An official French document from the Army of the Levant archives in Paris (Information Bulletin No. 77) presents the account of the officer in the 12th Company of the Spahi Regiment, Maréchal-des-Logis DECARRE, regarding the details of what he experienced during the Battle of Al-Kafr, which took place at 2:30 PM on July 21, 1925.
The details, sent by Officer Decarre at 6:30 PM on the day following the battle, indicate: A camp was formed in a field on the hillside to the southeast of the village by a Spahi detachment, consisting of Carrier's platoon and Tétichat's platoon, led by Officer Poubillier.
After lunch, the Druze police warned us of an attack!
We placed everyone in their positions, and 10 minutes later the enemy arrived. They were infantrymen jumping toward us individually! There may have been between 20 and 25 men in front of us, and there were 15 horsemen running toward the south! The enemy started firing from the northwest corner!
The Syrian squad responded immediately with machine guns and rifles.
I estimate the entire enemy force to be at least 300 men.
Commander Poubillier was hit in the abdomen, and I took command!
After half an hour, the enemy infiltrated between the rocks, hiding among the trees. Suddenly, twenty Druze jumped from the northwest corner over the wall that was protecting us to the north, 50 meters to my left.
The Syrian squad had to retreat so as not to be separated from the rest of the camp, and I had to retreat toward the west.
I saw Dr. de Verbizier fall wounded at this moment!
We regrouped about 100 meters southwest of the camp on the hill. Commander Norman was hit in the right thigh, and Lieutenant Carrier was also wounded in his foot.
The battle continued for about 20 minutes in this location, but we retreated again.
Captain Mailer was captured, and Captain Norman ordered me to stop the men from fleeing; I sent him after them. I shot one of them who did not obey the instructions.
The enemy horsemen were still surrounding us, their infantry was pursuing us, and then our men collapsed.
Lieutenant Carrier could no longer endure, and I found myself under fire from 4 men. I had to stop and play dead. Young Druze armed with daggers shook me two or three times, but I survived.
At nightfall, I walked slowly, barefoot, among the rocks and found 5 or 6 corpses in front of me. Then a shepherd lent me a donkey until I reached the village of Al-Raha, and I spent the night with its Mukhtar.
After we scattered, the enemy took control of the camp. An airplane flew over them, but the Druze opened fire on it.”
In a document sent on 23-7-1925, an initial number of French casualties was mentioned as follows:
7 missing officers
101 missing men
Out of a total of 166 fighters and 7 officers who were present in the Al-Kafr camp.
As for the wounded, the majority of those who remained alive in the camp had been injured, and some died of their wounds days later.
Regarding equipment losses, they were as follows:
40 Mousqueton rifles
41 bayonets
51 cavalry swords
2 machine guns
4 automatic rifles
4 revolvers
6 hand grenades.
As for the Druze losses in the battle, according to Sultan Pasha's memoirs, 54 people fell, and dozens were wounded and left with permanent disabilities.
Sultan Pasha Al-Atrash estimated the number of Mujahideen at about 500.
