Contents
- 1. Brigade Units
- 1.1 71st Battalion - During the 1973 Yom Kippur War
- 1.2 75th Battalion
- 1.2.1 Battalion Commanders
- 1.3 82nd Battalion
- 1.3.1 Battalion Commanders
- 1.4 77th Battalion
- 1.4.1 Battalion Commanders
- 1.5 79th Battalion
- 1.5.1 First period - up to 1964
- 1.5.2 From 1965 - First Battalion - "Sufa" Battalion
- 1.5.3 The Six-Day War
- 1.5.4 Battalion Commanders
- 1.6 Palsar 7
- 1.6.1 Training
- 1.6.2 Positions of the Military Intelligence Unit in Wartime
- 1.7 Battalion 603
- 1.7.1 Battalion Commanders
- 2 History
- 2.1 The War of Independence
- 2.2 The Sinai Campaign
- 2.3 The Six Day War
- 2.4 War of Attrition
- 2.5 The Yom Kippur War
- 2.6 The First Lebanon War
- 2.7 The Second Lebanon War
- 2.8 The Second Decade of the 21st Century
- 3 Brigade 7 tanks throughout history
- 4 The Emblem of the Brigade
- 5 Team 7 (NB: military music group)
- 6 Monuments Division and its units
- 7 Brigade commanders
- 8 Read further
- 9 External links
- 10 Footnotes
7th Brigade Units
77th Battalion
82nd Battalion
75th Battalion
603rd Battalion
353rd Battalion
7 Palsar
71st Battalion during the Yom Kippur War - 1973
- The battalion had two phases of operation:
- - under the command of Lt. Col. Meshulam Ratz, until he was killed in the battle
to contain the assault.
- - under the coomand of Lt. Col. Amos Katz, beginning Tuesday, 9 Oct. 1973, as a
reserve battalion that carried out the advance into the Syrian border enclave and
captured the town of Mazra'at Beit Jann.
75th Battalion
The 75th Battalion was established in August of 1948 as part of the 7th Brigade
and an attempt was made to fill it with soldiers from France and North Africa who
volunteered but the attempt failed. A group was formed into a company-sized unit which
was called the 'French Commandos' and it was attached to the Negev Brigade until it
was disbanded in November. [1]
The 75th Battalion (the Romach/Spear battalion) was established as a new battalion
in 1971 this time as an infantry battalion of recruits that also provided the brigade's
reconnaissance company. During the Yom Kippur War they fought together with a tank
battalion in the Valley of Tears, the counter-attack, the occupation of the enclave and
the war of attrition on the Syrian Front.
During the First Lebanon War, the battalion led the brigade's advance into Lebanon
and during the operation 3 soldiers from the battalion were killed and 7 tanks hit. The
battalion destroyed 14 Syrian T-62 tanks. The battalion commander, Ziv Halevi, was
awarded with a citation by the divison commander for his actions.
During the Second Lebanon War, the 75th battalion led by Lt. Col Dan Neumann,
participated in the fighting with their main activity being in the western sector
where they fought many battles. The commander of company C in the conflict, Capt. Ihsan
Daksa, was awarded a medal by the commanding officer of Northern Command for his
part in the fighting in the city of Aita al-Shaab. At the end of a long period of
combat the battalion did not suffer any casualties.
At the end of October 2014, the battalion converted to the Merkava Siman 4M, the
first battalion in the 7th Brigade to receive the newest tank in the Merkava series. [2]
In 2017 the battalion destroyed several Hamas positions along the border with the
Gaza Strip as part of operations on the Hobbes Axis.(TRANS NOTE: the security road and
fortifications around it that surround the Gaza Strip perimeter fence from the Mediterranean
in the north to the Philadelphia Route in the south, the northern section Beit lahia.) [3]
The battalion's home base is located at the top of Gamla on the Golan Heights.
Battalion Commanders
| Name | Period | Comments |
|---|
| Teddy Eitan | | First battalion commander in 1948 |
| David Ron | | First commander of new battalion in 1971 |
| Yosef Eldar | | Went on to become Chief Education Officer |
| Yossi Melamed | | Later became head of Southern Command HQ |
| Avner Ze'iri | | |
| Itzhaki Chen | | |
| Ziv Halevy | | |
| Shmuel Rosenthal | | Later head of the Northern Command |
| Yoel Lavi | | |
| Dani Bass | | |
| Gershon Hacohen | 1987-1988 | General of the General Staff |
| Eyal Zamir | 1994-1996 | Future commander of Southern Command |
| Amnon Eshel | | later became 7th Brigade commander |
| Tamir Heiman | | Later became commander of the Military Colleges and the Northern Corps |
| Amir Eshel | 1999-2001 | Later commanded 600th Brigade |
| Jacob Banjo | 2001-2003 | Future commander of Ga'ash battalion |
| Nadav Lotan | 2003-2005 | Commander of 319th Brigade |
| Dan Neumann | 2005-2007 | Became a brigade commander |
| Amir Avstein | 2007-2009 | Commander of 10th Brigade |
| Hovav Vardi | 2009-2011 | Future commander of 8th Brigade |
| Roman Goffman | 2011-2013 | Current brigade commander |
| Idan Morag | 2013-2015 | Brigade Deputy Commander |
| Tal David | 2015-2016 | died following a fatal training accident[4] |
| Bnei Aaron | 2016-2017 | |
| Rady Azmeh | July 2017- | |
82nd Battalion
The 82nd Battalion (the "Ga'ash" Battalion) was established as the second battalion
in the 8th Brigade and hence its number. The regiment was made up of combat units of
diverse backgrounds, members of MACHAL, Gadna, and veterans of Etzel and Lehi. The
battalion commander was Felix Battus. During the War of Independence, the battalion
fought in Operation Horev, Operation Dani and Operation Yoav. In August 1949, it
transferred with the 9th Battalion to the 7th Brigade.
Before the Sinai Campaign, the battalion, under the command of Avraham Adan,
participated in Operation Jonah to unload French arms ships. During the war it
included a company of Super Sherman tanks, and the Sherman M-50 company with the
Armash company and the Armand company the battalion participated in the battles of
the Ruifa Dam and the encirclement of Abu Ageila. At the end of the fighting Company A
of the battalion was awarded a unit citation by the commander of the Armored Corps. In
1965 a platoon from the battalion was awarded a brigade citation during the Battle
for Water. During the Six Day War the tank battalion commanded by Gabi Amir
participated in the conquest of Khan Yunis and the Rafah Junction, the Jiradi
compound and reached the Suez Canal. In 1968 the battalion participated in Operation
Karameh.
