Jewish Legion

The Jewish Legion (1917–1921) is an unofficial name used to refer to five battalions of Jewish volunteers, the 38th to 42nd (Service) Battalions of the Royal Fusiliers in the British Army, raised to fight against the Ottoman Empire during the First World War.

An evolution of the Zion Mule Corps that was raised in 1915 and fought in Gallipoli, the Jewish Legion started being formed in August 1917 with the formation of one Jewish battalion. The legion would incorporate a number of Russian Jews and later Jews from the United States and Canada with the unit reaching five battalions. The Legion fought in the Battle of Megiddo, before being reduced to one battalion, known as First Judaeans.

Background

In November 1914, David Ben-Gurion and Yitzhak Ben-Zvi proposed to the Ottoman commander in Jerusalem that a Jewish Legion could be raised to fight with the Turkish Army. The proposal was approved and training began but was soon cancelled by Djemal Pasha, who became known for persecuting Zionists. Ben-Gurion and Ben-Zvi were among thousands of Jews deported.

In February 1915, a small committee in Alexandria approved a plan of Zeev Jabotinsky and Joseph Trumpeldor to form a military unit from Russian Jewish émigrés from Palestine that would participate in the British effort to seize Palestine from the Ottoman Empire. The British commander General Maxwell met a delegation, led by Jabotinsky, on 15 March. The General said he was unable, under the Army Act, to enlist foreign nationals as fighting troops, but that he could form them into a volunteer transport Mule Corps. Jabotinsky rejected the idea and left for Europe to seek other support for a Jewish unit, but Trumpeldor accepted it and began recruiting volunteers from among the local Jews in Egypt and those who had been deported there by the Ottomans in the previous year. The British Army formed 650 of them into the Zion Mule Corps, of which 562 served in the Gallipoli Campaign.

Gallipoli Front

The need on the Gallipoli peninsula for means to carry water to the troops was considered so urgent that in mid-April, a request was forwarded to Egypt for the Zion Mule Corps to be sent immediately, regardless of its lack of equipment. Its commanding officer was Lieutenant-Colonel John Henry Patterson, DSO, an Irish Protestant, and Captain Trumpeldor was Second-in-command. The Zion Mule Corps landed at Cape Helles from four weeks after being raised, having been stranded at Mudros when its ship ran aground. The corps was embarked in the same ship as the Indian 9th Mule Corps bound for Gaba Tepe and so a detour to Helles was ordered. The Zion Mule Corps was disembarked under artillery fire from the Asiatic shore, with help of volunteers from the 9th Mule Corps and began carrying supplies forward immediately.

A Distinguished Conduct Medal was awarded to Private M. Groushkowsky, who, near Krithia on 5 May, 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 themselves 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 ..."

The men returned to Alexandria on 10 January 1916. The Zion Mule Corps were disbanded on 26 May 1916. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission lists 13 members of the Zion Mule Corps as fatalities.

Formation

Between the dissolution of the Zion Mule Corps and the formation of the Jewish Legion, Jabotinsky and Trumpeldor and 120 Zion Mule Corps veterans served together in 16 Platoon of the 20th Battalion, London Regiment.

In August 1917, the formation of a Jewish battalion 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. In April 1918, it was joined by the 39th Battalion, raised at Fort Edward, Nova Scotia, which was made up almost entirely of Jews who were resident in the United States and Canada.

Thousands of Palestinian Jews also applied to join the Legion and in 1918, more than 1,000 were enlisted. Ninety-two Ottoman Jews who had been captured in the fighting earlier were also permitted to enlist. This group was organized as the 40th Battalion. The 41st and 42nd Battalions were depot battalions stationed in Plymouth, England. In his memoirs about the Legion Jabotinsky described the composition of the 5,000-member Legion as; "thirty-four per cent from the United States, thirty per cent from Palestine, twenty-eight per cent from England, six per cent from Canada, one per cent Ottoman war prisoners, one per cent from Argentina." The soldiers of the 38th, 39th and later the 40th Battalions of the Royal Fusiliers served in the Jordan Valley and fought the Ottomans north of Jerusalem.

