The Arab Legion () was the police force, then regular army of the
Emirate of Transjordan
The Emirate of Transjordan ( ar, إمارة شرق الأردن, Imārat Sharq al-Urdun, Emirate of East Jordan), officially known as the Amirate of Trans-Jordan, was a British protectorate established on 11 April 1921, , a
British protectorate, in the early part of the 20th century, and then of independent
Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
, with a final Arabization of its command taking place in 1956, when British senior officers were replaced by Jordanian ones.
Creation
In October 1920, after taking over the
Transjordan region from the
Ottomans, the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
formed a unit of 150 men called the "Mobile Force", under the command of Captain
Frederick Gerard Peake, to defend the territory against both internal and external threats. The Mobile Force was based in
Zarqa
Zarqa ( ar, الزرقاء) is the capital of Zarqa Governorate in Jordan. Its name means "the blue (city)". It had a population of 635,160 inhabitants in 2015, and is the most populous city in Jordan after Amman.
Geography
Zarqa is located in t ...
. 80% of its men were drawn from the
local Chechen community.
It was quickly expanded to 1,000 men, recruiting Arabs who had served in the
Ottoman Army
The military of the Ottoman Empire ( tr, Osmanlı İmparatorluğu'nun silahlı kuvvetleri) was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire.
Army
The military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the ...
. On 22 October 1923, the police were merged with the Reserve Mobile Force, still under Peake, who was now an employee of the
Emirate of Transjordan
The Emirate of Transjordan ( ar, إمارة شرق الأردن, Imārat Sharq al-Urdun, Emirate of East Jordan), officially known as the Amirate of Trans-Jordan, was a British protectorate established on 11 April 1921, . The new force was named ''Al Jeish al Arabi'' ("the Arab Army") but was always known officially in English as the Arab Legion. The Arab Legion was financed by Britain and commanded by British officers. The Legion was formed as a police force to keep order among the tribes of Transjordan and to guard the important
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
–
Amman road.
On 1 April 1926, the
Transjordan Frontier Force was formed from cadre drawn from the Arab Legion. It consisted of only 150 men and most of them were stationed along Transjordan's roads. During this time the Arab Legion was reduced to 900 men and was also stripped of its machine guns, artillery, and communications troops.
In 1939,
John Bagot Glubb
Lieutenant-General Sir John Bagot Glubb, KCB, CMG, DSO, OBE, MC, KStJ, KPM (16 April 1897 – 17 March 1986), known as Glubb Pasha, was a British soldier, scholar, and author, who led and trained Transjordan's Arab Legion between 1939 a ...
, better known as "Glubb
Pasha
Pasha, Pacha or Paşa ( ota, پاشا; tr, paşa; sq, Pashë; ar, باشا), in older works sometimes anglicized as bashaw, was a higher rank in the Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitar ...
", became the Legion's commander, with
Major General
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...
Abdul Qadir Pasha Al Jundi as his deputy commander. Together they transformed it into the best-trained Arab army.
World War II
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, the Arab Legion took part in the
British war effort against pro-
Axis
An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to:
Mathematics
* Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis
* Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinat ...
forces in the
Mediterranean and Middle East Theatre
The Mediterranean and Middle East Theatre was a major theatre of operations during the Second World War. The vast size of the Mediterranean and Middle East theatre saw interconnected naval, land, and air campaigns fought for control of the Medi ...
. By then, the force had grown to 1,600 men.
The Legion, part of
Iraqforce, contributed significantly in the
Anglo-Iraqi War
The Anglo-Iraqi War was a British-led Allied military campaign during the Second World War against the Kingdom of Iraq under Rashid Gaylani, who had seized power in the 1941 Iraqi coup d'état, with assistance from Germany and Italy. The ca ...
and in the
Syria-Lebanon campaign, two decisive early victories for the
Allies.
The top three officers representing the Legion who participated in the Victory March were Major General Abdul Qadir Pasha el Jundi,
O.B.E., Colonel Bahjat
Bey
Bey ( ota, بك, beğ, script=Arab, tr, bey, az, bəy, tk, beg, uz, бек, kz, би/бек, tt-Cyrl, бәк, translit=bäk, cjs, пий/пек, sq, beu/bej, sh, beg, fa, بیگ, beyg/, tg, бек, ar, بك, bak, gr, μπέης) is ...
Tabbara, and Lieutenant Colonel Ahmed Sudqui Bey,
M.B.E.
1948 Arab–Israeli War
The Arab Legion actively participated in the
1948 Arab–Israeli war. With a total strength of just over 6,000, the Arab Legion's military contingent consisted of 4,500 men in four single
battalion
A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions a ...
-sized
regiment
A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation.
