Reasons for the Operation Failure
The reasons for the failure of the operation have been analyzed.
According to Yitzchak Chofi-Chaka, there was an intelligence failure: The attacking force did not have information on the activities and the forces in the village; e.g. there was an Iraqi reinforcement force in the village. The enemy had spotted the advancing men and was prepared (there was a rumor at the time that the information of the attack was passed onto the Arabs of the village by means of a doctor who was 'planted' by the Jewish side but betrayed them by passing the information onto the Arabs( The attack at daylight was problematic owing to the fact that there were no armored vehicles for the breakthrough that would enable them to reach the scene of the battle and overpower the enemy. The only heavy arms in the hands of the force were 81 m"m mortars that provided inadequate protection when they climbed up from the valley.
Shaike attests to the fact that the planning was faulty and not the operation itself. It was a mistake to attack from all sides (thereby closing off an escape route for the villagers). It bothered him that they did not perceive this error at the planning stage and they operated according to a badly planned program. Spreading the troops was a mistake – it would have been better to concentrate the forces at the position where they wanted to gain control and then to penetrate. 'Siko' Susman claims that the regiment arrived at Merchavia in a large convoy during daylight, and was observed at Zar'in. Therefore the enemy understood the objectives of the concentration of forces and were well prepared. He also thought, in view of the fact that the forces did not have adequate fire-power, it was incorrect to spread out and attack at different points. 12 fighters were killed and 30 were wounded.
These are the names of the fallen:
Yitzchak Averbuch; Moshe Esterin; Shlomo Blumenthal; Emmanuel Badani; Mordechai Daniel; Yaakov Jacobson; Zvi Carmeli; Nissim Levi; Yosef Levi; Uriel Loyberberg; Yehuda Shem-Tov.
Shaike attests to the fact that the planning was faulty and not the operation itself. It was a mistake to attack from all sides (thereby closing off an escape route for the villagers). It bothered him that they did not perceive this error at the planning stage and they operated according to a badly planned program. Spreading the troops was a mistake – it would have been better to concentrate the forces at the position where they wanted to gain control and then to penetrate. 'Siko' Susman claims that the regiment arrived at Merchavia in a large convoy during daylight, and was observed at Zar'in. Therefore the enemy understood the objectives of the concentration of forces and were well prepared. He also thought, in view of the fact that the forces did not have adequate fire-power, it was incorrect to spread out and attack at different points. 12 fighters were killed and 30 were wounded.
These are the names of the fallen:
Yitzchak Averbuch; Moshe Esterin; Shlomo Blumenthal; Emmanuel Badani; Mordechai Daniel; Yaakov Jacobson; Zvi Carmeli; Nissim Levi; Yosef Levi; Uriel Loyberberg; Yehuda Shem-Tov.