Palmach Topics

• minister yitzhak rabin
• prime minister yitzhak rabin
• battle of el alamein
• yitzhak rabin
• israeli defense forces
• david ben gurion
• arms and explosives
• political tendencies
• allied victory
• intelligence units
• british experts
• sadeh
• jewish population
• haganah
• allon
• military duties
• field commanders
• yigal
• french forces

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Palmach, Palmach

It was established on May 15, 1941 and by the war of 1948 had grown to three fighting brigades 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. 1169 Palmachnik were killed in action from 1941 to 1949. Significant leaders of the Palmach include Yitzhak Sadeh, Yigal Allon and future prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and Defense Minister and member of the Knesset Moshe Dayan.

They were also to assist Allied 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 Allied victory at the Second Battle of El Alamein in 1943, the British ordered the dismantling of Palmach. Instead the whole organization went underground.

This was the base for the Nahal settlements. The training enabled Palmach to expand its numbers and recruit more people to its lines.

The Palmach commanders' course was the source for many field commanders which were the backbone of Haganah, and, later, the Israeli Defense Forces.

Although inferior in numbers and arms, Palmach soldiers held out long enough to let Haganah mobilise the Jewish population and prepare for war.

Its members trained and lived in Kibbutzim, which were generally left-sympathetic. The political tendencies of its leaders such as Yigal Allon and Yitzhak 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.

Source: Wikipedia > Palmach