Discovering the route
Suddenly they saw a jeep coming towards them with a navigation scout in front of it. Fortunately they did not open fire – it was ‘Ra’anana’ (Eliyahu Sela) the Operations Officer of ‘Harel’ Brigade with Avraham Chen and members of ‘Harel’, who had decided to patrol from the opposite direction. Their meeting was a cause for great joy: the route was passable.
On the night of 30 May Horev and Gavrosh went out by jeep and, when they approached Susin Springs they decided to sleep there to gather their strength to continue the patrol. At 4:00 a.m. they heard the sound of a vehicle and, suddenly, saw a jeep coming towards them, with a scout in front of it. Fortunately they did not open fire – it was Ra’anana (Eliyahu Sela) the Operations Officer of ‘Harel’ Brigade with Avraham Chen and members of ‘Harel’, who had decided to patrol from the opposite direction. The meeting was a cause for great joy: the route was passable.
On the night of 31 May, a convoy of ten jeeps loaded with weapons and ammunition left for ‘Harel’ but were forced to retrace their tracks after one of the jeeps overturned near Beit-Susin. It took almost until dawn to rescue it.
On the night of 1 June another convoy of weapons and ammunition in jeeps left for ‘Harel’ under the command of ‘Ra’anana’. Their passage across the rocky route was difficult, even for jeeps, and they required dragging and pushing. Gavrosh led a jeep after jeep on the tough sections of the rocky path and the convoy reached its destination – they had broken through. The small convoy caused great excitement because it established a new fact: Jerusalem was no longer under complete siege!
To start with the jeeps drove along the whole route right up to Jerusalem, later their activity was limited to moving cargo and equipment over the more arduous sections, which enabled them to carry out a number of runs in a night.
The route was given various names: ‘The Gavroshim Route’, ‘The Jeep Route’, ‘Route Seven’ (the official name). The journalist Kenneth Bilby gave it the nickname ‘The Burma Road’, after the road which was breached in the Far East during the Second World War by the US and British armies, bypassed the area under Japanese control and was used to move supplies to the Chinese army.
Night after night, from the night of 2 June, jeeps, loaded up to the limits of what they could carry, drove over the route. Efforts were made, throughout the country and the army, to recruit and confiscate jeeps. In spite of the fact that many jeep owners preferred to hide them, the number of jeeps recruited for the mission rose to 30.
The enemy quickly realised what was going on under their noses, but was satisfied with shelling, sniping and sending out patrols in an effort to put an end to the enterprise, but made no real attack. The shelling and sniping caused a number of casualties.
On the night of 4 June some 400 porters and mules were assembled. The supplies and ammunition were taken from the plain as far as the steep ascent and were unloaded there. Each porter carried a load of 20 kg on his back for 4 km each time, over steep ascents and descents. The porters brought the equipment to where it could be loaded onto vehicles, which took it to Jerusalem. In the heat of the shelling of Beit-Susin the unloading area was moved to Beit-Jiz, increasing the porters’ journey by another 2 km.
On the night of 31 May, a convoy of ten jeeps loaded with weapons and ammunition left for ‘Harel’ but were forced to retrace their tracks after one of the jeeps overturned near Beit-Susin. It took almost until dawn to rescue it.
On the night of 1 June another convoy of weapons and ammunition in jeeps left for ‘Harel’ under the command of ‘Ra’anana’. Their passage across the rocky route was difficult, even for jeeps, and they required dragging and pushing. Gavrosh led a jeep after jeep on the tough sections of the rocky path and the convoy reached its destination – they had broken through. The small convoy caused great excitement because it established a new fact: Jerusalem was no longer under complete siege!
To start with the jeeps drove along the whole route right up to Jerusalem, later their activity was limited to moving cargo and equipment over the more arduous sections, which enabled them to carry out a number of runs in a night.
The route was given various names: ‘The Gavroshim Route’, ‘The Jeep Route’, ‘Route Seven’ (the official name). The journalist Kenneth Bilby gave it the nickname ‘The Burma Road’, after the road which was breached in the Far East during the Second World War by the US and British armies, bypassed the area under Japanese control and was used to move supplies to the Chinese army.
Night after night, from the night of 2 June, jeeps, loaded up to the limits of what they could carry, drove over the route. Efforts were made, throughout the country and the army, to recruit and confiscate jeeps. In spite of the fact that many jeep owners preferred to hide them, the number of jeeps recruited for the mission rose to 30.
The enemy quickly realised what was going on under their noses, but was satisfied with shelling, sniping and sending out patrols in an effort to put an end to the enterprise, but made no real attack. The shelling and sniping caused a number of casualties.
On the night of 4 June some 400 porters and mules were assembled. The supplies and ammunition were taken from the plain as far as the steep ascent and were unloaded there. Each porter carried a load of 20 kg on his back for 4 km each time, over steep ascents and descents. The porters brought the equipment to where it could be loaded onto vehicles, which took it to Jerusalem. In the heat of the shelling of Beit-Susin the unloading area was moved to Beit-Jiz, increasing the porters’ journey by another 2 km.