Unlike Trumpeldor, Jabotinsky was not satisfied with the formation of the Zion Mule Corps, which was not a combat unit and did not participate in the fight against the Ottomans. He traveled to
Europe to continue advocating for the battalions. Jabotinsky contacted numerous statesmen but failed to gain genuine support for his initiative in Britain, France and Russia. The resistance stemmed from both a lack of trust in a military unit composed entirely of Jewish volunteers and the times's lack of interest in fighting the Ottomans in Palestine. Also, significant support did not come from most Jewish leaders or communities. However, a few Zionist figures tried to assist Jabotinsky. The most notable was Meir Grossman with whom he founded the newspaper
Di Tribune, later known as
Unser Tribune, to promote propaganda for the battalions. Rutenberg and Weizmann also supported Jabotinsky's initiative, but the
Zionist Organization strongly opposed it, and its executive committee issued an order to all Zionists in Europe to fight against the propaganda supporting the Jewish Legion. Jabotinsky eventually reached London and focused his efforts there for the next two years. He decided to concentrate on around 30,000 Jews, mostly young men who were refugees from Russia,
Poland and
Galicia who resided as refugees in London, particularly in
Whitechapel and the rest of the
East End of London. The efforts to form the battalion were highly determined and carried out against the odds:
Horatio Kitchener, the
British Secretary of War, believed that Britain did not need "exotic armies" and that the war would not reach Palestine. Most Zionist movement leaders, as mentioned earlier, tried to thwart the initiative, and above all, there was great apathy among young
London Jews, most of whom saw no need to enlist in the British Army, did not identify with its war and did not identify with Zionism or the idea of conquering Palestine. Nevertheless, voices in Britain began to grow in favor of compulsory enlistment. The British people witnessed the heavy losses in the youth on the battlefields compared to the "café dwellers", many of whom were European refugees in London, including young Jews. The
British Home Office later ordered compulsory enlistment for
British citizens. The foreign Jews initially refused enlistment. Jabotinsky and his supporters clarified to the British authorities and to the young Jews that joining a Jewish battalion was the only way out of the predicament. Two catalysts then appeared: an editorial supporting the idea in the influential newspaper
The Times and a group of 120 former members of the Zion Mule Corps, along with Trumpeldor, who joined the 20th Battalion of the
Royal Fusiliers and formed a Jewish company within it. After a decisive meeting between Trumpeldor, Jabotinsky and senior officials at the War Office, the formation of a combat Jewish battalion was realized. Initially, the battalion was called "The Jewish Regiment" (a regiment usually consisting of two battalions), and its symbol was a
menorah with the slogan "Kadima," meaning "forward" as both "advance" and "eastward". It recommended
John Henry Patterson as its commander, as he had led the Zion Mule Corps throughout its operations in Gallipoli. Trumpeldor, who had served as the deputy commander of the Mule Corps in Gallipoli and succeeded Patterson in its final months, was initially denied an officer's commission by the British and so he returned to Russia to promote his idea of forming a massive Jewish army to fight on the Caucasus front and advance toward Palestine. The Jewish company of the 20th Battalion joined the new Jewish battalion, and its members became the core of the unit.
The 38th Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers The 38th (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment), commonly referred to as the "London Battalion", was mainly composed of Jews from London, with a smaller number of Americans. The battalion, led by Patterson because of his success with the Zion Mule Corps, had two thirds of its officers as Jews; other battalions had mostly
Christian officers. Recruitment for the battalion took place in England. In August 1917, two official notices were issued: one obligating Russian citizens residing in England to enlist in the army and the other announcing the establishment of the Jewish battalion. Despite obstacles, the assimilated Jews in London continued to oppose its existence and tried to dissolve it. Although they failed in their efforts, their influence led to the cancellation of the name "The Jewish Regiment" and the
menorah symbol. Instead, it was given the name of a regular British battalion—the 38th Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers. The War Minister promised, however, that the battalion would regain its symbols after proving itself in combat. The public and the press still referred to it by its original name, the recruitment office displayed Hebrew signs, and the soldiers and officers wore Star of David insignias on their left arm (the 38th Battalion had a light purple
Star of David, the 39th was red and the 40th was blue). The soldiers trained at a camp near Portsmouth. On 2 February 1918, the Jewish battalion marched through the main streets of Whitechapel and the rest of London. Great excitement was felt among the city's Jews, many shops hung blue and white flags and the proud soldiers of the legion were received with loud cheers in the streets. The next day, the battalion set off for France and then through Italy to Egypt. The 38th Battalion trained in Egypt and was later sent to Palestine. There were already many volunteers from among the local youths, who would later form the 40th Battalion. In early June, the battalion was stationed on the front lines of the British forces in the hills of Ephraim, an area in which the British forces were engaged in skirmishes against the Ottomans.
Malaria was an issue, which afflicted many. In mid-August, the battalion was sent to the Jordan front, where it served as a link throughout the British front. In September, at the beginning of the
Battle of Megiddo, Patterson received orders to capture the Umm al-Shert Bridge in the
Jordan Valley, the only bridge in the area (located directly east of
Netiv HaGdud, a
moshav named after the operation). The first company sent to the location came under fire; its captain, Julian, was barely rescued; the lieutenant was wounded and taken prisoner; and a private was killed. Jabotinsky then led the second company to seize the site, and the mission was successfully completed on the 22nd of the month. From there, the battalion, already preceded by the 39th Battalion, advanced to the area of As-Salt, east of the Jordan River, and established a garrison there. In
Gilead, the British completed their conquest of Palestine, and the battalion returned to its western side and took Ottoman and German prisoners. Subsequently, the battalion was tasked with guarding military facilities.
