Operation Assaf 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 Negev Desert. It was a small operation, executed between two larger operations in that theatre, Operation Yoav and Operation Horev. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) (Hebrew: צבא ×”×’× ×” לישראל  , [Army] Force for the Defense of Israel), often abbreviated with the Hebrew acronym צהל Tsahal, alternative English spelling Tzahal, is the name of Israels military forces, comprising the Israeli Army, the Israeli Air Force and the Israeli Navy. ... The Egyptian Army is the largest service within the Egyptian military establishment. ... December 5 is the 339th day (340th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... December 7 is the 341st day (342nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Combatants  Israel Egypt Syria Transjordan  Lebanon Iraq Holy War Army Arab Liberation Army Commanders Yaakov Dori Yigael Yadin Glubb Pasha Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni† Hasan Salama Fawzi al-Qawuqji Strength 29,677 initially–108,300 by December 1948 Egypt: 10,000 initially rising to 20,000 Iraq: 5,000... Ruins in the Negev desert The Negev (Hebrew נֶגֶב;, Tiberian Hebrew Néḡeḇ; Arabic النقب an-Naqab) is the desert region of southern Israel. ... Operation Yoav (also called Operation Ten Plagues or Operation Yoav) was an Israeli military operation carried out between October 15 - 22, 1948 in the Negev Desert in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. ... During the Israeli War of Independence in October 1948, Operation Horev was a wide scale attack against the Egyptian army in the Western Negev. ...

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-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. Beersheba or Beer Sheva (Hebrew באר שבע; Arabic بئر السبع Biʾr as-Sabʿ) is a city in Israel. ... Map of the Gaza Strip from The World Factbook. ...

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 October 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 Golani Brigade's Gideon Battalion 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 region, near the Golan Heights for which it is named). The Golani Brigade חטיבת גולני (aka. ... Symbol of the Austrian 14th Armoured Battalion in NATO military graphic symbols A battalion is a military unit usually consisting of between two and six companies and typically commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel. ... Galilee (Hebrew hagalil הגליל, Arabic al-jaleel الجليل), meaning circuit, is a large area overlappping with much of the North District of Israel. ... Sites on the Golan in blue are Israeli settlement communities. ...

In addition, the assault battalion and several armoured personnel carriers from the armored battalion, both of the 8th Armored Brigade, participated in combat. A few artillery and mortar batteries assisted them. Image:APCTalha. ... The 8th Armored Brigade (aka. ... Historically, artillery (from French artillerie) refers to any engine used for the discharge of projectiles during war. ... US soldier loading a M224 60-mm mortar. ...

The main assuaults of the operation were carried out by the mechanized forces, while Golani's infantry came as second-tier for cleansing and defending 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 in another location. A landmine is a type of mine which is placed onto or into the ground and explodes when triggered by a vehicle or person. ...

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 and some accurate artillery. The attack came very close to breaking theIsraeli defenders, but broke off at dusk. 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 ofits 12 attacking tanks on that day (number of casualties unknown); Five Israelis were killed in the counter-attack and 28 were wounded. A counterattack is a military tactic used by defending forces when under attack by an enemy force. ... A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 100-200 soldiers. ... Dusk in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, USA. Dusk or civil dusk is the time at which the sun is 6 degrees below the horizon in the evening. ...

The Egyptians made preparations to continue the counter-attack on the afternoon of the following day (December 7). However, Israeli Air Force reconnaissance 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. The Israeli Air Force (IAF) (Hebrew: זרוע האוויר והחלל Zroa HaAvir VeHaḤalal, literally Air and Space Arm) is the air force of the Israel Defense Forces and currently operates around 900 aircraft. ... Mixed reconnaissance patrol of the Polish Home Army and the Soviet Red Army during Operation Tempest, 1944 Reconnaissance is the military term for the active gathering of information about an enemy, or other conditions, by physical observation. ...

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. During the Israeli War of Independence in October 1948, Operation Horev was a wide scale attack against the Egyptian army in the Western Negev. ...

See also

• List of Israeli military operations in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war

See also 1948 Arab-Israeli war Israeli Defence Forces External Links & References http://www. ...

External link

• http://www.idf.il/english/organization/golani/golani.stm