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Authors: Martin van Creveld

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28
Cf. his own account in
Avnei Derech
, pp. 67-71.
29
This operation is analyzed in A. Yitschaki,
Latrun: Ha-maaracha al Ha-derech Li-yerushalayim
[Latrun: The Battle for the Road to Jerusalem] (Jerusalem: Kanah, 1982), pp. 417-430.
30
Ben Gurion,
Yoman Ha-milchama
, entry for July 17, 1948, p. 597, has Ben Gurion’s message to Shealtiel.
31
There were five dead and sixteen wounded; IDF, Historical Department,
Toldot Milchemet Ha-komemiyut
[History of the War of Independence] (Tel Aviv: Ministry of Defense, 1959), p. 272.
32
Z. Gilad, ed.,
Sefer Ha-PALMACH
[The Book of PALMACH] (Jerusalem: Jewish Agency, 1953), p. 460.
33
Y. Gelber,
Lama Perku et Ha-PALMACH
[Why Was PALMACH Dissolved?] (Jerusalem: Schocken, 1986), pp. 161-162.
34
Shamir,
“Be-chol Mechir,”
p. 80.
35
Y. Levi,
Tisha Kavin: Yerushalayim Bi-kravot Milchemet Ha-atsmaut
[Nine Measures: Jerusalem in the War of Independence] (Tel Aviv: Maarachot, 1986), pp. 292-293; also U. Narkis,
Chayal shel Yerushalayim
[A Soldier for Jerusalem] (Tel Aviv: Ministry of Defense, 1991), p. 99.
36
Quoted in Ts. Dror,
Matsbi Le-lo Srara: Sipur-Chayav shel Yitschak Sadeh
(Commander Without Power: The Life of Yitschak Sadeh] (Tel Aviv: Ha-kibbuts Ha-meuchad, 1996), p. 345.
37
On the background to this decision see U. Bar Joseph,
The Best of Enemies: Israel and Transjordan in the War of 1948
(London: Cass, 1987), p. 112 ff.
38
IDF,
Toldot Milchemet Ha-atsmaut
, pp. 298-299.
39
Cf. T. Ben Moshe, “Liddell Hart and the Israel Defence Forces,”
Journal of Contemporary History
16 (1981): 369-391; B. Bond,
Liddell Hart: A Study of His Military Thought
(London: Cassell, 1977), p. 252.
40
Dror,
Matsbi Le-lo Srara
, p. 373; Y. Tal, “Yitschak Sadeh, Kavim Li-demuto Ke-ish Shiryon” [Yitschak Sadeh: Portrait of an Armor Man],
Maarachot
224 (July 1972): 17-20.
41
Cf. C. Barnet,
The Desert Generals
(London: Kimber, 1963), p. 177 ff.
42
Cf. Sadeh’s own description in his
Ketsad Nilkeda Ha-metsuda
[How the Fort Was Captured], in Y. Sadeh,
Ktavim
[Writings] (Tel Aviv: Ha-kibbuts Ha-meuchad, 1980), vol. 3, pp. 114-129.
43
Ben Gurion,
Yoman Ha-milchama
, December 31, 1948, vol. 3, pp. 314-318.
CHAPTER 7
 
1
E. Oren, “Ha-hityashvut Be-milchemet Ha-atsmaut” [The Settling Movement in the War of Independence], in G. Rivlin, ed.,
Ale-Zayit Ve-cherev: Mekorot U-mechkarim Be-ginze Ha-hagana
[Olive Leaves and Sword: Sources and Studies in the Hagana Archives] (Tel Aviv: Ministry of Defense, 1990), p. 151.
2
Office of the Chief of the General Staff Division, “Arab Artillery in the War of Independence,” November 16, 1949, TSAHAL Archive, file 64/137/1953.
3
A. Ilan,
The Origins of the Arab-Israeli Arms Race
(New York: New York University Press, 1996), p. 67.
4
Office of the Chief of the General Staff Division, “Arab Artillery in the War of Independence,” November 16, 1949, TSAHAL Archive, file 64/137/1953.
5
A. Shatkai, “Solele Ha-atsmaut Ba-avir” [Pioneers of Air Independence],
Chel-Ha-avir
no. 44 (1955).
6
Ariel Sharon, lecture, May 5, 1993.
7
D. Ben Gurion,
Yoman Ha-milchama, 1948-1949
[War Diary, 1948-1949] (Tel Aviv: Ministry of Defense, 1982), vol. 3, p. 755, entry for October 18, 1948.
8
Cf. O. Azoulay-Katz,
Ha-ish She-lo Yada Le-natseach: Shimon Peres Be-malkodet Sysipus
[The Man Who Did Not Know How to Win: Shimon Peres in the Sysipus Catch] (Tel Aviv: Yediot Acharonot, 1996).
9
A. Lieblich,
Kibbuts Makom: Report from an Israeli Kibbuts
(New York: Pantheon, 1981), pp. 34-39; also U. Ben Eliezer,
Derech Ha-kavenet: Hivatsruto shel Ha-militarizm Ha-yisraeli, 1936-1956
[Through the Gunsight: The Emergence of Israeli Militarism, 1936-1956] (Tel Aviv: Dvir, 1995), p. 73.
10
A. Koestler,
Thieves in the Night
:
Chronicle of an Experiment
(New York: MacMillan, 1946), pp. 152, 153.
11
Y. Tabenkin, “Bet Ha-sefer Ve-ha-milchama” [School and the War],
Devarim
3 (1942): 105.
12
These and subsequent figures and calculations from E. Sivan,
Dor TASHACH: Mitos, Dyokan Ve-zikaron
[The Generation of 1948: Myth, a Portrait, and Memory] (Tel Aviv: Ministry of Defense, 1991), p. 21 ff.
13
Cf. M. van Creveld,
Fighting Power: German and U.S. Army Performance, 1939-1945
(Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1982), pp. 155-159.
14
A. Yitschaki,
Latrun: Ha-maaracha al Ha-derech Li-yerushalayim
[Latrun: The Battle for the Road to Jerusalem] (Jerusalem: Kanah, 1982), pp. 564-571.
15
M. Azaryahu, “War Memorials and the Commemoration of the Israeli War of Independence,”
Studies in Zionism
13:1 (Spring 1992): 64.
PART II
 
