug Cydnus.

Why the French wanted Ruad

In August 1915 the Allies officially proclaimed a blockade of the coasts of the Ottoman Empire, although in practice French and British ships had been intercepting vessels off those shores for many months. Dartige du Fournet pointed out that several islands off the coast, above all Ruad and, further west, Kastellorizo (Megisti), would be excellent points for observing the mainland and supplying small vessels. The occupation of Ruad gave the squadron a foothold right by the coast, from which shipping could be watched and smuggling looked out for.

The island was also important for intelligence. The French naval intelligence service in the Levant had its headquarters in Port Said, and Ruad became its forward post. From here contact was maintained with informers on the Syrian and Lebanese mainland, agents were landed and news was gathered about Ottoman troop movements.

What followed

A few days later ships of the same squadron sighted signals from Armenians holding out on Musa Dagh, who had fled the deportations during the Armenian genocide. In mid-September French ships evacuated more than 4,000 people from there. In December 1915 the French occupied the island of Kastellorizo in a similar way, and in 1916 they even issued postage stamps overprinted “Île Rouad”. Ruad remained in French hands until the end of the war, and then throughout the period of the French mandate in Syria.