Armenian Legion
The Armenian Legion ( Armenian Հայկական լեգեոնը ), formed as part of the Franco-Armenian Agreement in 1916, was a foreign legion within the French Army . The Armenian Legion was established as part of the Armenian National Liberation Movement and was an armed unit alongside the Armenian fedayeen during the First World War , who fought against the Ottoman Empire . The Legion's original name was La Légion d'Orient . It was renamed on February 1, 1919 in La Légion Arménienne ("The Armenian Legion"). The approximately 4,124 soldiers in this legion from 1916 onwards were informally referred to as Gamavor ("volunteers") among the Armenians . 1920–1921 the legion is said to have comprised 10,150.
founding
Negotiations between Boghos Nubar Pasha and French authorities led to the establishment of the Franco-Armenian Legion. During this time the Armenian genocide took place. The Legion was officially established in Cairo in November 1916 - with the approval of the French Foreign Ministry and the Armenian delegation.
The parties agreed on the following:
- The aim of the Legion was to enable the Armenians to contribute to the liberation of the Cilicia region in the Ottoman Empire and to support them in their national endeavors.
- The Legion fought exclusively against the Ottoman Empire and only in Cilicia on the southeast coast of Asia Minor .
- The Legion was to become the nucleus of a planned future Armenian army .
Original plans
The official establishment of an Armenian Legion was signed on November 15th in Paris by War Minister General Pierre Roques and Navy Minister General Marie-Jean-Lucien Lacaze .
According to this original decision should
- the Legion in Cyprus are stationed
- Armenians and Assyrians with Ottoman citizenship become volunteer soldiers
- the Legion will be commanded by French officers
- the members have the same status as French soldiers and are under the orders of the French Ministry of War
- Infantry commander Romieu oversee the creation of the Legion
- the Legion will be deployed in Cilicia
- 10,000 francs from the war budget of the French Navy in Syria to set up camps
- the volunteers are organized by local Armenian committees and sent to Bordeaux and Marseille . The travel expenses of the committees should be reimbursed by the French government.
1916-1918
The number of volunteers corresponded to six battalions of 800 volunteers each, the formation of a further six battalions was planned. Armenian committees organized the enrollment process to recruit these soldiers in France and the United States.
The composition was 95 percent Armenian, the legion comprised Ottoman-Armenian refugees, former prisoners of war and people residing in Egypt , America and Europe . The majority of the soldiers were recruits from the Armenian-American community.
After training in Cyprus, the Armenian Legion was first deployed in Palestine to aid the French and British armies against the Ottoman and German armies.
Under the command of General Edmund Allenby , the Legion that fought in Palestine, Syria and eventually Cilicia won the applause of the Clemenceau government and its Entente allies.
1920-1921
After this campaign, the Legion was deployed in Anatolia . It was active around the cities of Adana and Mersin and was involved in skirmishes with local civilians and Turkish militias. One of the commanders was the future Syrian general Hrant Maloyan .
France dissolved the Armenian Legion in 1921 and in 1920 recognized Turkey's sovereignty over Cilicia.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ahmet Hulki Saral: Türk İstiklal Harbi Güney Cephesi IV , Ankara 1996, p. 47