Israeli Security Forces - IDF - History
The history of the
Israel Defense Forces is intertwined with history of the establishment
of the State of Israel in 1948. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) were
formed following the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of
Israel, May 14, 1948 to "defend the existence, territorial integrity and
sovereignty of the state of Israel" and "to protect the inhabitants of
Israel and to combat all forms of terrorism which threaten daily life".
The predecessors to the IDF were the Haganah (in particular, its
operative detachment, the Palmach) and the British armed forces, in
particular the Jewish Brigade that fought as part of the British army
during World War II.
After the establishment of the IDF, the two Jewish guerilla armies, the
Irgun and Stern gang came under control of the IDF. But they were
allowed to operate independently in Jerusalem until the end of the 1948
Arab-Israeli war after which they eventually disbanded.
Timeline and major events
Before 1948
Following the 1947 UN Partition Plan which divided the British Mandate
of Palestine, the country became increasingly volatile and fell into a
state of civil war between the Jews and Arabs. In accordance with Plan
Dalet the Haganah tried to secure the areas alloted to the Jewish state
in the partition plan and the blocks of settlements that were in the
area alloted to the Arab state.
The first Arab-Israeli war
David Ben-Gurion proclaimed the Declaration of the Establishment of the
State of Israel, May 14, 1948. His first order was the formation of the
IDF - The Israeli Defence Forces.
The IDF was based on the personnel who had served in the Haganah and the
Palmach and was declared as the only legal armed force in Israel.
Another main source of manpower was the immigrants from Europe. Some of
them Holocaust survivors and others veterans from World War II.
Following the declaration of independence in 1948, Arab armies invaded
Israel. Egypt came from the south, Lebanon and Syria from the north, and
Jordan from the east backed by Iraqi and Saudi troops.
In the initial phase of the war, the IDF was inferior in both numbers
and armament. Due to a number of reasons, the Arabs never managed to
exploit their superiority in numbers. The Israelis managed to
successfully defend themselves in virtually all battlefields with the
notable exception of East Jerusalem. After the first truce June 11 to
July 8, the Israelis managed to seize the initiative due to new troop
enrollments and supplies of arms. Notable achievements of the IDF
incclude the conquest of Eilat (Um Rashrash), Zefat, Nazareth, Haifa and
the liberation of the Galilee and the Negev. The war continued until
July 20, 1949, when the cease-fire with Syria was signed. By then the
IDF had managed to repel the Egyptians to the Gaza Strip while the
Kingdom of Jordan took over the West Bank and east Jerusalem.
1949-1956
In those years the IDF started to rebuild itself as a modern army. It
acquired heavier weapons and established an armored corps and the
Israeli Air Force.
In order to enhance the morale and organization of the army and to
combat the resurgent problem with Palestinian infiltration, Unit 101 was
formed. It was led by Ariel Sharon (who later became Prime Minister in
Israel), and carried out a number of retaliatory strikes on Jordanian
territory to deter the infiltrators. After the notorious Qibya Massacre
in 1953 it was merged with the Paratroopers Battalions and Sharon became
its commander. Unit 101 is regarded as the mother of the IDF's strike
force units.
In those years the IMI Uzi SMG and the FN FAL rifle were issued as
standard infantry weapons.
The 1956 Sinai campaign
See the main article: Suez Crisis.
From 1954 and 1955 Egypt established a special force unit known as the
Fedayeen to terrorize Israel's civilians, such as ambushing civilan
buses. It led to the escalation of hostilities over the Israeli-Egyptian
border and eventually contributed to the 1956 Suez War.
When President Gamal Abdul Nasser, encouraged by support from the Soviet
Union, nationalized the Suez Canal, United Kingdom and France sent in
their paratroopers, and recaptured the canal. Simultaneously, the IDF
launched a full scale attack into Sinai. Israeli armour, equipped with
tanks, such as M4 Sherman and AMX-13 quickly defeated the Egyptian
forces and took control over the canal. Israel withdrew from Sinai under
international pressure, particularly by the USA and its Secretary of
State, John Foster Dulles. But the IDF had achieved numerous goals; the
borders dramatically tranquilized, Nasser promised to disband the
Fedayeen, the Suez Canal was once again open to shipping and maybe most
important of all, Israel had illustrated its military strength. The
successful war elevated the reputation of the IDF and contributed a lot
to the morale of the soldiers.
