The Commander: Fawzi al-Qawuqji and the Fight for Arab Independence 1914-1948

254 Pages·2017·5.86 MB·English

by  Laila Parsons

ALSO BY LAILA PARSONS
The Druze Between Palestine and Israel, 1947–49
THE
COMMANDER

Published 2017 in Great Britain by Saqi Books
Copyright © Laila Parsons 2016
All rights reserved.
Laila Parsons has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as
the author of this work.
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired
out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than
that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the
subsequent purchaser.
ISBN 978-0-86356-166-5
eISBN 978-0-86356-176-4
A full CIP record for this book is available from the British Library.
Printed and bound by CPI, Mackays, Chatham, me5 8td
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FOR ROB
CONTENTS
List of Illustrations
Preface
1 Ottoman Officer
2 Syria in Revolt
3 Palestine 1936
4 Baghdad to Berlin
5 Palestine 1948
Epilogue
Notes on Sources
Acknowledgments
Index
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
FIGURE 1: Inside view of the dining hall at the Imperial Military Academy soon after it was built,
between 1890 and 1893. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Abdul Hamid II Collection,
Phébus (Studio). (LC-USZ62-80871)
FIGURE 2: The cavalry students from three classes at the Imperial Military Academy, in uniform, between
1880 and 1893. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Abdul Hamid II Collection,
Abdullah Frères. (LC-USZ62-82201)
FIGURE 3: View of the new bridge and Galata area from Istanbul, between 1880 and 1893. Library of
Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Abdul Hamid II Collection, Abdullah Frères. (LC-USZ62-
81746)
FIGURE 4: Iraq, Mosul, general view with tall minaret in center of picture, 1932. Library of Congress,
Prints and Photographs Division, G. Eric and Edith Matson Photograph Collection, American Colony
(Jerusalem) Photo Department. (LC-DIG-matpc-16200)
FIGURE 5: General view of Beersheba, 1917. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, G.
Eric and Edith Matson Photograph Collection, American Colony (Jerusalem) Photo Department. (LC-DIG-
ppmsca-13709-00135)
FIGURE 6: Fawzi al-Qawuqji with his medals on display, undated. Public domain.
FIGURE 7: Sir Edmund Allenby entering the Holy City of Jerusalem on foot, 1917. Public domain.
FIGURE 8: Hanging of Arab nationalists in Damascus, 1916. Public domain.
FIGURE 9: Map showing the capture of Damascus, 1918. C. Falls and A. F. Becke, Public domain.
FIGURE 10: Map of the British and French Mandates, from George Antonius (1891–1941), The Arab
Awakening: The Story of the Arab National Movement, London: Hamish Hamilton, 1938.
FIGURE 11: King Faysal being welcomed in Aleppo, 1918. Public domain.
FIGURE 12: Fawzi al-Qawuqji’s military identity card, 1920. Courtesy of the Center for Historical
Documents in Damascus.
FIGURE 13: General Henri Joseph Eugene Gouraud, July 23, 1923. Library of Congress, Prints and
Photographs Division, National Photo Company Collection. (LC-DIG-npcc-09013)
FIGURE 14: Coronation of Prince Faysal as King of Iraq, August 1921. Public domain.
FIGURE 15: Hama, between 1898 and 1946. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, G.
Eric and Edith Matson Photograph Collection, photograph by the American Colony Photo Department or its
successor the Matson Photo Service. (LC-DIG-matpc-07192)
FIGURE 16: Sheikh Sultan el-Atrash, leader of Druze revolt, ca. 1926. Library of Congress, Prints and
Photographs Division, G. Eric and Edith Matson Photograph Collection, American Colony (Jerusalem)
Photo Department. (LC-DIG-matpc-06444)
FIGURE 17: Fawzi al-Qawuqji wounded, 1926. Public domain.
FIGURE 18: Exiled Syrian rebels in Wadi Sirhan, 1929. Public domain.
