Grandma's army

1. THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE 1948 The U.S. did not send any military aid to Israel, both before, during, and after the War of Independence. Not only that, but they took an active part in preventing Israel’s attempts to smuggle weapons into Israel, mostly when Americans were involved. The biggest example was Adolph Schwimmer, whose story was told in previous blogs. Since then, until today, the U.S. State Department has been hostile towards Israel’s interests. Even Ronald Reagan, who was perhaps the most friendly President, did not question the State Department when it came to Israel’s most sensitive issues. The only exception was during the time when Mike Pompeo, was President Trump’s Secretary of State. Not only did Israel have to contend with five Arab States, but the U.K. decided to give the Egyptians a hand when they saw that Israel’s air-force was proving their superiority. After sending armed scouting flights over the battle area, they blatantly attacked four of Israeli’s fi...

  When sudden rains came to the Negev, the planned offensive had to be postponed. Meanwhile, the Egyptians had been reinforcing their garrisons in the Gaza Strip, predicting that the Israelis planned to attack around Gaza. The predictions were correct. On December 22 nd a massive artillery   barrage on Egyptian positions in the Gaza Strip commenced. After two days of hard fighting and many casualties, little ground was gained on either side. But the assault on Gaza was a deception. Two armoured brigades of the Israeli Army were slipping into position   near Beersheba. From there, they would cut across the Sinai to the Mediterranean coast – behind the enemy stronghold at Gaza. The Egyptian Army would be encircled. Israeli archeologists had recently uncovered a Roman trade route from Beersheba to the Sinai. This way, the Israeli force intended to bypass the enemy fortifications, cutting off all Egyptian forces between El Arish and Gaza. Yigal Allon, who was a for...

  By the time another cease-fire took effect on the 31 st October 1948, the roles of the warring sides had been reversed. With invaluable assistance from the three bombers in Israel’s arsenal, Israel forces now occupied the upper Galilee all the way to the Lebanese border. They had extended Israel’s northern borders into Arab-designated land. With the truce barely in place, Ben-Gurion suddenly received a shocking notice! The UN Security Council informed him that Israel must withdraw to its previous positions held on October 14 th! This meant that Israel would have to hand back the Galilee, and withdraw from Beersheba. The Egyptian army would be allowed to return to Ishdud, able to attack Tel-Aviv. Israel would surrender the supply route to the Negev, which had cost them so many lives. It was obvious that the demand originated from the British Foreign Secretary, the notorious Ernest Bevin, who had compiled the “white paper”. Cease fires and withdrawals were never proposed...

  The long arm of the US State Department, as well as the British Foreign Office had finally reached Czechoslovakia. For three months, the pilots from the base in Czechoslovakia had flown ninety-five round trips to Israel, delivering 300 tons of desperately needed weapons and ammunition. They had hauled 25 Messerschmitts, together with the fighters’ spare parts, armament, mechanics, and most of the pilots. Now it was all over. They were given only one day to get out of the country. Since the end of May, 1948, the Negev had been occupied by the Egyptian army. Behind the Egyptian line was a complex of Israeli settlements and a badly depleted brigade of the IDF. Every attempt to resupply and relieve the cut-off units by truck conveys had failed. When the truce was over, the battle-fatigued fighters in the Negev would be crushed. The only solution was if the isolated Negev settlements could be resupplied by air. Working day and night an improvised runway was carved out, in the in...

  Emmanuel Tsur was an Israeli agent and pilot. Armed with a stack of passports in various names, and a portfolio of false companies, he made acquisitions for the IDF. In July 1948 he was in England, looking for fighter airplanes that could come in fast and low, and make precise drops. He was examining two war-surplus Mosquito bombers. They were ideal for Israel’s needs – fast, multi-role fighter bombers – and in good condition. Tsur’s problem was now how to get them to Israel. John Harvey, going by the alias “Terence Farnfield” was an ex-RAF flier and he worked for Tsur. Flying one of the Mosquito’s, after filing a flight plan to Exeter, he turned south and headed toward France. He barely made it to Haifa. A few day’s later, a hired pilot was taking off in the second Mosquito when he was slammed back into the airfield. He survived the crash, but the plane was destroyed. It didn’t burn because the fuel tanks were empty, even though he had supervised the fuelling the night bef...

