The 8th Armored Brigade (, ''Hativa Shmoneh'') is an

Israeli Defense Forces Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli (b ...

reserve armored brigade assigned to the 91st Division. It was the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

' first armoured brigade which possessed

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; ...

jeep Jeep is an American automobile brand, now owned by multi-national corporation Stellantis. Jeep has been part of Chrysler since 1987, when Chrysler acquired the Jeep brand, along with other assets, from its previous owner, American Motors Co ...

s and

armoured personnel carrier An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world. Acc ...

s (APCs), whereas all other IDF units at the time were entirely

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 ...

-based. The brigade was called 'armoured' for morale reasons, although in reality it only had a single tank

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...

(later in the war, two companies), and a single APC company (these companies became the brigade's armoured

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...

), and an assault battalion composed of jeeps. The Brigade's first commander was

Yitzhak Sadeh Yitzhak Sadeh (; born Izaak Landoberg, August 10, 1890 – August 20, 1952), was the commander of the Palmach and one of the founders of the Israel Defense Forces at the time of the establishment of the State of Israel. Biography Sadeh was bo ...

Organization

8th Armored Brigade "HaZaken/The Old One" (Reserve) ** 89th Armored Battalion ** 121st Armored Battalion ** 129th Armored Battalion ** Logistic Battalion ** Reconnaissance Company ** Signal Company

History

Founding and organization

The brigade was founded and subordinated to

on May 24, 1948. Two battalions were created—the 82nd Tank Battalion under Felix Biatus, and the 89th Commando Battalion under

Moshe Dayan Moshe Dayan (; May 20, 1915 – October 16, 1981) was an Israeli military leader and politician. As commander of the Jerusalem front in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Chief of General Staff (Israel), Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defe ...

. Another battalion, the 88th, was founded later. According to Dayan, the 89th consisted of four companies each made up of different groups: from

kibbutz A kibbutz ( / , ; : kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1910, was Degania Alef, Degania. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economi ...

and

moshav A moshav (, plural ', "settlement, village") is a type of Israeli village or town or Jewish settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists between 1904 and 1 ...

members, from Tel Aviv, from Lehi, and veterans from South Africa. The battalion consisted entirely of volunteers: "A" company consisted of men from the disbanded Lehi underground organisation; "B" company was taken from the 43rd Battalion,

Kiryati Brigade The 146th Division "Ha-Mapatz" (), literally "Bang" Division, is a reserve Division of the Israel Defense Forces. It is subordinate to Northern Command. History Formed in 1954, it fought in the Suez Crisis and Six-Day War as the 38th Divi ...

; "C" company from the

Golani Brigade The 1st "Golani" Brigade (, ''Hativat Golani'') is an Israeli military infantry brigade. It is subordinated to the 36th Division and traditionally associated with the Northern Command. It is one of the five infantry brigades of the regular Is ...

. Many of the men joined after personal approaches from Dayan, to the annoyance of their commanding officers. They were stationed at Tel Litvinsky. Their first action was against

Irgun The Irgun (), officially the National Military Organization in the Land of Israel, often abbreviated as Etzel or IZL (), was a Zionist paramilitary organization that operated in Mandatory Palestine between 1931 and 1948. It was an offshoot of th ...

members landing arms from the

Altalena The ''Altalena'' Affair was a violent confrontation that took place in June 1948 between the newly created Israel Defense Forces and the Irgun (also known as Etzel), one of the Jewish paramilitary groups that were in the process of merging to ...

Kfar Vitkin Kfar Vitkin () is a moshav in central Israel. Located near Netanya, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hefer Valley Regional Council and was the first Jewish settlement in the valley. In it had a population of . History The community was esta ...

, 23 miles north of

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

. The

Alexandroni Brigade The 3rd "Alexandroni" Brigade (, ''Hativat Aleksandroni'') is an Israel Defense Forces brigade which has fought in many of Israel's wars. Organization * 3rd Infantry Brigade "Alexandroni" (Reserve) ** 7012th Infantry Battalion ** 8101st In ...

was "reluctant" to intervene, and Dayan was unable to deploy ex-members of Irgun from his battalion.

1948 Arab–Israeli War

On 11 July 1948, the 89th Battalion was involved in the attack on

Lydda Lod (, ), also known as Lydda () and Lidd (, or ), is a city southeast of Tel Aviv and northwest of Jerusalem in the Central District of Israel. It is situated between the lower Shephelah on the east and the coastal plain on the west. The ci ...

. Later that month, Dayan became the commander of the Jerusalem front and was replaced by Dov Chesis. On 28 October the 89th Battalion, now under Chesis, captured the town of

al-Dawayima Al-Dawayima, Dawaymeh or Dawayma () was a Palestinian people, Palestinian town, located in the former Hebron Subdistrict, Mandatory Palestine, Hebron Subdistrict of Mandatory Palestine, and in what is now the Hevel Lakhish, Lakhish region, some 15 ...

. Among others, the brigade participated in

Operation Danny Operation Dani, also spelled Danny, was an Israeli military offensive launched on July 9–19, 1948 at the end of the first truce of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. The objectives were to capture territory east of Tel Aviv and then to push inlan ...

Operation Yoav Operation Yoav (also called Operation Ten Plagues or Operation Yo'av) was an Israeli military operation carried out from 15–22 October 1948 in the Negev Desert, during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Its goal was to drive a wedge between the Eg ...

Operation Assaf Operation Assaf (, ''Mivtza Asaf'') was an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) operation against the Egyptian Army between December 5–December 7, 1948, during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. The successful operation's aim was to take control of the western ...

and

Operation Horev Operation Horev was a large-scale offensive against the Egyptian army in the Western Negev towards the end of the Arab–Israeli War in 1948 and 1949. Its objective was to entrap the Egyptian Army in the Gaza Strip. The operation took place from ...

After the 1948 Arab–Israeli War

Following the 1948 war, the brigade served as the backbone of the IDF's

armoured forces Armoured warfare or armored warfare (American English; see spelling differences), is the use of armoured fighting vehicles in modern warfare. It is a major component of modern methods of war. The premise of armored warfare rests on the abil ...

. In the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states, primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...

, the brigade fought on two fronts, including in the Sinai and the

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 ...

. In 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 ...

, the brigade fought in the Sinai. 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 ...

, the brigade was mobilized but did not take part in the fighting. A memorial to the 8th Brigade is located adjacent to the

Ben Gurion International Airport Ben Gurion International Airport , commonly known by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the main international airport of Israel. Situated on outskirts north of the city of Lod and directly south of the city of Or Yehuda, it is the busies ...

References

External links

profile at Yad LeShirion website
{{Authority control 1948 Arab–Israeli War Brigades of Israel Military units and formations established in 1948