FIGURE 19: Harry St. John Bridger Philby (1885–1960), 1930s. Public domain.
FIGURE 20: King Faysal I of Iraq funeral, 1933. Courtesy of the Institute for Palestine Studies.
FIGURE 21: Group from boys school with Mufti of Jerusalem and notable visitors at the mosque, “The
Noble Sanctuary,” Jerusalem, between 1921 and 1937. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs
Division, G. Eric and Edith Matson Photograph Collection, American Colony (Jerusalem) Photo
Department. (LC-DIG-matpc-08280)
FIGURE 22: Fawzi al-Qawuqji outside his tent, ca. 1936. Courtesy of Mr. Hassan Eltaher
(www.eltaher.org).
FIGURE 23: Fawzi al-Qawuqji with leaders of the rebel army, 1936. Courtesy of the Institute for Palestine
Studies.
FIGURE 24: Palestine disturbances during summer 1936, Jaffa, edge of the dynamited area close to the
shore street, 1936. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, G. Eric and Edith Matson
Photograph Collection, American Colony (Jerusalem) Photo Department. (LC-DIG-matpc-18038)
FIGURE 25: I.P.C. [i.e., Iraq Petroleum Company], welding pipes together, on Esdraelon stretch, between
1934 and 1939. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, G. Eric and Edith Matson
Photograph Collection, American Colony (Jerusalem) Photo Department. (LC-DIG-matpc-16862)
FIGURE 26: The Salt Lake Tribune, March 7, 1937. Courtesy of The Salt Lake Tribune.
FIGURE 27: The fort at Rutbah, Iraq, under attack from Bristol Blenheim Mark IVs of No. 84 Squadron
RAF Detachment, based at H4 landing ground in Transjordan, 1941. The Imperial War Museum, the United
Kingdom, Royal Air Force official photographer: Hensser H. © IWM. (CM 822)
FIGURE 28: Dayr al-Zur bridge. Courtesy of Mr. Fareed Abou Haidar from the collection of his father,
Dr.Adib Abou Haidar. 168
FIGURE 29: Haus Vaterland, Berlin, Potsdamer Platz, January 1, 1940. Photograph by Ullstein Bild /
Getty Images.
FIGURE 30: German citizens walking along Hermann Goering Strasse past destroyed military vehicles
amid rubble piled outside walls of the home of German Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels following
the fall of the city to Allied troops, July 1, 1945. Photograph by William Vandivert / The LIFE Picture
Collection / Getty Images.
FIGURE 31: A view of Cairo from roof of Semiramis Hotel, looking east, Continental Savoy entrance,
between 1934 and 1939. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, G. Eric and Edith Matson
Photograph Collection, American Colony (Jerusalem) Photo Department. (LC-DIG-matpc-17897)
FIGURE 32: Aley, Lebanon. Courtesy of Mr.Fareed Abou Haidar from the collection of his father, Dr.Adib
Abou Haidar.
FIGURE 33: Map of UN Partition Plan for Palestine, 1947. Public domain.
FIGURE 34: Fawzi al-Qawuqji inspecting the men in Jab‘a, 1948. Courtesy of the Institute for Palestine
Studies.
FIGURE 35: Men of Emir Mohamed Saleh in their camp listening to latest news from Palestine, March 31,
1948. Photograph by John Phillips / The LIFE Picture Collection / Getty Images.
FIGURE 36: Group of soldiers smiling and posing for photograph, June 1, 1948. Photograph by Frank
Scherschel / The LIFE Picture Collection / Getty Images.
FIGURE 37: Fawzi Kawkji smoking a cigarette, March 1, 1948. Photograph by John Phillips / The LIFE
Picture Collection / Getty Images.
FIGURE 38: View of Kibbutz Mishmar Haemek, June 30, 1933. Photograph by Kluger Zoltan. Public
domain.
FIGURE 39: Landing place, Jaffa, between 1898 and 1914. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs
Division, G. Eric and Edith Matson Photo graph Collection, American Colony (Jerusalem) Photo
Department. (LC-DIG-matpc-11349)
FIGURE 40: Nahr al-Barid camp in Tripoli, Lebanon, 1951. UNRWA Photo Archive, S. Madver.
FIGURE 41: Fawzi al-Qawuqji at a banquet in Cairo, 1950s. Courtesy of Mr.Hassan Eltaher
(www.eltaher.org).