The Second Attack : The Taking of the Monastery
The second attack on Katamon took place two nights after the first. The same plan was used; even after the previous failure, no better plan had emerged. So two days later, a force set out once more --- stronger this time. The men penetrated the houses of Katamon unobserved, and from there, assaulted and captured the monastery, successfully fighting off fierce counter-attacks.
The second attack was on 30.4.48. The attacking force was stronger --- another company had been added. In addition, a force under Yitzhak Ashkenazi was assigned to eliminate the machine-gun post, which had been discovered during the first attack. In command of the operation was Eliyahu Sela (Ra’anana), operations office of the battalion. Sela was familiar with the terrain, from his previous service with the Palmach at Ramat Rachel.
The attackers were transported to Neve Sha’anan and from there advanced on foot to the monastery. Just before reaching the assembly point, they were observed and fired on, and immediately commenced the assault. Ashkenazi’s men, covered by 52 mm. mortar fire, stormed the machine gun post and destroyed it. Simultaneously, the two-story houses on the western side were penetrated, and a clean-up operation begun. The wooden floor of one of these houses caught fire from a grenade. The whole area was lit up by the flames, making the operation more difficult. The entire lit-up area came under heavy Arab fire, and a less exposed way to reach the monastery had to be found. The houses alongside the monastery were occupied by Iraqi soldiers, who with machine guns and 2-inch mortars, covered the approach to the monastery.
The monastery was eventually reached, and its gate penetrated at 0145.
The plan called for three buildings to be occupied during the day. But as dawn broke, the attackers found themselves cut off, surrounded by Arabs and Iraqi soldiers, who kept up a continuous fire at short range. They fired into the passages between the buildings, and bombarded the roof of the monastery with mortars. By morning, the attackers had two dead and over 30 wounded. These were gathered together in the monastery and the yard, and taken care of by the unit’s medical orderlies. The Arabs were continually trying to get close, but were repeatedly fought off, with grenades thrown down from the roof and from the windows. As night fell, the attacks grew fiercer, but were still fought off. The defenders had, by now, 10 dead and 80 wounded --- about half their total strength. And ammunition was running low.
The situation was desperate, and a retreat was considered. There were too many wounded for them to be carried out of the monastery under fire. Those who could not walk, would most certainly be murdered if they were left to fall into enemy hands. Lots were drawn, and two officers were chosen to remain behind with the wounded, and blow up the monastery and everything in it when the time came.
Meanwhile, at brigade headquarters, efforts were being made to send in reinforcements. Two platoons of the Fifth Battalion, carrying arms, ammunition and medical supplies, approached under cover and attacked the enemy in the rear. In fierce fighting, they had four men killed and a number of wounded; a total of 16 men made it into the monastery, and joined the fighters there.
At this moment, the intelligence service intercepted a radio dialogue between the Arabs at Katamon and their HQ in the Old City. The men in Katamon reported that their commander had run away, and that they were in serious difficulties. They asked for reinforcements to be sent, and for the army to intervene. They could not hold out any longer. This vital information was passed on to the defenders at 1400.
An intelligence officer, who had gone up to the roof of a nearby building to work out a route to the monastery, also observed the Arabs withdrawing, and reported this by radio to the battalion commander. Tabenkin told the defenders that the heavy fire was, in fact, covering the Arabs’ retreat, and urged his men to hang on. On receiving this news, the defenders stayed where they were, and intensified their fire. The Arab firing grew weaker, and eventually ceased.
The combined pressure of the three reinforcing columns began to have its effect. The Arabs hastened their retreat, out of fear of being cut off. The entire population of the neighborhood began to flee in panic; the siege of the monastery was over, and at 1700 the men of the Field Combat Force relieved the men of the Palmach.
The besieging Arabs had lost heart, after the failure of their assaults on the monastery, and after being attacked from the rear by the relieving column. As a company of the Jerusalem Field Corps, with armored vehicles, drew near, the Arabs’ front collapsed, and they retreated to the fringe of the Katamon neighborhood. At the same time, the defenders inside the monastery heard on the radio of the Arabs’ retreat. The battle was over.
