Sinai (division)

The division includes, but is not limited to:

• 12th Ha-Negev Reserve Infantry Brigade ( Hebrew חטיבת הנגב )
• The 14th Reserve Tank Brigade “Ha-Mahats” (also: “Ha-Bison”) ( Hebrew חטיבת המחץ )
• Reserve Tank Brigade "Carney Reem"
• 646th Shualey Marom Airborne Assault Brigade ( Hebrew חטיבת שועלי מרום )
• Artillery brigade
• Reserve battalion of communications of divisional subordination ( Heb. גדחי"ק gadhik )
• Logistics support division ( Heb. אגד לוגיסטי אוגדתי )

The division was founded in 1968 as a regular command structure uniting tank forces on the Sinai Peninsula occupied during the Six Day War (hence the additional name of the division at that time: Tank Headquarters in Sinai - Hebrew מפקדת הכוחות המשוריינים בסיםי M kohot ha-messianyan be-Sinai ).

The division included, among other things, the 14th Panzer Brigade "HaMahats", the 401th Panzer Brigade " Ikvot HaBarzel ", the artillery brigade, the 275th Territorial Brigade, and the engineering battalion. The division was also entrusted with the task of erecting defense lines and fortifications , including the Bar-Leva Line , on the peninsula.

Among the actions of the division during the ensuing Egyptian-Israeli War to deplete , among other things, the shelling of oil refineries in Suez on March 9, 1969 ^[1] .

Doomsday War

During the Doomsday War , the division included the following units ^[2] :

• 401th Panzer Brigade Iquot Hazar (Magach tanks) under the command of Colonel Dan Shomron
• The 164th Panzer Brigade Hariel ( Centurion tanks) under the command of Colonel Abraham Baram (on October 18, due to the transfer of Baram to the 875th Ha-Zaken Brigade, the deputy brigadier General Baruch (Pinko) took command of the brigade ) Arbel)
• The 875th Ha-Zaken Motorized Rifle Brigade under the command of Colonel Arie “Biro” Dayan (due to the wound of Abraham Baram, who was replaced on October 18)
• The combined unit "Koah Granite" under the command of the head of the division headquarters Colonel Israel Granit, which included the battalion from the 164th tank brigade, the 202nd battalion "Cef" of the 35th landing brigade " Tsanghanim " and the auxiliary unit from the 52nd battalion 14- 1st tank brigade "Ha-Mahats"
• 209th artillery brigade "Kidon" under the command of Colonel Yaakov Erez
• 189th reserve reconnaissance battalion under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Moshe Inbar
• 601th Engineering Battalion

On the eve of the Doomsday War , a change of commanders was planned in the division: on October 8, 1973, Kalman Magen was to replace the commander of Abraham (Albert) Mandler . However, on Friday, October 5, combat readiness was declared in the division, and on October 6, at 14:00, a massive Egyptian attack on Israeli positions began, resulting in significant losses in the division’s forces.

The remaining forces of the division were sent in the following days to the southern sector of the Suez Canal . On October 13, from the direct hit of a shell, the commander Abraham Mandler died, to be replaced by Kalman Magen ^[3] .

On October 14, the forces of the division repelled the attack of the 25th tank brigade of the Egyptian army in the Gidi pass and defeated the 3rd tank brigade of the Egyptian army in the battle in Wadi Mabuk ^[4] .

After crossing the Suez Canal by Israeli forces, the division forces crossed the canal together with the forces of the 143rd and 162nd tank divisions and cleared the west bank of the canal while moving towards the southern sector of the canal.

Participation in the First Lebanon War

On the eve of the First Lebanon War , due to the withdrawal of troops from the Sinai Peninsula as part of the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty, the forces of the (still regular) division were redeployed in the Negev desert . At the same time, operational plans required the division to be moved north in the event of hostilities in Lebanon , and the division conducted active exercises in this direction (including division exercises in the Golan Heights in the fall of 1981) under the coordination of the Northern Military District and the Northern Corps ^[5] .

At the beginning of the war, the division included, among other things, the 14th Panzer Brigade HaMahatz, the 401th Panzer Brigade Ikvot Ha Barzel (both brigades were reinforced by the reserve tank battalion), reinforced by reserve formations of the 209th Artillery the Kidon brigade, the Shaked infantry battalion, the engineering battalion at the formation stage, the reconnaissance unit, and the rear support division ^[5] . Parts of the 7th Panzer Brigade “ Saar Mi-Golan ” and the 200th Panzer Brigade “Egrof ha-Barzel”, as well as the infantry brigade based on the cadets of the 1st training base (Officers' School) were also placed under the command of the division.

At the beginning of the war, the division was sent to the eastern sector of military operations, where it took part in battles with Palestinian militants in southern Lebanon on June 6–7, 1982, under the direct command of the Northern Military District, and from June 7 to 11, under the command of the Northern Corps, in battles with militants and with the Syrian army. Having completed the military tasks assigned to it on the eve of the truce between Syria and Israel, the division stopped its advance on the outskirts of the Yant village near the Syrian-Lebanese border, also approaching the missile base in Jebel Safha within Syrian territory ^[5] .

The division was under the command of the Northern Corps until July 1982, after which it was transferred to the command of the Central Corps until October 1982. Then the division was entrusted with the task of maintaining the territorial defense of the Jebel Baruch region up to the western slopes of the Syrian Hermon ^[5] .

During the fighting from June 6 to 11, the division lost 13 killed, 116 wounded, 8 tanks and 4 armored personnel carriers ^[5] .

Further History

After two years of deployment in Lebanon, the division was withdrawn from Lebanon and deployed in the Jordan Rift Valley . In 1985, the division was reintroduced into Lebanon, but with the withdrawal of the bulk of the Israeli forces from Lebanon in the same year, it was decided to disband the regular division and form on its basis a reserve division, merged for some period with the 440th trophy tank division.

In 2005, the identification of the division (nickname, emblem and number) was transferred to the 380th reserve tank division of the Southern Military District, previously merged with the National Center for the Training of Ground Forces ( Hebrew מל"י ).