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30-649: Lieutenant-General Sir John Bagot Glubb , KCB , CMG , DSO , OBE , MC , KStJ , KPM (16 April 1897 – 17 March 1986), known as Glubb Pasha ( Arabic : غلوب باشا ) and Abu Hunaik ( Arabic : أبو حنيك ) by the Jordanians, was a British soldier, scholar, and author, who led and trained Transjordan 's Arab Legion between 1939 and 1956 as its commanding general. During the First World War , he served in France. Glubb has been described as an "integral tool in

60-526: A League of Nations Mandate following war, and was posted to Ramadi in 1922 "to maintain a rickety floating bridge over the river [Euphrates], carried on boats made of reeds daubed with bitumen ", as he later put it. He became an officer of the Arab Legion in 1930. The next year he formed the Desert Patrol – a force consisting exclusively of Bedouin – to curb the raiding problem that plagued

90-481: A major outranks a lieutenant ) is due to the derivation of major general from sergeant major general , which was a rank subordinate to lieutenant general (as a lieutenant outranks a sergeant major ). Several countries (e.g. Balkan states) use the rank of lieutenant colonel general instead of lieutenant general, in an attempt to solve this apparent anomaly. In contrast, in Russia and a number of other countries of

120-437: A royal decree to dismiss all senior British officers and personally delivered it to the then prime minister Samir Al-Rifai . Al-Rifai was startled, realizing the implications of such a move. Al-Rifai then called Glubb to his office and informed him of the decision. Al-Rifai told Glubb that he had to leave the country as soon as possible, and that the decision also included Glubb's chief of staff Colonel W. M. Hutton, director of

150-479: Is equivalent to the navy rank of vice admiral , and in air forces with a separate rank structure, it is equivalent to air marshal . In the United States, a lieutenant general has a three star insignia and commands an army corps , typically made up of three army divisions , and consisting of around 60,000 to 70,000 soldiers. The seeming incongruity that a lieutenant general outranks a major general (whereas

180-525: The General Intelligence Colonel Sir Patrick Coghill and eight other senior British officers. Learning of the decisions taken, an angry British government demanded that all the other British officers in senior posts resign. Glubb and his family left the next morning; two officials accompanied them to the airport where Glubb was given a portrait of Hussein with a handwritten note: "With our acknowledgment of

210-522: The Royal Engineers (RE) would have an Arab officer commanding it in 1985, rankling Hussein. Another issue that Hussein and Glubb had disagreed on was the strategy for defending the West Bank in case of a war with Israel. Glubb favored a defensive strategy while Hussein argued an offensive strategy was the better way to deter an attack. On the morning 1 March 1956, 21-year old Hussein signed

240-614: The mufti and the Syrian government would sooner see the Jews get the whole of Palestine than that King Abdullah should benefit.' Glubb remained in charge of the defence of the West Bank following the armistice in March 1949. In 1952, differences emerged between Glubb and the newly acceded King Hussein I , especially over defence arrangements, the promotion of Arab officers and the funding of

270-725: The Arab Legion's British commander, was replaced with Major General Radi Annab , who became the first Arab commander of the Arab Legion. Hussein's intentions to Arabize the Army command were to replace British officers with Jordanian officers, assert political independence from Britain, and improve relations with neighboring Arab states that viewed the British with suspicion. The British government initially responded furiously, but chose not to take further action against Jordan after they realized that Hussein's decision did not mean abandoning

300-906: The Arab world. During World War II he led attacks on Arab forces in Iraq , and on Vichy forces in Lebanon and Syria . During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War , the Arab Legion was considered the strongest Arab army involved in the war. Glubb led the Arab Legion across the River Jordan to occupy the West Bank (May 1948). Despite some negotiation and understanding between the Jewish Agency and King Abdullah , severe fighting took place in Kfar Etzion (May 1948), Jerusalem and Latrun (May–July 1948). According to Avi Shlaim , Rumours that Abdullah

