The
188th "Barak"/"Lightning" Armor Brigade is an
IsraelIsrael officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...
i regular armor brigade, under command of the
Northern CommandNorthern Command can refer to one of the following:*United States Northern Command*Israeli Northern Command*Northern Command *Northern Command *Northern Command *IRA Northern Command...
. The symbol of the Barak Armor Brigade is a shield with a red border, blue and white Haifa coastline background and a sword on it. The brigade has a long history and was part of the
YishuvYishuv or Ha-Yishuv Yishuv or Ha-Yishuv Yishuv or Ha-Yishuv (the Yishuv, , or the full term הישוב היהודי בארץ ישראל Hayishuv Hayehudi b'Eretz Yisrael ("The Jewish settlement in the Land of Israel") is the term used in Hebrew referring to the...
's forces in
PalestinePalestine is a conventional name used, among others, to describe a geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands.As a geographical term, Palestine can also refer to 'ancient Palestine,' an area...
before the foundation of the state of Israel.
In the mid-1990s, the brigade became the first to adopt the
MerkavaThe Merkava is the main battle tank of the Israel Defense Forces. Since the early 1980s, four main versions have been deployed. The "Merkava" name was derived from the IDF's development program name....
mark-III main battle tank and the older
Centurion tankThe Centurion was the primary British main battle tank of the post World War II period, and was a successful tank design, with upgrades, for many decades. The chassis was also adapted for several other roles....
s were phased out.
During the
1948 Arab-Israeli warThe 1948 Arab–Israeli War, known by Israelis as the War of Independence or War of Liberation and by Palestinians as the Catastrophe , was the first in a series of wars fought between the newly declared State of Israel and its Arab neighbours in the long-running Arab-Israeli conflict.The war...
the brigade split from the Levanoni Brigade and became the 2nd Brigade.
The
188th "Barak"/"Lightning" Armor Brigade is an
IsraelIsrael officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...
i regular armor brigade, under command of the
Northern CommandNorthern Command can refer to one of the following:*United States Northern Command*Israeli Northern Command*Northern Command *Northern Command *Northern Command *IRA Northern Command...
. The symbol of the Barak Armor Brigade is a shield with a red border, blue and white Haifa coastline background and a sword on it. The brigade has a long history and was part of the
YishuvYishuv or Ha-Yishuv Yishuv or Ha-Yishuv Yishuv or Ha-Yishuv (the Yishuv, , or the full term הישוב היהודי בארץ ישראל Hayishuv Hayehudi b'Eretz Yisrael ("The Jewish settlement in the Land of Israel") is the term used in Hebrew referring to the...
's forces in
PalestinePalestine is a conventional name used, among others, to describe a geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands.As a geographical term, Palestine can also refer to 'ancient Palestine,' an area...
before the foundation of the state of Israel.
In the mid-1990s, the brigade became the first to adopt the
MerkavaThe Merkava is the main battle tank of the Israel Defense Forces. Since the early 1980s, four main versions have been deployed. The "Merkava" name was derived from the IDF's development program name....
mark-III main battle tank and the older
Centurion tankThe Centurion was the primary British main battle tank of the post World War II period, and was a successful tank design, with upgrades, for many decades. The chassis was also adapted for several other roles....
s were phased out.
History
During the
1948 Arab-Israeli warThe 1948 Arab–Israeli War, known by Israelis as the War of Independence or War of Liberation and by Palestinians as the Catastrophe , was the first in a series of wars fought between the newly declared State of Israel and its Arab neighbours in the long-running Arab-Israeli conflict.The war...
the brigade split from the Levanoni Brigade and became the 2nd Brigade. It was known as the
Carmeli Brigade because it was led by
Moshe CarmelMoshe Carmel was an Israeli soldier and politician who served as Minister of Transportation for eight years.-Background:...
. It was an
infantryInfantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of the Combat Arms they are the backbone of armies...
brigade which fought in the northern part of Palestine. The brigade played an important role in
Operation HiramOperation Hiram was a military operation conducted by the Israel Defence Force during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. It was led by General Moshe Carmel, and aimed at capturing the upper Galilee region from the Arab Liberation Army forces led by Fawzi al-Qawuqji and a Syrian battalion...
.
After
IDFThe Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are Israel's military forces, comprising the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...
was created the Carmeli Brigade became the 18th Brigade.
During the Sinai Campaign in 1956 the brigade was stationed along the Jordanian border, in case the Jordanians decided to open a second front, and was thus not involved in combat.
It was then added with armored units and became the 45th Armored Brigade, known as the "Barak Armored Brigade". It consisted of one tank battalion, two armored infantry battalions, a mortar battalion and reconnaissance units. The changeover was completed in 1962.