The 39th Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers " poster and calling, "Your
Altneuland needs you! Join the Jewish Regiment!" The
39th Battalion was known as "
the American Battalion," since most of its soldiers coming from the Jewish community in the United States, but had a minority from England. The origins of its formation lie in Rutenberg's 1915 initiative to create a military unit composed of American and Canadian Jews. Initially, American Jews did not agree to his initiative, but when the United States entered the war in April 1917, their stance changed. The battalion was recruited in the United States. The principal initiators of its establishment were Ben-Zvi and Ben-Gurion, who were exiled from Palestine during the war by
Djemal Pasha. They changed their position after the
Balfour Declaration. About 5,000 volunteers (though not all managed to arrive in Palestine) formed the battalion, which operated under British command. The battalion's commander was Colonel
Eliezer Margolin. It included a core group of members from the "
HaHalutz" (The Pioneer) movement and "
Poalei Zion," meaning, unlike the 38th British Battalion, most of its members were Zionists. In 1918, the battalion's soldiers were sent to Palestine, where the 38th Battalion had also arrived. About half of its members participated in the military campaigns in the
Jordan Valley and
Samaria while the 38th Battalion was also present there. After the capture of the Umm-Shert Bridge, half of the battalion moved to the area of Jericho and then to
Gilead to complete the British conquest of Palestine. Some members of the battalion arrived in the land only after the end of the war.
The 40th Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers The
40th Battalion, known as the "
Palestinian Battalion" of the Jewish Legion, had as its primary mission to perform guard and security duties. It was formed after the British forces entered Palestine, and many local youths wanted to participate in the Jewish military effort. Even before the 38th Battalion's arrival, there were already 1,500 youths prepared to volunteer, one third of whom were women, though the women were not enlisted. The desire of the local Palestinian Jewish youth to enlist met the initiative of Major General John Hill, the commander of the 52nd Division, who called on the young men of the
Yishuv in areas that had beenconquered by the British to join the army and to assist in further conquests of the land. Most of the volunteers were young "activists" from the labor camp, members of the Jaffa Group and the Small Assembly, as well as secondary school students from
Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium, who campaigned vigorously for recruitment. Their initiative met resistance, and a debate arose within the Jewish Yishuv regarding enlistment. The decision was made at the First Constituent Assembly on 2 January 1918, following a discussion in which the leadership of
Poalei Zion supported enlistment and volunteering.
Moshe Smilansky and
Eliyahu Golomb argued that joining the Jewish Battalions was a political endeavor that elevated the status of the Yishuv in the eyes of its new rulers and contributed to the strength of the community. Members of the
HaPoel HaTzair, including
Yosef Sprinzak and
A.D. Gordon, were the main opponents. The party argued that the Yishuv's efforts should focus on settlement and agriculture, alongside its pacifist ideology that opposed participation in imperialist and bloody wars. Another argument was the fear of harm to the settlers of the Galilee, who were still under Ottoman rule. Despite the opposition from the leadership of HaPoel HaTzair, the movement had volunteers who joined the battalion. In parallel with the enlistment campaign conducted in
Tel Aviv, which resulted in one company of volunteers, Baron
James de Rothschild led a recruitment campaign in
Jerusalem, which produced a second company of recruits. The volunteers from Jerusalem included some students from the teacher's seminary and mostly members of the old Yishuv, who enlisted with the blessing of the rabbis. ("The King's Men") worn by the soldiers and officers of the Jewish Legion General
Edmund Allenby was initially reluctant to the idea of a unit of Jewish soldiers under his command, but Zionist political activity in London led to its establishment, and 1,000 volunteers were accepted into its ranks. Smilansky, who also enlisted, spearheaded the recruitment campaign. The battalion was formed in Palestine. Among the enlistees were Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, David Ben-Gurion, and
Berl Katznelson, who were already public leaders in the Yishuv but served as privates in the battalion. The 40th Battalion completed its initial training near Tel El-Kebir, Egypt, under the command of Colonel Margolin. After Margolin was appointed to command the 39th Battalion, Colonel Frederick Samuel, a member of an assimilated English-Jewish family who had served as a battalion commander on the French front, took command. He expected a promotion to brigadier but upon receiving a letter stating that Jewish officers were needed for the Jewish Legion, he left his unit, forwent the brigadier position and joined the 40th Battalion. After him, the battalion was commanded by Colonel M.P. Scott, who was a Christian. The battalion did not participate in battles, and its soldiers served in support roles for the British Army and guarded prisoners. In December 1918, the battalion was moved to the Sarafand (now Tzrifin) area, and some of its soldiers, those who found work, were released from service. By the end of 1919, part of the battalion was stationed at
Rafah and received an order to send 80 of its soldiers to the Egyptian headquarters. As that was against the "agreement", its soldiers refused to comply. Scott supported their stance and excused them from the order. After his service, Scott remained a supporter of Zionism and was quoted as saying: "England has been honored: We tore a page from the Bible inscribed with the oldest prophecy—adding England's pledge to the promissory note of God. Such a signature cannot be renounced by the nation". The composition of the three battalions by country of origin was estimated as follows: 1,700 Americans, 1,500 Palestinian Jews, 1,400 British, 300 Canadians, 50 Argentinians and about 50 Jewish prisoners released from Ottoman captivity. == "First Judean" ==