During the Yom Kippur War the battalion was commanded by Haim Barak with the battalion
in small-unit training in the Sinai. His two operational companies were sent before the
war started to reinforce the Golan Heights, A company under the command of Eli Geva trained
to drag the rolling Galilee Bridge, and C company commanded by Meir Zamir which was
assigned to the 77th Batallion of the brigade and during the conflict came to be called
'Tiger Force'. (כוח טײגר)
When the fighting broke out the rest of the battalion's fighter were flown to the north
where they were equipped with tanks and the battalion was attached to the 188th Brigade.
Battalion D was sent to reinforce the 53rd Battalion of the 188th Brigade in the southern
sector where it participated in the containment battles at the Tapline oil pipeline and
Tel Saki (or Tel Eski) with 12 soldiers killed in the fighting. Three of its members
were captured by the Syrians. During the containment battles the battalion commander
was wounded and the deputy commander killed. In total, 28 were killed in action.
The battalion participated in both Operation Litani and the First Lebanon War.
During Operation Defensive Shield the battalion was awarded a unit citation for
their part in the fighting in the areas under the command of the Golani Brigade.
During the Second Lebanon War the battalion was under the command of Oded Basik.
The battalion was assigned to the Avivim area and reacted immediately to the kidnapping
of IDF soldiers. Responding to the kidnapping a tank from one of the comapnies
commanded by Sgt. Alex Kushnirski entered Lebanon but set off an explosive (IED??)
which killed the crew. A small force led by the battalion commander stayed in the area
in the open and under fire until the bodies could be retrieved. The battalion continued
to fight until the last day of the war and at its end the two company commanders received
a medal for valor and a citation from the Northern Command commander.
In 2014 the battalion participated in Operation Eitan Tzuk and lost Dimitry Levitas
the commander of the Golan company.
In the summer of 2016 this battalion was converted to the Merkava Siman 4M. [5]
Battalion Commanders
| Name | Period | Comments |
|---|
| Felix Battus | 1948 | |
| Shaul Yaffe | Oct 1948-?? | Later a chief armored officer |
| Bar-Lev | | Later became head of Central Command and IDF attache in Uganda |
| Avraham Adan | | Later became the IDF attache in the USA |
| Benjamin Oshri | | |
| Menachem Meron | | Later became IDF attache in USA |
| Amos Benin | | |
| Hertz Yisraeli | | |
| Elhanan Sela | | |
| Asher Levi | 1957 | Later became head of Southern Command HQ |
| Shmuel Gonen | | Later became commander of southern Command |
| Kalman Magen | | Later commanded the Sinai Division |
| Baruch Harel | 1965-1966 | future commander of Sinai Division |
| Gabriel Amir | | Became battalion commander during Six Day War, later commander of Idan Division |
| Avraham Rotem | | will head Training Department |
| Uri Or | | later the OC of Central Command and Northern Command |
| Amram Mitzna | | later became commander of Central Command |
| Haim Barak | 1973 | Later commander of 211th Brigade |
| Meir Zamir | | later commander of National Center for Land Training |
| Ephraim Laor | | later the brigade commander |
| Emmy Planet | 1980-?? | Later chief armor officer |
| Nitzan Sela | | |
| Ido Mazursky | | |
| Dor Mosel | | led battalion during First Lebanon War |
| Yaakov Ayash | 1990-?? | later IDF Attache in US and Canada |
| Hillel Kobrinsky | | later commanded Yiftach brigade |
| Noam Levit | | |
| Guy Bar-Lev | | later became chief combat officer |
| Lior Hochman | 2001-?? | later led 460th Brigade |
| Erez Lev-Ran | 2003-2005 | later commanded 8th Brigade |
| Oded?? | | later commanded the Steel Division |
| Chaim Ido | | later commanded the 14th Brigade |
| German Giltman | | later the IDF attache in Russia |
| Hisham Ibrahim | 2010-2012 | former commander of Iron Fist Brigade and currently Deputy Commander of Galilee Division |
| Neria Yeshurun | 2012-2014 | currently Deputy Commander of 188th Brigade |
| Hanoch Daube | 2014-2016 | commander of 532nd Battalion of 460th Brigade |
| Ihsan Daksa | 2016- | received medal awarded by Chief of Command or Arms Commander |
| | |
| | |
77th Battalion
The 77th Battalion ("Ouz" ) was established in 1969 within the
7th Brigade as the tsamep (team - company - platoon) battalion - to train the soldiers
in acting as a group and not just as individuals (team training is different from
company training, which is different from training as a platoon). The first tanks used
by the battalion were the Sh'ot tanks (NB: Centurion) which were also the tanks they used
to fight the first war in which they took part, the Yom Kippur War. The first battalion
was commanded by Shimon Ben Shushan.
During the Yom Kippur War the battalion was led by Avigdor Kahalani and participated
in the battle of the Valley of Tears, the battalion's most difficult battle that later
took on the name Battle of the Valley of Tears where the soldiers of the unit exhibited
courage and resourcefulness, blocking the advance of some 160 Syrian tanks and later the
battalion pierced the syrian border to aid in the capture and holding of an enclave on
Syrian soil. For this, many of the battalion commanders recieved medals and awards for
their actions.
During the First Lebanon War the battalion operated in a different division. Following
that the battalion took an active part in routine security operations BATASH[6] and
in other brigade operations in various sectors to secure the Security Zone until the
withdrawal from Lebanon. It later performed various combat operations in various combat
zones participating in Operation Defensive Shield, the Intifada, and in Operation Cast
Lead, Operation Cloud Page and Tzuk Eitan.
At peresent (NB: May 2018) the battalion carries the burden of activity in all
sectors assigned to the brigade. The battalion is based on the Golan Heights near the
Nahaf Base. There are three companies in the old building: two operational companies of
Merkava tanks with the names Vulcan and Hermon (װלקן
חרמון ) and an auxiliary company named Jaguar
(יגואר). There is also a reserve
armored infantry company (AFVs) and an HQ company. Today the organizational structure is two
regular army tank companies - Vulcan and Hermon - an auxiliary company and another company that
are part of the regular army with another tank company - Ziv (NB: problematic) - and another company that
are part of the reserves. During the March 15 mobilization this battalion was converted
to Merkava Siman 4 tanks.
