Battle of Yad Mordechai
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Yad Mordechai was fought between Egypt
and Israel
in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
, at the Israeli kibbutz
of Yad Mordechai
. The Egyptians attacked the communal village several times throughout May 19 and May 20, but failed to capture it. A final attack was launched on May 23, in which the Egyptians succeeded in capturing part of Yad Mordechai, following which the Israeli defenders withdrew. Yad Mordechai finally fell to the Egyptians on 24 May after hours of bombardment of the vacated kibbutz.
The kibbutz residents, aided by twenty Hagannah fighters, imposed a five-day delay on the Egyptians. This gave Israeli forces time to prepare for the Egyptians' northward advance, and they succeeded in halting the Egyptian advance at Ad Halom
less than a week later.
is a small kibbutz
in southern Israel
, founded in the 1930s and renamed in 1943 after Mordechaj Anielewicz
, the leader of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
. The kibbutz, perched on a hill, dominated the coastal road midway between Gaza and Majdal (today Ashkelon).
Egypt
had dispatched an expeditionary force under the command of Major General Ahmad Ali al-Mwawi to Palestine
in April 1948 of around 10,000 men. Mwawi had separated his forces into two parts, one to march towards Jerusalem, the other to advance up the coast to Tel Aviv
. The Egyptians had bypassed several settlements along their route of advance, but on reaching Yad Mordechai on May 16, Mwawi decided that the settlement was far larger and well defended than to be simply bypassed. The Egyptians had the benefit of armor, artillery and air support. They also mustered 2,500 soldiers for the assault, far outnumbering the commune's 130 defenders.
An assembly of the kibbutz members decided on the evacuation of the women and children. On the night of 18–19 May, a small Israeli armored column reached the kibbutz and extracted its ninety-two children. Left behind were 110 members (twenty of them women) and two squads of Palmach
niks, equipped with light weapons, a medium machine gun and a PIAT
anti-tank gun.
After the attacks on May 20, the Egyptians reorganized as Mwawi improved the coordination between his forces. The Egyptians spent May 21–22 shelling the kibbutz. The Egyptian air force prevented a relief column from reaching the site. The settlement's buildings were leveled and the defenders had become "inhabitants of caves and tunnels". By May 22, with dozens of wounded, the defenders were pleading for permission to withdraw. The final Egyptian attack on May 23 saw the armor providing much better support for the infantry, and the Egyptians occupied a part of the settlement. At night, the Israeli defenders, exhausted from the fighting and low on ammunition, withdrew from the settlement. The Israeli withdrawal was unknown to the Egyptians and the following day, they opened up with a four-hour artillery barrage on the now empty Kibbutz. Following the barrage, they occupied the settlement, ending the battle.
The Israeli delaying action at Yad Mordechai bought the newly established Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) time to organize a defensive line against the northward Egyptian drive toward Tel Aviv. On November 5, in the days following Operation Yoav
, Israeli forces retook the ruins of the kibbutz.
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War
1948 Arab-Israeli War
The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, known to Israelis as the War of Independence or War of Liberation The war commenced after the termination of the British Mandate for Palestine and the creation of an independent Israel at midnight on 14 May 1948 when, following a period of civil war, Arab armies invaded...
, at the Israeli kibbutz
Kibbutz
A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...
of Yad Mordechai
Yad Mordechai
Yad Mordechai is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located 10 km south of Ashkelon, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hof Ashkelon Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 710.-History:...
. The Egyptians attacked the communal village several times throughout May 19 and May 20, but failed to capture it. A final attack was launched on May 23, in which the Egyptians succeeded in capturing part of Yad Mordechai, following which the Israeli defenders withdrew. Yad Mordechai finally fell to the Egyptians on 24 May after hours of bombardment of the vacated kibbutz.
The kibbutz residents, aided by twenty Hagannah fighters, imposed a five-day delay on the Egyptians. This gave Israeli forces time to prepare for the Egyptians' northward advance, and they succeeded in halting the Egyptian advance at Ad Halom
Ad Halom
Ad Halom is a site at the eastern entrance to the city of Ashdod, Israel.-Battle:Ad Halom refers to the northernmost point reached by the Egyptian army in Operation Pleshet, one of the battles of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War....
less than a week later.