  The war came to Israel at 05:25 in the morning after the State of Israel was declared. Arab spitfires almost destroyed Israel’s little fleet of utility airplanes at the Tel-Aviv airport. Israeli gunners managed to hit one plane and capture the Egyptian pilot who had bailed out. They learned from the talkative young pilot, that the Egyptian air-force had an entire squadron of Spitfires, as well as Dakota bombers, at El Arish air base beneath the Sinai border. Less than a hundred miles from Tel-Aviv. During a reconnaissance flight, the Israelis knew that, massed along the borders, were thousands of Arab troops, armoured vehicles, and troop carriers. Many of the Arab units were already inside the proposed new border, even though the British occupying force hadn’t pulled out yet. [On the 28 th May, 1948, the Haganah and the other splinter fighting groups were unified by Ben-Gurion into the Israeli Defense Forces. At the same time, the Haganah’s air service - consisting of ...

  Schwimmer had already put down the money for five Commandos at $5,000 each and placed an order for five more. All were parked at a war-surplus boneyard in California. Schwimmer’s fleet of transport aircraft was coming together. But who was going to fly them? Lewis had been one of the few Jewish airmen at TWA to become a captain and, together with Gardner, a Jewish flight instructor, had been kicking around the idea of starting an airline to fly refugees and cargo from Europe to Palestine. By agreeing to realise their individual dreams of helping build a new airline, they would also be serving a higher purpose – saving their fellow Jews. They would spread the word through aviation circles that an outfit called Schwimmer Aviation was hiring. Within a couple of weeks, the roster of employees swelled. More airmen were joining the group already in Panama. From there they were eventually able to make their way to Rome. Nearly fifty volunteer airmen had arrived – fighter pilots, t...

                              All it takes to change the course of history is one man with a mission. Ben-Gurion knew that, two weeks after the State of Israel was born - when the British withdrew - the armies of five surrounding Arab countries: Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Transjordan, would roll like a seismic wave across Israel. With a sixty-to-one numerical advantage, the Arab armies would invade - fully armed. Geography was also on the side of the Arabs. The UN designated Jewish state was a long, thin strip of territory, squeezed in the middle - vulnerable on all sides. Jewish settlements were scattered in isolated pockets throughout the territory, each having to defend itself against the onslaught of entire armies. Israel’s only defense force was the Haganah . They had weapons for less than a third of its soldiers. They had enough ammunition for three day’s fighting. Haganah had no heavy gun...

At the end of the War of Independence, the IDF had over 100,000 full-time men and women in uniform, as compared to the mere handful of full-time soldiers at its beginning. In addition to 12 brigades, mostly infantry, it had several regiments of artillery. The first armoured regiments were equipped with light armoured vehicles: some captured, some "requisitioned" from the departing British troops; a few tanks; including two Cromwells "bought" from the withdrawing British, and some reconstituted from American scrap. The Navy consisted, at first, of reconverted illegal immigrant vessels. There were the elements of an Air Force - Spitfires and Messerschmidts, acquired mainly in Czechoslovakia. Also, light civilian planes which the Haganah had used for reconnaissance and communications purposes. Some World War II US war surplus bombers, which had been used as scrap, were bought. These carried out their first "strategic attack" on Cairo, en route to Israel...

  The War of Independence of the Jewish people in the land of Israel began on the 29th of November 1947 -   a result of the Arabs’ objection to the UN resolution regarding the partition of the country into an Arab state, and a Jewish state. The Arab population within Mandatory Palestine immediately rejected the resolution, and declared war on the Jews. The goal of the Arabs was initially to block the Partition Resolution and to prevent the establishment of the Jewish state. The Jews, on the other hand, hoped to gain control over the territory allotted to them under the Partition Plan. Up until 1 April 1948, it was the Arabs in Palestine who took the offensive - with the help of volunteers from neighboring countries. The yishuv suffered severe casualties and disruption of passage along most of the major highways. From April until May 14 th 1948, the Haganah and Etzel forces succeeded in launching attacks against the Arabs, in which, the force of Palestinian Arabs wa...