Battalion Commanders
| Name | Period | Comments |
|---|
| Shimon Ben Shushan | 1969 | first commander of the battalion |
| Amir Yaffe | 1969-1971 | later commanded 14th Brigade |
| David Israel | 1971-1973 | fell in the Yom Kippur War serving as Deputy Commander of 188th Brigade |
| Avigdor Kahalani | 1973 | battalion commander and later commander of POM (NB: Interdisciplinary College for Command and Staff) |
| Yosef Eldar | 1974 | |
| Uri Yaron | | |
| Ilan Manor | 1976-1978 | commander 847th Brigade, Deputy speaker of the Knesset and Deputy Minister of Education |
| Mendel Shaked | | |
| Benny Lidor | 1981-1982 | later commanded Ga'ash formation (NB: 36th Div) |
| Dubik Tal | 1982-1983 | led battalion during First Lebanon War, later served as Chief Armored officer |
| Moshe Hajabi | 1983-1984 | |
| Uzi Zaguri | 1984-1985 | |
| Eli Hadar "Kosks" | 1985-1987 | |
| Moshe Hagar | 1987-1988 | |
| Moshe Kenan | 1988-1990 | |
| Eyal Malis | 1990-1991 | |
| Giora Segal | 1991-1993 | Deputy Commander of a Divison and Commander of the Perceptual Laboratory at the Center for the Study of Operation and Building the Force at the Military Academy |
| Ofer Segal | 1993-1994 | |
| Moti Chidor | 1994-1996 | later led the 401st Brigade |
| Gadi Meiri | 1996-1998 | |
| Rami Amadi | 1998-2000 | |
| Shay Shilo | 2000-2002 | |
| Itzik Ronen | 2002-2004 | commanded Harel Brigade and 7th Brigade |
| Yair Valensky | 2004-2006 | commanded Kiryati Brigade and 401st Brigade |
| Meir Bar-Meir | 2006-2008 | commanded battalion during the Second Lebanon War |
| Amichai Yudenfreund | 2008-2010 | later led the Chariots of Steel Division (NB: 847th Brigade ) |
| Ofir Levy | 2010-2012 | |
| Yair Orr | 2012-2014 | commnded 4th Brigade |
| Shmuel "Molly" Cohen | 2014-2015 | former officer in Operations branch, later commanded Iron Fist Brigade (NB: 514th Brigade) |
| Yiftach Norkin | 2015-2017 | |
| Shaul Israeli | 2017- | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
79th Battalion
The First Period - up to 1964
The first armored battalion was established in the beginning of May 1948 with the
name Hamash A within the Armored Service SHAMASH שמ״ש
(שירות המשורײנים
later changed to Armored Corps). The battalion had nine half-tracks and a number of
homemade armored wagons. With the establishmend of the 7th Brigade (mid-May 1948) the
battalion was transferred to and and called the 73rd Battalion. It fought in the battles
for Latrun. Later it was changed to 79th Battalion, which fought in Operation Hiram and
captured, among other places, Jish (Gush Halav). In October 1949 as part of the IDF
reorganization following the War of Independence, the battalion was organized as a regular
infantry battalion in the 7th Brigade. At the end of 1953 the regular 79th Battalion was
disbanded and in order to preserve the name the nickname 79 was given to one of the
armored infantry battalions in the 27th Brigade. As such it participated in the Sinai
Campaign. In order to preserve the legacy of the former battalion the name 79 was
transferred in 1964 to a battalion of Magach tanks which was being formed at that time
as part of the 7th Brigade.
1965 - The First Battalion - the Sufa (סופה) Battalion
In 1964 a delegation of some forty IDF officers traveled to Germany to study and
acquaint themselves with the American Patton tanks. With the return of the trainees
from Germany, at the beginning the battalion was established in the Natan camp as a
M48A1 battalion. In the IDF the tanks were given the name Magach. The battalion
operated as part of the 7th Brigade and served as the nucleus for the absorption of
the Magach tank by the IDF. From it came the officers and enlisted men who established
and served, as of 1967, in battalions (such as 46, 195 and 52) in established brigades
(the 401st Brigade, 600th Brigade and 14th Brigade).
The Six Day War
Served as a regular battalion of Patton M48A2 tanks as part of the 7th Brigade under
the command of Ehud Elad. The battalion consisted of four companies of Magach tanks under
the command of Aviram Gilad, Ben-Zion Carmeli, Yom-Tov Tamir and Avigdor Kahalani
(NB: respectively? alef, bet, gimel, dalet companies?? )
At the beginning of the war Yom-Tov Tamir's company was transferred to the command of the
9th Battalion, the armored infantry battalion of the 7th Brigade. It was joined by a
Magach company from the Reserve 46th Batallion (the construction battalion of the 401st
Brigade), under the command of Shalom Engel [7] which in retrospect was the spearhead of
the 7th Brigade during the war.
The battalion fought initially in the Gaza Strip at Khan Younis-Rafah toward Sheikh
Zowaid and Jiradi (ג׳יראדי).
The battalion commander was killed in the fighting in Jiradi and his deputy, Haim Erez,
assumed command. The battalion then went on to advance to El Arish in the Sinai and then
to the Canal.
A detailed description of the battles fought by the battalion appears in Shabtai Tevet's
book "Exposed in the Turret". The name of the battalion in the book is Q14
(14 ש).
The battle took place during the Six Day War near Jiradi in northern Sinai. The
battle was fought June 5-6 1967 between soldiers of the 7th Egyptian Division and
soldiers from the 7th Brigade.
Battalion Commanders
| Name | Period | Comments |
|---|
| Haim Laskov | 1948 | Commander during the Latrun battles, later became the 5th Chief of Staff |
| Joe Wiener | 1948 | commander during Operation Dekel, first commander fo the Armored Corps School |
| Baruch Erez | 1950-1951 | led the unit during Operation Hiram |
| Aharon Nachson | | |
| Yaakov Even | 1965-1966 | First command of the Magach battalion, later became a general |
| Ehud Elad | 1966-1967 | Fell on the first day of the Six Day War |
| Chaim Erez | 1967-1968 | He commanded the battalion and later became a general |
| | |
In 1968 the battalion was transferred to the 401st Brigade and then with the outbreak
of the Yom Kippur War it was transferred to the 14th Brigade.
