Palmach
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The Palmach (in Hebrew - " פלמ"ח ") was the regular fighting force of the Haganah (the underground army of Jewish settlers during the British mandate in Palestine). The Palmach was established on May 15, 1941. By the war of 1948 it had grown from humble beginnings to three fighting divisions and auxiliary aerial, naval and intelligence units. Being a Palmachnik (Palmach member) was considered not only as performing military duties, but also as a way of life. Significant leaders of the Palmach include Moshe Dayan, Itzhak Sadeh, Yigal Allon and Yitzhak Rabin.
The Palmach contributed significantly to Israeli culture and ethos, way beyond its undoubtable military contribution. Its members formed the backbone of the Israeli Defence Forces high command for many years, and were prominent in Israeli politics, literature and culture.
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History
The Palmach (Hebrew abbreviation of "Plugot Mahatz פלוגות מחץ" - in English strike force) were the regular fighting forces of the Yishuv (Jewish settlement) in Palestine prior to the establishment of state of Israel.
The Palmach was established by the British military and Haganah on May 15 1941 to help the British protect Palestine from the Nazi German threat. They were also to assist British forces with the planned invasion of Syria and Lebanon, then held by Vichy French forces. British experts trained the Palmach special soldiers and equipped them with small arms and explosives. However, after the British victory at El-Alamein in 1942, the British ordered the dismantling of Palmach. Instead the whole organisation went underground.
Since British funding had stopped, Yitzhak Tabenkin, head of the Kibbutzim union suggested Palmach could be self-funding by letting the warriors work in the Kibbutzim. Each Kibbutz would host a Palmach platoon and supply them with food, homes and resources. In return the platoon would safeguard the kibbutz and carry out work such as agricultural work. The proposal was accepted in August 1942, when it was also decided that each month Palmach members would have eight training days, 14 work days and seven days off.
Combining military training with agricultural work meant:
- Maintenance of an independent, easily mobilised military force.
- A force in which members' labour funded 80% of Palmach's budget. Money from Haganahwas dedicated to weapons and training.
- The force would be hard to track down.
- Easier recruitment of people from Kibbutzim and Moshavim.
- The creation of groups of settlers, who could form the base for future settlements.
- Education of soldiers in Zionist values.
The program of combined military training, agricultural work and Zionist education was called "Ach'shara Meguyeset" הכשרה מגויסת (meaning "Drafted\Recruited Training").
Later on, it was agreed with the Zionist youth movements that each person from the ages of 18-20 ("Gar'een" meaning "nucleous" or "kernel" in Hebrew) would undergo training. This was the base for the Nahal settlements. The training enabled Palmach to expand its numbers and recruit more people to its lines.
Basic training included physical fitness, small arms, melee and Krav Maga, basic marine training, topography, first aid, and squad operations. Most of the Palmach members received advance training in one or more of the following areas: sabotage and explosives, reconnaissance, sniping, communications and radio, light and medium machineguns and operating 2 inch and 3 inch mortars. Platoon training included long marches, combined live-fire drills with artillery support and machineguns and mortars.
Palmach put emphasis on training independent and broadminded field commanders who would take the initiative and set an example for their troops. Palmach trained squad commanders and company commanders. The major commanders training course was in the Palmach and many Haganah commanders were sent to be trained in the Palmach. The Palmach commanders' course was the source for many field commanders which were the backbone of Haganah, and later, the Israeli Defense Forces.
Between 1945 and 1946, Palmach units carried out attacks against British infrastructure such as bridges, railways, radar stations and police stations. Such activities ceased, however, after "Black Sabbath" (June 29, 1946), when British forces carried out mass arrests of Palmach and Hagannah leaders.
Palmach units took a major part in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. At the beginning of the war, Palmach units were responsible for holding Jewish settlements (such as Gush Etzion, Kfar Darom and Revivim) against Arab militias. Although inferior in numbers and arms, Palmach soldiers held out long enough to let Haganah mobilise the Jewish population and prepare for war.
After the establishment of the Israeli Defence Forces, the Palmach was dissolved into two IDF brigades - the Negev Brigade and Yiftah Brigade. The Negev and Yiftah Brigade fought in the Negev against the Egyptian army and managed to stop them and later to repulse them into the Gaza Strip and Sharem al-Sheikh. Yiftah Brigade later was transferred to the north. ?? WHEN / WHAT YEAR??
Military organisation
The Palmach was organised into regular companies (six at 1943), and five or six special units.
Palmach special units included:
- Ha-Machlaka Ha-Germanit: the "German Department", it performed covert operations and sabotage operations against Nazi infrastructure in the Middle East and the Balkans.