In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...
s, each with their own armored car squadrons, and seven independent
companies
A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared go ...
plus support troops. The regiments were organized into two brigades. 1st Brigade contained 1st and 3rd Regiments while 3rd brigade contained 2nd and 4th Regiments. There were also two artillery batteries with four
25-pounder
The Ordnance QF 25-pounder, or more simply 25-pounder or 25-pdr, was the major British field gun and howitzer during the Second World War. Its calibre is 3.45-inch (87.6 mm). It was introduced into service just before the war started, combin ...
s each. On 9 February 1948 the Transjordan Frontier Force was disbanded with members being absorbed back into the Arab Legion. Although headed by Glubb, now a
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
, command in the field was by
Brigadier
Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. I ...
Norman Lash
Norman Oliver Lash (1908–1960) was a British police officer seconded to the Jordanian Arab Legion. On 15 May 1948, Brigadier Norman Lash was handed the field command of the operations of the Arab Legion in Palestine.
He appointed Abdul ...
.
The Legion was initially withdrawn from Palestine to Transjordanian territory, under instruction from the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
, prior to the end of the
British Mandate. With the commencement of hostilities the Legion re-entered Palestine with 1st Brigade heading to
Nablus and 2nd Brigade heading to
Ramallah. The Arab Legion entered Palestine with other Arab forces on May 15, 1948, using the
Allenby, now
King Hussein
Hussein bin Talal ( ar, الحسين بن طلال, ''Al-Ḥusayn ibn Ṭalāl''; 14 November 1935 – 7 February 1999) was King of Jordan from 11 August 1952 until his death in 1999. As a member of the Hashemite dynasty, the royal family o ...
, bridge as they were advancing to cover the approaches from
Jenin, in the north to
Alaffoula and from
Al-Majame'a bridge on the
Jordan River to
Bissan
Beit She'an ( he, בֵּית שְׁאָן '), also Beth-shean, formerly Beisan ( ar, بيسان ), is a town in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. The town lies at the Beit She'an Valley about 120 m (394 feet) below se ...
Alaffoula.
There was considerable embarrassment from the UK government that British officers were employed in the Legion during the conflict and all of them, including a
brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division.
B ...
commander, were ordered to return to Transjordan. This led to the bizarre spectacle of British officers leaving their units to return to Transjordan, only to sneak back across the border and rejoin the Arab Legion. Without exception all of the British officers returned to their units. One British
MP called for Glubb Pasha to be imprisoned for serving in a foreign army without the
King
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
's permission.
Units of the Arab Legion were engaged in several battles with the Jewish forces, including the following:
* Attacking
Ben Shemen
Ben Shemen ( he, בֶּן שֶׁמֶן, ''lit.'' very fruitful) is a moshav in central Israel. Located around four kilometres east of Lod, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hevel Modi'in Regional Council. In it had a population of .
Etymolog ...
convoy at
Beit Nabala
Bayt Nabala or Beit Nabala was a Palestinian Arab village in the Ramle Subdistrict in Palestine that was destroyed during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. The village was in the territory allotted to the Arab state under the 1947 UN Partition Plan ...
– 14 December 1947
* Battle of
Neve Yaakov
Neve Yaakov also Neve Ya'aqov, ( he, נווה יעקב; lit. Jacob's Oasis), is an Israeli settlement and neighborhood located in East Jerusalem, north of Pisgat Ze'ev and south of al-Ram. Established in 1924 during the period of the British M ...
settlement – 18 April 1948
* Attacking
Kibutz Gesher on 27–28 April 1948
* Occupation of the
Tegart fort at
Latrun
Latrun ( he, לטרון, ''Latrun''; ar, اللطرون, ''al-Latrun'') is a strategic hilltop in the Latrun salient in the Ayalon Valley, and a depopulated Palestinian village. It overlooks the road between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, 25 kilometers ...
on 17 May 1948, and later the
Battles of Latrun
The Battles of Latrun were a series of military engagements between the Israel Defense Forces and the Jordanian Arab Legion on the outskirts of Latrun between 25 May and 18 July 1948, during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Latrun takes its name fro ...
from 20 May to 18 July 1948.
*
Siege of Jerusalem from 17 May to 18 July 1948,
* Attacking and capturing (but later losing)
Kibbutz Gezer on 10 June 1948,
*
Tarqumiya on 24 October 1948
By the end of the war in 1949, the Arab Legion consisted of over 10,000 men manning a 100-mile front, which then expanded to a 400-mile front following the withdrawal of
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
i forces.
Further clashes with Israel
On September 11, 1956, an Israeli force in what the
IDF termed one of its
retribution operations,
Operation Jehonathan, raided Jordanian territory at Al-Rahwa,
Hebron
Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies above sea level. The second-largest city in the West Bank (after Eas ...
