Miyeoumiye

Miyeoumiye was a small village south east of the coastal town of Sidon in Lebanon. In order to avoid attacking the strong Vichy French defences along the road that ran into Sidon from the South, Lieutenant Colonel Murray Moten, commanding the 2/27th Battalion, proposed to descend on the town from the high ground to the east. This would entail an approach through Miyeoumiye. The march on Mieoumiye was exhausting, requiring the men of the 2/27th who had had little rest since crossing the frontier on 8 June, to cross a great deal of rugged country. The two attacking companies faced a further trial having to cross the deep Wadi Sataniq to reach their start line, and then having to attack across another 60-foot-deep wadi. The attacked commenced at 5pm on 14 June and the attack troops ran into heavy fire almost immediately as they sought to scramble across the wadi. Only a single platoon managed to make it across to the cover of the far bank, but from there it was able to move into a position to attack the flank of the French position in the village itself. With only 17 men, the platoon captured the village and took 36 Vichy French prisoners. Its success had isolated it from the rest of the battalion, however, and it withdrew about 9pm. The presence of loaded mules in Miyeoumiye suggested a Vichy French withdrawal was in progress, which by the morning of 15 June was found to have been completed. The entire 2/27th Battalion was able to cross the wadi south of Miyeoumiye without opposition and by 9am patrols were probing forward towards Sidon.