21 juin 1936 - Battle of Nur Shams

Description:

On this day, Arab militants attacked a group of buses escorted by British soldiers. This battle was described as the "heaviest engagement" in the revolt so far. This fight also had the largest engagement of British troops up to this point in the revolt. The Arab forces blocked the road with a barricade of stones and fired at the convoy when it tried to move the barricade. The Arabs were able to 'hold the British off' until British airforce stepped in to support. The machine gun firing from the planes led to the Arabs splitting into two forces allowing the British to pick them off. It was confirmed that 10 or 11 Arabs were killed in the battle and 2 British soldiers were killed. The planes were then able to transport the wounded members to the hospital. This battle urged the Arab leaders to do the opposite of end their strike; this battle instead continued the strike for several months.