1
Cf. U. Bialer,
Between East and West: Israel’s Foreign Policy Orientation, 1948-1956
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990), particularly chap. 10.
2
During the period of the British mandate the Palestinian pound was worth a British pound sterling but carried different marks. When Israel became independent the British simply declared that a Palestinian pound could no longer be exchanged for a British one, with the result that the currency holdings were wiped out.
3
Cf. M. van Creveld,
Nuclear Weapons and the Future of Conflict
(New York: Free Press, 1993), chap. 2.
CHAPTER 8
 
1
For Jordan and Syria see A. Shlaim,
Collusion Across the Jordan: King Abdullah, the Zionist Movement, and the Partition of Palestine
(New York: Oxford University Press, 1988); and, in response, I. Rabinovitsh,
Ha-shalom She-chamak
[The Elusive Peace] (Jerusalem: Keter, 1991). For Egypt see M. B. Oren,
Origins of the Second Arab-Israel War
(London: Cass, 1992), chap. 5.
2
D. Ben Gurion,
Yichud Ve-yeud: Devarim al Bitchon Yisrael
[A Unique Destiny: Notes on Israeli Defense] (Tel Aviv: Maarachot, 1971), p. 145.
3
E.g., M. K. M. Begin, June 15, 1949,
Divrei Ha-knesset
[Parliamentary Record] (Jerusalem: Government Printer, 1950), vol. 1, p. 728; M. K. Ch. Landau, November 30, 1953, ibid., vol. 4, p. 279.
4
Allon to Ben Gurion, March 24, 1949, quoted in Z. Tsur,
Mi-pulmus Ha-chaluka ad Letochnit Allon
[From the Debate About Partition to the Allon Plan] (Efal: Yad Tabenkin, 1982), p. 73.
5
See Dayan quotations in Morris,
Milchamot Ha-gvul shel Yisrael
(Tel Aviv: Am Oved, 1996), pp. 27-28.
6
There are several such plans in TSAHAL Archive, file 13/636/1956.
7
See A. Levite,
Offense and Defense in Israeli Military Doctrine
(Boulder: Westview Press, 1989), chap. 2.
8
Cf. R. Garthoff,
Soviet Military Doctrine
(Glencoe, Ill.: Free Press, 1953), pp. 34-35. The factors were the stability of the home front, the morale of the army, its size, the quality of the weapons, and the organizing skills of the General Staff.
9
Y. Yadin, “Avot Ha-lekach” [The Fathers of All Lessons],
Maarachot
16 (July 1950): i-ii. See also Yadin’s recapitulation of his ideas in “Ba-yamim Ha-hem U-ba-zman Hazeh” [In Those Days and Now]
Maarachot
33 (May 1959): 37-42.
10
The best short exposition of the early years of Israeli defense planning remains M. Handel,
Israel’s Political-Military Doctrine
(Center for International Affairs, Harvard University, Occasional Papers in International Affairs, No. 30, 1973), chaps. 2 and 3.
11
E.g., Y. Tal, “Torat Ha-bitachon—Reka Ve-dinamika” [Defense Doctrine—Background and Dynamics]
Maarachot
253 (December 1976): 2-9.
12
J. Luvaas,
Frederick the Great on the Art of War
(New York: Free Press, 1966), p. 21 ff.; cf. also Gerhard von Scharnhorst: “Prussia cannot wage a defensive war ... her geographic position and lack of natural and artificial defensive means do not permit it.” Quoted in P. Paret,
Clausewitz and the State
(Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1985), p. 111.
13
This entire question is discussed in E. Oren, “Ha-hityashvut Be-milchemet Ha-atsmaut” [The Settling Movement in the War of Independence], in G. Rivlin, ed.,
Ale-Zayit Ve-cherev: Mekorot U-mechkarim Be-ginze Ha-hagana
