Key Words: Legion d’Orient, French-Armenian Relations, Armenian Question, Revolutionary Armenian Committees

Öz: Literatürde nadiren detayl? bir biçimde incelenen, Osmanl? ?mparatorlu?u’ndan kaçan veya halihaz?rda Fransa’da ya?amakta olan Ermenilerden olu?turulan Frans?z Do?u Lejyonu, Birinci Dünya Sava?? s?ras?nda ve sonras?nda Ortado?u’da görev yapan en önemli birliklerden biridir. 1915 y?l?nda kurulan bu birlikler özellikle Mondros Ate?kes Antla?mas?’ndan sonra Çukurova bölgesini tarumar eden, sava??n en kanl? birliklerinden birisidir. Bu makalenin amac? da Frans?z ar?iv belgelerine dayanarak bu lejyonun kurulu?unu ve faaliyetlerini incelemektir. Bunu yaparken, sözlü tarihe dayal? spekülatif bir yöntem kullanmak yerine gerçekte ne oldu?unu tam olarak aç?klayabilmek için gerçek ar?iv belgelerine müracaat edilecektir. Makale ondokuzuncu yüzy?l?n son döneminden itibaren Frans?z-Ermeni ili?kileri üzerinde yo?unla?t?ktan sonra Kas?m 1916’ya kadar Do?u Lejyonu’nun kurulu? sürecini analiz edecektir. Bu lejyonun Birinci Dünya sava?? s?ras?nda ve sonras?ndaki faaliyetleri bu makaleyi takip eden bir dizi makalenin konusu olacakt?r.

Anahtar Kelimeler: Do?u Lejyonu, Frans?z-Ermeni ili?kileri, Ermeni sorunu, Devrimci Ermeni Komiteleri

INTRODUCTION

Either labeling the 1915-16 events as genocide or perceiving them as the relocation of a disloyal community, the literature on the Armenian question has a significant common argument: the impact of foreign intervention on the Ottoman Empire and its implications on the inter-communal relations between the Turkish and Armenian subjects of the Empire. Particularly, during the nineteenth century foreign intervention reached its epitome. Earlier, it was started with the interference of the diplomatic missions to the Ottoman bureaucracy. Even as early as late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries European diplomatic missions began to establish strong links with high-rank Ottoman officials in order to provide preferential treatment for their merchants[1]. Later, to these first interactions with economic purposes added judicial and religious matters. Accordingly, representatives of the European states tried to obtain imperial edicts labeling them as the ‘protector’ of several Christian groups. They began to interfere in the judicial matters and obtained several concessions and preferential judicial treatment for the Christian communities. By the nineteenth century, the issue of protection of the Christian communities turned out to be a fierce rivalry between three Great powers. On the one hand, France generally claimed itself as the protector of the Catholic Christian communities. Britain, on the other hand, aimed to be labeled as the protector of the Protestant community. Finally, the archenemy of the Ottoman Empire, Russia, declared itself as the protector of the Orthodox community, which was the most populous Christian community within the borders of the Ottoman Empire. This issue of protection even resulted in a war among the Great Powers in the mid nineteenth century. Fearing from the growing Russian influence in the Ottoman Empire, Britain and France sided with the Ottomans and defeated Russia in the Crimean War, which lasted between 1853 and 1856.

What is more significant was the situation of the Armenian community in these difficult times. Accordingly, a great majority of the Armenian population was Orthodox; thus, they were the potential targets of the Russian ambitions. However, by 1820s a significant Catholic Armenian community emerged due to the extensive works of Catholic missionaries in the Ottoman Empire. This community was so well established that in 1831 Sultan Mahmud II recognized this community and gave the permission to establish their own church in Istanbul. In this recognition, the pressure coming from the French ambassador in Istanbul was quite influential[2]. This was followed by Sultan Abdülmecid’s recognition of the Protestant Armenian community that was established through the efforts of the Protestant missionaries, which were even more active than the Catholic ones. In 1846, Protestant Armenians established the Protestant Governing Board and obtained the permission to establish their own Church under the strong support of the British ambassador in the Ottoman Empire[3]. All these developments showed that Great Power intervention was a significant factor not only regarding the relations between different sects of Armenians; but also regarding the relations between the Armenian community and the Ottoman Empire.

