Table of Contents
ALSO BY MARTIN VAN CREVELD
Men, Women and War
The Art of War: War and Military Thought
The Rise and Decline of the State
Airpower and Maneuver Warfare
Nuclear Proliferation and the Future of Conflict
The Transformation of War
The Training of Officers: From Military Professionalism to Irrelevance
Technology and War: From 2000 B.C. to the Present
Command in War
Fighting Power: German and U.S. Army Performance, 1939-1945
Supplying War: Logistics from Wallenstein to Patton
Hitlers Strategy, 1940-41: The Balkan Clue
In memory of Miki Levanon (1971-1992),
who died by friendly fire.
NOTE ON SOURCES, TRANSLATIONS, TRANSLITERATIONS, AND ACRONYMS
AS NECESSARILY follows from the nature of the subject, the great majority of sources used in this study are in Hebrew. Some of them, notably the memoirs of such famous personalities as Moshe Dayan, Yitschak Rabin, and Ariel Sharon, have been translated into English. Nevertheless I have normally made use of, and referred to, the Hebrew originalsthe reason being that they are often much more detailed and contain important documentary material that has been omitted from the English editions. To give the non-Israeli reader at least an idea of the nature of the source in question I have quoted each Hebrew title and provided it with a translation. Those translations are my own and by no means always correspond to the official English titles that are carried on the front pages and that all too often sacrifice accuracy for literary effect. It is my hope that this system will enable the non-Israeli reader, if not to check on my facts, then at least to obtain some kind of feel for the sources that I have used.
As foreigners driving around Israel and trying to read the road signs will note, transliteration represents a problem; occasionally it seems there are as many transliterations as there are people, if not more. I tried to be as simple, consistent, and phonetically correct as I could, even if this meant ignoring the normal system (e.g., kibbuts instead of kibbutz, Chayim instead of Haim) and substituting one of my own.
Finally, and for consistencys sake, I have treated Hebrew acronyms as I would English ones: for example, in writing TSAHAL (for Tsva-Hagana Leyisrael) rather than the more normal Tsahal (let alone Zahal, which does not correspond to the way in which the word is pronounced); and PALMACH (for Plugot Machats) rather than Palmach. The reason for this is to make the informed reader, who may well have heard these terms before, aware that they do in fact represent acronyms. And indeed acronyms are something that the Israeli armed forces, like their opposite numbers in other countries, have been spouting forth in prodigious numbers.
Still there is no denying that, for all but Hebrew-speakers, access both to the numerous Hebrew terms and to the sources remains difficult if not impossible. Therefore, as in any good restaurant, please feel free to ignore the kitchen and enjoy the meal.
GLOSSARY OF ACRONYMS AND HEBREW TERMS USED IN THE TEXT
Achdut Ha-avoda Unity of Labor; a left-wing activist party led by Yisrael Galili and Yigal Allon
AEW airborne electronic warfare
AFV armored fighting vehicle
aluf, alufim (pl.) brigadier (later major) general
APC armored personnel carrier
APSDFS armor-piercing, sabbot-discarding, fin-stabilized ammunition
BAKUM (Basis Klita U-miyun) Recruit Absorption and Classification Base
Bar Giora first Jewish self-defense organization in Palestine (1907)
Betar right-wing nationalist organization founded in 1925
chalutsim pioneers
chared, charedim (pl.) the anxious ones; non-Zionist orthodox Jews
chatatsit gravel thrower; a contraption dreamed up by TAAS for combating Palestinian demonstrators
CHEN (Chel Nashim) Womens Army Corps
Cherut Freedom; a right-wing political party, the ancestor of the modern Likud Party
Chets Arrow: (1) type of elongated, armor-piercing ammunition developed for the Merkava tank; (2) antiballistic missile developed by IAI
CHIM (Chel Mishmar) Garrison Force; Haganas stationary force
CHISH (Chel Sadeh) Field Force; one of Haganas strike forces
Chok Sherut Bitachon National Service Law of 1949
CIC commander in chief
CO comanding officer
COS chief of staff
dunam a parcel of land measuring 1,000 square meters
en brera no choice; the ideological justification for Israeli wars until 1973
ECM electronic countermeasures
ETSEL (Irgun Tsvai Leumi) National Military Organization; pre-1948 right-wing terrorist organization
fashla, fashlot (pl.) slang for blunder
FLIR forward-looking infrared; a night-vision system for aircraft and helicopters
FOSH (Plugot Sadeh) Field Companies; organized by Hagana in 1937-1938
GADNA (Gdudei Noar) Youth Battalions; a paramilitary organization for youths run by the IDF
gafir, gafirim (pl.) Jewish police officer working for the British authorities
Galil Israeli-made assault rifle
garin, garinim (pl.) cores of NACHAL youths earmarked for new settlements
gesher ha-glilim roller bridge used in the 1973 October War to cross the Suez Canal
GHQ general headquarters
Gush Emunim Bloc of the Faith; a group of extreme right-wing nationalist Jews in the Occupied Territories
hachshara, hachsharot (pl.) PALMACH training group
HAGA (Hagana Ezrachit) Civil Defense Organization
Hagana Defense; the Jewish self-defense force in Palestine before 1948
hagana merchavit territorial defense
Ha-shomer The Guard; the second Jewish self-defense organization in Palestine after Bar Giora
Histadrut Labor Federation
IAF Israel Air Force
IAI Israel Aircraft Industries
IDF Israeli Defense Force
KABA (Kvutsat-echut) Quality Group; a system of classifying recruits by quality
KABAN, KABANIM (pl.) (ktsin beriut nefesh) mental health officer
Kfir Lion Cub; the Israeli-built light fighter-bomber
kibbuts, kibbutsim (pl.) communal settlement where all property is held in common
kippot sruggot literally, knitted yarmulkes; the nickname for right-wing nationalist orthodox Jews
Knesset the Israeli parliament
kofer ha-yishuv the Yishuv s ransom; the tax imposed by the Jewish community in Palestine in 1929
Lavi Young Lion; the Israeli-built fighter-bomber that never flew
LECHI (Lochame Cherut Yisrael) Israels Freedom Fighters; a pre-1948 right-wing terrorist organization
LIC low intensity conflict
Likud Unity; the right-wing political party that has dominated Israel during most of the years since 1977
Maarachot Campaigns ; the IDFs periodical (monthly)
maarav, maaravim (pl.) ambush
MABAT (Mifalim Bitchoniyim) Defense Plants; an arms-manufacturing subsidiary of IAI
MADAS, MADASit (fem.) Madrich Sport; a physical training instructor
maoz, meozim (pl.) bunker
MAFCHASH (Mifkedet Kochot Ha-sadeh) ground forces headquarters
MAFDAL (Miflaga Datit Leumit) National Religious Party
