Operation Assaf
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Operation Assaf (, ''Mivtza Asaf'') was an
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 ...
(IDF) operation against the
Egyptian Army The Egyptian Army (), officially the Egyptian Ground Forces (), is the land warfare branch (and largest service branch) of the Egyptian Armed Forces. Until the declaration of the Republic and the abolishment of the monarchy on 18 June 1953, it w ...
between December 5–December 7, 1948, during the
1948 Arab–Israeli War The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, also known as the First Arab–Israeli War, followed the 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine, civil war in Mandatory Palestine as the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. The civil war becam ...
. The successful operation's aim was to take control of the western
Negev Desert The Negev ( ; ) or Naqab (), is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The region's largest city and administrative capital is Beersheba (pop. ), in the north. At its southern end is the Gulf of Aqaba and the resort town, resort city ...
. It was a small operation, executed between two larger operations in that theatre,
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 ...
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 ...
.


Background

Following Operation Yoav, the Egyptian Army tried to stabilize a defensive line between its two arms of controlled territory in the Negev, along the
Beer Sheva Beersheba ( / ; ), officially Be'er-Sheva, is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the centre of the fourth-most populous metropolitan area in Israel, the eighth-most po ...
- Gaza road. With international peace-efforts intensifying, both sides felt that the war was drawing to a close, and such a strong defensive line would help Egypt claim the majority of western and southern Negev, which included some Israeli settlements. Israel wished to disconnect the two Egyptian arms before it could construct and man strong fortifications along the new defense line. So, Operation Assaf was planned and carried out starting December 5, just two weeks after Operation Yoav ended. In order to surprise the defenders, IDF units were transported via the newly captured Beer Sheva to the Egyptian Army's southern (rear) flank, and attacked ''northwards'' (the Egyptians expected attacks from the north and east).


Participating forces

The operation was carried out mainly with 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 ...
's Gideon
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), ...
infantry forces, for whom this was the first operation in southern Israel or in flat desert terrain (Golani was normally stationed in the lush and hilly
Upper Galilee The Upper Galilee (, ''HaGalil Ha'Elyon''; , ''Al Jaleel Al A'alaa'') is a geographical region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon. Part of the larger Galilee region, it is characterized by its higher elevations and mountainous terra ...
region, near 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 ...
for which it is named). In addition, the assault battalion and several
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 from the armored battalion, both of the 8th Armored Brigade, participated in combat. A few
artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...
and mortar batteries assisted them. The main assaults were carried out by the mechanized forces, while Golani's infantry came in the second wave to cleanse and defend newly captured positions.


Operational phases

Phase 1, went according to plan, with IDF forces capturing three important Egyptian positions without major combat or casualties, on the operation's first day (December 5, 1948). Phase 2, carried out on the following day (December 6, 1948) captured another important position, thus completing all the operation's objectives. However, the Israelis met stronger resistance at another position (which was not captured) and were forced to stop their advance when they hit a
minefield A land mine, or landmine, is an explosive weapon often concealed under or camouflaged on the ground, and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets as they pass over or near it. Land mines are divided into two types: anti-tank mines, wh ...
in another location. On the same day, the Egyptians counter-attacked the captured positions from their main positions in the west, with an infantry battalion, a 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 ...
and some accurate artillery. The attack came very close to breaking the Israeli defenders, but broke off at
dusk Dusk occurs at the darkest stage of twilight, or at the very end of astronomical twilight after sunset and just before nightfall.''The Random House College Dictionary'', "dusk". At predusk, during early to intermediate stages of twilight, enoug ...
. Later data indicated that this was the Egyptian tank battalion's first combat action, after having arrived from Egypt barely two weeks earlier. It had lost 5 of its 12 attacking tanks on that day (number of casualties unknown); Five Israelis were killed in the counter-attack and 28 were wounded. The
Egyptians Egyptians (, ; , ; ) are an ethnic group native to the Nile, Nile Valley in Egypt. Egyptian identity is closely tied to Geography of Egypt, geography. The population is concentrated in the Nile Valley, a small strip of cultivable land stretchi ...
made preparations to continue the counter-attack on the afternoon of the following day (December 7). However,
Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; , commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial and space warfare branch of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Indep ...
reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...
revealed the Egyptian preparations in the morning. The Israeli assault battalion was sent to the Egyptian's north (left) flank and stormed their forces southwards, then chased the retreating Egyptians westward, eventually stopping in face of strong anti-tank Egyptian positions. It was reported that a hundred Egyptian soldiers were left dead in the wake of the assault; the Israelis had 2 wounded and none killed. During the next week, the Israeli forces cleared the area's minefields, dug defensive fortifications, and harassed nearby Egyptian forces, before being pulled out of the region in preparations for
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 ...
. File:Operation Assaf i.jpg, Israeli army artillery in action during Operation Assaf File:Operation Assaf ii.jpg, Operation Assaf - Sheikh Nuran File:Operation Assaf.jpg, Operation Assaf. Damaged Egyptian tank.


See also

*
List of battles and operations in the 1948 Palestine war Following is a list of battles and operations in the 1948 Palestine war. Operations in the 1947–1948 inter-communal war in Palestine Arms acquisitions Following is a list of operations undertaken by the Yishuv and later Israel to acquire mun ...


External links


IDF.il
{{coord missing, Israel Assaf December 1948 in Africa December 1948 in Asia