It was fought on 2–3 August 1925 between Druze and Bedouin rebels led by Sultan Pasha al-Atrash and a heavily armed French force of the Army of the Levant near the town of al-Mazraa, around 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) northwest of the city of al-Suwayda.

The French authorities divided the territory of Syria into separate autonomous entities based on the different sects in the country, including the Jabal al-Druze area of Hauran with its Druze majority of 90%.

[4] Conflicts between the French authorities and the Druze of Hauran arose in July 1922 after the latter agreed to protect the Lebanese rebel Adham Khanjar who allegedly attempted to assassinate High Commissioner Henri Gouraud.

After the French appointed army officer Captain Carillet as governor of Jabal al-Druze in violation of the 1921 French-Druze Agreement which stipulated that a Druze be in charge, tensions between al-Atrash and the authorities increased, particularly after October 1924.

[5] After the high commissioner, General Maurice Sarrail arrested and banished three Druze sheikhs to Palmyra on 11 July 1925, Sultan al-Atrash launched a rebellion which became known as the Great Syrian Revolt.

[8] By 29 July, al-Atrash's rebels had destroyed railroad tracks at al-Mismiyya between Damascus and Daraa and parts of the paved road between Izra' and al-Suwayda, slowing the advance of Michaud's troops.

[8] At the end of the battle, 1,029 French, Senegalese and Malagasy soldiers and their Syrian auxiliaries had been killed or wounded,[9] while much of the remainder of the French-led force had been captured or deserted .

[7] The battle at al-Mazraa ended in a victory for Sultan al-Atrash, and his men were able to capture 2,000 rifles with ammunition and supplies, several machine guns and an artillery battery.

[13] News of the victory of Sultan al-Atrash reached Damascus shortly after the battle's end, inspiring Syrian nationalists in the country's capital and the countryside to join the Druze in revolt.