Subsequently, the Katamon neighborhood was emptied of its entire Arab population.
Many will remember the singing of the fighters, as they carried their wounded on stretchers into the Rehavia quarter, while cheering came from all the houses.
During the night, the ”Iraqi House” was captured. The following day, 1.5.48, a platoon from the “Moria” battalion, and a squad of Palmach men, entered the quarter. Another platoon from the “Moria” battalion moved into the Mekor Hayim quarter. The conquest of Katamon was completed, and the siege of Mekor Hayim raised, during the night of 2.5.48.
During clean-up operations in the city, looting began of the abandoned houses, by soldiers and civilians.
During the battle for Katamon, the Arabs showed a strong fighting spirit, which surprised the Jewish command. One of the factors which made them lose heart was the defection of their commander, on the pretext of going to fetch reinforcements.
The forces engaged in the battle for Katamon were about 250 on either side. Such a ratio is not normally sufficient for an assault; and by noon on 30.4.48 both sides were exhausted and considering retreat. The attack from the rear on the beseiging Arabs, by the two platoons of the Fifth Battalion, and the 16 fighters who got into the monastery, brought on the collapse of the Arab attack. The information provided by the intelligence service, that the attack were on the point of being broken off, provided the defenders with the additional stimulus to hold on until the enemy withdrew.
In the battle for Katamon, the Fourth and Fifth Battalions suffered heavy casualties: 21 killed and 83 wounded. Of the 120 fighters who made the original assault, only 20 were able to come out unassisted.
The taking of Katamon decided the fate of all the Arab neighborhoods in the south of Jerusalem: the German Colony, Bak’a, the Greek Colony, the railway station, and Abu Tor. When Katamon fell, the Arab inhabitants fled their homes and the city. Mekor Hayim, Talpiot, and Kibbutz Ramat Rahel became a part of the Jewish continuum in Jerusalem.
The names of those killed: Tzvi Elishvili; Binyamin; Aharon Dadashov; Avraham Visser; Aryeh Haikind; Victor Harvon; Yitzhak-Nahum Levy; Mordechai Locker; Yosef Lachs; Zalman Poplovski; Mishal Pinsker; Avner Kotigro; Haim Kuperman; Netan’el Kornhauser; Ya’aqov Kinderman; Eliyahu Rubin; and Avraham Simhon.
The attackers were transported to Neve Sha’anan and from there advanced on foot to the monastery. Just before reaching the assembly point, they were observed and fired on, and immediately commenced the assault. Ashkenazi’s men, covered by 52 mm. mortar fire, stormed the machine gun post and destroyed it. Simultaneously, the two-story houses on the western side were penetrated, and a clean-up operation begun. The wooden floor of one of these houses caught fire from a grenade. The whole area was lit up by the flames, making the operation more difficult. The entire lit-up area came under heavy Arab fire, and a less exposed way to reach the monastery had to be found. The houses alongside the monastery were occupied by Iraqi soldiers, who with machine guns and 2-inch mortars, covered the approach to the monastery.
The monastery was eventually reached, and its gate penetrated at 0145.
The plan called for three buildings to be occupied during the day. But as dawn broke, the attackers found themselves cut off, surrounded by Arabs and Iraqi soldiers, who kept up a continuous fire at short range. They fired into the passages between the buildings, and bombarded the roof of the monastery with mortars. By morning, the attackers had two dead and over 30 wounded. These were gathered together in the monastery and the yard, and taken care of by the unit’s medical orderlies. The Arabs were continually trying to get close, but were repeatedly fought off, with grenades thrown down from the roof and from the windows. As night fell, the attacks grew fiercer, but were still fought off. The defenders had, by now, 10 dead and 80 wounded --- about half their total strength. And ammunition was running low.
The situation was desperate, and a retreat was considered. There were too many wounded for them to be carried out of the monastery under fire. Those who could not walk, would most certainly be murdered if they were left to fall into enemy hands. Lots were drawn, and two officers were chosen to remain behind with the wounded, and blow up the monastery and everything in it when the time came.