1956-1966
Following the successful campaign in Sinai, the IDF used this relative
quiet decade to arm on a great scale and increase military
professionalism. The main suppliers of weapons were France and USA which
sold rifles, tanks and even jet fighters - the renowned Dassault Mirage
III to Israel.
Shimon Peres, Israeli (former) Prime Minister and Minister of Defense:
Negotiated France's military and nuclear aid for Israel
Enlarge
Shimon Peres, Israeli (former) Prime Minister and Minister of Defense:
Negotiated France's military and nuclear aid for Israel
The peak of France's assistance was the construction of the nuclear
reactor in Dimona in 1960.
The 1967 Six-Day War
The reasons for the war were the concentration of 100,000 Egyptian
troops in the Sinai Peninsula and the closure of the Straits of Tiran to
Israeli ships. Those two steps of Gamal Abdul Nasser were interperated
by the Israeli government as Egyptian preparation for war, and after
forming a unity government, despite international pressure, the Israelis
decided on a massive preemptive strike.
On the morning of June 5, 1967, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) launched a
massive airstrike that destroyed the majority of the Egyptian air force
on the ground. By noon, the Egyptian, Jordanian and Syrian air forces,
with about 450 aircraft, were annihilated. This pre-emptive strike was
code-named Operation Red Sheet, Mivtza Sadin Adom.
The Egyptians presuaded Syria and Jordan to join the war by lying to
them and reporting on "amazing victories" at Sinai. The two Arab
countries reluctantly joined the war. Jordan by shelling West Jerusalem
and Syria by entering Israel from the Golan Heights.
Meanwhile, the IDF ground forces quickly overran the Egyptian army in
Sinai and were about to reach Alexandria. About 15,000 Egyptian soldiers
were killed, 4482 fell into captivity and 80% of the Egyptian tanks were
destroyed. 338 Israeli were killed in Sinai and the Israel losses there
were about 63 tanks.
All of the Sinai peninsula was captured. The IDF later captured the
Golan Heights from the Syrians and the West Bank from Jordan.
On June 7 Israeli troops (the Harel unit; Yerushalmi unit; and elite
paratroopers accompanied by tanks) captured the Old City of Jerusalem
The conquest of the Western Wall and Temple Mount was considered as the
highlights of the war and a dramatical and emotional peak by the Israeli
people. The reunifaction of east and west Jerusalem as one city under
Jewish control were celebrated widely in Israel.
The Six-Day War had great consequences for the state of Israel and the
IDF. In six days Israel had tripled its territory and defeated three
Arab armies - Egypt, Jordan and Syria. Yitzhak Rabin, Moshe Dayan,
Israel Tal, Moshe Peled and Mordechai Gur were admired by the public as
"war heroes" while the IAF pilots won unprecedented prestige and were
considered to be "the best pilots in the world" (even today, the IAF is
considered to be one of the most competent air forces in the world).
The 1968-1970 War of Attrition
Israel's pre-emptive strike in the Six Day Wars resulted in a French
embargo banning all weapon sales to Israel. Israel overcame the embargo
by finding other suppliers (such as the USA) and developing its own
weapons - for example: The Kfir fighter jet.
After the Six-Day War was over, IDF outposts on the Suez Canal were
shelled by the Egyptian army. It was a long and bitter war that ended
after three years due to Israeli air superiority.
There were also frictions and battles with Syrian forces on the northern
border. In the Israeli reprisal operation ("Three Day Battles" June 24 -
June 27, 1970) about 350 Syrian soldiers were killed.
The 1973 Yom Kippur War (1973)
The Yom Kippur War, also known as the "October War" in Arab countries
broke Israeli over-confidence created after the glorious victory of the
Six-Day War. This time, Jordan stayed out and wasn't involved in the
war. The war opened on October 6, 1973, the holiest Jewish holiday of
Yom Kippur.