Following this introduction, it should be mentioned that this paper is written to analyze the impact of Armenian-French connection on the Armenian question between 1883 and 1916. In doing that, in the first part of the paper, it is aimed to examine the establishment of Armenian revolutionary organizations in France and their connection with the French government. The second part, in other words the central part, of the paper, on the other hand deals with the establishment of Armenian troops within the French army during First World War. These troops, which were labeled as the Legion d’Orient (The Eastern Legion), were quite conspicuous, since they were trained by the French and sent to Cilicia during and after First World War. However, the activities of this Legion after 1916 and during the post-First World War era will be the theme of another paper, which will hopefully published in the next issue of this journal.

Due to the wideness of this field of research and to depict the French-Armenian connection more clearly, a chronological sequence will be followed. What is more, rather than summarizing the secondary literature on this topic, it is intended to use primary sources, namely documents from Ottoman and French archives. Therefore, the information and comments written in this paper are not the results of haphazard brainstorming; rather every argument is clearly documented. The author of this paper believes that only through such a methodology, the complexity of historical occurrences can be clarified.

I. ARMENIAN-FRENCH CONNECTION UNTIL THE FIRST WORLD WAR (1883-1914)

As indicated in the introduction, French-Armenian connection had emerged as early as 1820s with the French support to the establishment of a Catholic Armenian Church in Istanbul. However, this connection was not only visible on the Ottoman realms; rather in France there began to emerge a significant Armenian community. Indeed, Armenian migration from Caucasus as well as from the Ottoman territories to France resulted in the establishment of small but a powerful Armenian community, particularly in Marseilles and Paris. Soon after the eruption of the Armenian question in the second half of the nineteenth century, this community became ardent opponents of the Ottoman Empire and they began to form some primitive committees to raise the European public opinion against the Ottoman Empire with the disinformation that argued the Ottomans had continuously persecuted the Christian population.

As archival documentation reveals, as early as 1883, Ottoman authorities began to hear some rumors on the existence and activities of several Armenian committees in Paris and asked this matter to the Ottoman Ambassador in Paris, Esad Pa?a. The Ambassador replied that he had searched the conditions of the Armenian community in Paris and reached the conclusion that the Parisian Armenians were nothing but a few poor students and a few businessmen who were not inclined to political intrigues. However, still, he added that he would keep an eye on this community[4].

Indeed, this reply was quite significant in showing the underestimation of the Ambassador. Having confirmed the validity of this intelligence, Ottoman Foreign Ministry kindly warned him about his unawareness of the operations of Armenian committees in Paris. Accordingly, it was written that the report of the Ambassador on the Armenian community of Paris was not in line with the reports delivered by the Ottoman Ambassador in St. Petersburg, ?akir Pa?a. ?akir Pa?a had written the Foreign Ministry that there existed some clandestine Armenian committees in Paris and Geneva and their intentions had made them different from other members of the Armenian communities in these cities[5]. In other words, these committees were not innocent organizations that only carried simple charity activities; rather the Ottoman government should follow their actions carefully.

These initial underestimations contributed to the strengthening of Armenian committees in Europe to the extent that they established a strong web among the Armenian organizations located in different cities of Europe, such as London, Geneva, Paris and Marseilles. By early 1890s, these committees began to organize several rebellions in Anatolia. What is more, they were in a close contact with the Armenian religious authorities serving in the Ottoman Empire. In a letter from the Joint Secretary of an umbrella organization called ‘Armenian Committees of London and Marseilles’ to the Armenian Archbishop of Adana, Mighidritch Vehabedian, revealed how external Armenian committees were interfering in the Armenian community of the Ottoman Empire, which had lived for centuries in peace and harmony with the other communities of the Empire. Accordingly, it was written in this letter that the Archbishop Vehabadian would be secretly informed about the activities of the Armenian protagonists in Adana region. What is more, the plan of an organized rebellion was declared to the Archbishop[6]:

“We sent ammunition to equip one thousand people and we gave the necessary instructions for dynamites. It is necessary to immediately send 300 horsemen to Adana, 60 horsemen to Payas and 200 horsemen to Mara?. Their attack must be harsh and their activities must be kept secret. When you take a telegraph including the cipher ‘Pray for your deads’, you should start the revolution. Until that time, the government, which has been aware of nothing, would be in slackness. Keep your relations with them; you have to win the confidence and friendship of the governors, governor-generals and district governors by hypocrisy. They should not doubt about these activities of the Armenians.”