Action in the Jordan Valley, 1918

In June 1918, the volunteers of the 38th Battalion began engaging the Ottomans some twenty miles north of Jerusalem. In the fighting in the Jordan Valley, more than twenty Legionnaires were killed, wounded, or captured, the rest came down with malaria, and thirty of this group later died. The 38th Battalion served in the 31st Brigade of the 10th (Irish) Division. The Legion then came under the command of Major-General Edward Chaytor, who commanded the ANZAC Mounted Division.

Besides various skirmishes, the Legion also participated in the Battle of Megiddo in mid-September 1918, widely considered to have been one of the final and decisive victories of the Ottoman front.

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

In August 1919 fifty-six men from the Battalion were court-martialled for refusing to continue guarding prisoners of war in the Egyptian desert. They received sentences of 2 to 7 years hard labour.

Legacy

Almost all the members of the Jewish regiments were discharged immediately after the end of the First World War in November 1918. Some of them returned to their respective countries, others settled in Palestine to realize their Zionist aspirations – among them the future first Prime Minister of Israel, David Ben-Gurion. In late 1919, the Jewish Legion was reduced to one battalion titled First Judaeans, and awarded a distinctive cap badge, a menorah with the Hebrew word קדימה ''Kadima'' (forward) at the base.

Former members of the Legion took part in the defence of Jewish communities during the Riots in Palestine of 1920, which resulted in Jabotinsky's arrest. Two former members of the Legion were killed with Trumpeldor at Tel Hai. One former member of the Legion was killed in Tel Aviv-Yafo during the Jaffa riots of 1921. Some members of the Jewish Legion settled in moshav Avihayil and moshav Be'er Tuvia. Another former member died in service in the Second World War.

At least two of the survivors of the Jewish Legion passed the century mark:
*Harry Rosenblatt of New York who died 31 August 1994 age 101.
*Samuel Kernerman of Canada (Toronto) died December 2000 age 101.

