When methyl 2,4,6-tri-0-benzoyl-3-0-benzyl-β-D-galacto-pyranoside (JO is treated in purified chloroform at 55-60′ with excess of dichloromethyl methyl ether in the presence of a catalytic amount of freshly fused zinc chloride for 1 h the corresponding α-glycosyl chloride 2 can be isolated by column chromatography in 75-80% yield. Compound 2 is an important intermediate in the synthesis of oligosaccharides containing a glycosyl-3-0-galactosyl sequence. Under the described reaction conditions the conversion 1 - 2 is accompanied by a slow anomerisation of 1 to give methyl 2,4,6-tri-0-benzoyl-3-0-benzyl-α-D-galactopyranoside. Prolonged treatment of 2 with the used excess of the reagent results in complete debenzylation of the substrate and the conversion of the putative 2,4,6-tri-O-benzoyl-α-D-galactopyranosyl chloride into the corresponding 3-0-formyl and 3-0-dichloromethyl derivatives.