In this letter, even the methods used by Armenian revolutionary committees could be seen quite openly. The revolution in Adana region should be started “…by cutting the telegraph lines, by setting the public buildings to fire, by killing the high-rank officials, by pillaging the treasury [of the province and the districts], by occupying the ammunition-depots, by releasing the captives from prisons”[7]. What is more, in order to make the Great Powers involved, this rebellion would be announced to major capitals of Europe via the representatives of British Armenian Committee in Cyprus[8]. In other words, this web would be made operational quite successfully. The orders and logistic support of the rebellion would be provided by the committees in Marseilles and London; whereas the duty to misinform European public opinion would be carried by the British Armenian Committee.

The year 1893 witnessed significant Armenian rebellions in Yozgat and Merzifon. The external connection of these rebellions forced the Ottoman government to get more information about the activities of the Armenian committees in Europe. Accordingly, from the correspondence between Paris and Sublime Porte, it can be inferred that, by late 1893, both the Ottoman Ambassador in Paris and the Ottoman Foreign Ministry began to evaluate the activities of Armenian communities more seriously, albeit still insufficiently. Esad Pa?a was still occupied the position of Ottoman Ambassador in Paris; however, this time he was not more vigilant than a decade ago and failed to send detailed information regarding three Armenian protagonists living in Marseilles, Avedis Nakhian, Karakin Issakoudi and Andon Sislian[9]. On the other hand, Ottoman Foreign Minister Said Pa?a had learned the details from other sources, which depicted these Armenians as dangerous propagandists aiming to raise the European public opinion against the Ottoman Empire[10]. Once more, Foreign Ministry proved the inefficiency of Esad Pa?a by sending the information that they had previously demanded from him.

All these documentation proved that the Ottoman Empire did not take the issue of Armenian committees seriously. Other occupations of the Ottoman government might deprive it to deal with this problem efficiently. Particularly, preservation of the occupation of Esad Pa?a as the Ottoman Ambassador in Paris more than a decade, which is quite important for the evolution and strengthening of the Armenian committees in France, was a fault having irreversible consequences.

In 1895, Said Pa?a decided to take more serious measures regarding the activities of the Armenian communities in Europe as well as the United States and sent a telegraph demanding the list of the members of Armenian committees in London, Paris, Athens, Bucharest and Washington[11]. The answer coming from the new Ottoman Ambassador in Paris, Ziya Pa?a, was quite conspicuous. He wrote that he sent the telegraph coming from the Foreign Ministry to the Ottoman consuls in various cities of France. However, neither local French authorities nor the French Foreign Ministry collaborated with the Ottoman diplomats. They either told that there was no Armenian committee in their cities, such as the French Foreign Minister; or that they could not provide any lists demonstrating the members of Armenian committees. Therefore, Ziya Pa?a concluded “[u]nder this conditions and because of the refusal of French government to help us on that matter, we have to make special investigations in order to reach desired consequences”[12].One of such special investigations was made by the Ottoman Consul in Marseilles, who was able to obtain a report from a high-rank police official, including the list of some Armenians who were suspected to be members of an Armenian committee[13]. What was more remarkable was the complaint of the Consul about the Ottoman officials in Nice and Toulon. He wrote that they did not respond him for eight years, and although he had demanded from the Foreign Ministry to change these officials, this demand was not realized[14]. Thus, once more, it was evident that the Ottoman government failed to follow up the vital developments taking place in France.

Another incident that took place in the year 1893 was the arrest of Mighidritch Vehabadian, Archbishop of Adana, in Jerusalem, and its reflections in European press. As mentioned before, the Archbishop was one of the protagonists of the Armenian rebellions in Çukurova region. Even he was given the duty to organize these rebellions by the Joint Armenian Committees of London and Marseilles. This arrest was soon announced to the European capitals via the web of Armenian committees and several articles were written in European newspapers, criticizing the arrest of the Archbishop. In order to counter these one-sided articles, Said Pa?a sent the copy of the aforementioned letter of the Joint Armenian Committees of London and Marseilles to the Ottoman representatives in European and American capitals, and wanted them to write counter-articles in these newspapers via publishing this letter[15]. Many representatives answered this call. Among them was Galib Bey, Ottoman Ambassador in Vienna. Galib Bey wrote that he was able to publish the summary of this aforementioned letter in a newspaper called ‘Correspondence de l’Est’. What is more, two other Viennese newspapers, ‘Nouvelle Presse Libre’ and ‘Neuse Wiener Tagblatt’ referred to that letter[16].