- Ha-Machlaka Ha-Aravit: the "Arab Department", it performed covert operations and espionage missions against Arab militias, which frequently attacked Jewish settlements. It was the base for the Israeli Defense Forces's and the Border Police's "Mistaarvim" units.
- Pal-Yam: the sea force of the Palmach, The Pal-Yam main activity was Ha'apala העפלה - the bringing of Jewish refugees from Europe by ships, despite the British White Paper of 1939 which limited Jewish immigration into Israel. Later the Pal-Yam became the Israeli Navy.
- Sabotage Units: explosive experts became the basis for the Israeli Engineering Corps in the IDF.
- The Air Force: made up of Jewish pilots, trained by the British, the Palmach air force was the basis for the Israeli Air Force. Until late 1948, they did not have any aircraft, but later obtained light aircraft for scouting operations.
The Palmach put emphasis on training field commanders (מפקדי שטח) and they became the basis for the Israeli army. Palmach-trained field commanders were trained more extensively than in many other armies and were taught to be broadminded, professional, show initiative and take responsibility for their actions. Palmach field commanders also took care of their soldiers' daily needs.
The legendary battlecry of the Palmach commander was "!אחרי" (Aharay), which literally means "follow me!". While in most armies the battlecry was "Charge!", the Hebrew commander led his troops instead of sending them out and staying behind.
The Palmach commanders' course, commanders' reputation and values were embedded into the Israeli Defence Forces and their legacy is alive even today, in the current generation of IDF field commanders.
The Palmach in Politics and Culture
The Palmach was a left-wing organisation, associated with left-wing parties. Its members trained and lived in Kibbutzim, which were generally left-sympathetic. The political tendencies of its leaders such as Yigal Allon and Itzhak Sadeh, was towards Mapam a left-wing party in opposition to David Ben-Gurion and the Mapai ruling party. Those tendencies caused Ben-Gurion to order the dissolving of Palmach in 1948.
Palmach members were not, however, a unified, homogenous collective with a single ideology. In the early years of the state of Israel they could be found in all political parties.
Yigal Allon, considered by many to be the representative of the Palmach generation, never properly reached a position of national leadership, although he was Prime Minister for a few days between Eshkol's death and Golda's appointment in 1969. He died in 1980.
The best known Palmachnik in Israeli politics was Yitzchak Rabin of the Israeli Labour party. Others included Moshe Dayan, Chaim Bar-Lev and Mordechay Gur.
Palmachniks can be found everywhere in Israeli politics. Besides left-wing activists such as Mati Peled, Yair Tsaban and Shulamit Aloni, Palmach veterans include right-wing extremists such as Rehavam Zeevi and Rafael Eitan.
Besides military contributions, the Palmach had great influence over the Israeli "Tzabar" culture. Palmach activists included "Kumzitz" (sitting around a fire at night, eating, talking and having fun), public singing and cross-country walking trips. These often took on mythical proportions and have become favorite activities for Israelis.
The Palmach also contributed many anecdotes, jokes, "chizbat" (short funny tales, often based on exaggerations), songs and even books and stories.
Notable Palmach cultural figures include:
- Netiva Ben Yehuda - journalist, writer, radio host
- Shoshana Damari - singer
- Haim Hefer - poet, writer
- Haim Guri - poet, writer
- Naomi Polani - singer, actor
- Moshe Shamir - writer, playwright
- Hannah Szenes (Senesh) - poet
- Dan Ben Amotz - writer, journalist
- Shayke Ofir - actor
- Zohara Levitov - Diarist
Notable Palmachniks
- High command:
- Eliyahu Golumb - general commander of Haganah
- Itzhak Sadeh - general commander of Palmach
- Giora Shanan - lieutenet general commander of the Palmach
- David Nammeri - lieutenet general commander of the Palmach
- Yohanan Retner - strategy officer
- Moshe Bar-Tikva - training officer
- Itzhak Rabin
- Special units commanders:
- Shimon Koch Avidan - commander of the "German Department"
- Israel Ben-Yehuda - commander of the "Arab Department"
- Yigal Allon - commander of the "Syrian Department"
- Companies commanders (as for 1943):
- Yigal Allon, Zalman Mars - Pluga Aleph commanders
- Moshe Dayan, Meir Davidson, Uri Brener - Pluga Beth commanders
- Uri Yafeh - Pluga Gimel commander
- Benjamin Goldstein Tzur - Pluga Dalet commander
- Abraham Negev - Pluga Hey commander
- Israel Livertovski, Shinon Koch Avidan - Pluga Vav commander
External Links
- Official Website of the Palmach (http://www.palmach.org.il)
Bibliography
- "The Palmach - Its Warriors and Operation" by Uri Brener, special edition for Palmach national convention, 1978