7 PALSAR
7 PALSAR is the reconnaissance company of the 7th Brigade. The company was established
in 1948 because of the need for a reconnaissance unit that would meet the real-time
intelligence needs of the 7th Armor Brigade and would function similar to infantry
patrols. 7 PALSAR play an essential role in all of Israel's wars especially Operation
Kadesh and the Six Days War for which the unit received 9 citations, the highest number
of citations of any company in the war, for its participation in numerous battles among
them the Battle of Rafah which saw the reconnaissance unit lead an entire brigade to
surround the Egyptians in a crushing victory.
During the Yom Kippur War the unit was equipped with "Cheetah" M113 APCs
and fought in the Golan Heights. There the company sustained heavy losses in a battle
with a Syrian commando battalion in the area of har Hermon on 9 October 1973 with 24
killed. After the battle and the death of Uri Kar-Shani (Fishman) the company commander and
Itzik Mevorach the Deputy company commander and three other platoon commanders it was
decided to disband the unit. At the site of the battle a monument to 7 PALSAR was
erected in memory of the 24 casualties the unit suffered.[8]
In 1988 Gvaram Galili and the Golani Brigade were given the task of rebuilding the
unit and an elite military formation - armored patrol (sayeret ha'shiryon
), in a permanent separate from the brigade and in the Golan Heights (Tyssen
Camp).[9] At first they were equipped with Cheetahs and Jaffs
(the M151 Jeep 1/4-ton 4x4 utility truck). At first the soldiers were chosen
from other brigades and battalions and filtered through fitness and tests of
endurance the best known of which was the "Aliyah to the Unit" a journey in full
gear from the Sea of Galilee to the mother base going through the Eagle's Dome
(via Ma'ale Gamla). After the unit was formed additional soldiers were drawn
from volunteers from paratrooper units.
In 1992 after the success of the unit in Lebanon and the need for an
additional unit in time of warm the armored patrol unit was split into two:
PALSAR 500 and PALSAR 7.
During the Second Lebanon War the unit, under the command of Major
Ehud Tzur, carried out a large number of operations deep inside of Lebanon
including patrols, raids, ambushes and firefights, surveillance of artillery
and tanks [10] in cooperations with other units and constituted an attacking
patrol force.[11]
During Operation Tzuk Eitan the reconnaissance unit under the command of
Major Imrei Yoren[12] hit the terrorists and destroyed tunnels and infrastructure
used by Hamas.[13]
Among the unit's commanders are Uri Orr, Shlomo Baum, Yehuda Geller,
Yossi Melamed, Uri Kar-Shani, Gvaram Galili,[9] Ya'akov Banjo, Udi Zur, Amit Gattak,
Yiftah Norkin, Omer Levin, Amery Yoren, Idan Goldstein and Itamar Michaeli.
Training
The reconnaissance course lasts for a year and two months (14 months):
six months of basic training and advanced training with the Egoz unit where the
soldiers are qualified on "Rubai 07" (Rifle 07) followed by eight months of
courses that continue in the unit where special training programs are given
that include a field observation course.(?) After this the soldiers arrive
at their unit. At the end of the course some of the team go on to take a
course for armored personnel carriers which takes place at BISLACH (NB: the
Infantry Training School). (NOTE: the remainder of the paragraph is inscrutable.)
PALSAR recruits enlist in the Armored Corps.
Their infantry training starts with the Egoz Unit (NB: special forces commando
unit, Unit 621, once part of the Golani Brigade now assigned to the Oz Brigade.)
At the end of the advanced training period there is a final 'beret'
hike from the Sea of Galilee through Ma'aleh Gamla and the Eagle's Dome to their
home base.[15]
Functions of the Military Intelligence Unit during Wartime
- Providing real-time combat intelligence on enemy forces
- Guiding the brigade
- Detection and identification of chemical warfare agents (CW)
- Protection of supply lines and the brigade's motor pool
- Locating armor, artillery and air units
- Commando raids
- Field combat in varied conditions (wooded areas, hill fighting, camouflage, etc.
603rd Battalion
The Lahav Battalion (603) is a combat engineering corps battalion that is
subordinated to the 7th Brigade. The battalion includes PLAS companies that
operate PUMA and NAMER engineering combat engineering APCs and a company that operates
D-9 bulldozers and other bridging equipment. The role of the battalion in time
of war is to make a path for the brigade's tanks through minefields, anti-tank
trenches, dirt embankments, explosive devices (NB: IEDs) and more. In addition
the battalion builds firing positions and an assembly area (NB: garden ??
מגנן
as well as extracting tanks and vehicles that are damaged or stuck with the
assistance of the Ordnance Corps.
The Lahav battalion was created in 1993 to help maintain the Security Zone
in southern Lebanon. It replaced a reserve battalion the operated in the
Southern Command to address a lack of engineering units in the area. During the
Second Intifada the battalion fought in Judea and Samaria (until the start of
Operation Defensive Shield) and later took up a position in the Gaza Strip
where it was responsible for the killing of more than 70 terrorists in the
area. In addition, the battalion's engineers helped to fortify and protect the
settlements in the sector. The battalion excelled in its role in the war on
terrorism and in addition to the battalion liquidating dozens of terrorists,
its APCs were used to demolish roadblocks and structures that were used by the
terrorist network. The battalion also took part in the Second Lebanon War and
there broke up roads and destroyed the Hezbollah infrastructure. The battalion
participated in Operation Cast Lead and Operation Tzuk Eitan in the Gaza Strip
During Operation Tzuk Eitan, three of the battalion's soldeiers received combat
medals. in 2017, when the battalion took up positions in Judea and Samaria it
significantly increased the number of weapons seized from Palestinian terrorists
through the improvised use of a mine detector.[16]
At the start of the 21st Centur it was transferred from the Southern
Command to the 7th Brigade. In 2016 it became the first HAN
(NB: Combat Engineering Corps) unit to receive the NAMER Engineer vehicle
Battalion Commanders
| Name | Period | Comments |
|---|
| Ilan Sabag | | later became Chief Engineering Officer |
| Ari Jose | | |
| Eran Pauker | | led battalion during Second Lebanon War |
| Eran Krisi | | |
| Shahar Beck | 2010-2012 | later commander of the Yahalam (NB: Special Tasks Engineering Unit) |
| Roy Zilberberg | | |
| Max Nudelman | | later became Engineering Officer of the Central Command |
| Ido Jorno | | |
History
The War of Independence
The 7th Brigade was established during the War of Independence as a reserve
for the General Staff in mid-May of 1948 as the other Haganah and Palmach brigades
were tied down on the various fronts. The initial brigade commander was Shlomo
Chamir, who during the war was assigned the task of creating the unit in a week.
