1948 War Of Inependence

On the 29th of November 1947 the UN assembly voted for the "Partition Plan". This plan was to divide Eretz Israel (Palestine) to 3 parts: Jewish state, Arab state and Jerusalem under international control. To the Jews the plan gave a narrow strip along the shore, most of the Negev desert and a part of the Galilee. Altogether an uncomfortable, unprotect able narrow territory. To the Arabs it gave the entire west bank of Jordan River, the Gaza strip and a small part of the Negev, and a lot of the Galilee. Again, a non-cohesive, uncomfortable deal. Both sides wanted Jerusalem. Both did not like the plan. However the Jews were willing to accept it. The Arabs were not. The reason is obvious and, from the Arab side,  reasonable- the entire national Arab movement in Palestine was formed partially to resist and prevent a Jewish National home in Palestine(notice-these were Arabs not "Palestinians" a later term formed by the war).The Arabs, therefore, couldn't allow a Jewish state on what they considered their land. The Jewish National movement (Zionism) on the other hand only bothered itself with creating a National home for the Jews, not preventing the Arabs from having one…This was to the extent that some in the Jewish left believed the Arabs do not understand the goal of Zionism- why else would they resist? This was obviously a deadly underestimation of the Arabs- they were well aware of Jewish intent, and would have none of it. The Arabs took arms, ready to attack and drive the Jews out. The Jews were more the ready to fight the Arabs in Palestine, but feared invasion by the surrounding Arab states.

And so from the 29th of November 1947 to the 14th of May 1948, an internal war raged. The Jews had the advantage in every aspect- the "Hagana"(Jewish underground) was better organized, armed and far larger (although the combined Arab force in Palestine was much bigger then the "Hagana") then any one Arab organization. The Palestinian Arabs were simply no match. In the mixed cities (Jaffa, Tzfat, Tveria, Haifa and Jerusalem) the Jews were overwhelmingly strong. "Hagana" took over all the mixed cities apart from Jerusalem (which was also more or less under "Hagana" rule before the Arab states invaded). In the rural areas, the Jewish Kibbutzim (Communes) were a very rigid and disciplined form of settlement and were closely cooperating with each other and the "Hagana". This was in contrast with the Arab villages that were separated and unorganized. Again the Arabs simply were not prepared for the war they started… But the fight for the main roads was a hard one. Most Arab villages were located on main roads.It doesn't take an organized unit to control a road. The only reason the Arab resistance did not completely collapse was their successes in attacking Jewish convoys. However, when the Jews realized the international powers and the British are not going to stop the war they decided to go on the offensive (so far they have limited themselves to attacking Arabs near Jewish strong points). This broke the Arabs in Palestine completely, and by 14th of May 1948, the day of the Israeli declaration of independence, they were incapable of holding their defence against the "Hagana".

An IDF Convoy during the 1948 war. on the front a Jeep with a Maglad(MG34) LMG. Notice the second vehicle, an improvised armored car, called the "Sandwich"

An attacked Israeli vehicle. The men around it are Palestinian-Arab militia men.

1948 War Of Independence part II