The Samakh Battle
On the 20th of May, two 65 mm field cannons (Napoleonchiks) that had arrived from overseas just a few days previously were transported to the Jordan Valley. They were deployed on the Yavniel ridge and began shelling the Syrian encampments between Samakh and Degania. As a result, the Syrian forces retreated, vacated the area and the Syrian attack was finally broken. The Police Station was retaken by our forces.
The conquest of the Arab quarter of Tiberias by the Hagana on 18.4.48 instilled fear and uncertainty in the Arab population of the villages in the Jordan Valley, and they evacuated their homes. The only exceptions were the Arabs of Samakh, located on the southern shore of Lake Tiberias, who felt secure because of the proximity of the fortified police station, which was still occupied by British forces.
In the early hours of 22.4.48, a Hagana unit attacked the village but the British intervened and the Hagana unit was forced to retreat. Nevertheless, the inhabitants of the village began to flee into Syrian territory.
On the night of 27.4.48 the British evacuated the Samakh station. A unit of the Hagana waited in Degania to occupy the building, but they were preempted by an Arab force. The following morning a Hagana unit attacked the station after its sappers cut the fences and breached a hole in the wall of the station. As a result, all the remaining inhabitants of the village fled behind the retreating Arab soldiers.
On 15.5.48 a Syrian force, with aerial and tank support, invaded the Jordan valley and attacked some Jewish settlements.
On 17.5.48 the Syrians stormed the village, but were repulsed.
On 18.5.48 Syrian planes bombed the village and after this attack a column of 30 armored vehicles and tanks advanced towards it. The clay houses of the village crumbled under the barrage and the hastily built positions of the Hagana collapsed. There were many casualties among the defenders.
Flanking movements of tanks south of Samakh cut off an escape route and the defenders were overpowered. The IDF force was forced to retreat through Degania Alef under heavy fire with many losses, and was unable to retrieve all the injured.
Reinforcements were sent the following day. A unit from the Lower Galilee and Emeq Yizra'el as well as a battalion from the Third Division of the Yiftah Brigade rushed to the assistance of the Degania members.
In the early hours of 19.5.48 a unit from the Palmach was assembled under the command of Samuel Katben to undertake a counter attack on occupied Samakh.
Despite the exhaustion of the soldiers, the division managed to take command of a school building adjacent to the fence of the police station, but their attempts to take the station itself failed. The expected artillery support did not materialize because the Davidka mortar gun broke down. Also, the effective fire of the enemy entrenched in the police station prevented any possibility of recapture. The losses to the Palmach unit included two killed, two seriously injured and two lightly injured. Despite these setbacks, this attack stopped the momentum of the advance of the Syrians whose aim was to capture the entire Jordan Valley and it gave the Hagana units in the Jordan Valley time to reorganize.
On the 20th of May two 65 mm field cannons (Napoleonchiks), that had arrived from overseas just a few days previously, were transported to the Jordan Valley. They were deployed on the Yavniel ridge and began shelling the Syrian encampments between Samakh and Degania. As a result, the Syrian forces retreated, vacated the area and the Syrian attack was finally broken. The Police Station was retaken by our forces.
The names of those from the Third Brigade killed in battle were:
:
Pont, Yekuti'el
Shwartzman, Yisrael
Zidbend Yosef (13.3.48)
Nafchen Moshe (13.3.48)
From the Jordan Valley (Yiftah Battalion):
Maimon, Emanuel
Kazin, Dani'el
In the early hours of 22.4.48, a Hagana unit attacked the village but the British intervened and the Hagana unit was forced to retreat. Nevertheless, the inhabitants of the village began to flee into Syrian territory.
On the night of 27.4.48 the British evacuated the Samakh station. A unit of the Hagana waited in Degania to occupy the building, but they were preempted by an Arab force. The following morning a Hagana unit attacked the station after its sappers cut the fences and breached a hole in the wall of the station. As a result, all the remaining inhabitants of the village fled behind the retreating Arab soldiers.
On 15.5.48 a Syrian force, with aerial and tank support, invaded the Jordan valley and attacked some Jewish settlements.
On 17.5.48 the Syrians stormed the village, but were repulsed.
On 18.5.48 Syrian planes bombed the village and after this attack a column of 30 armored vehicles and tanks advanced towards it. The clay houses of the village crumbled under the barrage and the hastily built positions of the Hagana collapsed. There were many casualties among the defenders.
Flanking movements of tanks south of Samakh cut off an escape route and the defenders were overpowered. The IDF force was forced to retreat through Degania Alef under heavy fire with many losses, and was unable to retrieve all the injured.
Reinforcements were sent the following day. A unit from the Lower Galilee and Emeq Yizra'el as well as a battalion from the Third Division of the Yiftah Brigade rushed to the assistance of the Degania members.
In the early hours of 19.5.48 a unit from the Palmach was assembled under the command of Samuel Katben to undertake a counter attack on occupied Samakh.
Despite the exhaustion of the soldiers, the division managed to take command of a school building adjacent to the fence of the police station, but their attempts to take the station itself failed. The expected artillery support did not materialize because the Davidka mortar gun broke down. Also, the effective fire of the enemy entrenched in the police station prevented any possibility of recapture. The losses to the Palmach unit included two killed, two seriously injured and two lightly injured. Despite these setbacks, this attack stopped the momentum of the advance of the Syrians whose aim was to capture the entire Jordan Valley and it gave the Hagana units in the Jordan Valley time to reorganize.
On the 20th of May two 65 mm field cannons (Napoleonchiks), that had arrived from overseas just a few days previously, were transported to the Jordan Valley. They were deployed on the Yavniel ridge and began shelling the Syrian encampments between Samakh and Degania. As a result, the Syrian forces retreated, vacated the area and the Syrian attack was finally broken. The Police Station was retaken by our forces.
The names of those from the Third Brigade killed in battle were:
:
Pont, Yekuti'el
Shwartzman, Yisrael
Zidbend Yosef (13.3.48)
Nafchen Moshe (13.3.48)
From the Jordan Valley (Yiftah Battalion):
Maimon, Emanuel
Kazin, Dani'el