The brigade had one mechanized battalion - the 73rd Battalion (later known as
the 79th Battalion) under the command of Chaim Laskov with infantry traveling
on a variety of vehicles: jeeps, home-made armored vehicles and half-tracks.
There were to infantry battalions as well, the 71st Battalion under the command
of Yehuda Verber and the 7nd Battalion under Zvi Horowitz. In addition the
32nd Battalion commanded by Zvi German of the Alexandroni Brigade was transferred
to the 7th Brigade in preparation for Operation Ben-Nun A to conquer Latrun.
The brigade failed to take Latrun in Operation Ben-Nun A even with the aid
of the 32nd Battalion from the Alexandroni Brigade. After a brief period of
reorganization and this time reinforced by the 52nd Battalion of the Givati
Brigade, commanded by Yakov Perry, another assault on Latrun, Operation Ben-Nun
B was attempted which also failed. Although the brigade was unable to capture
the Latrun area defended by the Jordanian Arab Legion, they did manage to
secure the Burma Road and break the siege of Jerusalem. In all of these battles
the brigade suffered severe losses with 139 killed.
In June 1948 the brigade was transferred to the northern front and reorganized
at Ein Shemer. In July of 198 Ben Dunkelman, a MACHAL volunteer from Canada,
replaced Shamir as the brigade commander. Yehuda Ben David was given command of
the 71st Battalion. Through the course of the War of Independence the brigade
for most of the period to field three battalions: 71st and 72nd Infantry and the
79th Mechanized during the battles in Galilee: Operation Dekel in the middle of
July Shfaram and Nazareth were captured, and in Operation Hiram in late October
Meron was captured, Jish (Gush Halav), Malchia and Sas. In 1949 following the
reorganization if the IDF after the war, 7th and 8th Brigades were merged and
given the name of the former. After the Six Day War a memorial monument was
erected on the hill of Latrun commemorating the 7th Brigade's first battle,
follow the blood, which took place there during the War of Independence.[17]
The Sinai Campaign
After the War of Independence the first tanks were purchased and armor
warfare doctrine began to crystallize. On January 1, 1954 the brigade was
disbanded and the troops transferred to direct Armored Corps control. However,
they returned as an armored brigade in late October of 1955.[18]
During the Sinai Campaign the brigade was commanded by Colonel Uri Ben Ari
and included three battalions: the 82nd Battalion under the command of Lt. Col.
Avraham Eden, the 52nd Battalion under the command of Lt. Col. Uri Rom, and
the 9th Battalion under the command of Maj. Israel Hadar. The brigade was also
reinforced with the 61st Infantry Battalion from the 16th Brigade under the
command of Maj. Shimshon Ofer. The brigade operated in the Abu Agila area
in the Sinai. The battles there changed the perception of armor in the IDF and
transformed it from an auxiliary corps to the decisive element in the ground
forces. Company A of the 82nd Battalion commanded by Brill received a citation
for the battle at the Ruafa Dam. (סכר
הרואיפה Ruyafa Dam )
Six Day War
During the Six Day War the brigade was commanded by Col. Shmuel Gonen and
had three battalions: 82nd Battalion - Centurion tanks under the command of
Gabriel Amir, 79th Battalion - M48 Patton Tanks commanded by Ehud Elad (who
was killed and replaced by Hain Erez), and 9th Battalion - armored infantry under
the command of Maxi Avigad. The brigade broke through the Gaza Strip and continued
on the Khan Yunis-Rafah axis into the Sinai. After taking Rafah Junction, the
brigade continued west through Sheikh Zuwaid and the Jiradi crossings. At the
end of the battle and the brigade was victorious, brigade commander Shmuel
Gorodish (NB: another name for Gonen) delivered his speech, "My glorious brothers"
in which he spoke his famous words: "We looked straight at death - and he lowered
his eyes".
The War of Attrition
During the War of Attrition the brigade took part in battles in the areas
of the Suez Canal, the Jordan Valley, and Operation Karameh. The brigade also
participated in Operation Raviv - an armored raid on the western shore of the
Red Sea which also included Tiran tanks.
Yom Kippur War
In the summer of 1973 the brigade was deployed to the Sinai Peninsula. At
the end of September 1973 it was decided to transfer the 77th Battalion to the
Golan Heights front at the request of the Northern Command Commander Yitzhak
Hofi who feared that the Syrian forces that faced the Golan Heights were being
strengthened as the Command Intelligence Officer Haggai Mann was reporting
despite the opinion of Military Intelligence who felt that the likelihood of
a conflict developing was quite low. With the indications that war was near
increasing it was decided to send additional forces to the Golan Heights and
on the eve of Yom Kippur the soldiers of the two remaining battalions of the
7th Brigade in Sinai were quickly transported to the Golan Heights. The
battalions' tanks remained in the Sinai and the two units were equipped with
tanks from two of the three battalions of the 179th Brigade, a rapid response
unit of the Northern Command at the Pilon camp.[19] (NB: The 7th was equipped
with Sh'ot tanks - Centurions.)
During the Yom Kippur War the brigade fought under the command of Col.
Avigdor Ben-Gal in the northern sector of the Golan Heights. The 77th Battalion,
led by Lt. Col. Avigdor Kahalani, together with tanks from other brigades was
successful in one of the main battles - the battle of the Valley of Tears,
stopping the Syrian onslaught. For this Kahalani received the Medal of Valor.
At the same time the 82nd Battalion was engaged in combat in the southern
sector of the plateau.
During the battles that saw Israel advance into Syria and establish an
enclave there, from 11 OCtober 1973 the brigade fought in the northern sector
of the attack and reached the village of Mazra'at Beit Jann on the slopes of
Mount Hermon. Other units from the brigade were part of those advancing into
the southern sector of the enclave.
The brigade is permanently stationed in the Golan Heights starting from
the time of the Yom Kippur War up to the present.
The First Lebanon War
During the First Lebanon War the brigade was under the command of Col.