By mid-1895 another crisis erupted between Ottoman and French diplomatic circles. It started with a ciphered telegraph from the Province of Sivas, sent to the Prime Ministry. It was written in this telegraph that the French vice-consul in Sivas appointed an Ottoman Armenian, Dr. Karekin, as ‘privileged translator’, although Karekin was renowned for its activities in the revolutionary committees. He had been arrested before but then released due to lack of enough evidence. What is more, his brother, Dr. Dikran, was arrested and sentenced to death because of his role in Yozgat rebellions. This sentence had not been executed yet; in other words, this appointment would result in French protection for both brothers[17]. However, this time Ottoman Prime Ministry took necessary precautions and French vice-consul had to cancel this appointment[18].

The intelligence flow about the support of the French government to the Armenian revolutionary activities continued in late 1895. This time, a ciphered telegraph from the Province of Aleppo stipulated a very important connection between the French missionaries in the Ottoman Empire and the Armenian rebellions. Accordingly, from the confessions of an Armenian, it was learned that beneath the houses and school of the French Antrasante priests in Mara?, there was a depot including ammunitions. The Governor of Aleppo asked from the Prime Ministry whether to make necessary investigations or not.[19] The answer of the Prime Ministry, given in the same day, was quite interesting. It is written that it would be improper to make investigations in a place belonging to Europeans with the confessions of one person[20]. In other words, Ottoman government, which had suffered from the foreign interventions in the last century, felt itself obliged to act very cautiously, even though this precaution might mean being silent to the logistical support of the foreigners to the Armenian revolutionary activities.

Although Ottoman Empire avoided taking necessary precautions to prevent prospective Armenian rebellions in order not to attract foreign intervention, the French government had already decided to interfere in the domestic affairs of the Ottoman Empire. Just two days after the correspondence between the Prime Ministry and the Province of Aleppo, Ottoman Embassy in Paris sent two ciphered telegraphs to the Foreign Ministry in which there was a significant warning. In the first telegraph, the Ambassador wrote that the French government decided to send the French navy to Eastern Mediterranean for the annual exercises; but this time these exercises would be realized one month before the normal annual date[21]. The second telegraph included the reason for this date shifting. Accordingly, the Ottoman Ambassador met the French Foreign Minister and asked that reason. The Minister replied[22]:

“I can not hide the reality from you. The telegraphs coming from Istanbul about the persecution of the Christians cannot be relied. As a result of this development and because of the Eastern policy of French government, which had been pursued for so long, French government cannot be stay behind other states and wants to support the union of the Great Powers that was established for the events taking place in the Ottoman provinces where Armenians had been living.”

In other words, Armenian question had been used as an instrument for the Great Powers of the time in order to defend their own interests in the Near East. While the British and the Russians were competing on the region, the French did not want to refrain from this competition, therefore they said that they were a party in this great game.

Armenian activities in Europe reached to such a level that Ottoman diplomats could be able to anticipate the next steps of the revolutionary committees. A letter sent from the Ottoman Ambassador in Paris, Münir Bey, to the Ottoman Foreign Minister Tevfik Pa?a in April 1896, included such information. Accordingly, Münir Bey wrote that they had learned from several sources that the Armenian revolutionary committees were organizing a big attack in Istanbul within a month time, because they were thinking that any action in Istanbul would have repercussions in European capitals due to extensive Armenian propaganda[23]. In the letter, the Ottoman government was warned that Istanbul was also chosen because of existence of the representatives of the many European states, which were always acting as the protectors of the Armenians[24].

This anticipation became real just one and a half month later, with the famous Armenian attack on the Ottoman Bank in June 1896. After intense negotiations among Great Power’s representatives and the Ottoman government, the latter granted free outlet for the Armenian militants with the mediation of the Russian Embassy. These militants left the Empire with a French boat, called Gironde, and aimed to land at Marseilles. However, Ottoman government wanted the French not to accept these militants. Despite this demand, French government welcomed the militants and did not cooperate with the Ottoman authorities for judicial procedures, such as the provision of the photographs of the militants[25].

When these incidents took place one after another, Armenian committees in Europe were successful to raise European public opinion against the Ottoman Empire as a result of the Armenian propaganda depicting Turkey as a cruel and despotic state, which suppressed the non-Muslim communities in the Empire. In order to counter this detrimental propaganda, Ottoman government decided to take more active measures. In September 1896, Ottoman Foreign Ministry sent a telegraph to the Ottoman Embassies in Rome, St. Petersburg, Paris, London, Vienna and Berlin, namely, all the Great Powers of Europe. In this telegraph, the Ambassadors were informed about the latest developments in the Ottoman Empire regarding the Armenian question, and they were asked to declare the Ottoman stance to the governments of their respective states regarding the reforms towards the regions where Armenians were living. In these declarations it would be emphasized that the government was trying to realize necessary reforms; however, due to Armenian rebellions in these regions it was almost impossible to complete the reform process[26].

