S'13
05-15-2004, 01:24 PM
War of Independence -- Arab Armies Invade
May 15, 1948
On May 15, 1948, the day the British Mandate over Palestine ended, the armies of five neighboring Arab states invaded the new State of Israel, which had declared its independence the previous day. The invasion, heralded by an Egyptian air attack on Tel Aviv, was vigorously resisted. From the north, east and south came the armies of Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Transjordan, and Egypt. The invading forces were fully equipped with the standard weapons of a regular army of the time - artillery, tanks, armored cars and personnel carriers, in addition to machine guns, mortars and the usual small arms in great quantities, and full supplies of ammunition, oil, and gasoline. Further, Egypt, Iraq, and Syria had air forces. As sovereign states, they had no difficulty (as had the pre-state Jewish defense force) in securing whatever armaments they needed through normal channels from Britain and other friendly powers. In contrast, the Jews had no matching artillery, no tanks, and no warplanes in the first days of the war. Some supplies of these weapons arrived in the days that followed, however, and turned the tide. Little more than small arms - in paucity- had been available to the Haganah which on May 28, 1948 was to merge with other Jewish defense groups to form the Israel Defense Forces. Two Jewish defense forces, the Irgun Zeva'i Le'ummi and the Lohamei Herut Israel agreed to cease their independent activities, (except in Jerusalem) and to absorb their members into the newly founded IDF. Invaded from all directions, Israel had to cope with the outbreak of a thousand fires, and to do so with limited means. Numerous settlement outposts in the Galilee and the Negev were isolated, open on all sides to Arab attack, and had to rely on their own perseverance and meager armories to stave off defeat. The hastily mobilized army had to engage in offensive action to remove the enemy from key positions, block the advance of their columns, and rush to seal gaps in Israel's defenses.
In human terms, the War of Independence was Israel's costliest war. More than 6,000 Israelis were killed and 15,000 wounded. It was one of the few instances when Israel faced almost equal forces on the other side: 35 to 45 thousand Israeli soldiers faced 42 to 54 thousand in the combined Arab armies. Although the Arab forces were marginally better equipped than the IDF, neither side employed tanks or planes in large numbers. The war was not characterized by a definite chronology or a marked beginning and end. Instead, it consisted of 39 separate operations, fought from the borders of Lebanon to the Sinai Peninsula and Eilat. Virtually the entire Jewish population of Palestine, then numbering 650,000 people, was mobilized in order to meet the coordinated assault of five regular Arab armies, in addition to Palestine's 1,000,000 Arabs.
A unique feature of the war up to May 1948 was the "battle of the roads". The vast majority of Palestine's main roads ran through areas populated by Arabs, and by controlling the roads, the Arabs could effectively lay siege to many Jewish settlements. There was fierce fighting along the road to Jerusalem, since losing domination of this road meant risking the loss of Jerusalem itself. As a result, the defense of the road assumed prime importance, as did the task of delivering supplies to the besieged city. Convoys of armored trucks, sometimes escorted by jeeps, made the dangerous journey along the winding, hilly road, often under attack by Arab forces. Many of the convoys did not reach Jerusalem, a factor which led to Operation Nachshon. This operation, which took place between April 3 and April 15, 1948, involved 1,500 Jewish soldiers, using arms purchased in Czechoslovakia. The operation opened the Tel-Aviv-Jerusalem road long enough to allow three long convoys bearing arms, ammunition, and supplies to reach Jerusalem. The people of Jerusalem survived on the provisions brought by these convoys until the Burma Road, the route which outflanked the Arab positions, was completed, permanently ending the siege.
