'Military Lessons of the Arab Rebellion in Palestine 1936' [‎10r] (24/294)

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Arab one. The small Jewish communities of Jaffa and Hebron moved to
safer quarters early in the rebellion. The principal Arab towns were
Jaffa (60,000), Nablus, Hebron and Gaza.
Outside the towns - speaking in very general terms - the settled
Arabs were to be found mostly in the hill districts and the Bedouin in
the Desert and the Jordan Valley; while the Jewish agricultural settle
ments spread across the Coastal Plain and the Plain of Esdraelon, up the
Valley to Metulla, the northernmost point in Palestine. The population
of Trans-Jordan was practically sill Arab - primarily Bedouin - except
for some 6,000 Moslem Circassians, who had been settled there as frontier
guards by Sultan Abdul Hamid II after the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-8.
The Armed Fo rces
The Armed Forces in April 1936 consisted of units of the Army, the
Royal Air Force and the Trans-Jordan Frontier Force under the command of
the Air Officer Commanding, who was responsible as military adviser to
the High Commissioner and Commander-in-Chief. There was also the
Palestine Police Force and the Arab Legion, v/hich was the police force
of Trans-Jordan. The former was under command of an Inspector-General
(R. G. B. Spicer, Esq. CMG. MC.) who was directly responsible to the
High Commissioner, while El Ferik F. G. Peake Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. CHE. commanded the
Arab Legion under the authority of the Trans-Jordan Government. The
composition of the forces at the time was as follows
IN PALESTINE
Headquarte rs
Air H.Q. Palestine and Trans-Jordan JERUSALEM
Army
H.Q. British Troops in Palestine JERUSALEM
1st Bn. The Loyal Regt. (less one Pi.) HAIFA
One Platoon, The Loyal Regt. NABLUS
2nd Bn. The Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders .JERUSALEM
(less one Company)
One Company, The Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders SARAFANB
14 Company, R.A.S.C. (JERUSALEM
The infantry battalions were at Colonial establishment, and had a
total strength of 56 officers and 1,687 other ranks. The strength
of 14 Coy. R.A.S.C. was 4 officers and 116 other ranks.
Royal Air Fo rce
R.A.F. Station, Rami eh HQ. RAMLEH
H Q. and two Flights, No .6 (Bomber) Squadron,..* ISMAILIA
(EGYPT)
One Flight, No .6 (Bomber) Squadron RAMLEH
No. 2 Armoured Car Conpany (less one section) RAMLEH
* Note: Part of the garrison of Palestine, but stationed in ngypt for
reasons of accommodation.