Kfar-Darom resistance of attacks and siege
Kfar-Darom, that bordered with Dir-El-Balach, was under siege prior to the Egyptian invasion and was under attack for several weeks. The siege prevented supply provision and evacuation of wounded. Reinforcements and supply vehicles that managed to reach the settlement were not able to return. The settlement was eventually evacuated in the middle of the night after a long resistance.
The Negev Brigade - 2
Kfar-Darom was established on the coastal road between Gaza and Han-Yunes, 800 m from the Dir-El-Balach train station. Provisions arrived at the settlement once in 3-4 weeks because of the constant attacks against the road leading to it. 3 members wounded during the attacks against the settlement and the joining fields could not be evacuated and the Bedouins attacked the eastern dirt roads.
On January, 1948, Palmach 2nd Battalion Company joined the 27 young men and 9 young women living in the settlement, 50 fighters who had 23 guns,,3 sub machine-guns, no.2 mortar, 'Bren' , a Browning MMG, a pistol, 180 hand grenades, 12 explosive bags and 20 antitank Molotov bottles.
In order to prevent vehicle passage, 300 land mines were laid between the 2 fences surrounding the settlement and a shallow ditch was dug before the western fence. Two sub posts were attached to the main posts and 4 fire arm posts, containing 5 fighters each were built in addition to the concrete safe house. The posts and the shelters were connected by a network of ditches.
The 10th of May, 1948- The 'Muslim Brothers' first attack
The settlement was attacked at 04:00 am150-200 Egyptian volunteers and a 'Muslim Brothers' militia force, under cover of MMG, no.2 mortars, canisters and hand grenades. The enemy penetrated the settlement undetected and the defenders responded by counterattacking with hand grenades. The attack was stopped due to the explosion of explosives carried by one of the enemy saboteur's, forcing them to retreat at 06:30 am, leaving many wounded behind. The British army arrived at 10:00 am, evacuating 11 casualties and 6 critically wounded. The defenders were left unharmed.
The 11th of May, 1948- 'Muslim Brothers' second attack
A 'Muslim Brothers' Battalion was ordered to occupy the settlement on the eve of the invasion and on the 11th of May, the settlement was attacked by 2 companies, 7 armored vehicles, saboteurs, 6 no.2 mortars, 8 antitank guns and four 3.7 cannons.
The settlement was attacked twice, covered by artillery, mortar and MMG fire. Infantry carried out the first attack at dawn, while the second attack was carried out at 09:40 am by 2 infantry companies and armored vehicles that managed to reach the shallow ditch by the fence. The defenders managed to drive enemy armored vehicles and infantry forces away using anti armor bullets, but the bombardment of the settlement continued.
An Israeli aircraft bombarded an enemy camp by the train station at 14:00 pm, at 15:30 pm an infantry force accompanied by armored vehicles approached from the south, covered by artillery, mortar and MMG, evacuating enemy wounded and a damaged armored vehicle by 17:30 pm.
During the attack, 28 Egyptians were killed (8 during the air raid over the train station), 18 wounded and 2 armored vehicles damaged, while the defenders suffered 4 casualties and 6 wounded- 2 critically wounded. All the settlement's buildings and sheds were badly damaged or entirely demolished. The fences were greatly breached and the posts were damaged. 37 able fighters remained in the settlement at the end of the battle.
On the 12th of May, a provision convoy left Be'eri as a response to the settlement's telegraph's requesting medical supplies and munitions. The convoy was forced to return to Be'eri after sinking in a wadi near Tel Jema (Grar stream). The defenders continued to telegraph requests for medical supplies, munitions and reinforcements.
The night of the 12th of May- night attack resistance
'Muslim Brothers' commando, supported by a tank approached the settlement at 04:00 am. The defenders held their fire, confusing them with the long awaited reinforcements and the tank broke through to the center of the settlement. The defenders forced both the commando and the tank to retreat using Molotov bottles and explosive bags.
