The operational failures in Operation "Markolet" ('Night of the Bridges')
A few failures occurred during the 'Night of the Bridges' operations.
A few failures occurred during the 'Night of the Bridges' operations. The most critical one occurred during the attack on the Akhziv bridges: The early discovery of the force (perhaps because of its reference to the Arabs that came its way); the crowdedness of warriors near the railway bridge due to the firing by the bridge guards; an explosion of one of the bombs as a result of an arbitrary bullet hitting it, and leaving off an injured warrior in the field despite a survey of the area.
The failures partially stemmed from the operational risk enforced by the political rank, which dictated the timing of the operation on a full moon night. The lit night made it difficult for the forces to move towards their targets, especially during the last and critical phase of the trespassing (the forces were spotted early on near the target areas of Allenby and Gaza bridges.)
An additional series of failures occurred, such as: While preparing the explosives to detonate (on Damiya bridge and Gaza railroad bridge), failure to locate obstacles on preliminary surveys (failure to locate: A fence by the Gaza railroad bridge and Bedouin encampment near Damiya bridge), lack of satisfactory coordination between adjacent forces (the force retreating from Damiya bridge was nearby Sheikh Hussein bridge when it exploded), in planning the retreat from the target (the force retreating from Sheikh Hussein moved slowly between the fishponds of Besian Valley and eventually returned to the departure base – and endangering the force and Ma'oz Hayyim kibbutz members by doing so), not preparing a proper place for hiding during the day in the Judea Dessert (by the force that raided Allenby bridge), losing ammunition (grenades that fell out of warriors' hands on North-west Mettula bridge and Gaza bridges), lack of awareness of warriors' physical and health limitations (The fitness of some of the 'reserve' men who participated in the raid on Allenby bridge was inadequate – one of the warriors suffered an asthma attack during the retreat.)
The above failures did not cloud the general success of operation "Markolet," as they affected only one of the raids. Those were standard failures during a military operation, and some were even coincidental or minor. However, they sufficed in teaching a lesson and sharpening the awareness of commanders and warriors towards the expected confrontation during a military operation and improve the preparation and function of such.
The failures partially stemmed from the operational risk enforced by the political rank, which dictated the timing of the operation on a full moon night. The lit night made it difficult for the forces to move towards their targets, especially during the last and critical phase of the trespassing (the forces were spotted early on near the target areas of Allenby and Gaza bridges.)
An additional series of failures occurred, such as: While preparing the explosives to detonate (on Damiya bridge and Gaza railroad bridge), failure to locate obstacles on preliminary surveys (failure to locate: A fence by the Gaza railroad bridge and Bedouin encampment near Damiya bridge), lack of satisfactory coordination between adjacent forces (the force retreating from Damiya bridge was nearby Sheikh Hussein bridge when it exploded), in planning the retreat from the target (the force retreating from Sheikh Hussein moved slowly between the fishponds of Besian Valley and eventually returned to the departure base – and endangering the force and Ma'oz Hayyim kibbutz members by doing so), not preparing a proper place for hiding during the day in the Judea Dessert (by the force that raided Allenby bridge), losing ammunition (grenades that fell out of warriors' hands on North-west Mettula bridge and Gaza bridges), lack of awareness of warriors' physical and health limitations (The fitness of some of the 'reserve' men who participated in the raid on Allenby bridge was inadequate – one of the warriors suffered an asthma attack during the retreat.)
The above failures did not cloud the general success of operation "Markolet," as they affected only one of the raids. Those were standard failures during a military operation, and some were even coincidental or minor. However, they sufficed in teaching a lesson and sharpening the awareness of commanders and warriors towards the expected confrontation during a military operation and improve the preparation and function of such.