The Armenian Legion was a foreign unit within the French Army active during and just after World War I which fought against the Ottoman Empire. The original name of the legion was "La Légion d'Orient". It was renamed "La Légion Arménienne" on February 1, 1919. The soldiers in this legion were referred to informally among Armenians as Gamavor.
Negotiations of Boghos Nubar with French political and military authorities culminated in the formation of the French Armenian Legion. The Legion was established officially in Cairo, Egypt in November 1916, with the accord of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and an Armenian delegation. Several Armenian organizations pledged contributions to form several battalions under the planned Armenian Legion. The parties agreed to the following:
The aim of creating the Legion was to allow Armenians' contribution to the liberation of the Cilicia region in the Ottoman Empire and to help them to realize their national aspirations of creating a state in that region.
The Legion was to fight only Turks and only in Cilicia.
The Legion was to become the core of a planned future Armenian Army.
The number of volunteers was an equivalent of 6 battalions, each containing 800 volunteers, and another 6 battalions were planned to be formed. Armenian committees were organizing to recruit these soldiers in France and the United States. The Legion included Ottoman Armenian refugees, former prisoners of war, and permanent residents of Egypt, America, and Europe, and was 95% Armenian in composition. The majority of the soldiers were said to be recruited from the Armenian-American community or survivors of the battle of Musa Dagh who were living in refugee camps in Port Said, Egypt, at the time. After the initial training in Cyprus, the Armenian Legion joined the Détachement Français de Palestine et de Syrie, serving against the Ottoman and German armies. Under the command of General Edmund Allenby, the Legion, fighting in Palestine, Syria, and, finally, Cilicia, won the plaudits of Clemenceau’s government and its Entente allies." The Armenian Legion assisted the British and French in winning the decisive Battle of Arara and has been credited with making General Allenby's victory possible.
Order of Battle, 1920–1921
Following this campaign, the Armenian Legion was deployed in Anatolia according to the initial decisions. They were active around the cities of Adana and Mersin involved in skirmishes with local civilians and unorganized Turkish militia.