Meanwhile, at brigade headquarters, efforts were being made to send in reinforcements. Two platoons of the Fifth Battalion, carrying arms, ammunition and medical supplies, approached under cover and attacked the enemy in the rear. In fierce fighting, they had four men killed and a number of wounded; a total of 16 men made it into the monastery, and joined the fighters there.
At this moment, the intelligence service intercepted a radio dialogue between the Arabs at Katamon and their HQ in the Old City. The men in Katamon reported that their commander had run away, and that they were in serious difficulties. They asked for reinforcements to be sent, and for the army to intervene. They could not hold out any longer. This vital information was passed on to the defenders at 1400.
An intelligence officer, who had gone up to the roof of a nearby building to work out a route to the monastery, also observed the Arabs withdrawing, and reported this by radio to the battalion commander. Tabenkin told the defenders that the heavy fire was, in fact, covering the Arabs’ retreat, and urged his men to hang on. On receiving this news, the defenders stayed where they were, and intensified their fire. The Arab firing grew weaker, and eventually ceased.
The combined pressure of the three reinforcing columns began to have its effect. The Arabs hastened their retreat, out of fear of being cut off. The entire population of the neighborhood began to flee in panic; the siege of the monastery was over, and at 1700 the men of the Field Combat Force relieved the men of the Palmach.
The besieging Arabs had lost heart, after the failure of their assaults on the monastery, and after being attacked from the rear by the relieving column. As a company of the Jerusalem Field Corps, with armored vehicles, drew near, the Arabs’ front collapsed, and they retreated to the fringe of the Katamon neighborhood. At the same time, the defenders inside the monastery heard on the radio of the Arabs’ retreat. The battle was over.
Subsequently, the Katamon neighborhood was emptied of its entire Arab population.
Many will remember the singing of the fighters, as they carried their wounded on stretchers into the Rehavia quarter, while cheering came from all the houses.
During the night, the ”Iraqi House” was captured. The following day, 1.5.48, a platoon from the “Moria” battalion, and a squad of Palmach men, entered the quarter. Another platoon from the “Moria” battalion moved into the Mekor Hayim quarter. The conquest of Katamon was completed, and the siege of Mekor Hayim raised, during the night of 2.5.48.
During clean-up operations in the city, looting began of the abandoned houses, by soldiers and civilians.
During the battle for Katamon, the Arabs showed a strong fighting spirit, which surprised the Jewish command. One of the factors which made them lose heart was the defection of their commander, on the pretext of going to fetch reinforcements.
The forces engaged in the battle for Katamon were about 250 on either side. Such a ratio is not normally sufficient for an assault; and by noon on 30.4.48 both sides were exhausted and considering retreat. The attack from the rear on the beseiging Arabs, by the two platoons of the Fifth Battalion, and the 16 fighters who got into the monastery, brought on the collapse of the Arab attack. The information provided by the intelligence service, that the attack were on the point of being broken off, provided the defenders with the additional stimulus to hold on until the enemy withdrew.
In the battle for Katamon, the Fourth and Fifth Battalions suffered heavy casualties: 21 killed and 83 wounded. Of the 120 fighters who made the original assault, only 20 were able to come out unassisted.
The taking of Katamon decided the fate of all the Arab neighborhoods in the south of Jerusalem: the German Colony, Bak’a, the Greek Colony, the railway station, and Abu Tor. When Katamon fell, the Arab inhabitants fled their homes and the city. Mekor Hayim, Talpiot, and Kibbutz Ramat Rahel became a part of the Jewish continuum in Jerusalem.
The names of those killed: Tzvi Elishvili; Binyamin; Aharon Dadashov; Avraham Visser; Aryeh Haikind; Victor Harvon; Yitzhak-Nahum Levy; Mordechai Locker; Yosef Lachs; Zalman Poplovski; Mishal Pinsker; Avner Kotigro; Haim Kuperman; Netan’el Kornhauser; Ya’aqov Kinderman; Eliyahu Rubin; and Avraham Simhon.