The 188th "Barak" (Lightning) Armored Brigade is an Israeli armoured brigade, subordinate to Israel's Northern Regional Command. The emblem of the Barak Armored Brigade is a red-bordered rhombus bearing a sword against a blue and white background depicting the

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

coastline. The brigade has a long history beginning before the foundation of the State of Israel. In 1990 the brigade was the first to adopt the

Merkava The Merkava (, , "chariot") is a series of main battle tanks used by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) which are the backbone of the Armored Corps (Israel), IDF's Armored Corps. Current iterations of this tank are considered broadly equivalent t ...

mark-III main battle tank, phasing out its older

Centurion tank The FV4007 Centurion was the primary main battle tank of the British Army during the post-World War II period. Introduced in 1945, it is one of the most successful post-war tank designs, remaining in production into the 1960s, and seeing comba ...

s. The brigade phased out the mark-III in 2020 in favor of the mark-IVs.

History

The brigade was formed as the 2nd Brigade during the

1948 Arab-Israeli war Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

when it was split off from the Levanoni Brigade. Named the Carmeli Brigade because it was led by

Moshe Carmel Moshe Carmel (; 17 January 1911 – 14 August 2003) was an Israeli Major-General and politician who served as Minister of Transportation for eight years. Biography Born in Mińsk Mazowiecki in the Russian Empire (today in Poland), Carmel emig ...

, the brigade was an

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

formation operating in northern Israel. It played an important part in

Operation Hiram Operation Hiram was a military operation conducted by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. It was led by General Moshe Carmel, and aimed at capturing the Upper Galilee region from the Arab Liberation Army (ALA) ...

. After the IDF was formed, the Carmeli Brigade became its 18th Brigade. During the

Sinai Campaign The Suez Crisis, also known as the Second Arab–Israeli War, the Tripartite Aggression in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel, was a British–French–Israeli invasion of Egypt in 1956. Israel invaded on 29 October, having done so w ...

of 1956, the brigade was stationed along the Jordanian border, in case the Jordanians decided to open a second front, and so was not involved in combat. It was shortly later assigned armoured units to become the 45th Armored Brigade, also known as the "Barak Armored Brigade". It consisted of one tank battalion, two armoured infantry battalions, a mortar battalion and reconnaissance units. The changeover was completed in 1962. During the

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was fought from 6 to 25 October 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states led by Egypt and S ...

, it played an important role in defending Israel's border against the Syrian attack in the southern

Golan Heights The Golan Heights, or simply the Golan, is a basaltic plateau at the southwest corner of Syria. It is bordered by the Yarmouk River in the south, the Sea of Galilee and Hula Valley in the west, the Anti-Lebanon mountains with Mount Hermon in t ...

. 112 soldiers were killed in action, including the brigade commander. The brigade was almost destroyed. The main Syrian attack at 2:30–2:50 PM, confronted by the newly positioned 74th Tank Battalion, under the command of Lt.Col. Yair Nafshi. Nafshi moved his battalion position 1.5 km forward from its previous defensive position, a maneuver that saved his men and machines from the Syrian artillery barrage. His was the only remaining tank force, equipped with 36 Israeli modified Centurion tanks to fight the Syrians for 3 continuous days until reinforcements and reserves were moved into positions. His battalion was reinforced with a tank company from the 53rd battalion. After 4 days of fighting, his battalion was reduced to 5 operational tanks. More than 102 soldiers and officers died defending the southern Golan Line, from reinforced points (bunkers) 107 to 114. For his gallant, professional, and courageous behaviour during the war, Yair Nafshi received Israel's second-highest decoration, the Medal of Valor. He retired from the army with the rank of Brigadier General. During the battle, Lieutenant

Zvika Greengold Zvi Greengold (; born 10 February 1952) is a former Israel Defense Forces (IDF) officer who fought during the 1973 Yom Kippur War as a tank commander. He is one of only eight people who fought in the war to be awarded the Medal of Valor, the na ...

, who had arrived unattached to any unit, fought off attacks with his single tank until help arrived. "For the next 20 hours, Zvika Force, as he came to be known on the radio net, fought running battles with Syrian tanks—sometimes alone, sometimes as part of a larger unit, changing tanks half a dozen times as they were knocked out. He was wounded and burned but stayed in action and repeatedly showed up at critical moments from an unexpected direction to change the course of a skirmish. After the war, the task of rebuilding the brigade was assigned in part to

Yonatan Netanyahu Yonatan Netanyahu (; March 13, 1946 – July 4, 1976) was an Israeli military officer who commanded Sayeret Matkal during the Entebbe raid. The raid was launched in response to the 1976 hijacking of an international civilian passenger flight ...

who took command of Battalion 71. In the

1982 Lebanon War The 1982 Lebanon War, also called the Second Israeli invasion of Lebanon, began on 6 June 1982, when Israel invaded southern Lebanon. The invasion followed a series of attacks and counter-attacks between the Palestine Liberation Organization ...