In the postwar years, until 1956, the Arab states maintained the military pressure by supporting terrorist and guerrilla infiltration across the borders. The continual pressure on the Army, together with the country's very limited financial resources and population, led to the creation of a small standing army backed by a very large reserve force. The principle was Swiss, with major modifications.
http://www.eretzyisroel.org/~jkatz/independence2.jpg
The Arab Invasion
http://www.eretzyisroel.org/~jkatz/independence.jpg
Bombardment of Jerusalem by Arab Legion
http://www.knowledgenews.net/history/armistice.jpg
Armistice Lines
May 15, 1948
On May 15, 1948, the day the British Mandate over Palestine ended, the armies of five neighboring Arab states invaded the new State of Israel, which had declared its independence the previous day. The invasion, heralded by an Egyptian air attack on Tel Aviv, was vigorously resisted. From the north, east and south came the armies of Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Transjordan, and Egypt. The invading forces were fully equipped with the standard weapons of a regular army of the time - artillery, tanks, armored cars and personnel carriers, in addition to machine guns, mortars and the usual small arms in great quantities, and full supplies of ammunition, oil, and gasoline. Further, Egypt, Iraq, and Syria had air forces. As sovereign states, they had no difficulty (as had the pre-state Jewish defense force) in securing whatever armaments they needed through normal channels from Britain and other friendly powers. In contrast, the Jews had no matching artillery, no tanks, and no warplanes in the first days of the war. Some supplies of these weapons arrived in the days that followed, however, and turned the tide. Little more than small arms - in paucity- had been available to the Haganah which on May 28, 1948 was to merge with other Jewish defense groups to form the Israel Defense Forces. Two Jewish defense forces, the Irgun Zeva'i Le'ummi and the Lohamei Herut Israel agreed to cease their independent activities, (except in Jerusalem) and to absorb their members into the newly founded IDF. Invaded from all directions, Israel had to cope with the outbreak of a thousand fires, and to do so with limited means. Numerous settlement outposts in the Galilee and the Negev were isolated, open on all sides to Arab attack, and had to rely on their own perseverance and meager armories to stave off defeat. The hastily mobilized army had to engage in offensive action to remove the enemy from key positions, block the advance of their columns, and rush to seal gaps in Israel's defenses.
In human terms, the War of Independence was Israel's costliest war. More than 6,000 Israelis were killed and 15,000 wounded. It was one of the few instances when Israel faced almost equal forces on the other side: 35 to 45 thousand Israeli soldiers faced 42 to 54 thousand in the combined Arab armies. Although the Arab forces were marginally better equipped than the IDF, neither side employed tanks or planes in large numbers. The war was not characterized by a definite chronology or a marked beginning and end. Instead, it consisted of 39 separate operations, fought from the borders of Lebanon to the Sinai Peninsula and Eilat. Virtually the entire Jewish population of Palestine, then numbering 650,000 people, was mobilized in order to meet the coordinated assault of five regular Arab armies, in addition to Palestine's 1,000,000 Arabs.
A unique feature of the war up to May 1948 was the "battle of the roads". The vast majority of Palestine's main roads ran through areas populated by Arabs, and by controlling the roads, the Arabs could effectively lay siege to many Jewish settlements. There was fierce fighting along the road to Jerusalem, since losing domination of this road meant risking the loss of Jerusalem itself. As a result, the defense of the road assumed prime importance, as did the task of delivering supplies to the besieged city. Convoys of armored trucks, sometimes escorted by jeeps, made the dangerous journey along the winding, hilly road, often under attack by Arab forces. Many of the convoys did not reach Jerusalem, a factor which led to Operation Nachshon. This operation, which took place between April 3 and April 15, 1948, involved 1,500 Jewish soldiers, using arms purchased in Czechoslovakia. The operation opened the Tel-Aviv-Jerusalem road long enough to allow three long convoys bearing arms, ammunition, and supplies to reach Jerusalem. The people of Jerusalem survived on the provisions brought by these convoys until the Burma Road, the route which outflanked the Arab positions, was completed, permanently ending the siege.
In the postwar years, until 1956, the Arab states maintained the military pressure by supporting terrorist and guerrilla infiltration across the borders. The continual pressure on the Army, together with the country's very limited financial resources and population, led to the creation of a small standing army backed by a very large reserve force. The principle was Swiss, with major modifications.
http://www.eretzyisroel.org/~jkatz/independence2.jpg
The Arab Invasion
http://www.eretzyisroel.org/~jkatz/independence.jpg
Bombardment of Jerusalem by Arab Legion
http://www.knowledgenews.net/history/armistice.jpg
Armistice Lines