IDF Amphibious history

The first amphibious operation made by the IDF was in the 1948 war of independence

Hannah Szenes  Registered name: Andarta Enderta Amorta, was an iron cargo boat                                                                                                                           
in December 14, 1945, Hannah Szenes sailed from Vado Ligure (Savona), under the command of Italian Captain, carrying 211 passengers. AIDMEN (Associazione   Italiana di Documentazione Marittima e Navale) cites Hannah Senesh sailing  from Vado, carrying 252 passengers Palmach Information Center cites Hannah Senesh sailed  from Genoa                                                                                                                                               

On December 25, 1945, Hannah Szenes  beached at Nahariyah, on a stormy night. She listed dangerously and close to capsizing. The passengers landed with the help of Palmach members, men from Nahariyah, and a rope connected from the ship to shore.

Hanna Szenes was refloated, restored in the Haogen shipyard in Haifa. She joined the Sea Service, the beginning of the Israeli Navy. Her ID sign in the Navy was S – 29. 

When the Western Galilee was cut from the rest of the country, during the 1948 war, a unit of regiment 22 of the Carmeli Brigade boarded Hannah Szenes near the Haifa powerstation, and landed in Nahariyah. 

 The unit liberated the Jewish settlements in Western Galilee,evacuated the women and children  from there, brought them to Nahariyah where they embarked on Hannah Szenes and were brought to Haifa. On May 15, 1948 Hannah Szenes came alongside the military jetty in Haifa  the passengers disembarked in front of the British, and she sailed away.      

This was part of Operation Ben Ami - Carmeli brigade seizes Arab strongholds north of Haifa and northeast of Acco (Acre) and establish communications with Yehiam and Hanita. During the operation, Shavei Tzion on the northern seacoast is reached by sea, and Napoleon hill is captured by and the town of Acco (Acre).

 After the war of independence the IDF was building its amphibious force and combined the Tank Corps with the Navel in joined training .

a picture taken in Haifa navy base in the 60's

           

A drill near Akko (Acre) late 50's

A drill Akko (Acre) in the background

IDF Sherman tank in a drill

Moshe Dayan during a visit in Haifa naval base Sinai 1956 War

A.M.X 13 after the 1956 Sinai war

Amphibious Landing at Awali Beach, Lebanon 1982
During the First Lebanon War, IDF forces landed from the sea and deployed deep within Lebanon, hoping to surround PLO terrorists in the south. Paratroopers, armored forces and Shayetet 13 participated in the day-long operation. IDF forces landed behind enemy lines and cut off the enemy’s supplies, which led to the collapse of the PLO in the south. The operation was a great success despite the heavy artillery fired upon the ships by the terrorists.

IDF Armor in the War of Independence 1948

IDF Golani Brigade 1948











צילום:ארכיון משרד הבטחון


צילום:ארכיון צה"ל -משרד הבטחון

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http://idf-israel1948.blogspot.com/

Marmon Harrington mk4 armored car during a  parade 1949

The Arab-Israeli War of 1948 broke out when five Arab nations invaded territory in the former Palestinian mandate immediately following the announcement of the independence of the state of Israel on May 14, 1948. In 1947, and again on May 14, 1948, the United States had offered de facto recognition of the Israeli Provisional Government, but during the war, the United States maintained an arms embargo against all belligerents.

On November 29, 1947, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 181 (also known as the Partition Resolution) that would divide Great Britain's former Palestinian mandate into Jewish and Arab states in May 1948. Under the resolution, the area of religious significance surrounding Jerusalem would remain under international control administered by the United Nations. The Palestinian Arabs refused to recognize this arrangement, which they regarded as favorable to the Jews and unfair to the Arab population that would remain in Jewish territory under the partition. The United States sought a middle way by supporting the United Nations resolution, but also encouraging negotiations between Arabs and Jews in the Middle East.

The United Nations resolution sparked conflict between Jewish and Arab groups within Palestine. Fighting began with attacks by irregular bands of Palestinian Arabs attached to local units of the Arab Liberation Army composed of volunteers from Palestine and neighboring Arab countries. These groups launched their attacks against Jewish cities, settlements, and armed forces. The Jewish forces were composed of the Haganah, the underground militia of the Jewish community in Palestine, and two small irregular groups, the Irgun, and LEHI. The goal of the Arabs was initially to block the Partition Resolution and to prevent the establishment of the Jewish state. The Jews, on the other hand, hoped to gain control over the territory allotted to them under the Partition Plan.

After Israel declared its independence on May 14, 1948, the fighting intensified with other Arab forces joining the Palestinian Arabs in attacking territory in the former Palestinian mandate. On the eve of May 14, the Arabs launched an air attack on Tel Aviv, which the Israelis resisted. This action was followed by the invasion of the former Palestinian mandate by Arab armies from Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Egypt. Saudi Arabia sent a formation that fought under the Egyptian command. British trained forces from Transjordan eventually intervened in the conflict, but only in areas that had been designated as part of the Arab state under the United Nations Partition Plan and the corpus separatum of Jerusalem. After tense early fighting, Israeli forces, now under joint command, were able to gain the offensive.

Though the United Nations brokered two cease-fires during the conflict, fighting continued into 1949. Israel and the Arab states did not reach any formal armistice agreements until February. Under separate agreements between Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt, Lebanon, Transjordan, and Syria, these bordering nations agreed to formal armistice lines. Israel gained some territory formerly granted to Palestinian Arabs under the United Nations resolution in 1947. Egypt and Jordan retained control over the Gaza Strip and the West Bank respectively. These armistice lines held until 1967.

Armored trucks on the road to Jerusalem used during the blockade