Background
Yad MordechaiYad Mordechai
Yad Mordechai is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located 10 km south of Ashkelon, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hof Ashkelon Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 710.-History:...
is a small kibbutz
Kibbutz
A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...
in southern Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, founded in the 1930s and renamed in 1943 after Mordechaj Anielewicz
Mordechaj Anielewicz
Mordechaj Anielewicz was the leader of Żydowska Organizacja Bojowa , also known as ŻOB, during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising from January to May 1943.-Biography:Anielewicz was born into a poor family in the small town of Wyszków near Warsaw...
, the leader of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was the Jewish resistance that arose within the Warsaw Ghetto in German occupied Poland during World War II, and which opposed Nazi Germany's effort to transport the remaining ghetto population to Treblinka extermination camp....
. The kibbutz, perched on a hill, dominated the coastal road midway between Gaza and Majdal (today Ashkelon).
Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
had dispatched an expeditionary force under the command of Major General Ahmad Ali al-Mwawi to Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
in April 1948 of around 10,000 men. Mwawi had separated his forces into two parts, one to march towards Jerusalem, the other to advance up the coast to Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
. The Egyptians had bypassed several settlements along their route of advance, but on reaching Yad Mordechai on May 16, Mwawi decided that the settlement was far larger and well defended than to be simply bypassed. The Egyptians had the benefit of armor, artillery and air support. They also mustered 2,500 soldiers for the assault, far outnumbering the commune's 130 defenders.
An assembly of the kibbutz members decided on the evacuation of the women and children. On the night of 18–19 May, a small Israeli armored column reached the kibbutz and extracted its ninety-two children. Left behind were 110 members (twenty of them women) and two squads of Palmach
Palmach
The Palmach was the elite fighting force of the Haganah, the underground army of the Yishuv during the period of the British Mandate of Palestine. The Palmach was established on May 15, 1941...
niks, equipped with light weapons, a medium machine gun and a PIAT
PIAT
The Projector, Infantry, Anti Tank was a British hand-held anti-tank weapon developed during the Second World War. The PIAT was designed in 1942 in response to the British Army's need for a more effective infantry anti-tank weapon, and entered service in 1943.The PIAT was based on the spigot...
anti-tank gun.
Battle
The Egyptians prepared for their assault for two days. Just after dawn on May 19, two battalions of infantry and one armored battalion attacked the village with artillery support. The Egyptians succeeded in breaching the perimeter fence, but after three hours of heavy fighting, they were repulsed, leaving behind dozens of dead; the kibbutz suffered five dead and eleven wounded. Cairo radio announced prematurely that the settlement had fallen. The following day the Egyptians launched several more attacks (4 according to Pollack, 7 according to Morris), all of which were repulsed. Thirteen more Israelis died and twenty were wounded; dozens of Egyptians died as well. That night the Palmach sent in a platoon of reinforcements, including six deserters from the British military, with another PIAT and three machine guns. The Egyptians were hampered by the ineffectiveness of their artillery, and the difficulty in coordinating infantry and armor.After the attacks on May 20, the Egyptians reorganized as Mwawi improved the coordination between his forces. The Egyptians spent May 21–22 shelling the kibbutz. The Egyptian air force prevented a relief column from reaching the site. The settlement's buildings were leveled and the defenders had become "inhabitants of caves and tunnels". By May 22, with dozens of wounded, the defenders were pleading for permission to withdraw. The final Egyptian attack on May 23 saw the armor providing much better support for the infantry, and the Egyptians occupied a part of the settlement. At night, the Israeli defenders, exhausted from the fighting and low on ammunition, withdrew from the settlement. The Israeli withdrawal was unknown to the Egyptians and the following day, they opened up with a four-hour artillery barrage on the now empty Kibbutz. Following the barrage, they occupied the settlement, ending the battle.
The Israeli delaying action at Yad Mordechai bought the newly established Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) time to organize a defensive line against the northward Egyptian drive toward Tel Aviv. On November 5, in the days following Operation Yoav
Operation Yoav
Operation Yoav was an Israeli military operation carried out from 15–22 October 1948 in the Negev Desert, during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Its goal was to drive a wedge between the Egyptian forces along the coast and the Beersheba–Hebron–Jerusalem road and ultimately to conquer the whole Negev...
, Israeli forces retook the ruins of the kibbutz.