Eitan Keinan and from the slopes of the Hermon, along the route of the villages
of Ein Ata and Yatta, the brigade was composed of three battalion combat teams:
the 75th Battalion under the command of Ziv Halevy, the 82nd Battalion under the
command of Dor Mosel, and an improvised battalion (which included a company from
the 75th battalion and a company from the 82nd) commanded by Nitzan Sela and
Gershon Hacohen, additionally the 9264th Paratrooper Brigade under the command
of Yitzhak Nudelman was attached to the brigade. The 77th Battalion commanded
by Dubik Tal was comprised of two operational companies and a company of
small-unit trainers (career path ??), a company of armored infantry with APCs
and two engineering platoons which all fought under the command of other units
in the central sector of Lebanon. On the eve of the Lebanon War the battalion
was assigned to the 769th Brigade commanded by Shaul Mofaz. When the fighting
began the battalion was operating in the western sector of the Bekaa where it
took control of the villages of Aysheya, Reihan, Aramata and Ein a-Tina. During
the fighti8ng the battalion was transferred to the Dani Vardi and Yossi Peled
Task Force which operated in the area of Lake Karoun.
The Second Lebanon War
Main article -
The 7th Brigade during the Second Lebanon War
On the eve of the war the 7th Brigade was led by Col. Amnon Eshel. On the
day the Second Lebanon War started it was the 82nd Battalion that led the initial
response to the kidnapping of soldiers along the border with Lebanon. As part
of the response a combined force entered Lebanon and part of that force was a
tank from Company A. The tank ran over a mine and the entire crew was killed.
The battalion, led by Lt. Col. Oded Basik, responded against the Hezbollah
posts deployed along the border fence.
The 7th Brigade was the first unit assigned to the 91st Division to provide
assistance in the events of the first days of the conflict. The division along
with units assigned to it (601st Battalion, 299th Battalion (Harav Battalion),
and 52nd Battalion) had responsibility for the coastal area while carrying out
missions to destroy Hezbollah strongholds in the ares as well as the clearing of
forested areas to prepare them for fighting. In the early days of the war the
brigade headquarters was located in Hanita and from there managed the coastal
zone. The 77th Battalion which had been transferred to the Gaza Strip following
the abduction of Gilad Shalit, remained and fought there during the Second Lebanon
War.
After a few days and the realization that the conflict in Lebanon was
expanding, the brigade commander's mission was changed and expanded with
responsibility for the area between Malkia and Dovev. As part of a plan to
occupy Bint Jbail, the 7th Brigade, together with the Golani Brigade and
the (35th) Paratroopers Brigade, had responsibility for Maroun a-Ras-Jabel to
Jabel Kahil and Shaked. After the events in Bint Jbeil, a decision was made to
remove the forces from the area while the brigade remained to defend the areas
it had been deployed to.
In preparation for a second attempt to enter Bint Jbail the composition of
the force changed significantly and now included: the brigade HQ, three armored
battalions - 82nd Bn., 75th Bn. and 673rd Bnn.; three infantry battalions -
299th Bn., 2nd Bn. and 435th Bn. from the Givati Brigade (they joined during
the fighting), the 603rd Combat Engineering Bn, 7th PALSAR and the direct
support of an artillery battalion. The second attempt included many more
forces. The brigade carried out its plan and encircled the town of Bint Jbail
during a surprise attack and cut it off.
The 82nd Bn. continued to fight in the area of Maroun al-Ras and the Shaked
Valley while continuing to control Avivim. During the fighting the unit
fought in the areas of Maroun al-Ras, Jabal Kahil and the Karakhbun Ridge and it
was this armored unit that advanced rapidly in its sector in one night, an
advance led by the commander of Company B and a member of the Sword Battalion
who remained alone in the field. Two company commander received medals for
their actions in these battles, the first was Capt. Idan Morag who was awarded
the Medal of Honor (Idan's father, Brig. Gen. Ami Morag also received this
decoration) and the command of Company A, Elad Tzuri, also won a Commander's
Citation for his fight.
The 82nd Bn. fought continuously starting from the first day of the battle
until the ceasefire and even some after that. On 21 July following the
government's decision to expand the fighting on the northern border, the 75th
Bn. was flown from the operational zone it held at the Israeli-Egyptian border
to join the fighting. Most of the activities of the 75th Bn. were in the western
sectors, and it took part in the fighting with the towns of Bint Jbail, Mis a-Jabel,
Aita a-Sha'ab and even on the outskirts of the city of Tyre, deep inside of
Lebanon. Capt. Ihsan Daksa of the 75th Bn. (then commander of Kfir Company) was
awarded a citation from the Northern Command for his part in the battle of the town of
Aita a-Sha'ab and assisting in the rescue of the troop of paratroopers that
were severly wounded and killed in the action, Capt. Ihsan completed the rescue
while aiming for contact with the enemy and with no further casualties.
Throughout the course of the war The 7th Brigade fought as part of the
91st Division and was the last brigade to leave Lebanon. The last soldiers to
leave where those of 299th Bn. (the Harav Battalion) which spent most of the
war under the command of the brigade. During the conflict none of the soldiers
under the brigade's command were killed even though when the brigade was deep
inside of Lebanon with thousands (at the height of the fighting some 4,500)
along with hundreds of APCs traveling in the combat zone. The brigade
recommended that the 299th Bn. receive a commendation in light of its
achievements during the action. About 20 of the brigade's fighters received
decoratons during the war for their courage, heroism, professionalism and
excellence in carrying out their duties.
The Second Decade of the 21st Century
In 2014 the 7th Brigade began its conversion from the Merkava Siman 2 tank
to the Merkava Siman 4M tank equipped with 'Windbreaker' APS.[20][2] In July
of 2016 the coversion was complete when the 82nd Bn., the first armored
battalion in the IDF, was finally converted to the Merkava Siman 4M.[5]
7th Brigade Tanks Through History
M50 Super Sherman
Centurion
M48 Patton
Sh'ot Kal (improved Centurion)
Merkava Siman 1
Merkava Siman 2
Merkava Siman 4M equipped with Windbreaker APS (current)
The Emblem of the Brigade
The brigade symbol incorporates many elements of its history. The upper
part is done using the colors of the Israeli flag, the red arrow symbolizes
the Burma breakthrough by the unit, the star is yellow in memory of the
Ma'apilim who were drafted into the brigade immediately upon their arrival in
Eretz Israel during the War of Independence and fell in the battles for control
of Latrun, the rifle with bayonet symbolizes the infantry battalions while the
lightning bolt symbolizes the armor battalion (the 7th Brigade was originally
a brigade of armored forces and not an armored brigade as it is now in the
2000s), and the crossed lightning bolt and rifle symbolizes the cooperation
between infantry and armor. The elements also combine to form the number 7
using the red arrow and the flag. The emblem is also the only one to contain
a barbershop/hair. (NB: I am sorry but I just do not see it.)