As it was mentioned in the beginning of this article, Ottoman government had begun to demand detailed information about the Armenian committees in France as early as 1883. Such a detailed list could be sent from Mavroyani Bey, the Ottoman consul-general in Marseilles, thirteen years after this demand, on 17 October 1896. In this report, there is a table including the names, addresses and jobs of the members of a particular Armenian committee, which was called as the “The Committee of Marseilles for Helping the Armenian Refugees”. It was quite interesting that this committee included several Protestant French bishops, such as Mouline, Gujer and Delord, as well as some English soldiers, such as Colonel Stitt and Captain Hodler[27]. This implied the complex network of relations among the Armenian communities in Europe and the Europeans themselves.

Meanwhile Armenian revolutionary committees in Paris tried to get the support of French public opinion even by using churches and funeral ceremonies in Paris. A ciphered telegraph from Münir Bey to Tevfik Pa?a showed how Armenian propaganda became effective. In this telegraph, Münir Bey wrote that Catholic Armenians organized a funeral ceremony in the Church of Saint Clotilde in Paris, and a Catholic Armenian priest delivered a speech in which he exclaimed that during the Crusades Armenians had saved the French soldiers and now the Armenians demanded the help of French people in order to be saved from the persecution of the Ottoman Empire[28]. At the end of the ceremony French priest of the Church, Charmetan, collected money from the attendants to support the Armenian committees.

Another significant event regarding French-Armenian relations and its implications on Ottoman Armenians was the “Monsieur Barthélemy case”. This issue had started on May 1896. Accordingly, Monsieur Barthélemy, the French Consul in Aleppo, went Mara? for mediation between Armenian and Muslim communities; however, the Muslim community did not welcome his inclination towards Armenian side. Although this was the case, as a ciphered telegraph from Raif Bey, the Governor of Aleppo, revealed, there were rumors that the French government would appoint him as the permanent vice-consul of Mara?. Raif Bey warned the government to take necessary measures[29]. These rumors became true and Monsieur Barthélemy was appointed as the vice-consul of Mara? despite the efforts of the Ottoman government on that matter. Later telegraphs included detailed information on the French vice-consul and depicted his hatred towards the Muslims in Mara? region and his tolerance towards the Armenian atrocities[30]. What is more, from other documentation, it was understood that a conspiracy was tried to be organized against the government in order to facilitate French intervention. Accordingly, French Ambassador in Istanbul applied to the Prime Ministry by arguing that he was informed of an organized suicide against the Monsieur Barthélemy, and he warned the Ottoman government that the responsibility of this prospective crime would be upon the Sublime Porte[31]. Consequently, the government took necessary precautions to prevent such a suicide attempt. This event, despite its relative insignificance, showed how a small matter could easily be a matter of international controversy.

Ottoman defeat in the Balkan Wars emerged as an opportunity for the Armenian committees in Europe in order to raise the European public opinion against the Ottoman Empire more. Particularly, Armenians tried to influence the participants of the London Conference, which was convened to discuss the post-Balkan Wars situation. Accordingly, an Armenian committee under the leadership of Boghos Nubar Pa?a aimed to put the issue of reform in the Ottoman provinces, where Armenians had been living, to the agenda of the Conference. The report of Ottoman Ambassador in Vienna, Hüseyin Hilmi Bey, reflected the urgency of this issue of reform. He wrote that other provinces of the Ottoman Empire were also in need of immediate and serious reforms; however, Eastern provinces had a special status since they attracted foreign attention more. Thus reforms developed to ameliorate Eastern provinces were more urgent than the other provinces[32]. In other words, in order to prevent further foreign intervention it was necessary to carry the reform process as soon and efficient as possible.

In these days, France was highly influenced from the Armenian propaganda. In June 1913 the French government sent a note to the Ottoman government and demanded the appointment of a ‘high commissar’ for the Eastern provinces. In a telegraph to the Prime Minister Said Pa?a, Ottoman Ambassador in Paris, R?fat Pa?a, warned the government to accept this demand and appoint a high commissar. Otherwise, he argued, the initiative would pass to the foreign governments[33].

