The 7th Battalion and 82nd Battalion attack against Iraq-El-Manshia
An 82nd Tank Battalion and two 7th battalion 'Negev' Brigade 'Gachal' infantry companies, Holocaust survivors trained in the refugee camps in Cyprus, under the command of Uzi Narkis, attempted to occupy Iraq-El-Manshia and the near by hill.
The forces were multilingual, most of the supporting tanks were neutralized, the attack failed, forcing a disorganized retreat. The number of casualties, wounded and absent was great.
The forces were multilingual, most of the supporting tanks were neutralized, the attack failed, forcing a disorganized retreat. The number of casualties, wounded and absent was great.
Yitzhak Sadeh - 1
Yitzhak Sadeh - 2
8th Armored Brigade Commander, Brigadier General, Yitzhak Sade, suggested attacking Iraq-El-Manshia and occupying Egyptian army posts all the way up to Faluja, during a combined day time attack of the 82nd Battalion tanks and the 7th Battalion infantry under the command of the 8th Brigade. In spite of Yitzhak Rabin's and the rest of the Southern Front command objection, Sade managed to convince Yigal Alon to carry out the attack.
The 82nd Battalion comprised of Hotchkiss light tanks and 2 Cromwell medium tanks; the 7th Battalion comprised of 2 recently trained, new immigrants 'Gachal' infantry companies (5 units).
The support force comprised of: two 75 mm cannon batteries, two 120 mm mortars and twenty one no. 3 mortars, gathered from the 7th, 82nd and 88th Battalions.
Sade nominated 7th Battalion Commande and Uzi Narkis, Operation Commander. Seventh Battalion Officer Team, Support units and H.Q's spoke only Hebrew, infantry fighters spoke only Yiddish without understanding a word in Hebrew, Hotchkiss operators spoke only Russian and the Cromwell operators spoke only English.
On the morning of the 16th of October, the village was bombarded ineffectively and the Egyptians responded by bombarding our forces and Kibbutz Gat. The tanks and infantry began advancing at 07:00 am, 3 Hotchkiss tanks and an infantry Company blocked a bridge west of Iraq-El-Manshia, half way to Faluja during which a tank was instantly damaged. The attack force included: 4 Hotchkiss tanks and an infantry Company attacking a school located 1500 m from the village; 2 Cromwell tanks and an infantry Company attacking the hill north of Qiryat-Gat. The tanks encountered an anti-tank ditch while attacking the school, causing one of the tanks to turn over; the second tank was hit by a Fiat shell, the 6th tank stopped due to a technical problem while the rest of the force was busy rescuing and securing the tanks. The infantry unit bombarded by Egyptian artillery was left without armored support. The force managed to capture the school in spite of the many wounded; anti-tank and 25 pound cannon artillery wounded many of the advancing force attacking the hill, forcing them to retreat after one of the tanks engine broke down and the other suffered a cracked gun barrel. At 08:30 am, the infantry retreat became a flight. Four of the tanks left behind were lost to the enemy and the 7th battalion suffered 30 casualties of which 21 were considered absent and 81 wounded. 24 wounded managed to return to their units after a couple of days.
The 7th battalion concentrated in the abandoned village of Qastina, following the occupation's failure and the Battalion Commander, Uzi Narkis did his best in order to keep the fighters moral high. Two graffiti slogans were written on the walls of Qastina: "The 7th Battalion shall rise!" and " The Palmach- In spite of every thing else!" The companies were reorganized the following day, a hand grenade range was carried out and 'Gachal' (foreign volunteers) Company under the command of Avraham Idelson (Bren) joined the battalion. On the evening of the 19th of October, the battalion and the 8th Brigade (without tanks) advanced to the assembly area near Mishmar-Hanegev in order to participate in the occupation of Be'er- Sheba the following day.
The 82nd Battalion comprised of Hotchkiss light tanks and 2 Cromwell medium tanks; the 7th Battalion comprised of 2 recently trained, new immigrants 'Gachal' infantry companies (5 units).
The support force comprised of: two 75 mm cannon batteries, two 120 mm mortars and twenty one no. 3 mortars, gathered from the 7th, 82nd and 88th Battalions.
Sade nominated 7th Battalion Commande and Uzi Narkis, Operation Commander. Seventh Battalion Officer Team, Support units and H.Q's spoke only Hebrew, infantry fighters spoke only Yiddish without understanding a word in Hebrew, Hotchkiss operators spoke only Russian and the Cromwell operators spoke only English.
On the morning of the 16th of October, the village was bombarded ineffectively and the Egyptians responded by bombarding our forces and Kibbutz Gat. The tanks and infantry began advancing at 07:00 am, 3 Hotchkiss tanks and an infantry Company blocked a bridge west of Iraq-El-Manshia, half way to Faluja during which a tank was instantly damaged. The attack force included: 4 Hotchkiss tanks and an infantry Company attacking a school located 1500 m from the village; 2 Cromwell tanks and an infantry Company attacking the hill north of Qiryat-Gat. The tanks encountered an anti-tank ditch while attacking the school, causing one of the tanks to turn over; the second tank was hit by a Fiat shell, the 6th tank stopped due to a technical problem while the rest of the force was busy rescuing and securing the tanks. The infantry unit bombarded by Egyptian artillery was left without armored support. The force managed to capture the school in spite of the many wounded; anti-tank and 25 pound cannon artillery wounded many of the advancing force attacking the hill, forcing them to retreat after one of the tanks engine broke down and the other suffered a cracked gun barrel. At 08:30 am, the infantry retreat became a flight. Four of the tanks left behind were lost to the enemy and the 7th battalion suffered 30 casualties of which 21 were considered absent and 81 wounded. 24 wounded managed to return to their units after a couple of days.
The 7th battalion concentrated in the abandoned village of Qastina, following the occupation's failure and the Battalion Commander, Uzi Narkis did his best in order to keep the fighters moral high. Two graffiti slogans were written on the walls of Qastina: "The 7th Battalion shall rise!" and " The Palmach- In spite of every thing else!" The companies were reorganized the following day, a hand grenade range was carried out and 'Gachal' (foreign volunteers) Company under the command of Avraham Idelson (Bren) joined the battalion. On the evening of the 19th of October, the battalion and the 8th Brigade (without tanks) advanced to the assembly area near Mishmar-Hanegev in order to participate in the occupation of Be'er- Sheba the following day.