7th Brigade Team
(NB: עװת הװי can also mean a music group, the meaning here.)
During the sixties and the early seventies the brigdae had a team that was
considered to be one of the oldest and best among the armor units. During the
years of its existence the team recorded two commercial albums, the first, on
the Polydor label, was "Bold in the Turret" and the second as one of a number of
songs composed by members of the Armored Corps after the Yom Kippur War. "Bold
in the Turret" included songs such as "You'll Wait for Me and I'll Be Back",
"Leora", "Go to the Balcony Elvira", "What Will You Bring Me" and "Zamar Aviv" -
an original performance of the song "Yam Hagibulim" by the band "Gevatron".
Among the memebers of the team were Andrei Zweig (soloist and team leader) and
Zehava Gutman.
Monuments Division and its Units
- - The Sa'ar Formation Monument - a memorial site commemorating the fallen soldiers of the brigade in the center of the Golan Heights, near the Katzrin junction south towards Hoshenia (east)
- - Monument to the fallen of the brigade located on a hill near the Latrun monastery.
- - Monument 7 PALSAR - Monument to the fallen of the 7th PALSAR, about a kilometer south of the village of Buqata on Route 98, north of the Golan Heights.
- - Memorial site for the Battle of Emek HaBaka - east of Harmonit Mountain, facing east towards Kibbutz Al-Rom.
- - Memorial site for fallen soldiers of the 82nd Battalion - near Katzrin Junction south towards Katzrin (north)
Brigade Commanders
Brigade Commanders
| Name | Period | Comments |
|---|
| Shlomo Shamir | May 1948 - July 1948 | later the Commander of the Air force and Commander of the Navy |
| Ben Dunkelman | July 1948 - July 1949 | MACHAL volunteer from Canada |
| Yosef Eitan | July 1949 - July 1950 | |
| Shmuel Goder | October 1950 - August 1953 | later a Brig. Gen. |
| Yitzhak Pundak | April 1954 - October 1955 | |
| Uri Ben Ari | October 1955 - December 1956 | commanded the brigade during the Sinai Campaign |
| Aharon Nachshon | December 1956 - March 1958 | |
| David (Dado) Elazar | December 1958 - April 1959 | later served as the 9th Chief of Staff |
| Israel Tal (Telik) | April 1959 - April 1960 | headed the Merkava tank project, later Deputy Chief of Staff |
| Arie Shachar | June 1960 - July 1961 | |
| Avraham (Bren) Adan | July 1961 - January 1963 | later GOC Southern Command |
| Herzl Shafir | January 1963 - December 1964 | later GOC Southern Command and Inspector General |
| Shlomo (Chich) Lahat | January 1965 - May 1966 | later head of Personnel Division |
| Shmuel Gonen (Gorodish) | June 1966 - June 1969 | commanded the brigade during the Six Day War, later GOC of Southern Command |
| Yaakov Even | June 1969 - June 1971 | later Commander of National Security College |
| Gabriel Amir | June 1971 - September 1972 | later GONDAR (NB: prison service) |
| Avigdor (Janusz) Ben-Gal | September 1971 - February 1974 | commanded the brigade during Yom Kippur War, later GOC Northern Command |
| Uri Orr | February 1974 - December 1975 | later OC Central Command and Northern Command |
| Avigdor Kahalani | December 1975 - October 1977 | Medal of Honor and Medal of Valor, later Brig Gen and Minister |
| Yossi Ben-Hanan | October 1977 - June 1979 | Medal of Valor, later Commander of National Security College |
| Nati Golan | June 1979 - March 1981 | Medal of Heroism from Six Day War |
| Eitan Kenan | March 1981 - September 1982 | commanded brigade during First Lebanon War, late a Brig. Gen. |
| Meir Zamir | September 1982 - February 1984 | Medal of Valor, later commander of National Center for Land Training |
| Rafi Noy | May 1984 - September 1985 | Medal of Honor, later Brig. Gen. |
| Emmy Planet | September 1985 - May 1987 | Medal of Valor, later Chief Armored Officer |
| Efraim Laor | May 1987 - November 1988 | |
| Dubik Tal (Rosenthal) | November 1988 - July 1990 | later Chief Armored Officer |
| Zvi Gendelman | July 1990 - January 1992 | future mayor of Hadera, Brig. Gen. in command of 36th Division |
| Yitzhak (Haki) Harel | January 1992 - October 1993 | later head of Planning Division |
| Gershon Hacohen | October 1993 - August 1995 | later Commander of Northern Corps |
| Dani Biton | August 1995 - August 1997 | later head of IDF |
| Shmuel Rosenthal | August 1997 - April 1999 | later Brig. Gen. |
| Yaakov Ayash | April 1999 - July 2001 | later the IDF Attache in the USA and Canada |
| Halutzi Rudoi | July 2001 August 2003 | later Chief Armored Officer |
| Eyal Zamir | August 2003 - September 2005 | later Commander of Southern Command |
| Amnon Eshel | September 2005 - August 2007 | commander of the brigade during the Second Lebanon War |
| Roy Elkabetz | August 2007 - May 2009 | later commander of Red formation (80th Div.) |
| Yaakov Banjo | May 2009 - July 2011 | later commanded Ga'ash formation (36th Div.) |
| Oded Visiuk (??) | July 2011 - June 2013 | later commanded Steel formation (162nd Div) |
| Nadav Lotan[22] | June 2013 - July 2015 | later commanded Explosion formation (319th Div) |
| Dan Neumann[23] | July 2015 - 2 August 2017 | |
| Roman Goffman | 2 August 2017 - | |
Further Reading
Danny Asher, 7 The Brigade, The Story of the 7 Armored Brigade in the Storm of the Wars 1948 - 2006, published by the Brigade.