[Olive Leaves and Sword: Sources and Studies in the Hagana Archives] (Tel Aviv: Ministry of Defense, 1990), pp. 145-153.
14
Ben Gurion, Yoman (unpublished diary), Ben Gurion Archive, September 30, 1949.
15
Chuke Medinat Yisrael
[Laws of the State of Israel] (Jerusalem: Government Printer, 1975-1976), vol. 30, pp. 150-151. An English translation of the most important parts of this law may be found in Y. Ben Meir,
Civil-Military Relations in Israel
(New York: Columbia University Press, 1996), p. 35.
16
Cf. the discussion in Ben Meir,
Civil-Military Relations in Israel
, chap. 3.
17
Eyewitness account in
Vaadat Ha-chakira—Milechement Yom Hakippurim
[Commission of Investigation—the Yom Kippur War, henceforward Agranat Report] (Jerusalem: Government Printing Office, 1975), pp. 27-28.
18
E. Haber,
Ha-yom Tifrots Milchama
[Today War Will Break Out] (Tel Aviv: Idanim, 1987), pp. 16, 28.
19
Ben Meir,
Civil-Military Relations in Israel
, p. 159.
20
Y. Greenberg, “Misrad Ha-bitachon Ve-ha-mateh Ha-klali: Ha-pulmus Bi-sheelat Taktsiv Ha-bitachon” [The Ministry of Defense and the General Staff: The Debate over the Defense Budget],
Medina, Memshal Ve-yachasim Ben-leumiyim
38 (Spring- Summer 1993): 58, 68.
21
A. Braun,
Moshe Dayan Be-milchemt Yom Ha-kippurim
[Moshe Dayan in the Yom Kippur War] (Tel Aviv: Idanim, 1993), p. 348.
22
For this entire subject see R. Gabizon and Ch. Shneidor, eds.,
Zechuyot Ha-adam Ve-ha-Ezrach Be-yisrael, Mikraah
[Human Rights and Civil Liberties in Israel—a Reader] (Jerusalem: Agudah Li-zechuyot Ha-ezrach, 1991), vol. 2, pp. 37-85.
23
A good explanation of the working of Vaadat Ha-orchim is provided by M. Hofnung,
Yisrael—Drishot Ha-bitachon mul Shilton Ha-chok
[Israel—the Demands of Security Versus the Rule of Law], Ph.D. thesis, the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, 1989, p. 128 ff.
24
M. Zak,
Hussein Osse Shalom
[Hussein Makes Peace] (Ramat Gan: Bar Illan University Press), pp. 127-128.
25
On this entire question see Ben Meir,
Civil-Military Relations in Israel
, p. 81 ff.
26
Levite,
Offense and Defense in Israeli Military Doctrine
, p. 51.
27
Cf. M. van Creveld,
Air Power and Maneuver Warfare
(Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.: Air University Press, 1994), chap. 1.
28
Y. Steigman,
Me-atsmaut Le-kadesh, Chel Ha-avir Ba-shanim, 1949-1956
[The IAF from the War of Independence to Suez, 1949-1956] (Tel Aviv: Ministry of Defense, 1990), pp. 29, 96.
29
Cf. Ezer Weizman,
On Eagle’s Wings
(Tel Aviv: Steimatzky’s, 1979), p. 100; also M. Naor,
Laskov: Lochem, Adam, Chaver
[Laskov: The Soldier, the Man, the Friend] (Jerusalem: Keter, 1988), p. 230 ff.
30
The infighting that went on in this context is documented in Steigman,
Me-atsmaut Le-kadesh
, chap. 3.
31
Y. Ratner,
Chayai Ve-ani
[My Life and I] (Tel Aviv: Schocken, 1978), p. 382.
32
Ben Gurion in the Knesset, August 15, 1949,
Divre Ha-knesset
[Knesset Record], August 15, 1949.
33
There is a good English-language discussion of the law in E. N. Luttwak and D. Horowitz,
The Israeli Army
(London: Allen Lane, 1975), app. 2, pp. 424-426. See also M. van Creveld, “Conscription Warfare: The Israeli Experience,” in R. G. Foerster, ed.,
Die Wehrplicht: Entstehung, Erscheinungsformen und politisch-militaerische Wirkung
(Munich: Oldenburg, 1994), p. 227 ff.

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