Operation Uvda ( Hebrew מבצע עובדה , Operation Fact ) is the last military operation of the Israel Defense Forces in the 1947-1949 Arab-Israeli war [1] . It is called "Fact" as a symbol of the fact of the formation of the state of Israel in Palestine.
| Operation Uvda | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| The main conflict: the Arab-Israeli war of 1948-1949 | |||
 Raising the " ink flag " | |||
| date of | March 5–10, 1949 | ||
| A place | The southern tip of the Negev | ||
| Total | Liberation of the Arava Valley, Umm Rashrash (modern Eilat ), access to the Red Sea . | ||
| Opponents | |||
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| Commanders | |||
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Content
Operation Timeline
On March 5, 1949, the Negev brigade advanced from Be'er Sheva towards the Ramon crater . At the same time, the Golani brigade left Mamshit for Ein Husub . On March 6, the Negev brigade reached Sdey-Abraham and the soldiers began clearing the area for the construction of the airfield.
On the night of March 6-7, forces of the 7th Brigade flew to the recently cleared airfield. They brought weapons and fuel, vital to the continuation of the operation.
On March 7, the Golani brigade occupied the village of Ein Haruf. On the same day, the Alexandroni brigade was redeployed from Beersheba via Mamshit to Sdom [2] . From there, a brigade landing force landed in the Ein Gedi area on the Dead Sea .
On March 8, the Golani brigade captured al-Gamr, the Jordanian troops defending it fled. At the same time, the Negev brigade moved towards Umm Rashrash . At night, the Alexandroni brigade advanced from Sdom towards the Dead Sea and landed at Ein Gedi even before dawn.
On March 8–9, the Alexandroni brigade was divided into three groups, one of which captured Ein Gedi, and the southern group captured Masada. During this time, the Negev brigade remained in the Arava Valley for two days, conducting reconnaissance of the capture of Ras al-Nagb.
On March 9, the Golani brigade captured Garandal and approached Ein Gadyan (today Yotvata ).
On the morning of March 10, an air intelligence officer discovered that the police station guarding Ras al-Nagb had been abandoned by Arab forces. The Negev brigade immediately began moving in the direction of Umm-Rashrash through Ras al-Nagb.
The Negev and Golani brigades actively competed who would reach the Red Sea first, and on March 10 at 15:00, the Negev brigade arrived at the abandoned police station in Umm Rashrash , on the site of which the city of Eilat was subsequently built. The Golani brigade arrived only two hours later.
Since Operation Uvda was the last military operation of the 1947-1949 Arab-Israeli war, a painted Israeli flag (now known as the “ ink flag ”) was hoisted over the police station. It is believed that at this time, March 10 at 16:00 the war ended [3] .
The front commander sent a telegram to the Israeli government to end the war:
Pass on to the Government of Israel: on the day of Haganah 11 Adar, the Negev Palmach brigade and the Golani brigade present the Gulf of Israel to the State of Israel.
- Eilat (Umm-Rashrash), 9 Adara 5709 (תש"ט).
Literature
- Cohen, Jeruham Always in service. Notes by an Israeli officer on the Military Literature website, Jerusalem: Aliyah Library, 1987, translated from Hebrew G. Ginsburg.
Notes
- ↑ Operation Uvda Archive copy dated April 26, 2008 on the Wayback Machine on the Israel Defense Forces website (Hebrew)
- ↑ מבצע עובדה - עין גדי באתר הבית של חטיבת אלכסנדרוני Operation "Uvda" - Ein Gedi on the website of the Alexandroni Brigade (Hebrew)
- ↑ Jeruham Cohen . Always in service. Notes of an Israeli officer (on the website "Military Literature") / Translation from Hebrew G. Ginzburg. - Jer. : Library Alia, 1987.
Links
- Operation "Uvda" on the website of the Israel Defense Forces (Hebrew) .
- Operation "Uvda" on the Palmah website (Hebrew) .