During the
Yom Kippur WarThe Yom Kippur War, Ramadan War or October War , also known as the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and the Fourth Arab-Israeli War, was fought from October 6 to October 26, 1973, between Israel and a coalition of...
, it played an important role defending Israel's border against the
SyrianSyria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south and Israel to the southwest....
attack in the southern
Golan HeightsThe Golan Heights is a strategic plateau and mountainous region at the southern end of the Anti-Lebanon Mountains and remains a highly contested land straddling the borders of Syria and Israel. Two-thirds of the area is currently governed by Israel...
. 112 soldiers were killed in action there, including the brigade commander. The brigade was almost completely destroyed.
During the battle, Lieutenant
Zvika GreengoldZvi "Zvika" Greengold is national hero in Israel who fought during the 1973 Yom Kippur War as an Israeli IDF tank commander. As a result of his actions during the war, he became one of only eight people who fought in the war to be awarded the Medal of Valor, the nation's highest medal for heroism...
, who had arrived unattached to any unit, fought off attacks with his single tank until help arrived. "For the next 20 hours, Zvika Force, as he came to be known on the radio net, fought running battles with Syrian tanks—sometimes alone, sometimes as part of a larger unit, changing tanks half a dozen times as they were knocked out. He was wounded and burned but stayed in action and repeatedly showed up at critical moments from an unexpected direction to change the course of a skirmish."
In the
1982 Lebanon WarThe 1982 Lebanon War , , called Operation Peace for Galilee by Israel, and later also known colloquially in Israel as the First Lebanon War, began on 6 June 1982, when the Israel Defense Forces invaded southern Lebanon...
, it fought in
BeirutBeirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon with a population of over 2.1 million as of 2007. Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's coastline with the Mediterranean sea, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan Area, which...
and participated in the capture of the airport.
Units
- 53rd "Sufa"/"Storm" Armor Battalion (Merkava
The Merkava is the main battle tank of the Israel Defense Forces. Since the early 1980s, four main versions have been deployed. The "Merkava" name was derived from the IDF's development program name....
Mk.3)
- 71st "Reshef"/"Spark" Armor Battalion (Merkava Mk.3)
- 74th "Saar"/"Tempest" Armor Battalion (Merkava Mk.3)
- 605th "ha-Mahatz"/"The Crush" Armored Engineer Battalion
- Sayeret
Sayeret , literally means "reconnaissance unit" in the Israel Defense Forces . In practice, these units specialize in commando and other special forces roles, in addition to reconnaissance...
188 Armored Reconnaissance Company
- Anti-Tank Guided Missile Company
List of Carmeli Brigade operations in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war
- Operation Ben-Ami
- Operation Dekel
Operation Dekel , was the largest offensive in the north of Israel after the first truce of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. It was carried out by the 7th Armoured Brigade, a battalion from the Carmeli Brigade along with some elements from the Golani Brigade between 8-18 July. Its objective was to...
(one battalion)
- Operation Hiram
Operation Hiram was a military operation conducted by the Israel Defence Force during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. It was led by General Moshe Carmel, and aimed at capturing the upper Galilee region from the Arab Liberation Army forces led by Fawzi al-Qawuqji and a Syrian battalion...
- Operation Misparayim
List of villages and town battles the Carmeli Brigade fought
- Al-Nahr
al-Nahr was a Palestinian village 14 km northeast of Acre. The military assault of al-Nahr was part of the Israeli Operation Ben-Ami carried out by the Carmeli Brigade. Immediately after the assault the village of al-Nahr was razed.-History:...
- Al-Ghabisiyya
Al-Ghabisiyya was an Arab village in northern Palestine, 16 km north-east of Acre in present-day Israel. It was depopulated by Israel during the 1948-1950 period and remains deserted.-History:...
- Al-Sumayriyya
Al-Sumayriyya was a Palestinian village located six kilometers north of Acre that was depopulated after it was attacked by Israeli forces during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.-History:...
- Al-Tall
- Al-Kabri
Al-Kabri was a Palestinian Arab town in the Galilee located northeast of Acre. It was captured by Israel during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. In 1945, it had a population of 1,520 and a total land area of 28,729 dunams.-History:...
- Al-Mansura
al-Mansura was a Palestinian village that was captured by Israel during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.-External links:** from the Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center*,from Dr. Moslih Kanaaneh...
- Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 264,900. Haifa has a mixed population of Jews and Arabs giving an example for peaceful co-existence. The Arab population used to be predominantly Christian, while some of the Jewish...
(the Arab quarters)
- Umm al-Faraj
Umm al-Faraj was a Palestinian village, depopulated in 1948.-Location:The village was situated on a flat spot in the Acre plain, northeast of Acre.-History:...