Gallery

File:הגדוד העברי של נהגי פרדות במלחמה העולמית הראשונה ( 1915) מסדר במצרים.-PHG-1003805.png, Zion Mule Corps Ammunition Company in Egypt 1915
File:Bat Zion I want your Old New Land join Jewish regiment.jpg, A recruitment poster showing Daughter of Zion: "Your Old New Land must have you! Join the Jewish regiment."
File:John Henry Patterson.jpg, Colonel John Henry Patterson.
File:Eliezer Margolin.jpg, Colonel Eliezer Margolin of the "First Judeans".
File:Jewish legion hakotel 1917.jpg, December 1917. Jewish Legion soldiers at the Western Wall after the British take-over of Jerusalem.
File:Legion003.jpg, February 1918 The 38th battalion of the Jewish Legion marches in the streets of London.
File:PikiWiki Israel 1107 People of Israel זאב זבוטינסקי.jpg, Lt. Ze'ev Jabotinsky MBE in uniform of 38th RF (centre seated).
File:JewishLeagueFortEdwardNovaScotia.jpg, 39th Battalion, Jewish Legion, at Fort Edward (Nova Scotia), Yom Kippur, 1918.
File:Officers of 39th Royal Fusiliers (Jewish), Helmieh Camp, Cairo, August 1918.jpg, Officers of 39th Royal Fusiliers (Jewish), Helmieh Camp, Cairo, August 1918.
File:Eliazar Margolin leading the 39th Royal Fusiliers through Bet Shemen in Israel.jpg, Col. Margolin leading the 39th Battalion of the Jewish Legion through Bet Shemen.
File:Jewish Legion in World War I Memorial IMG 3128.JPG, Jewish Legion camped at what would become Shilo, Mateh Binyamin
File:מר יצחק בן צבי בלגיון-JNF039459.jpeg, Private Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, a volunteer in the Jewish Legion 1918.
File:1918 Private BenGurion volunteer in Jewish Legion.jpg, Private David Ben-Gurion, a volunteer in the Jewish Legion 1918.
File:YaakovDori.jpg, Yaakov Dori
File:Private Jacob Epstein (7500049192).jpg, Private Jacob Epstein
File:1918 שמעון קושניר במדי הגדוד העברי מזכרת לאהרון שר - iבן ציון ישראליi btm11334.jpeg, Shimon Kushner in the uniform of the Hebrew Battalion 1918
File:Israeli volunteers British WWI.jpg, HaYishuv Volunteers for British Army 1918.
File:חיילים עבריים במדבר סיני בשנת 1918 (בתוך אלבום מתנה לאליעזר וסיני וסרמן מיעקב בן-PHAL-1621100.png, Jewish Legion Soldiers at El Arish Egypt 1918
File:לוחמי הגדוד העברי 1919 - iתמיר עדהi btm1847.jpeg, The Jewish Legion 1919
File:PikiWiki Israel 28785 Israel Defense Forces.jpg, The Jewish Legion celebrates Passover 1919.
File:PikiWiki Israel 431 Jewish Legion מקהלת הגדוד העברי.jpg, The choir of the Jewish Legion.
File:מסירת דגל השומר לגדוד העברי-JNF023677.jpeg, Jewish Legion Standard 1 January 1915 it reads "By Blood and Fire Judea fell-By Blood and Fire Judea will rise"
File:ירושלים - פרופסור ויצמן עם דגל הגדוד העברי-JNF029623.jpeg, Jewish Legion standard 1 January 1918
File:First judean flag.jpg, The flag of the First Judeans 1919–1921.
File:Legion001.jpg, The cap badge of the First Judaeans 1919–1921: menorah and word קדימה ''Kadima''
File:גלוית יהודה המשתחררת.jpg, Judea Liberated postcard. At the lower right is a Jewish Legion soldier.
File:ירושלים - תהלוכת הפגנה נגד "הספר הלבן".-JNF035417.jpeg, Jewish Legion Veterans March in Jerusalem in protest against the "Palestine White Paper" restricting Jewish Immigration 18 May 1939
File:1940 POSTER CALLING FOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO KEREN HAYESOD. כרזה משנות ה-40 הקוראת לתרומות הציבור לקרן היסוד.D247-011.jpg, 1940 Poster featuring Jabotinsky of the Jewish Legion. For contributions to Keren Hayesod.
File:MEMBERS OF THE WORLD WAR I JEWISH LEGION MARCHING ON THE "JEWISH SOLDIERS DAY" IN TEL AVIV. יום החייל היהודי בתל אביב. בצילום, חיילים יהודים אשר שירתוD817-123.jpg, Veterans of the Jewish Legion, 27 September 1942, Tel Aviv.
File:Ha-Hitnadvut.svg, The Volunteer Ribbon.