All in all, within the thirty years from 1883 to 1914, it was evident that Armenian communities in Europe established an excellent web of revolutionary committees, which were quite active in terms of arousing European public opinion via continuously providing it with disinformation. The Armenian-French connection in this period was relatively more informal and less direct. This connection was mainly composed of the support of some French government officials to the Armenian committees in France and of the French protection of some Armenian citizens of the Ottoman Empire. However, when the First World War erupted and when the Ottoman Empire declared war against the Allied Powers, French-Armenian connection became more formal and direct. What is more, this connection would soon turn out to be a full-scale collaboration with the incorporation of Armenian militants into the French army within the framework of the Eastern Legion.

II. FRENCH-ARMENIAN CONNECTION DURING THE FIRST YEARS OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR (1914-1916) AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE EASTERN LEGION

Just one year after the eruption of the First World War and seven months after the Ottoman entry into the war on the side of Germany, in late May 1915, Ottoman Armenians started a significant rebellion in Zeytun. Ottoman troops were sent the region in order to suppress this rebellion despite the fragility of the condition of the Ottoman Empire. Gallipoli was still a battlefield; whereas Ottoman armies in Mesopotamia were fighting with the Allied troops. Within these difficult times, Armenian rebellion in Zeytun would be very detrimental. Armenians saw that without foreign intervention they could not succeed in their quest. Thus they began to send telegraphs to the Armenian committees in Europe and demanded them to provide European support. For example, in a telegraph written by an Ottoman Armenian to Boghos Nubar Pa?a, it was written that Zeytun Armenians were fighting against 20.000 Ottoman troops and if they were not supported, their situation would be worsened[34].

Among the European powers, Armenians counted on France the most. Arshag Tchobanian, a prominent protagonist of the Armenian community in France wrote a letter to the French Foreign Minister Delcassé and demanded French support[35]. After claiming that the Armenians of the Ottoman Empire were under harsh persecution, he argued that the Armenians were trying to resist against the destruction of Cilician Armenia, as if such a state existed at that time. What is more, he wrote that the Armenians were ready to help the French to transform Cilicia a French province dependent on French Syria. He added that[36]:

“France has interests in Cilicia and wants to protect them. At this point, Armenian interests will be protected as well… For ten centuries Cilicia has an Armenian character. Europe gave the name of ‘Little Armenia’ to this region at eleventh century… After eleventh century this region was occupied by the Turks… Currently, in whole Cilicia there are more than 400.000 Armenians… Armenians were educated in French schools… We are supporting the grand design [incorporation of Cilicia to the French Syria] together with our Syrian brothers.”

As it can be seen, Armenians were not only demanding French support against the Ottoman troops, but they also wanted France to occupy Cilicia. French government did not respond to this letter. Meanwhile, the Ottoman Empire was able to suppress the rebellion. This was reflected by Tchobanian in another letter to the French Foreign Minister, in which he depicted the suppression of the Armenian rebellion as the massacre of the Armenians by the Ottoman Empire[37]. These letters were followed by another letter, this time from the Armenian Cathogigos Kevork to the French Foreign Minister, repeating the same thing: French support to the Armenian clause. In this letter the Cathogigos also declared that he has authorized Boghos Nubar Pasha as the representative of the Armenian Church[38].

From September 1915 onwards, there emerged the problem of Armenian fugitives, which came to Egypt. Accordingly, particularly after the suppression of Zeytun rebellion, a group of Armenians fled to Egypt. These Armenians became a matter of correspondence between the French representatives in Egypt and French Foreign Ministry. At that period Egypt was a British protectorate, thus it was the British authorities that would accept these Armenians or not. Armenians, on the other hand, relied on the French not on the British. Therefore the French ambassador in Great Britain, Paul Cambon, met with the British Foreign Minister Sir Edward Grey. According to a telegraph sent from Cambon to French Foreign Ministry, it was understood that the British would not accept the settlement of the Armenians in Egypt, because the Armenians were perceived by the Egyptians as a nation that betrayed the Sultan[39]. Therefore, Cambon concluded that the British would not help on that matter and advised the government to apply Italy for the settlement of these Armenians in Rhodes. French government asked the governments of Italy, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco whether there are available conditions for the settlement of these Armenians in these countries; but all of them responded negatively either for political or economic reasons[40].

Understanding that it would be impossible to settle these Armenians in North Africa, the French Foreign Ministry decided to learn about their qualities more, because the French government had other intentions for these people. In a telegraph from the French Foreign Minister to the French envoy in Cairo, Monsieur Defrance, it was asked whether the male Armenian refugees could be used as legionnaires for the French operations in the East[41].

