Jewish Legion

From Free net encyclopedia

This article is about the British Army battalions known as the Jewish Legion or Zion Mule Corps, which fought in World War I against the Ottoman Empire. For other Jewish legions, see Jewish legion (disambiguation).

The Jewish Legion was the name for five battalions of Jewish volunteers established as the British Army's 38th through 42nd (Service) Battalions of the Royal Fusiliers. The initial unit, known as the Zion Mule Corps, was formed in 1914-1915 during World War I, when Britain was at war against the Ottoman Turks, as Zionists around the world saw an opportunity to promote the idea of a Jewish National Homeland.

In December 1914, Zeev Jabotinsky and Joseph Trumpeldor raised the idea of the formation of a Jewish unit that would participate in the British military effort to liberate the Land of Israel from the Ottoman Empire, and by the end of March 1915, 500 Jewish volunteers from the Jews in Egypt who had been deported there by the Turks had started training. The Zion Mule Corps served on the Gallipoli front, as for political reasons the British opposed the participation of Jewish volunteers on the Palestinian front, but ultimately, in August 1917, the formation of a Jewish regiment was officially announced. The soldiers of the 38th and 39th Battalions of the Royal Fusiliers, made up almost entirely of Jews from Britain, Russia, the United States and Canada and later, the 40th Battalion, composed of Jews from the Ottoman provinces of Palestine and other areas, served in the Jordan Valley and fought the Turks some 20 miles north of Jerusalem.

Image:Jabotinsky Zion Mule Corps.jpg	Image:Joseph Trumpeldor.jpg
Jabotinsky (L) and Trumpeldor in uniform.

1 Background
2 The Gallipoli front
3 Official formation of the Jewish regiment
4 Action in the Jordan Valley, 1917
5 40th Battalion organized from local Jewish population
6 Legacy
7 Notable Legion members
8 References
9 External links
10 Further reading

[edit]

Background

The British opposed the participation of Jewish volunteers on the Palestinian front and they were put to serve as a detachment for mule transport on another sector of the Turkish front. Trumpeldor formed the 650-strong Zion Mule Corps, of whom 562 were sent to the Gallipoli front.

[edit]

The Gallipoli front

On April 25, 1915, together with the first British, Australian, New Zealand and French troops, the Jewish Legion landed on Gallipoli peninsula. It was led by the Commander Lt. Colonel John Henry Patterson, DSO (of Irish Protestant origin) and was met with heavy shelling and machine gun fire at the shore of Cape Helles. Trumpeldor was the deputy commander; Jabotinsky served as an officer. There, a Distinguished Conduct Medal was awarded to Private M. Groushkowsky, who prevented his mules from stampeding under heavy bombardment and despite being wounded in both arms, delivered the ammunition. Trumpeldor was shot through the shoulder but refused to leave the battlefield. Patterson later wrote: "Many of the Zionists whom I thought somewhat lacking in courage showed themsleves fearless to a degree when under heavy fire, while Captain Trumpeldor actually revelled in it, and the hotter it became the more he liked it..."<ref>Martin Gilbert. The Jews in the Twentieth Century. An Illustrated History (Schocken Books, 2001) ISBN 0805241906 p.85</ref>

[edit]

Official formation of the Jewish regiment

Finally, in August 1917, the formation of a Jewish regiment was officially announced.

The unit was designated as the 38th Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers and included British volunteers, as well as members of the former Zion Mule Corps and a large number of Russian Jews. On April 1918, it was joined by the 39th Battalion, made up almost entirely of Jews who were resident in the United States and Canada.

[edit]

Action in the Jordan Valley, 1917

Image:Jewish legion hakotel 1917.jpg In June 1918, the volunteers of the 38th Battalion fought for the liberation of Eretz Israel (Palestine) from Turkish rule some 20 miles north of Jerusalem.

In the fighting in the Jordan Valley, more than 20 Legionnaires were killed, wounded, or captured, the rest came down with malaria, and 30 of this group later died. The Legion then came under the command of Major General E.W.C. Chaytor.

The Legion's mission was to cross the Jordan River. Jabotinsky led the effort. Later, he was decorated and General Chaytor told the Jewish troops: "By forcing the Jordan fords, you helped in no small measure to win the great victory gained at Damascus."

[edit]

40th Battalion organized from local Jewish population

Thousands of Palestinian Jews applied to join the Legion and in 1918, more than 1,000 were enlisted. 92 Turkish Jews who had been captured in the fighting earlier were also permitted to enlist. This group was organized as the 40th Battalion.

[edit]

Legacy

Image:First judean flag.jpg Almost all the members of the Jewish regiments were discharged immediately after the end of World War I in November 1918. Some of them returned to their respective countries, others settled in Palestine to realize their Zionist aspirations. In late 1919, the Jewish Legion was reduced to one battalion titled First Judeans, and awarded a distinctive cap badge, a menorah with the Hebrew word קדימה Kadima (forward) at the base. In 1920 former members of the Legion as members of the Haganah took part in defense of Jewish Communities during Anti-Jewish rioting-an action which resulted in the arrest of Vladimir Jabotinsky. Two former members of the Legion were killed with Captain Joseph Trumpeldor at Tel Hai.

[edit]