330-626: The Arabs was reviewed in The Atlantic Monthly , April 1958; The National Review , May 1958; The Saturday Review , February 1958; The Reporter , April 1958; The New Yorker , October 1958; and Foreign Affairs , April 1958. Writing in The Reporter , Ray Alan commented that the book was more than just an apologia ; while it provided "no serious political analysis or social observation", it did offer interesting insights into

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360-544: The British as an ally. The Jordanian streets witnessed large celebrations when the decision was made public, and relations between Jordan and other Arab states improved thereafter. An annual celebration is held on 1 March in Jordan to mark the event. The first organized army in Jordan was established in 1920, under the command of the British Captain Frederick Peake . In 1939, the Arab Legion

390-570: The British government, even though reports from the British embassy warned of growing discontent within Jordan of Glubb's role. British politicians blamed Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser for the decision, yet no evidence was found to support that and even Abdel Nasser was surprised by Hussein's decision. Hussein was surprised by the initial furious British reaction, as he did not mean to abandon Britain as an ally, and despite his surprise at being relieved, Glubb himself advised British prime minister Sir Anthony Eden not to punish King Hussein or

420-473: The Jordanian government. Britain eventually agreed not to take action against Jordan after Alec Kirkbride was sent on a mission there to inquire on Hussein's intentions; he reported back what he was already sure of, which was that Hussein wanted to maintain the alliance with Britain. British aid continued, based on the 1948 Anglo-Jordanian treaty. An annual celebration is held on 1 March in Jordan to mark

450-605: The Legion. Arab nationalists believed that Glubb's first loyalty was to the United Kingdom and that he had attempted to pressure Hussein into joining the Baghdad Pact . Hussein, wanting to distance himself from the British and to disprove the contention that Glubb was the actual ruler of Jordan, dismissed Glubb and several other British senior officers from the Arab Legion on 1 March 1956. Despite his decommission, which

480-611: The Middle East Centre Archive at St Antony's College, Oxford . Glubb was appointed OBE in 1925; CMG in 1946; and KCB in 1956. Glubb's father was Major-General Sir Frederic Manley Glubb , of Lancashire , who had been chief engineer in the British Second Army during the First World War ; his mother was Letitia Bagot from County Roscommon . He was a brother of the racing driver Gwenda Hawkes . In 1938, Glubb married Muriel Rosemary Forbes,

510-797: The book well written no matter how subjective. In his 1993 poetry collection, Out of Danger , James Fenton mentions Glubb Pasha in "Here Come the Drum Majorettes!": There's a Gleb on a steppe in a dacha. There's a Glob on a dig on the slack side. There's a Glubb in the sand (he's a pasha). The source for the following bibliography is Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2005. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale. 2005, except *. Lieutenant-General In modern armies, lieutenant general normally ranks immediately below general (or colonel general ) and above major general ; it

540-638: The daughter of physician James Graham Forbes. The couple had a son, Godfrey Peter Manley (named after the Crusader King Godfrey of Bouillon ) born in Jerusalem in 1939, and another son was born in May 1940 but lived only a few days. In 1944, they adopted Naomi, a Bedouin girl who was then three months old, and in 1948 they adopted two Palestinian refugee children called Atalla, renamed John and Mary. Glubb's autobiographical story A Soldier with

570-555: The equivalent of lieutenant general. Arabization of the Jordanian Army command The Arabization of the Jordanian Army command ( Arabic : تعريب قيادة الجيش العربي , Ta'reeb Qiyadat Al-Jaysh Al-Arabi ) saw the dismissal of senior British officers commanding the Arab Legion by King Hussein and the subsequent renaming of the Legion into the Jordanian Armed Forces on 1 March 1956. Glubb Pasha ,

600-569: The first Arab commander of the Arab Legion. Ali Abu Nuwar was promoted to major general and in May 1956 replaced the retiring Annab as chief of staff. All sixty-four British officers serving with the former Arab Legion left Jordan shortly after Glubb's departure. King Hussein's popularity in Jordan surged, while joyful demonstrators filled the country chanting "long live the King!" and "long live Arab co-operation and unity!" The decisions shocked Glubb, Charles Duke—the British ambassador to Jordan—and