The reply of the French envoy in Cairo about the Armenian refugees provided significant information. Accordingly, the number of refugees was 869 and among them there were 500 men available to be trained as soldiers. These volunteers could be incorporated to the Armenian Legion and could be used in a prospective French attack towards Iskenderun region[42].

However, British authorities in Egypt had other intentions for the Armenian refugees. They had already established a temporary camp for them. At the expanse of their admittance as refugees, the British wanted the strong Armenian males to work for the British port construction site in Mudros[43]. However, Armenians were not content with this situation. As Defrance wrote to the Foreign Ministry[44]:

“…Strong Armenians do not want to be used as workers…Most of them accept that they owe much to us and they want to contribute to our efforts…[However], they do not want to be treated as the Turkish captives or the black Somalians that have been forced to work in Mudros.”

Indeed, at that period, in Egypt there was a strong Armenian community. French government thought that the Egyptian Armenians could be applied to help the Armenian refugees. However, Egyptian Armenians did not respond the calls of the French government to help their ‘brothers’. In a telegraph to French Foreign Minister René Viviani, Defrance wrote “…despite my continuous calls, I can not find enough contributions from Egyptian Armenians for the Armenian refugees in Port Said.”[45]

There emerged a significant confusion about what to do with the Armenian refugees. There was also a confusion of authority. Accordingly, these Armenians were on the Egyptian soil, which was a British protectorate; therefore it was Britain that should take the necessary measures about them. However, these Armenians felt themselves loyal not to Britain but to France and continuously demanded French protection. Therefore French and British authorities had to cooperate on that matter. Britain did not want permanent settlement of the Armenians in Egypt because it feared from the reaction of the Egyptian Muslims. Rather, British authorities planned to bring these Armenians to Mudros and use them as workers in the port construction facilities. On the other hand, French government was under the pressure of the Armenian community in France and tried to settle these refugees in one of the French possessions in North Africa. However, when this option seemed impracticable; there is one option left: to use them as soldiers against the Ottoman Empire. Hence, there emerged the idea of establishing an Armenian legion to be used in the prospective French assaults towards Cilicia region.

By November 1915, Defrance prepared a plan to use the Armenian refugees as soldiers. He sent a report to the Foreign Ministry, in which he proposed organization of an Armenian rebellion in Cilicia and a subsequent French campaign to Syria in order to support this rebellion. The protagonists of this rebellion would be the Armenians trained by the French in Port Said[46]. British and French authorities agreed on a plan with which the Armenian refugees would be provided with weapons and ammunition and would be sent to Cilicia when necessary[47].

The Arab Revolt, which erupted on 8 June 1916, contributed much to the shaping of British and French intentions on the Armenian refugees in Port Said. In a ciphered telegraph from Paul Cambon, the French Ambassador in London, to the Foreign Ministry, the preliminary reflections of this plan could be seen[48]. Accordingly, British and French authorities agreed that the Armenian legion would be trained in Cyprus, another British protectorate, by French soldiers. Their weapons and ammunition would be provided by the French army. What is more, it was intended to link the prospective activities of this legion to the Arab Revolt. In a telegraph sent from French Foreign Minister to the French Minister of War, it was written that[49]:

“The Arab Revolt will not only threaten Turkish sovereignty in the [Arabian] Peninsula, but also in Syria and Palestine…Existence of [Armenian] detachments near Adana and Iskenderun will prevent the Turks to send all their forces to the south in order to suppress the Sharif of Mecca.”

What is more, in that telegraph, it was also asked from the Minister of War that whether 5000 Armenian volunteers could be equipped or not[50]. In other words, from the crux of Armenian refugees in Port Said, a fully-equipped army would be established by the French.

These plans were later incorporated into a detailed report and sent to the Commander-General of the French Armies, General Joseph Joffre, for his opinion. The reply of the General was quite conspicuous. He wrote that the Armenian legion should be sent to northern Syria in order to support the Ensari tribe, which was preparing to start a rebellion against the Ottoman Empire[51]. He added that “…the grave political difficulties that threaten the Ottoman Empire should be used efficiently”[52]. In other words, French strategy was based on a joint attack against the Ottoman Empire by the Arabs and the Armenians.

This plan could not be fulfilled. One of the reasons of this failure was the contention between Britain and France about the Port Said Armenians. On September 1916, it was understood that the British wanted the French to depart Armenians from Egypt as soon as possible. The reason for this demand was mainly financial. In a ciphered telegraph from Defrance to the French Foreign Ministry, it was written that the British spent 30.000 frank for the Armenian legion monthly, and this was an extra burden on the British finance. If the legion would not be brought elsewhere the British would demand the French to pay these expanses[53].

