The 8th Armored Brigade (Hebrew: חטיבה שמונה, Hativa Shmoneh) was an Israeli mechanized brigade headquartered near Jerusalem. It was the Israel Defense Forces' first brigade which possessed tanks, jeeps and armored personnel carriers (APCs), whereas all other IDF units at the time were entirely infantry-based.
The brigade was called 'armored' for morale reasons, although in reality it only had a single tank company (later in the war, two companies), and a single APC company (these companies became the brigade's armored battalion), and an assault battalion composed of jeeps.
The Brigade's first commander was Yitzhak Sadeh.
Moshe Dayan was appointed commander of one of the brigade's battalions known as the "89th Mechanized Assault Battalion."[1] The 89th consisted of four companies each made up from different groups: from kibbutz and Moshavs, from Tel Aviv, from Lehi and veterans from South Africa. They were stationed at Tel Litvinsky.[2] Their first action was against Irgun members landing arms from the Altalena at Kfar Vitkin, 23 miles north of Tel Aviv. The Alexandroni Brigade was "reluctant" to intervene, and Dayan was unable to deploy ex-members of Irgun from his battalion.[3]
On 11 July 1948 the 89th Battalion was involved in the attack on Lydda.
On 28 October the 89th Battalion, by then commanded by Dov Chesis, captured the town of Dawayima.
Following the 1948 war, the brigade served as the backbone of the IDF's armored forces. In the Six-Day War, the brigade fought on two fronts, including in the Sinai and the Golan Heights. In the Yom Kippur War, the brigade fought in the Sinai. In the 1982 Lebanon War, the brigade was mobilized but did not take part in the fighting.[4]
A memorial to the 8th brigade is located adjacent to the Ben Gurion International Airport.
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Operations
The 8th Brigade participated in the following operations:
See also
References
- ^ Moshe Dayan, "Story of My Life." ISBN 0 688 03076 9. Page 93.
- ^ Dayan, page 94.
- ^ Dayan, page 96.
- ^ "חטיבה 8 - עוצבת "הזקן"". http://www.yadlashiryon.com/show_item.asp?itemId=657&levelId=64596&itemType=0. Retrieved 2009-12-08.(Hebrew)
External links
- profile at Yad LeShirion website (Hebrew)
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