The Israeli Army 1904-1920

by Dr. EUGENE SOCKUT

     Spurred on by these early successes, dozens of new Jewish setlements were built in the areas of Galilee, Samaria and Judea. It soon became necessary to expand the Shomrim into a larger and better-trained force called Hashomer. Carridge rifles and pistols became more prevalent though no standardization of weapons was feasible. Mauser, Luger and other pistols of 7.62 and 9mm Parabellum calibers were in service as well as various 25, 32 and 380 semi-automatic pistols. Large caliber revolvers of Russian and British design became common after the end of WWI.

     The out break of World War I had found the allies in a life and death struggle with the Central Powers. One of these was Turkey. One of these was Turkey, whose empire extended throughout the Middle East. Palestine and Trans-Jordan, part of this empire, were promised to the Jewish people in exchange for their support of the Allied Powers. The Arabs, whose support was also sought,were promised the larger portions of the empire, these later to become Iraq,Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf sheikdoms. The Emir Feisal, leader of the Arabs, welcomed this arrangement between Arab, Jew and Englishman, but the honeymoon was to prove short lived.

      During WW I, Jews fought in an Allied unit called the Jewish Legion. They were armed with the standard British infantry small arms of the period—the SMLE Mark I bolt action rifle, the Webley 455 top-break revolver, and the Levis 303 machine gun. Tranining and tactics were decidedly British, Organized by a brilliant Jewish soldier, Vladimir Jabotinsky, the Legion consisted of such units as the 1st Judean Regiment—raised in the U.S. by David BenGurion, and the Third Palestine Battalion, soldiered by Jews from Palestine. These units fought under Field Marshall Allenby, and were commanded by a pro-Zionist colonel named Patterson, a regular British army officer. Arab soldiers were led by T.E. Lawrence, the famed Lawrence of Arabia, who was simultaneously pro-Zionist and pro-Arab.

       After the Armistice of 1918, the British disbanded the Jewish units and confiscated their weapons. How ever, experience with British military methods of logistics, training and tactics was to prove invaluable in the future for the Jews of Palestine. Some British light arms were “liberated” by the returning soldiers.