 In spite of King Faisal's acceptance of France's ultimatum, Yusuf al-'Azma refused to give in.He raised a small body of disbanded troops and civilians, poorly armed relative to the modern, well-equipped professional French Army, and led them to Maysalun.Although he had no illusions about the outcome of the battle, al-'Azma wanted to make it clear that Syria would not surrender without fighting, in order to deny the French occupation any legitimacy.