Glubb, Transjordan and the Palestine Mandate, 1945–1949

Abstract

The post-Second World War era was marked by a significant intensification of relations between the British and Transjordan. A key feature of this process was an increase in the British subsidy for the Arab Legion. Glubb played a central role in pressuring Whitehall to expand its support for the legion, and the British consented because it was in their strategic interests. Although the continuation of Glubb’s role of the Arab Legion was raised, the situation in Palestine posed a significant threat to Transjordan. Glubb wrote a series of controversial memoranda in 1946 and 1947 in which he advocated the partition of Palestine, and said that the Arab Legion should occupy the predominantly Arab areas of region. Although he was not alone in advocating such a policy, he adopted a Transjordanian perspective of events in Palestine. During the course of the First Arab-Israeli War in 1948–1949, the Arab Legion occupied the mainly Arab areas of Palestine, but the war proved to be an unprecedented civil-military challenge for Glubb and the Transjordanian Government.