The first provision convoy to Kfar-Darom
On the 13th of May, 1948, all available 'Negev' Brigade fighters were busy occupying Brayer, during operation 'Grisha'. 2nd Battalion units on their way north to occupy Iraq-Swidan police station, were ordered to return to Nir-Am and reinforce Kfar-Darom. The force arrived to Nir-Am in the evening and organized a provision convoy including reinforcements and vital provisions. The force was supposed to escort the convoy to Kfar-Darom and return to Nir-Am under cover of darkness. A 'Bren' Company, butterfly armored vehicles and buses escorted the fortified convoy traveling on the Be'er-Sheba road to Sa'ad, the 'Hunger' road, Emra and Wadi Shalla. On the 14th of May, at 06:00 am Hirbet Ma'ayan was occupied in order to reach Kfar-Darom from which the convoy continued to its destination escorted by the platoon under the command of the deputy Company Commander, while 2 companies under the command of the Company Commander deployed in Hirbet Ma'ayan in order to secure the return of the escort Company.
The enemy discovered the convoy 1,000 m from Kfar-Darom in Wadi Silka and destroyed it. The force abandoned the convoy moving towards Kfar-Darom, 45 convoy members, carrying 15 wounded arrived at Kfar-Darom with out the provisions. 50 fighters were added to the settlement members who numbered 110 men and women.
The 8th Battalions evacuate Hirbet Ma'ayan and returned to Ze'elim and Gevulot after learning about the escort Company.
The Egyptian Transport Battalion 4th attack
On the 15th of May, the Egyptian transport Corp invaded Israel and attacked Nirim and Kfar-Darom which threatened the Egyptian provision axis. On the morning of the 15th of May, the Egyptian forces attacking Kfar-Darom included: 2 infantry companies, 3 tanks and 6 armored vehicles supported by 6 no.3 mortars, two 4.2 mortars and 6 pound cannons. They began bombarding the settlement at 09:00 am using mortars and directly laying the cannons directly towards the safe house and posts. At 11:00 am the tanks moved from the train station and opened fire 500m from the settlement. Two infantry companies joined the attack and ceased firing 200 m from the fence. The defenders returned fire with small-arms, forcing the infantry to take cover, while the armored force continued advancing until it was stopped by the shallow ditch. Anti tank fire forced the armored force to retreat together with the infantry. During the renewed attack 3 defenders were killed and 4 others were wounded. The Egyptians, who managed to rescue 3 armored vehicles, suffered heavy losses.
Maintenance of the besieged Kfar-Darom
All the sheds and the water facility were demolished during the attack, the settlement comprised of 110 men and women of which 25 were wounded and the lack of food forced the starving people to search for food in the near by neglected fields. The lack of water and the inability to evacuate the wounded caused a great worry.
On the 22nd of May, 1948, an Egyptian Infantry Company reinforced with a 'Bren' squad, no.3 mortars and 6 pound cannons was ordered to tighten the siege of Kfar-Darom. The Egyptians prevented the evacuation of the wounded by the 'Red Cross' and provisions were supplied by Negev squadron light aircraft, taking off from an airfield located by Dorot and by 'Rapid' and 'Bonanza' aircrafts, taking off from Sde-Dov in Tel-Aviv. The provisions thrown from above did not always reach their destination.
Water supply was rationed as a result of the damaged water facility- one liter of water per person a day. The water situation improved once the spare parts for the water facility were sent, but the fighters were on the brink of starvation due to the lack of food provisions. Both the attempts made to sabotage the railway tracks failed due to lack of explosives.
The second convoy- penetration and immobilization
On the 8th of June, 1948, at 23:30pm, a 2nd Battalion provision convoy including 2 jeeps, 3 נ.נ and a tow truck left Be'eri on its way to Kfar-Darom. The force that included 28 fighters reinforced with a MMG, 3 machine guns and a 'Fiat' arrived at Kfar-Darom at 04:00 am after encountering many difficulties and attacks along the way. The convoy and the settlement were attacked by light arms and mortar shells. The 2 הנ.נ. Carrying the provisions entered the settlement, while the jeeps and escort ונ.נ returned immediately. The result: the provisions supplied to the settlement were sparse, the evacuation of the wounded failed and 2 נ.נ were entrapped in the settlement.
On the 16th of June, at the beginning of the first cease fire, guns, wireless, smoke bombs and damaged Egyptian armored vehicles were gathered by the fighters.
On the 13th of June, the Egyptians sent Kfar Darom medical supplies in exchange to 28 of their casualties. The bombardments continued throughout the cease fire.
