recto: Shellfire/Saida - Djezzine, Syria; verso: Litani River / Syria - 1941

These sketches come from a series completed by VX18229, Sergeant Francis George (Frank) Hodgkinson, HQ 7th Australian Division, completed during his time in Syria and modern-day Lebanon as part of Operation Exporter, an Allied action against Vichy French forces in 1941. The sketches in these series were completed in a private capacity before Hodgkinson was appointed an official war artist in 1944 as a Lieutenant. These significant works are some of the very few contemporary depictions Operation Exporter, with other war artists such as Harold Herbert only approaching these subjects at the cessation of hostilities in Syria.

Recto: This image depicts shellfire on the journey from Saida (Sidon) to Jezzine (approximately 30km), leading to the Battle of Jezzine (13 June 1941). This was a significant battle in the Australian 7th Divisions campaign towards Beirut.

The sketch for this image was likely en plein air, with watercolour added later. White gouache has been used to represent the smoke emerging from areas recently shelled. The foreground depicts small farming buildings and crops, with explosions in the middle ground, and hilly countryside in the background. The image has a title in the lower left-hand corner, with the artists’ signature in the lower-right – both in pencil.

The 2/16th Australian Infantry Battalion was assigned the task of capturing Saida, however with the large number of historic buildings in the city, progress was slow. This image shows one of the more rural, pastoral areas that were shelled as Australian soldiers made their way towards Jezzine.

Verso: This image depicts shellfire over the Litani River, some 25km south of Jezzine. This image likely depicts the Battle of the Litani River on 9 June 1941 – the first major battle of Operation Exporter as part of the initial advance to Beirut. Resistance from Vichy French soldiers at this time was generally sporadic and disorganised. As with the recto, Hodgkinson depicts shellfire with white gouache, above a pencil-sketch coloured with watercolours. The image has a title in the lower left-hand corner, with the artists’ signature in the lower-right – both in pencil.

The scene shows a serpentine-curved river lined with cypress trees leading to a background of hilly countryside. An almost identical angle of the river can be seen in a photograph taken by Australian war photographer Frank Hurley (008779).