The failure of using the Armenians to support the Arab Revolt brought the British and French authorities at the brink of a significant crisis. This was quite evident in the telegraph sent by Colonel Bremond, the Chief of the French Military Mission in Egypt, to the French Foreign Minister[54]. Accordingly Bremond wrote that the British would not permit the Armenian camp in Port Said to turn into a permanent settlement. Thus the French authorities should reach an agreement with the British. However, he also mentioned that the British Governor of Cyprus did not want the Armenians to be brought to Cyprus. Therefore, British and French authorities began to negotiate on this matter.

On September 10, Lieutenant Giraud presented a report to the Ministry of War about the education of the Armenian troops, in which he wrote that the training sessions were completed. He further noted that as the team leaders, those Armenians, which had previously served for the Ottoman army, would be appointed. If Armenians were to be commanded by themselves, the best option for their command was an Armenian protagonist Yessri Yakoubian, which had fought against the Ottoman Empire before[55]. 

Since there were unplanned delays in the preparation and installation of the Armenian troops, the rift between Britain and France increased. The discontent of this rift was reflected in a ciphered telegraph from Defrance to the French Foreign Minister. Accordingly, Defrance wrote that[56]:

“The question of the utilization of Port Said Armenians created some sort of uneasiness between our navy and the British authorities. It is necessary to take a concrete decision as soon as possible”

One month later, some significant steps began to be taken. Some French officers began to get in touch with the British authorities. For example, Colonel Bremond demanded the British authorities to release all prisoners in Syria, and wrote that these prisoners would be used as additional troops for the prospective Eastern legion[57]. Also Colonel Romieu wrote to the Ministry of War that he had reached an agreement with General Murray with which it was decided that male Armenians would be brought to Cyprus while women and children would be left in Port Said.

Finally, on late November 1916, the French Minister of War wrote to the French Foreign Minister that the project of the Eastern Legion would be finalized:

“On November 15, I have decided, without delay, to establish the Eastern Legion from the volunteers of Ottoman citizens and under the guidance of French soldiers. Those Armenian and Syrian volunteers, who want to join, will serve under the French flag in Turkey during the war.”

As it can be seen, although using the Armenians as regular troops in the war was considered for so long, it can only be finalized as late as November 1916 due to the lack of coordination between the Allied powers. However, once established and deployed in the Southeastern Mediterranean region this legion would be one of the bloodiest troops of the First World War, responsible for many massacres and atrocities in this region.

CONCLUSION        

All in all, it can be argued that the French-Armenian connection, which had been established as early as the mid-nineteenth century, turned out to be a full-scale collaboration by the end of the century and particularly during and after the First World War. As archival investigations reveals, the French government has always supported the Armenian community in France against the Ottoman Empire and protected them, although they did not hesitate to act against the Ottoman Empire via organizing rebellions in the Empire or via announcing the existing rebellions to the European public opinion as the persecution of the Christians.

Ottoman Empire, on the other hand, remained ineffective in following the activities of the Armenian committees in Europe. Either because of the ineptness of some of the Ottoman Ambassadors served in several European capitals, or because of the concern to raise the possibility of European intervention, the Ottoman Empire remained silent in the very emergence of this question of Armenian committees in Europe. The cost of this ineffectiveness was quite high because many Armenian rebellions in the Empire were either directly or indirectly organized and financed by the European Armenian Committees.

Ottoman entry in the First World War facilitated the realization of the ambitions of France and the Armenians on the Ottoman Empire. Indeed, the Armenians wanted to establish an independent Armenian state; however, they were well aware that without foreign intervention, this aim could not be fulfilled. Therefore, some Armenians collaborated with the Russians and others collaborated with the French. One of the most significant results of this Armenian-French connection was the establishment of the French Eastern Legion.

The process of establishment of this legion was quite controversial and created a significant conflict between the British and the French, the two allies of the First World War. The Armenians fled from the Ottoman Empire to Egypt, a British Protectorate, counted on the French; however, the French had neither the desire nor the capabilities to bring them to a French possession. The only way for the French to get over this problem was to make these Armenians soldiers and use them in their quest in Anatolia without delay, because their presence in Egypt became to costly for the British, who want to use these Armenians as workers. Therefore, these Armenians, together with those participating the legion from France, established the crux of one of the bloodiest troops of  the First World war, namely the Legion d’Orient.