The third convoy- breaking in and out of the settlement
On the 13th of June, 1948, the 9th Battalion commanded by Yoske Rivkind escorted the convoy leaving Be'eri on its way to Kfar-Darom. The convoy comprised of 7 jeeps, 2 נ.נ. and 2 halftracks was supposed to bring provisions to Kfar-Darom and evacuate the wounded. The convoy was attacked along the way and encountered an ambush of short range heavy automatic and antitank fire while crossing Wadi Silka. The convoy penetrated the settlement covered by MMG fire, and the jeeps were dispersed outside of the settlements yard due to lack of space. Heavy MMG and mortar fire prevented the convoy from leaving the settlement the following morning, killing 2 fighters, wounding 5 and damaging several vehicles. Heavy fire prevented the fighters from repairing the damaged vehicles, but 2 brave fighters managed to retrieve 2 jeeps and weapons from the other jeeps. Not only did the convoy fail to mitigate the supply situation; they used up what little provisions were left in the settlement while at the same time the Egyptians tightened the siege, occupied army posts east of Kfar-Darom and delayed UN's attempts to evacuate the wounded.
On the 20th of June, 1948, at 02:00 am, the convoy was rescued, הנ.נ. Carrying the women and wounded, jeeps and the halftracks carrying the fighters left for Be'eri. Further attempts were made to transfer provisions to Kfar-Darom via the UN. On the night of the 30th of June, Aryeh Bar-Shira led five 2nd Battalion scouts carrying medical supplies who attempted to return on the same night after arriving at Kfar-Darom, but were forced to turn back after encountering an ambush. They encountered another ambush on the following night and were forced to turn once again. On the 3rd of July they managed to reach Be'eri before the break of dawn. On the 4th of July a convoy including 2 trucks and an UN escort left for Kfar-Darom via the coastal road, was attacked by the Dir-El-Balach train station and returned north.
The evacuation of Kfar-Darom
Towards the end of the first cease fire, command concluded that the existing force was not sufficient for maintaining the settlement, and on the 7th of August a force left Be'eri on its way to occupy Wadi Gaza. A 9th Battalion jeep and ונ.נ. , under the command of Simcha Shiloni occupied the Nuzirat ridge, while 2nd Battalion scouts under the command of Aryeh Bar-Shira moved towards the meeting point, 600 m north of Kfar Darom. The members were ordered to evacuate the settlement at 02:30 am, and by 04:00 am they were organized in 3 groups carrying scrolls of the Torah, all of the weapons and most of the munitions, leaving behind the graves of the 10 fighters who were killed during the battles. The evacuees marched on foot to the vehicles that took them to Mishmar Hanegev via Hirbet Ma'ayan and Emra. The members of Kfar Darom who infiltrated the Egyptian lines, later established Moshav Bnei-Darom near Ashdod.
On January, 1948, Palmach 2nd Battalion Company joined the 27 young men and 9 young women living in the settlement, 50 fighters who had 23 guns,,3 sub machine-guns, no.2 mortar, 'Bren' , a Browning MMG, a pistol, 180 hand grenades, 12 explosive bags and 20 antitank Molotov bottles.
In order to prevent vehicle passage, 300 land mines were laid between the 2 fences surrounding the settlement and a shallow ditch was dug before the western fence. Two sub posts were attached to the main posts and 4 fire arm posts, containing 5 fighters each were built in addition to the concrete safe house. The posts and the shelters were connected by a network of ditches.
The 10th of May, 1948- The 'Muslim Brothers' first attack
The settlement was attacked at 04:00 am150-200 Egyptian volunteers and a 'Muslim Brothers' militia force, under cover of MMG, no.2 mortars, canisters and hand grenades. The enemy penetrated the settlement undetected and the defenders responded by counterattacking with hand grenades. The attack was stopped due to the explosion of explosives carried by one of the enemy saboteur's, forcing them to retreat at 06:30 am, leaving many wounded behind. The British army arrived at 10:00 am, evacuating 11 casualties and 6 critically wounded. The defenders were left unharmed.
The 11th of May, 1948- 'Muslim Brothers' second attack
A 'Muslim Brothers' Battalion was ordered to occupy the settlement on the eve of the invasion and on the 11th of May, the settlement was attacked by 2 companies, 7 armored vehicles, saboteurs, 6 no.2 mortars, 8 antitank guns and four 3.7 cannons.
The settlement was attacked twice, covered by artillery, mortar and MMG fire. Infantry carried out the first attack at dawn, while the second attack was carried out at 09:40 am by 2 infantry companies and armored vehicles that managed to reach the shallow ditch by the fence. The defenders managed to drive enemy armored vehicles and infantry forces away using anti armor bullets, but the bombardment of the settlement continued.