Moshe Givati, "Lonely on the Tell - Battle of Tel a - Ski in the Yom Kippur War", Reut Press, 2009.
Shaked Torm, "This Seven Brigade in Operations in the Gaza Strip, in the Second Lebanon, a Division of the State of Israel is a Symbol" Interview with Brigade Commander 7, Col. Nadav Lotan, May 10,
(In Hebrew), Michael (Mickey) Cohen, Teddy Eitan, 75th Battalion and the French Commando, in: Jews and Arabs in the struggle for the Land of Israel, Issues in the Security History of the Yishuv and the State of Israel, The Israel Galili Defense Force Research Institute and the Ministry of Defense, 2006.
Ilan Sahar, to the end of the ability - 7th Brigade in the Yom Kippur War, Systems Publishing / Modan, 2013.
The episode describes the brigade's fighting on June 5 and June 6 in the Six-Day War on the Egyptian front.
External Links
Green Globe.svg The 7th Brigade on the IDF website
Amir Buhbut, "We were ready for the type of fighting in Lebanon," nrg website, August 26, 2006
Ron Ben Yishai, better late: The Armored Corps makes history, Ynet website, July 4, 2008
The 7th Brigade at the Armored Corps site
Even number 20: Lahav Engineering Battalion - 603
Brig. Gen. (res.) Eitan Keinan, 7th Brigade in the Peace for Galilee War - Highlights of the Brigade Commander, Armored Corps, December 27, 2007, pp. 35-33,
Lahav Battalion 603, on the website of the Combat Engineering Corps
The memorial site of the 7th Brigade on the "Go" website.
Testimony of Avigdor Ben-Gal, commander of the Brigade during the Yom Kippur War, before the Agranat Commission, on the IDF and Defense System archive
Videos Avigdor Ben-Gal converses with Avigdor Kahalani in the brigade communications network during the Battle of the Valley of Tears, a film on the YouTube channel of the Israel Defense Forces
The 7th Brigade's Paralympic Assembly: Video links from the rally, Yad Hachiryon, January 24, 2013
Noam Vitman, 7 th Brigade: Tankers will be equipped with a Mark 4 vehicle on the IDF website (via the Internet Archive), February 9, 2014
Videos of Oz 77 - A film by Avigdor Kahalani and Elitzur Reuveni, a video on YouTube
Rotem Kliger, 7 Things You Did not Know About the 7th Brigade, IDF Website (via the Internet Archive), January 13, 2015
Shmul Algozi, videos Presentation of the capabilities of the 603th Battalion of the Combat Engineering Corps, a video on YouTube
Video clip 7 - Video from the soldier 's rally 2013, YouTube
Video file Neta Ciechanovsky, IDF website, prepared ear plugs: A glimpse into the capabilities of the Lahav Battalion, IDF website (via the Internet archive), December 10, 2015
Noam Amir, End of Idan: The 77th Battalion of the Armored Corps departs from "Merkava Mark 2" and inaugurates a new and powerful tank on the Ma'ariv website this week, November 12, 2015
A video file that destroyed the Hamas position on the Gaza border, IDF website, February 27, 2017
January 11, 2018: 7-77 in an exercise with Mark 4, Armored Corps journal, Yad Hachiryon, January 11, 2018
Shimon Cohen 's video file, locate, approach and neutralize, on the Channel 7 website, January 9, 2018
Footnotes
^ "Mordechai Cohen," Teddy Eitan, 75th Battalion and the French Commando ", in: Jews and Arabs in the Struggle for the Land of Israel, Issues in the Security History of the Jewish Yishuv and the State of Israel, Studies and Documents, Israel Galili Defense Force Research and the Ministry of Defense, 2006.
^ 2.0 2.1 After "Tzuk Eitan": 7th Brigade in the Armored Corps will use Merkava tanks "Mark 4", Nana 10, 28 October 2014.
^ Thus, the Armored Corps destroyed the Hamas position on the Gaza border at the IDF website, February 27, 2017.
^ Yoav Zeitun: "Serious Professional Failure" in the Tze'elim Disaster
^ 5.0 5.1 The First Hebrew Tank Battitions Switches to Merkava Mk 4 Tanks, Jerusalem Post, July 2016.
^ Battalion 77 at the Armored Corps site
^ The heroism of Shalom Ein Gal, who did not receive an official medal, at the site of heroism
^ Yotam Knispel and Li-Tal Thayer, Plasar, Siman 7, Hebrew edition, September 7, 2008
^ 9.0 9.1 Hanan Greenberg, every mother will know: the commander who improved safety, nrg website, November 8, 2011.
^ Amir Buhbut, "We Were Prepared for the Type of Fighting in Lebanon," Ma'ariv, 26 August 2006, as it was posted on the Yad LaShiryon website.
^ Amir Buhbut, "In the salt of Lebanon we were very close to our mission," on NRG website, February 17, 2007
^ "Lilach Shoval," There is no day passing without finding another shaft, "Israel Today, 01.08.2014.
^ Aviram Zino, PFLP 7 fighters return to the horrors of the war, on the Maariv website this week, August 8, 2014
^ Michal Danieli, Armored Corps platoon commander: The infantry soldiers advance before the tanks, on mako website, July 4, 2011.
^ Naama Becker, Pillar of Fire in Front of the Camp: This is how we became Combatants 7, on mako website, June 17, 2012.
^ The tool to upgrade the exposure of weapons in Judea and Samaria, IDF website, November 12, 2017.
^ In 2017, the monument was dismantled and transferred to the 'Formation Park' at the nearby Armored Corps site.
^ Amichai Brezner, did you know? The 7th Brigade was canceled and re-established, Armored Corps, October 36, 2010, pp. 48-46, on the "Yad LaShiryon"
^ Ilan Kfir, Syrians on their way to fences, at the Alexon site, September 11, 2013
^ Forty years later - the war on the Golan front and the Egyptian front, the site of Kibbutz Beit Hashita
^ Noam Witman, 7th Brigade Upgrades: The tankers will be equipped with a Mark 4 vehicle on the IDF website (via the Internet archive), February 9, 2014.
^ Division 7 Saar, yadlashiryon.com
^ Matan Galin, Col. Nadav Lotan was appointed commander of the 7th Brigade on the IDF website (via the Internet Archive), June 28, 2013
^ Colonel Dan Neumann was appointed commander of the "Saar Golan" formation on the Arutz 7 website