Egypt and Syria attempted to regain the territory under Israeli
occupation by force. Their armies launched a joint surprise attack on
the Jewish Yom Kippur holiday (the most sacred day of all in which each
Jew must atone for his sins, pray and avoid eating and drinking) -- the
Syrian forces attacking fortifications in the Golan Heights and the
Egyptian forces attacking fortifications around the Suez Canal and on
the Sinai Peninsula. The troops inflicted heavy casualties on the
Israeli army. After three weeks of fighting, though, and with U.S.
air-lifted reinforcements of weapons and equipments (first shipment
arrived on October 14, 1973), the IDF pushed the attacking forces back
beyond the original lines.
In the Golan Heights, small groups of brave tank commanders such as
Avigdor Kahalani managed to hold back dozens of Syrian tank. By October
10, the IDF recaptured the entire Golan Heights and on October 11
Israeli armored forces invaded Syria and destroyed the Iraqi
reinforcements. On October 22, the Golani infantry brigade captured
mount Hermon (an important strategic outpost).
In the Sinai Peninsula, Israeli armour barely managed to stop the
overwhelming Egyptian attack. The Egyptians attacked with 2,000 tanks
while there were only 300 Israeli tanks to defend the area. Israeli
armored forces suffered heavy casualties on the first three days and
were forced to withdraw from the Suez Canal outposts.
General Ariel Sharon (right with head-bandage) at the front, with
General Moshe Dayan (left, with eyepatch) Minister of Defense during
1973 war
Enlarge
General Ariel Sharon (right with head-bandage) at the front, with
General Moshe Dayan (left, with eyepatch) Minister of Defense during
1973 war
After being reinforced by reserve forces, the IDF launched a
counter-attack. On October 14, General Ariel Sharon managed to cross
over the Suez Canal and cause havoc in the logistic back areas of the
Egyptian army. On October 24, after Israeli troops were 101 km away from
Cairo, and under heavy international pressure, a cease-fire treaty was
signed and the war was over.
The price of the war was heavy. 2,700 Israelis were killed and 5,600
were wounded. About 300 Israeli soldiers were taken captive. The
Egyptians paid a higher price, with 12,000 dead, 35,000 wounded and
8,400 taken captive. 3,000 Syrian soldiers were killed, 5,600 were
wounded and 411 taken captive.
In Israel, the war caused a public outrage, forcing the government to
appoint an investigation commission. The Agranat Commission found
serious flaws in the functioning of the intelligence forecasting branch,
which failed to foresee the war and ignored various warnings. The Chief
of Staff, David Elazar ("Dado") resigned after harsh criticism by the
commission. Although the commission praised Israeli Prime Minister Golda
Meir on her leadership during the war, she resigned following the war
and was replaced by Yitzhak Rabin.
1974-1978
Until 1974, the IDF was countering Syrian and Egyptian attacks meant to
weaken IDF posts on the border and force the Israeli government to
withdraw. However, the IDF managed to sustain low casualties. The IDF
reprisal strikes on the Egyptians and Syrians inflicted heavy
casualties. After international negotiations in 1974, the attacks
stopped.
Following the French embargo and the US air-lift of supplies, weapons
and ammunition, the IDF started to base itself upon American and Israeli
made weapons and technologies. The American M16 assault rifle entered
service along with the Galil assult rifle - an Israeli variant of the
Soviet AK-47. M14 were issued as sniper rifles along with surplus of M1
Carbines given to the Police.
In those years the IDF invested most of its efforts in countering
international terror, such as the Munich Massacre, committed by the PLO
following its deportion from Jordan to Lebanon in the "Black September"
of 1970. The PLO focused mainly on hijacking airlines and kidnapping and
its terrorists hijacked several commercial airline flights.
Israeli Col. Yoni Netanyahu, ground commander of 1976 Entebbe
hostage-rescue mission.
Israeli Col. Yoni Netanyahu, ground commander of 1976 Entebbe
hostage-rescue mission.
In 1976, a group of PLO terrorist hijacked an airliner with 83 Israeli
passengers and held them hostages in the Entebbe airport in Uganda.
Israeli elite SF unit - Sayeret Matkal - went on a complex
hostages-rescue operation and managed to save 80 of the passengers, with
only one soldier lost the commander, colonel Jonathan Netanyahu, brother
of Benjamin Netanyahu. The operation, officially called Operation
Johnathan but widely referred as Operation Entebbe, is regard by many
military experts as one of the brightest and successful covert operation
ever conducted.