630-446: The former Soviet Union , lieutenant general is a rank immediately below colonel general , and above major general  – in these systems there is no use of the brigadier general of many Western countries. In addition, some countries use the lieutenant general as the rank of divisional commander, and some have designated them with French revolutionary system . For example, some countries of South America use divisional general as

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660-503: The glamour of strangeness, go out to prostitute themselves and their talents in serving another race", but will let them "take what action or reaction they please from [his] silent example". Writing in the Saturday Review , Carl Hermann Voss commented that Glubb served with and for the Arabs for 36 years, 17 of them for King Abdullah of Jordan. The portrait photograph is captioned "Glubb Pasha—'I ... failed hopelessly.'" Voss calls

690-590: The good services and untiring exertions and our best wishes for His Excellency Glubb Pasha" followed by the date and the king's signature. The name of the Arab Legion was changed to the "Jordan Arab Army," the police were separated from the Army as the Public Security Directorate under the auspices of the Ministry of Interior , and several promotions occurred within the Army. Major General Radi Annab succeeded Glubb as chief of staff, becoming

720-546: The maintenance of British control." Born in Preston, Lancashire , and educated at Cheltenham College , Glubb gained a commission in the Royal Engineers in 1915. On the Western Front of World War I , he suffered a shattered jaw. In later years, this would lead to his Arab nickname of Abu Hunaik , meaning "the father of the little jaw". He was then transferred to Iraq in 1920, which Britain had started governing under

750-516: The period, even if Glubb was out of touch with later trends in Middle Eastern politics. What Alan found more surprising was that Glubb also had hardly anything new to say about the 1948 Palestine war "in which he had star billing," instead lapsing into self-justifying propaganda. Alan ends his review with a long quotation from T. E. Lawrence , in which he reflects on what role a foreigner may play, and prays to God that "men will not, for love of

780-576: The southern part of the country. Within a few years he had persuaded the Bedouin to abandon their habit of raiding neighbouring tribes. He also took part in suppressing the Ikhwan revolt . In 1939, Glubb succeeded Frederick G. Peake as the commander of the Arab Legion (subsequently known as the Jordan Royal Army ). During this period, he transformed the Legion into the best-trained force in

810-894: Was forced upon him by public opinion, Glubb remained a close friend of the King. He spent the remainder of his life writing books and articles, mostly on the Middle East and on his experiences with the Arabs. He served on the Board of Governors of Monkton Combe School from 1956 to 1966. Glubb died in 1986 at his home in Mayfield, East Sussex . King Hussein gave the eulogy at the service of thanksgiving for Glubb's life, held in Westminster Abbey on 17 April 1986. A stained glass window in his local church, St Dunstan's Church, Mayfield , celebrates his life and legacy. His widow died in 2006, whereupon his papers were deposited with

840-464: Was once again in contact with the Jewish leaders further damaged his standing in the Arab world. His many critics suggested that he was prepared to compromise the Arab claim to the whole of Palestine as long as he could acquire part of Palestine for himself. 'The internecine struggles of the Arabs,' reported Glubb, 'are more in the minds of Arab politicians than the struggle against the Jews. Azzam Pasha ,

870-499: Was put under the command of John Bagot Glubb (also known as Glubb Pasha ), under whom it grew into an 8,000-men strong force by the time of Jordan's independence from the British Mandate in 1946. Egyptian and Syrian radio stations had constantly transmitted propaganda against King Hussein, one of the episodes taunting him over having British officers as commanders of his army. Meanwhile, foreigners believed that Glubb Pasha

900-463: Was the actual ruler of Jordan rather than the King. The pressure Britain exerted on Jordan to join the Baghdad Pact in 1955 had caused a spike in anti-British sentiment in Jordan. During Hussein's visit to London in October 1955, he tried to persuade Foreign Office officials to make changes to the Army command, but his wishes went unheeded. Subsequent negotiations led the British to promise that

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