Battle of the Hotels

Overview

The Battle of the Hotels was a subconflict within the 1975–77 phase of the Lebanese Civil War that occurred in the Minet-el-Hosn hotel district of downtown Beirut. This area was one of the first major battles of the war that began in April 1975. The battle was fought for the possession of a small hotel complex, the St. Charles City Center, adjacent to the gilded Corniche seafront area on the Mediterranean, in the north-western corner of the downtown district of Beirut, and it quickly spread to other areas of central Beirut. The often fierce battles that ensued were fought with heavy exchanges of rocket and artillery fire from the various hotel rooftops and rooms. Sniper fire was commonly utilized.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Battle of the Hotels was a subconflict within the 1975–77 phase of the Lebanese Civil War, fought in the Minet-el-Hosn hotel district of downtown Beirut. Beginning in April 1975, it was one of the first major engagements of the war and centered on the St. Charles City Center hotel complex adjacent to the Corniche seafront in Beirut's north-western downtown. The battle quickly expanded beyond the initial hotel complex to other areas of central Beirut, establishing the downtown district as a contested front early in the conflict. The engagement pitted the Lebanese National Movement, drawing on a broad coalition of commanders including Kamal Jumblatt and Yasser Arafat, against the Lebanese Front under the Gemayel, Chamoun, and Frangieh leaderships, with respective forces of roughly 2,000 and 1,500 fighters. Its early occurrence in the war made it emblematic of the urban fragmentation that would characterize the broader conflict throughout the 1975–77 period.

Tactics

Forces & casualties

Commanders (21)