THE JEWISH CHRONICLE
The only Jewish publication in the State of Michigan
Devoted to the interests of the Jewish people
Vol. I. No. 10
DETROIT, MICH., MAY
5,
$1.50 per Year
1916
Singe Copies 5 Cents
With the Jewish Regiment in Gallipoli
The Story of the First Jewish Military Unit in 2,000 Years
Trained With Hebrew Word of Command
An interesting officer has been invalided
home, and is now in London—none other in
fact, than the commander of the Zion Mule
Corps, Col. Patterson, 1). S. 0.
The Colonel, still a young man—he can
hardly be more than forty—has an affable
and sympathetic manner. Ile has always
taken a deep interest in Jewish history, and
this has given him an insight and kindness
in dealing with his men ; his knowledge of
the charaqeristics of the race proved inval-
uable to him during his recent unique expe-
ri e nc e s. I le is quite ready to admit that he
had his difficulties, too, but these he passes
off with a jovial laugh, which bespeaks vol-
umes for his sturdy common sense. Above
all, the Colonel has a keen admiration for
his "boys," as lie affectionately calls them ;
and it is quite evident that the success of the
corps N\ pis not a little due to the qualities of
the man \atom it was fortunate enough to
have at its head.
Origin of the Corps
"ro a Jewish Chronicle representative the
Colonel courteously gave an account of the
origin of the corps.
"It consists," he says, "of Russian born
refugees from Palestine. Rather than serve
the Turks, they preferred to clear out of the
country and come to Egypt—back to the old
land of bondage. The British Government
met them there and organized refugee
camps. It clothed and fed them and gen-
erally looked after their welfare. A num-
ber of the refugees stated that they would
like to show their appreciation of this treat-
ment by serving under the British flag. A
deputation waited on General Sir John Max-
well and asked his sanction for the forma-
tion of a fighting unit. This was very read-
ily given, and it was thought that the best
way to utilize the services of these men,
who were used to husbandry, was to form a
fighting unit for transport work. The idea
was accordingly carried out, and the men
were armed with the weapons taken from
the Turks in their abortive attack on the
Suez Canal.
Hustling in the Land of the Pyramids
"It was believed that the corps would be
very useful for taking ammunition and sup-
plies to the firing line; and I believe I may
say that no people in the world would have
trained so quickly as did these Zionists.
They went into camp on April 2 and •were
in the firing line on April 25.
think," the Colonel exclaimed with a
hearty laugh, "that that's a record. Remem-
ber that in the interval the men had to be
equipped and trained, and mules and sad-
dlery, etc., had to be found. It was quite
extraordinary."
4
What was the strength of the conk Col-
onel ?
"Roughly five hundred officers and men.
with seven hundred and fifty mules."
They were trained, were they not, with
ebrew
words of command?
I I
"Yes. I encouraged that as much as pos-
sible, because I realized that it was the first
time for two thousand years that .a Jewish
military unit had existed, and I was very
pleased to emphasize this remarkable his-
toric development. But there was, of course,
the possibility that the men might later on
he commanded by others, and so I had them
taught English words of command. They
picked these up very quickly and then I
drilled them in English. Before I left they
were all able to speak our language," added
the Colonel, with a smile of happy, and ad-
miring recollection.
in the desert with his great host !' Our lit-
tle trials were really nothing after all and I
can tell you that of all those with me there
were not more than a dozen, all told, that
I wouldn't care to have again. They were
a very nice lot of lads."
A Modern Joab
What were the total casualties of the
"Zion Mule Corps" in Gallipoli?
"I think they amount to fifty-four. But
besides these there were a great mai - ■r sick.
The conditions out there were very severe,.
and Gallipoli was not exactly a health re-
sort."
s,„
Is the corps still in existence?
"Yes, so far as I know, and doing good
work in Eygpt. As you know, the men have
as their distinctive sign the 'Shield of Da-
vid' (the Colonel pronounced the Hebrew
equivalents)—the oldest symbol in the
world—which I, of course, wore, too. Some-
times," said the Colonel, with a chuckle, "I
'would meet a general, who would be puzzled
out of his life by it, but naturally would not
care to admit his ignorance. When he
found out what it meant he would say, 'Oh,
.yes, I know and very good work your corps
has done.' They were all very nice to us.
"The Jews make fine soldiers," said the
Colonel, in conclusion, "and always have
done. They have not had much military ex-
perience or opportunity in their later history.
But, all the more honor to them that they do
so well now ! If the Jew is trained when
young you can make anything of him, espe-.
cially if you remind him of the glory of his
past and his possibilities today." And the
speaker's face glowed with enthusiasm as
he spoke of the younger Jews in Egypt, who
are developing into a high type, under the
ennobling influence of men like Mr. Jack
Mosseri and others.
Was there any special reason why you
were selected for the command?
"No. I happened to be in Cairo at the
time, and General Maxwell asked me if I
would take the command. I had been a stu-
dent of Jewish history and tradition, and felt
the deepest interest in the race, and so I
readily accepted the offer. I felt it extraor-
dinary that I who used, as a boy, to read
about Joab and the captains of the people of
Israel, should become a captain of a little
host of that people myself"—and the Col-
onel's face lit up with eager, half amused
interest and pleasure.
And how did your men behave?
"Awfully well."
But, with a merry laugh, and a half fear
that his words might unintentionally wound,
he went on to suggest that "we are a diffi-
cult people to handle"—a sentiment which
the- Jewish Chronicle representative ex-
plained might occasionally be heard among
Jewish critics themselves.
"'You know," he went on, "I would think
nothing of calling a British officer out and
chiding him roundly if he deserved it, but
if you did that to a Jewish officer he would
resent it. However, I am happy to think
that with a little tact and diplomacy I got
on very well, and we weathered all our vari-
ous little storms; though you know I could
not help thinking to myself, sometimes, 'My
Heavens, what a job Moses must have had
"Very Plucky"
"Plucky? Oh, very ! And great favor-
ites, too, with all the regiments, some of
∎vhom had never seen braver men anywhere.
The troops in Gallipoli were always keen
on getting our fellows. They used to say,
'Let us have the Zion men !' Day and night
the Zion corps were always ready for any
job that had to be done. When they first
landed in Gallipoli they had to go straight
into the firing line. They carried,' among
them, thousands of boxes of ammunition,
and were fully exposed to the shrapnel and
musketry of the Turks. But they never
wavered or hesitated, although it was their
first experience of the kind.
The Casualties