An Israeli aircraft bombarded an enemy camp by the train station at 14:00 pm, at 15:30 pm an infantry force accompanied by armored vehicles approached from the south, covered by artillery, mortar and MMG, evacuating enemy wounded and a damaged armored vehicle by 17:30 pm.
During the attack, 28 Egyptians were killed (8 during the air raid over the train station), 18 wounded and 2 armored vehicles damaged, while the defenders suffered 4 casualties and 6 wounded- 2 critically wounded. All the settlement's buildings and sheds were badly damaged or entirely demolished. The fences were greatly breached and the posts were damaged. 37 able fighters remained in the settlement at the end of the battle.
On the 12th of May, a provision convoy left Be'eri as a response to the settlement's telegraph's requesting medical supplies and munitions. The convoy was forced to return to Be'eri after sinking in a wadi near Tel Jema (Grar stream). The defenders continued to telegraph requests for medical supplies, munitions and reinforcements.
The night of the 12th of May- night attack resistance
'Muslim Brothers' commando, supported by a tank approached the settlement at 04:00 am. The defenders held their fire, confusing them with the long awaited reinforcements and the tank broke through to the center of the settlement. The defenders forced both the commando and the tank to retreat using Molotov bottles and explosive bags.
The first provision convoy to Kfar-Darom
On the 13th of May, 1948, all available 'Negev' Brigade fighters were busy occupying Brayer, during operation 'Grisha'. 2nd Battalion units on their way north to occupy Iraq-Swidan police station, were ordered to return to Nir-Am and reinforce Kfar-Darom. The force arrived to Nir-Am in the evening and organized a provision convoy including reinforcements and vital provisions. The force was supposed to escort the convoy to Kfar-Darom and return to Nir-Am under cover of darkness. A 'Bren' Company, butterfly armored vehicles and buses escorted the fortified convoy traveling on the Be'er-Sheba road to Sa'ad, the 'Hunger' road, Emra and Wadi Shalla. On the 14th of May, at 06:00 am Hirbet Ma'ayan was occupied in order to reach Kfar-Darom from which the convoy continued to its destination escorted by the platoon under the command of the deputy Company Commander, while 2 companies under the command of the Company Commander deployed in Hirbet Ma'ayan in order to secure the return of the escort Company.
The enemy discovered the convoy 1,000 m from Kfar-Darom in Wadi Silka and destroyed it. The force abandoned the convoy moving towards Kfar-Darom, 45 convoy members, carrying 15 wounded arrived at Kfar-Darom with out the provisions. 50 fighters were added to the settlement members who numbered 110 men and women.
The 8th Battalions evacuate Hirbet Ma'ayan and returned to Ze'elim and Gevulot after learning about the escort Company.
The Egyptian Transport Battalion 4th attack
On the 15th of May, the Egyptian transport Corp invaded Israel and attacked Nirim and Kfar-Darom which threatened the Egyptian provision axis. On the morning of the 15th of May, the Egyptian forces attacking Kfar-Darom included: 2 infantry companies, 3 tanks and 6 armored vehicles supported by 6 no.3 mortars, two 4.2 mortars and 6 pound cannons. They began bombarding the settlement at 09:00 am using mortars and directly laying the cannons directly towards the safe house and posts. At 11:00 am the tanks moved from the train station and opened fire 500m from the settlement. Two infantry companies joined the attack and ceased firing 200 m from the fence. The defenders returned fire with small-arms, forcing the infantry to take cover, while the armored force continued advancing until it was stopped by the shallow ditch. Anti tank fire forced the armored force to retreat together with the infantry. During the renewed attack 3 defenders were killed and 4 others were wounded. The Egyptians, who managed to rescue 3 armored vehicles, suffered heavy losses.
Maintenance of the besieged Kfar-Darom
All the sheds and the water facility were demolished during the attack, the settlement comprised of 110 men and women of which 25 were wounded and the lack of food forced the starving people to search for food in the near by neglected fields. The lack of water and the inability to evacuate the wounded caused a great worry.
