Training Objectives
The Palmach's training program was derived from the combat needs and defensive missions with which the force was entrusted. The program was based on the experience accumulated by the Hagana during the Arab Riots (1936-1939) and was reinforced by the doctrine of Orde Wingate. The program was based on the minor tactics warfare approach and commando operations in World War II.
Training is the very basis and foundation of a military force and its preparations for realizing its role. The objectives – providing basic and advanced technical training in order to turn a group of individuals into soldiers and to unite them in a homogonous framework with a common faith, and high levels of functioning and coordination. The Palmach's military thinking, that was implemented in unit training, was formulated and consolidated in the reality of Mandatory Palestinian of the 1940s, and over time was developed and refined in training, missions and battles. It was not imported from abroad as a finished product, prepared by a theoretical expert or general who was a war veteran. The Palmach's warfare methods were indeed influenced by foreign military literature and the experience of veteran armies, but due to the lack of national conditions and sovereignty, the methods were developed in accordance with political restrictions and options available to an underground army.
The Palmach's training program was derived from the combat needs and defensive missions with which the force was entrusted. It was consolidated after two years of training that was not methodical, and after the appointment of Yitzhak Dovnu as the Chief Training Officer, with sufficient command and training cadets under his command. The Palmach's training program was based on the experience accumulated by the Hagana during the Arab Riots (1936-1939) and was reinforced by the doctrine of Orde Wingate. The program was based on the minor tactics warfare approach and commando operations in World War II. Training methods were developed in response to expected threats: preparation for invasion by the German Army (which did not materialize), preparations for conflict with the Arabs, and clashes with the British operating to implement the White Paper. The basic assumptions in confronting these three situations were that the enemy's power would be greater than that of the Hagana with respect to the number of fighters, the quantity and quality of weapons, and that the Palmach would be operating as an underground. The types of training in the units were tailored to the tactical deployment stemming from this reality. The command assumption was that training which prepared the forces for a diverse variety of possibilities will prepare the soldiers and commanders so that they will be capable of successfully confronting various missions.
In the Palmach, the fighting methods that were formulated were original, and constituted innovations within the reality of Mandatory Palestine – training for night combat, mobility and ease of movement, patrols, training in minor tactics warfare, evacuation of the injured from battlefields, divertive attacks and combat roles for women (in special cases). Some of these fighting models were created back in the Combat Field Companies (POSH), and were later developed and tested over time by the Palmach.
The Palmach's training program was derived from the combat needs and defensive missions with which the force was entrusted. It was consolidated after two years of training that was not methodical, and after the appointment of Yitzhak Dovnu as the Chief Training Officer, with sufficient command and training cadets under his command. The Palmach's training program was based on the experience accumulated by the Hagana during the Arab Riots (1936-1939) and was reinforced by the doctrine of Orde Wingate. The program was based on the minor tactics warfare approach and commando operations in World War II. Training methods were developed in response to expected threats: preparation for invasion by the German Army (which did not materialize), preparations for conflict with the Arabs, and clashes with the British operating to implement the White Paper. The basic assumptions in confronting these three situations were that the enemy's power would be greater than that of the Hagana with respect to the number of fighters, the quantity and quality of weapons, and that the Palmach would be operating as an underground. The types of training in the units were tailored to the tactical deployment stemming from this reality. The command assumption was that training which prepared the forces for a diverse variety of possibilities will prepare the soldiers and commanders so that they will be capable of successfully confronting various missions.
In the Palmach, the fighting methods that were formulated were original, and constituted innovations within the reality of Mandatory Palestine – training for night combat, mobility and ease of movement, patrols, training in minor tactics warfare, evacuation of the injured from battlefields, divertive attacks and combat roles for women (in special cases). Some of these fighting models were created back in the Combat Field Companies (POSH), and were later developed and tested over time by the Palmach.