Notable members

* John Henry Patterson – Commander of Zion Mule Corps and 38th Battalion Royal Fusiliers
* Colonel Eliezer Margolin - Commander of the 39th Battalion Royal Fusiliers
* Gershon Agron, Mayor of Jerusalem
* Nathan Ausubel, Jewish-American author
* Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, second Israeli President
* Abraham (Albert) Davidson, RSM and Musketry Instructor, 38th Battalion. Orphaned as a child, he by chance found his late parents' families when on active service in Tel Aviv.
* Yaakov Dori, Haganah leader; first Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, President of the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology
* Maxwell H. Dubin, rabbi, Wilshire Boulevard Temple, Los Angeles
* Sir Jacob Epstein, British sculptor
* Levi Eshkol, third Prime Minister of Israel
* Louis Fischer, Jewish-American journalist and author
* Eliyahu Golomb, founding member of the Haganah
* Dr. Hirsh Loeb Gordon, rabbi and physician
* David Grün, later Ben-Gurion, first Israeli Prime Minister
* Nachum Gutman, Israeli painter
* Joseph Hecht, first Chairman of the Haganah 1921-1930
* Israel Hirschfeld, Israeli painter
* Dov Hoz, Zionist activist, Haganah fighter
* Julius Jacobs- brother-in-law of Moshe Smilansky; killed in the King David Hotel bombing, 22 July 1946.
* Bernard Joseph, later Dov Yosef, Governor of Jewish Jerusalem during the 1948 siege; longtime Labor MK
* Berl Katznelson, Zionist philosopher and activist
* Reuven Katzenelson – Sergeant under Joseph Trumpeldor at Battle of Gallipoli and father of Shmuel Tamir
* Bert "Yank" Levy Internationalist in Spain and military instructor for the British Home Guard. His work served as the basis for a popular handbook on guerrilla warfare.
* Gideon Mer, physician, veteran of Zion Mule Corps, Jewish Legion and British Army in the Second World War. Served as a medic in the 1947–1949 Palestine war; later worked in the Israeli Ministry of Health. (Note: he is the unnamed officer in charge of an anti-malaria programme during the Second World War – mentioned in Martin Sugarman's article on the Zion Mule Corps.)
* Nehemiah Rubitzov, father of Yitzhak Rabin
* Israel Rosenberg, also known as 'The grandfather of the Jewish Legion'
* James Armand de Rothschild, DCM Major, 39th Royal Fusiliers Battalion; Captain Royal Canadian Dragoons; a member of the Rothschild family
* Redcliffe N. Salaman, medical officer, from April 1918 in Egypt and Palestine, 38th Battalion, then 39th of Royal Fusiliers
* Edwin Herbert Samuel, 2nd Viscount Samuel; CMG son of Herbert Samuel, 1st Viscount Samuel
* Moshe Smilansky, pioneer of the First Aliyah, a Zionist leader who advocated peaceful coexistence with the Arabs in Mandatory Palestine, a farmer, and a prolific author
* Edward Sperling – humourist and later director-general of the Ministry of Trade and Industry under the British Mandate of Palestine; Killed in the 1946 King David Hotel bombing
* Eleazar Sukenik, Israeli archaeologist; father of Yigael Yadin
* David Tidhar Police officer, private investigator and author

See also

* Jewish Brigade, a similar military formation of volunteer Jews in the British Army that fought in the Second World War
* Jewish Legion (Anders Army), a proposed unit in the Polish Anders Army in USSR during the Second World War
* Tilhas Tizig Gesheften, organisation which grew out of the Jewish Brigade

References

Further reading

* Patterson, John H. ''With the Judaeans in the Palestine campaign.'' Uckfield : Naval & Military Press, 004 reprint
* Jabotinsky, Vladimir. ''The story of the Jewish Legion.'' New York: Bernard Ackerman, 1945.
* Freulich, Roman. ''Soldiers in Judea: Stories and vignettes of the Jewish Legion.'' Herzl Press, 1965.
* Gilner, Elias. ''Fighting dreamers; a history of the Jewish Legion in World War One,: With a glimpse at other Jewish fighting groups of the period.'' 1968.
* Gilner, Elias. ''War and Hope. A History of the Jewish Legion.'' New York; Herzl Press: 1969.
* Keren, Michael and Shlomit Keren, ''We Are Coming, Unafraid: The Jewish Legions and the Promised Land in the First World War''. Lanham MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2010.
* Kraines, Oscar. ''The soldiers of Zion: The Jewish Legion, 1915–1921.'' 1985.
* Lammfromm, Arnon, Izhak Ben-Zvi and the Commemoration of Joseph Binyamini: A Failed Attempt to Create a Site of National Heritage", Archion, 17, Winter 2013, pages 48–55, 68 (Hebrew and English abstract)
* Marrion, R.J. ''"The Jewish Legion," 39th (service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment), 1918–1919.'' 1987.
* Watts, Martin. ''The Jewish Legion and the First World War.'' 2004.
* "When the spirit of Judah Maccabee hovered over Whitechapel Road and – The march of the 38th Royal Fusiliers" by Martin Sugarman, Western Front Association Journal, Jan 2010.

External links

The Zion Muleteers of Gallipoli (March 1915 – May 1916)
by Martin Sugarman (Jewish Virtual Library). Retrieved 21 June 2006.

Jewish Legion and Jewish East End of London Link

CWGC record of I Bendow

Note Born Israel Bendow Feigelman

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Jewish military units and formations
Royal Fusiliers
Military units and formations of the British Army in World War I
Military units and formations established in 1917
Military units and formations disestablished in 1921