, it fought in

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

and participated in the capture of the local airport. Today, the brigade is part of the 36th Armored Division, the largest regular-service armoured division in the IDF. During

2014 Gaza War The 2014 Gaza War, also known as Operation Protective Edge (, ), and Battle of the Withered Grain (), was a military operation launched by Israel on 8 July 2014 in the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory that has been governed by Hamas since ...

, the unit saw deployment in Gaza City. During the 2023 Gaza War, the unit saw deployment in

Bureij Bureij () is a Palestinian refugee camp located in the central Gaza Strip east of the Salah al-Din Road in the Deir al-Balah Governorate. The camp's total land area is 529 dunam, dunums and in 2017, it had a population of 28,024 with 28,770 regi ...

Brigade organization 2024

188th Armored Brigade "Barak" ** 53rd Armored Battalion "Sufa/Tempest" (

Mk.4M) ** 71st Armored Battalion "Reshef/Flash" (Merkava Mk.4M) ** 74th Armored Battalion "Saar/Storm" (Merkava Mk.4M) ** 605th Armored Engineer Battalion "Ha-Mahatz" ** Logistics Battalion "Barak" ** Reconnaissance Company ** 358th Signals Company "Lightning Arrow"

List of Carmeli Brigade operations in the 1948 Arab–Israeli war

Operation Ben-Ami Operation Ben-Ami () was one of the last operations launched by the Haganah before the end of the British Mandate. The first phase of this operation was the capture of Acre. A week later four villages east and north of Acre were captured. The Ca ...

Operation Dekel Operation Dekel (), was the largest offensive by Israeli forces in the north of Palestine after the first truce of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. It was carried out by the 7th Armoured Brigade led by Canadian volunteer Ben Dunkelman (called B ...

(one battalion) *

Operation Misparayim The Battle of Haifa, also known as the Fall of Haifa, and called by the Jewish forces Operation Bi'ur Hametz ( " Passover Cleansing"), was a Haganah operation carried out on 21–22 April 1948 and a major event in the final stages of the civi ...

List of villages and town battles the Carmeli Brigade fought

Al-Nahr al-Nahr (), was a Palestinian village northeast of Acre. It was depopulated in May 1948 after a military assault carried out by the Carmeli Brigade as part of the Israel Defense Forces's Operation Ben-Ami. Immediately after the assault, the v ...

Al-Ghabisiyya Al-Ghabisiyya was a Palestinian Arab village in northern Palestine, 16 km north-east of Acre in present-day Israel. It was depopulated by the Israel Defense Forces during the 1948 Palestinian expulsion and remains deserted. History A wine ...

Al-Sumayriyya Al-Sumayriyya (, ''Katasir'' in Canaanite times, ''Someleria'' during Crusader rule), was a Palestinian village located six kilometers north of Acre that was depopulated after it was captured by the Israel Defense Forces during the 1948 Arab-Isr ...

* Al-Tall *

Al-Kabri Al-Kabri () was a Palestinian Arab town in the Galilee located northeast of Acre. It was captured by the Haganah 21 May 1948, a week after the State of Israel was declared. In 1945, it had a population of 1,530Khalidi, 1992, p. 19 and a total a ...

* Al-Mansura *

(the Arab quarters) *

Umm al-Faraj Umm al-Faraj (, known to the Crusaders as La Fierge), was a Palestinian village, depopulated in 1948. Location The village was situated on a flat spot in the Acre plain, northeast of Acre.Khalidi, 1992, p. 34 History Archaeological remains fro ...

Memorial

The memorial is situated in the Golan Heights at Road 91 near the entrance to Nahal Gilbon and the former Syrian village Aleiqa. It is inscribed with a verse from a Hebrew song, citing Jeremiah 17:8: "A person is like a tree planted by water, seeking roots."

References

External links

IDF

CODENAME:CAPITAL, By Hedi Enghelberg, 2009. Digital Edition on http://www.amazon.com
{{Authority control 1948 Arab–Israeli War Brigades of Israel Northern Command (Israel)