On the 22nd of May, 1948, an Egyptian Infantry Company reinforced with a 'Bren' squad, no.3 mortars and 6 pound cannons was ordered to tighten the siege of Kfar-Darom. The Egyptians prevented the evacuation of the wounded by the 'Red Cross' and provisions were supplied by Negev squadron light aircraft, taking off from an airfield located by Dorot and by 'Rapid' and 'Bonanza' aircrafts, taking off from Sde-Dov in Tel-Aviv. The provisions thrown from above did not always reach their destination.
Water supply was rationed as a result of the damaged water facility- one liter of water per person a day. The water situation improved once the spare parts for the water facility were sent, but the fighters were on the brink of starvation due to the lack of food provisions. Both the attempts made to sabotage the railway tracks failed due to lack of explosives.
The second convoy- penetration and immobilization
On the 8th of June, 1948, at 23:30pm, a 2nd Battalion provision convoy including 2 jeeps, 3 נ.נ and a tow truck left Be'eri on its way to Kfar-Darom. The force that included 28 fighters reinforced with a MMG, 3 machine guns and a 'Fiat' arrived at Kfar-Darom at 04:00 am after encountering many difficulties and attacks along the way. The convoy and the settlement were attacked by light arms and mortar shells. The 2 הנ.נ. Carrying the provisions entered the settlement, while the jeeps and escort ונ.נ returned immediately. The result: the provisions supplied to the settlement were sparse, the evacuation of the wounded failed and 2 נ.נ were entrapped in the settlement.
On the 16th of June, at the beginning of the first cease fire, guns, wireless, smoke bombs and damaged Egyptian armored vehicles were gathered by the fighters.
On the 13th of June, the Egyptians sent Kfar Darom medical supplies in exchange to 28 of their casualties. The bombardments continued throughout the cease fire.
The third convoy- breaking in and out of the settlement
On the 13th of June, 1948, the 9th Battalion commanded by Yoske Rivkind escorted the convoy leaving Be'eri on its way to Kfar-Darom. The convoy comprised of 7 jeeps, 2 נ.נ. and 2 halftracks was supposed to bring provisions to Kfar-Darom and evacuate the wounded. The convoy was attacked along the way and encountered an ambush of short range heavy automatic and antitank fire while crossing Wadi Silka. The convoy penetrated the settlement covered by MMG fire, and the jeeps were dispersed outside of the settlements yard due to lack of space. Heavy MMG and mortar fire prevented the convoy from leaving the settlement the following morning, killing 2 fighters, wounding 5 and damaging several vehicles. Heavy fire prevented the fighters from repairing the damaged vehicles, but 2 brave fighters managed to retrieve 2 jeeps and weapons from the other jeeps. Not only did the convoy fail to mitigate the supply situation; they used up what little provisions were left in the settlement while at the same time the Egyptians tightened the siege, occupied army posts east of Kfar-Darom and delayed UN's attempts to evacuate the wounded.
On the 20th of June, 1948, at 02:00 am, the convoy was rescued, הנ.נ. Carrying the women and wounded, jeeps and the halftracks carrying the fighters left for Be'eri. Further attempts were made to transfer provisions to Kfar-Darom via the UN. On the night of the 30th of June, Aryeh Bar-Shira led five 2nd Battalion scouts carrying medical supplies who attempted to return on the same night after arriving at Kfar-Darom, but were forced to turn back after encountering an ambush. They encountered another ambush on the following night and were forced to turn once again. On the 3rd of July they managed to reach Be'eri before the break of dawn. On the 4th of July a convoy including 2 trucks and an UN escort left for Kfar-Darom via the coastal road, was attacked by the Dir-El-Balach train station and returned north.
The evacuation of Kfar-Darom
Towards the end of the first cease fire, command concluded that the existing force was not sufficient for maintaining the settlement, and on the 7th of August a force left Be'eri on its way to occupy Wadi Gaza. A 9th Battalion jeep and ונ.נ. , under the command of Simcha Shiloni occupied the Nuzirat ridge, while 2nd Battalion scouts under the command of Aryeh Bar-Shira moved towards the meeting point, 600 m north of Kfar Darom. The members were ordered to evacuate the settlement at 02:30 am, and by 04:00 am they were organized in 3 groups carrying scrolls of the Torah, all of the weapons and most of the munitions, leaving behind the graves of the 10 fighters who were killed during the battles. The evacuees marched on foot to the vehicles that took them to Mishmar Hanegev via Hirbet Ma'ayan and Emra. The members of Kfar Darom who infiltrated the Egyptian lines, later established Moshav Bnei-Darom near Ashdod.