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[Yervant1]

FRENCH CULTURAL CENTER IN BOSTON TO HOST AN EXHIBIT ABOUT THE ARMENIAN LEGION IN WORLD WAR I

http://www.armradio....in-world-war-i/
16:54 21.03.20130

The French Cultural Center in Boston will host a public reception on
April 4 to mark the official opening of an exhibit about the Armenian
Legion in World War I. Developed by the Armenian Library and Museum of
America (ALMA) in Watertown, this traveling exhibit offers a glimpse
into the formation, training, military action and postwar activities
of the Armenian Legion volunteers, who fought with the Allies to
victory in the Middle East during the Great War, and risked all in
defense of human rights, the Armenian Mirror-Spectator reports.

The story of the Armenian Legion forms a chapter in the long history
of relations between the French and Armenian peoples. The Legion
was formed during the darkest days of WWI, when the Allies (France,
England and Russia) were deadlocked in a military stalemate on both
the European and Middle Eastern fronts against the combined forces
of Germany, Austria and Turkey. Leaders of the Armenian Diaspora
determined to raise a volunteer fighting force to support the Allies.

In October 1916, an agreement was reached in London between the
Armenian representative Boghos Nubar Pasha and the governments
of France and Great Britain to form an Armenian Legion, made up
of volunteers who were to be organized, trained and led by French
officers.

Consisting of a force of more than 4,000 Armenians from all parts of
the world, the Legionnaires were trained in Cyprus and then joined
the Allied forces on the Palestine front, under the overall command
of the British General Edmund Allenby. Allenby's brilliant military
strategy soon forced Turkey to withdraw from the war. The Armenian
Legion served as the advance guard as the Allied forces moved into
the Cilician region of Turkey, occupying Adana, Aintab, Marash and
Urfa, and other centers. Political conditions following the Great War
impelled the Allies to withdraw their forces from Turkish territory
and the Legion was disbanded.

The story of the Armenian Legion, told in this exhibit through
photographs and narratives, reflects the community's attempts to come
to grips with the destruction and devastation following the Armenian
Genocide. It also represents the successful efforts of Armenians from
different social, economic and political backgrounds to work together
for a common cause.

ALMA's traveling exhibit about the Armenian Legion has been exhibited
in several venues, from California State University, Fresno, to the
University of Michigan-Dearborn and Whitinsville (MA) Town Hall. The
exhibit will be on display from April 3 through May 1.