In those years the IAF received a new generation of warplanes. In 1977
the first F-15 Eagle American warplanes arrived in Israel and only a
year later, they logged their first kill in the world when IAF F-15s
shot down Syrian MiG (Mikoyan-Gurevich) fighters. In 1980 the F-16
Fighting Falcon arrived and the model's first ariel kill was also
credited to the Israeli Air Force.
1978 Operation Litani
Because of waves of terrorist attacks (most notable is the road massacre
of 37 civilians) coming from the PLO in Lebanon, the IDF undertook
Operation Litani, a wide-ranging and thorough anti-terrorist operation
which included occupying part of Southern Lebanon in 1978.
An Israeli Merkava battle tank
Enlarge
An Israeli Merkava battle tank
1979-1981
In 1979 the first Israeli-made Merkava Mk1 main battle tank entered into
service. The tank was fully developed and manufactured by Israel and
exceeded the enemies' tanks in every parameter. It first saw active
service in Lebanon and proved to be great success.
In 1979 the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty was signed, when Menachem Begin
and Anwar Sadat agreed on peace in return for Israel giving the entire
Sinai Peninsula to Egypt. The peace agreement, still valid today, closed
the bitter southern front and let the IDF focus on the raging northern
border.
Israeli F-16 flying above the ancient fortress of Masada.
Enlarge
Israeli F-16 flying above the ancient fortress of Masada.
In 1981 the Israeli Air Force destroyed Iraq's Osiraq nuclear reactor.
The Israeli government suspected that the Iraqis would use the nuclear
reactor to build atomic weapons (WMD). On June 7, four F-16 fighters,
covered by F-15 jets, flew 1,100 km to Iraq from Israel, and bombed the
nuclear reactor, thus, thwarting the Iraqi nuclear program and serverely
holding back the Iraqi plans for getting a nuclear bomb.
1982 Operation Peace for Galilee
On 6 June 1982, following an assassination attempt against its
ambassador in London by the Abu Nidal Organization, Israeli forces under
direction of Defense Minister Ariel Sharon invaded southern Lebanon in
their "Operation Peace for the Galilee." They eventually reached as far
north as the capital Beirut in an attempt to drive the PLO forces out of
the country.
Other famous generals and soldiers
* Yanush Ben Gal, 1973 Yom Kippur War hero, held back Syrian forces
* Tat-Aluf (Brigadier General) Efi Eitam, highest ranking religious
combat general, head of Mafdal party
* Tat-Aluf Arie Eldad, chief military physician, professor of medicine
* Aluf-Mishne (Colonel) Imad Fares, highest Druze officer, commander of
Givati Brigade (2001-2003)
* Meir Har-Zion, Unit 101 commando raider
* Avigdor Kahalani, 1973 Yom Kippur War general, held back Syrian forces
* Zvika Greenberg, 1973
* Colonel Yonatan Netanyahu, a war hero of Sayeret Matkal, killed in
Operation Entebbe
* Meir Pail, historion
* Aluf (Major General) "Musa" Moshe Peled, armor general
* Aluf Mishne Ilan Ramon, senior F-16 pilot, bombed Iraqi reactor in
1981, first Israeli astronaut, died in the Columbia Space Shuttle
disaster
* Aluf Ariel Sharon, commander of Unit 101, general of armored brigade
during 1973 Yom Kippur War, prime minister
* Tat-Aluf Yiftah Spektor, senior F-16 pilot, bombed Iraqi reactor
* Aluf "Talik" Israel Tal, the "Father" of the Merkava main battle tank
project
* Aluf Matan Vilnai, general and Israeli Labor party member
* Aluf Amram Mitzna, general, former Labor party leader
* Aluf Itzhak Mordechai, senior paratroop commander, former defense
minister
* Benjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu, (Sayeret Matkal) commando officer, former
prime minister.
* Admiral Amy Ayalon, commander of the Israeli Navy and later head of
the Shin Bet internal security service.
* Aluf Meir Zorea, Major-General and Commander of Tank Corps during 1967
War.
From:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Israel_Defense_Forces
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