Ikvot Habarzel Brigade (401st) (Hebrew: חטיבת עקבות הברזל)

Established on the eve of the Six Day War in 1967 as a reserve pesonell mixed mechanized Brigade, with two Mechanized infanty and one Armor battallions. After the war it was reorganized to an Armor Brigade, containing three armored battalions: Shelach/ 46th (שלח) , Habokyim Harishonyim/52nd (הבוקעים הראשונים) and Seara (סערה). In the years between The six Day war and Yom Kipur War it was stationed mainly in Sinai, Equipped with M-48/Magah-3 (מג"ח 3) tanks. The 1967 Arab-Israeli War, also known as the Six-Day War or June War, was fought between Israel and its Arab neighbors Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. ... Magach מגח (in full, Merkevet Giborey Chayil, מרכבת גיבורי חייל; Hebrew: Chariot of War Heroes) is a series of Israeli tanks, based on the American M48 and M60 Patton tanks. ...

In the First days of the Yom Kippur War the Brigade sustained extremly high casualties, and for continued action was reenforced by reserve personell. The Yom Kippur War (Hebrew: Milchemet Yom HaKipurim (מלחמת יום הכיפורים), also known as the October War, the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, and the Ramadan War), was fought from October 6 (the day of Yom Kippur) to October 24, 1973, between Israel and a coalition of Egypt and Syria. ...

After the Yom Kipur war in a long process of rebuilding, the Brigade was restructured again, losing the Seara batallion and gaining a mechanized inpantry batallion Duhifat/91st. It's main operations zone moved to the Jordan Valley, where it took part in counter-terrorism actions as infantry.

In the Lebanon War the Brigade took to the central ridge of Lebanon, and fought all the way to the Beirut-Damascus road. Lebanon and the Jordan Valley where the areas where the brigade was stationed untill the heating up of the conflict in the disputed territories and the retreat form Lebanon. This article is about the Jordan River in western Asia. ...

In 1985 the brigade was restructured yet again, to include the Eseth/9th (עשת)battalion.

Curently the Brigade is speread over the desputed territories, mostly in Gaza and is equipped with Merkava Mk. 4 tanks. The city of Gaza is the principal city in the Gaza Strip. ... General characteristics Length 7. ...

1st sergenat (res.) form Eseth --84.94.185.190 08:21, 19 Jun 2005 (UTC)

all information is form the Armor Corps monthly magazeen (Shiryon), Shelach and Eseth memorial books and albums.