Sector, attacking the police station and clashing with a unit from the Legion's
Desert Force. Over twenty soldiers and policemen were killed.
[Morris, Benny (1993) ''Israel's Border Wars, 1949 - 1956. Arab Infiltration, Israeli Retaliation, and the Countdown to the Suez War''. Oxford University Press, . Page 392.]
The Legion generally stayed out of the 1956
Suez Crisis.
Jordanian army
On 1 March 1956, the Arab Legion was renamed as the Arab Army (now
Jordanian Armed Forces
The Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF) ( ar, الْقُوَّاتُ الْمُسَلَّحَةُ الأرْدُنِية, romanized: ''Al-Quwwat Al-Musallaha Al-Urduniyya''), also referred to as the Arab Army ( ar, الْجَيْشُ الْعَرَب� ...
) as part of the
Arabization of its command, under which
King Hussein of Jordan
Hussein bin Talal ( ar, الحسين بن طلال, ''Al-Ḥusayn ibn Ṭalāl''; 14 November 1935 – 7 February 1999) was King of Jordan from 11 August 1952 until his death in 1999. As a member of the Hashemite dynasty, the royal family of ...
dismissed the Legion's British commander
"Glubb Pasha" and other senior British officers. In Israel, the Hebrew term "Ligioner" (ליגיונר), i.e. "Legionary" was still informally used for Jordanian soldiers for many years afterwards, also at the time of the
1967 war and its aftermath.
Commanders
*
Colonel Frederick Peake ("Peake Pasha") – 22 October 1923 – 21 March 1939
*
Lieutenant Colonel Ernest Stafford ("Stafford Bey") 2nd IC—1924–1931.
*
Lieutenant General John Glubb,
KCB,
CMG,
DSO,
OBE,
MC ("Glubb Pasha") – 21 March 1939 – 1 March 1956
*
Major General
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...
Abdul Qadir Pasha Al Jundi, O.B.E. ("Abdul Qadir Pasha") - 1–25 March 1956
Note: "
Pasha
Pasha, Pacha or Paşa ( ota, پاشا; tr, paşa; sq, Pashë; ar, باشا), in older works sometimes anglicized as bashaw, was a higher rank in the Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitar ...
" is a Turkish honorary title, one of various ranks, and is equivalent to the British title of "Lord".
Bey
Bey ( ota, بك, beğ, script=Arab, tr, bey, az, bəy, tk, beg, uz, бек, kz, би/бек, tt-Cyrl, бәк, translit=bäk, cjs, пий/пек, sq, beu/bej, sh, beg, fa, بیگ, beyg/, tg, бек, ar, بك, bak, gr, μπέης) is ...
is equivalent to a knighthood or "Sir".
References
Bibliography
* Dupuy, Trevor N, Elusive Victory, ''The Arab-Israeli Wars'', 1947–1974, Hero (1984)
* Farndale, Sir Martin, ''History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery'', The Years of Defeat, 1939–41, Brassey's (1996)
*
Glubb, John Bagot, ''The Arab Legion'', Hodder & Stoughton, London (1948)
* Isseroff, A., ''Kfar Etzion Remembered: A History of Gush Etzion and the Massacre of Kfar Etzion'', 2005.
* Levi, I., ''Jerusalem in the War of Independence'' ("Tisha Kabin" – Nine Measures – in Hebrew) Maarachot – IDF, Israel Ministry of Defence, 1986.
* Pal, Dharm, ''Official History of the Indian Armed in the Second World War'', 1939-45 - Campaign in Western Asia, Orient Longmans (1957)
* Roubicek, Marcel, ''Echo of the Bugle, extinct military and constabulary forces in Palestine and Trans-Jordan 1915'', 1967, Franciscan (Jerusalem 1974)
* Shlaim, Avi (2007). ''Lion of Jordan: The Life of King Hussein in War and Peace'', Allen Lane.
* Vatikiotis, P.J. (1967). ''Politics and the Military in Jordan: A Study of the Arab Legion, 1921-1957'', New York, Praeger Publishers.
* Young, Peter (1972). ''The Arab Legion'', Osprey Publishing. and
* ''Jordan – A Country Study'', U.S.
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...
External links
Encyclopædia Britannica article1956 - King of Jordan sacks British general (BBC article and video)
{{Authority control
1948 Arab–Israeli War
Arab nationalist militant groups
Military history of Jordan
Military units and formations of Jordan
Military units and formations established in 1920
Military units and formations disestablished in 1956
1956 disestablishments in Jordan
Military units and formations of the British Empire in World War II