Warriors of Desert Winds: Difference between revisions

 

The Hashemite dynasty is the ruling [[The Kingdom|power]] over Jordan. In a way it is a [[Government in Exile]]. The Hashemites (or House of Hashem) were among the losers in a three-way power struggle in what is now Saudi Arabia between the House of Saud, the House of Rashid, and the Hashemites (The winner was the House of Saud, led by [[Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud]] who was sort of a Bedouin [[Magnificent Bastard]]). During [[World War I]], the Hashemites took the [[The British Empire|British]] side, leading a revolt of the Arab tribes against the [[Vestigial Empire|Ottoman Empire]] and recruiting a fair number of more sedentary Arabs in the process. The Brits promised the head of the family, Hussein bin Ali, that he would be king of all the Arab lands east of Egypt (modern Syria, Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia, plus Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, Oman, and much of Yemen if he could win them). However, the British had also [[Chronic Backstabbing Disorder|promised a homeland in Palestine for the Jews and had secretly planned to split the Middle East with France]]. As a result, Hussein got nothing (and was kicked out of his stronghold of Mecca by Abdulaziz bin Saud), but his sons, Abdullah and Faisal, were both given rule over British mandates; Faisal originally tried to rule all of "greater Syria" (Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan), but the French kicked him out of Damascus and Palestine was a mess, so the British put him on the Iraqi throne. His older brother Abdullah was assigned Jordan (at the time, Transjordan) as his measly share of the [[Plunder]]. As it turned out, Jordan is today the only Hashemite kingdom left, ruled by Abdullah's great-grandson King Abdullah II. The memoirs of a [[Lawrence of Arabia|certain liaison officer]] who served with Abdullah, Faisal, and their troops during the Arab Revolt managed to be made into a movie.

Between the wars the Arab Legion kept the peace in the desert. When [[World War II]] broke out the Arab Legion continued to do this and to watch the back of [[The British Empire]]. It also took part in a small campaign to conquer Syria, then held by Vichy France (Vichyites were everyone's [[Chew Toy]] and got regularly beat up primarily for being in the way). Ironically, in this campaign they were fighting on the same side as the [[Badass Israeli|Yishuv]]: this was where Moshe Dayan received his [[Eyepatch of Power]].

 

 

After the Six-Day War the Jordanian forces were seldom tested. They suppressed a revolt by the Palestinians. And they sent a nominal force to fight in the Yom Kippur War. But they continue to stand ready to fight for Jordan and their king to this day.

 

* [[A Father to His Men]]: John Glubb was nicknamed "Father of the little chin" by his Bedouin soldiers.

* [[Always Gets His Man]]: The Arab Legion kept the peace in the area between the world wars.

* [[Badass Army|Almost Badass Army]] : One must be thrifty about ascribing the term [[Badass]] otherwise it won't mean anything. However this is an army that stood against Israel, indeed the only Arab army to last into a stalemate in the '48. And that is not anything to sneeze at.

* [[Bedouin Rescue Service]]

* [[By-The-Book Cop]]: In most Arab countries, the army doubles as [[Secret Police]]. Not so much in Jordan.

* [[Determinator]]: The '48 Siege of Jerusalem was a ''mutual'' exercise in determination.

* [[Friendly Enemy]]: You will have to search long and hard to find a Jordanian who admits he is any kind of friend to Israel, but they kind of, sort of ''understand'' one another. YMMV, of course.

* [[The Kingdom]]: Jordan

* [[Last Stand]]: Not quite. They did surrender after all; they were professionals and knew when [[Honor Before Reason|Honor]] was satisfied. But the storming of Jerusalem in '67 has elements of this.

* [[Proud Warrior Race]]: Bedouin

* [[Royals Who Actually Do Something]]: During the Six-day war Hussein was unusual among VIP s in actually coming near the fighting personally.

* [[Undying Loyalty]]: To the crown.

* [[Urban Warfare]]: Jerusalem in 1948 and 1967. The Arab Legion was used to deserts but untrained for this and fighting a highly motivated enemy

* [[Worthy Opponent]]: After the storming of Jerusalem in 1967, the [[Israelis With Infrared Missiles|IDF]] set up a monument to the dead of the Jordanian Army

 

* ''Exodus'': Almost but not quite. The movie ends before the intervention of Arab states in the 1948 war.

 

 

== Literature ==

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Forces With Firepower]]

[[Category:Warriors Of Desert Winds]]