יומנים > יומן - מלא 19/10/1948

Tuesday, October 19, 1948 During the night our forces seized [Beit] Jamal, Deir Aban, and Deir al-Hawa [in Operation El-HaHar (“To the Mountain”)], but [the action] in the south was a failure. They didn’t go to Iraq-Suweidan at all. The details are still unclear, but it seems that the artillerymen didn’t follow the order issued by infantry, and the battalion commander, with Shimon [Avidan]’s authorization, refused to attack Iraq-Suweidan. Yitzhak Pundak [Oded Brigade] also didn’t succeed in capturing the strongholds, and we lost a valuable night. Something is not right. I fear that Yigal Allon is not capable of commanding such a broad front. – From abroad Gad [Pinchas Sapir] reports that despite the problems that arose earlier in Czechoslovakia, 12 “Spits” [Spitfire planes] are ready for transport. The question is – an airbase in Yugoslavia or Bulgaria. They’re sending 8,000 [should be – 80,000] shells for 20 mm [cannons]. – The air power is working well. Over the previous 24 hours it carried out 15 operations. Majdal, Gaza, El-‘Arish, Beersheva, Faluja, Iraq-Manshiyya, Hulayqat were bombed. The damage is serious, especially in Majdal; the psychological effect of the bombings on both the army and the public is huge. During the bombings of Majdal on the night of 17-18 and the bombings of Faluja during the day, the enemy’s anti-air cannons weren’t used. The enemy bombed Dorot and Nir-Am. Our navy shelled the Gaza coast on the night of 17-18. Yigael [Yadin] returned from the front at 11. He attributes the lack of action in Iraq-Suweidan to the Beaufighters not bombing the place (strange explanation! Instead of Suweidan – if it was hard here – why didn’t they go to Hulayqat?). Tonight two battalions will go to Hulayqat and once again try Iraq-Suweidan. Tomorrow (if we can take action tomorrow!) they’ll try to capture Beersheva. The public in Tel Aviv actually believes that Gaza has been captured – no more and no less. An easy (dangerous) belief that we are all-powerful. – A reception for Chaim Weizmann at the government house [the Kirya, government compound in Tel Aviv]. – Manpower as of October 7, 1948 – Infantry 30,070 (W) 2138 standard 35,433 shortfall 5,268 Garrison 12,973 “ 891 “ 15,890 “ 2,917 Artillery Corps 3,844 “ 144 “ 7,065 “ 3,146 Mortar battalions 762 “ 12 “ 2,234 1,471 Engineering Corps 2,575 99 4,998 2,421 Air Force 5,609 865 7,500 1,861 Navy 2,828 200 2,975 141 Paratroopers 238 Services, Camps 27,697 4,085 35,662 7,818 Palmach Staff 1,437 80,033 8,632 [Women’s Corps] 111,697 25,043 Sick and wounded 2,681, prisoners 123, in intake 2,532, in transition 564, at discharge camps 147, missing 566, deserters 962, POWs 827, fallen 2,687, with the above 99,332. Palmach staff composition: at the Palmach staff (Jaffa) 37 officers, 53 sergeants, 7 corporals, 240 privates, total 237, of which 57 are WC [Women’s Corps]. Training intake at Kefar Yona: officers 23, sergeants 20, corporals 108, privates 899, total 1,050, of which 119 are WC; core courses (Dalia): officers 19, sergeants 2, corporals 5, privates 24, total 50, of which 22 are WC. In total 79 officers, 75 sergeants, 120 corporals, 1,163 privates, total 1,437, of which 198 are WC. [Arye] Levavi [first secretary at the embassy in Moscow] telegraphs from Moscow (October 16, 1948): “We received permission from the Foreign Ministry to disseminate about 300 copies of a bulletin in Russian among the institutions here. Start preparing it immediately. It can be similar to the bulletin of the [Jewish] Agency: military, economic, cultural surveys, emphasis on ties with the Soviet Union, cautious political analysis, statistics. Send a list of addresses [by] Rabinovitz (missing word). Have the package flown to us. We started discussions with the Foreign Ministry on a monthly (missing word), a selection of pictures from Davar Hashavua (missing word), articles for public distribution Moscow in [the amount of] 5,000 copies. There are precedents and chances of [obtaining] a license. They commented on possibilities of implementation. The mood among Jews here necessitates an effort. – The 9th Brigade (Oded – Yitzhak Pundak) has 9 dead and about 30 wounded from an effort to seize the Karatiyya strongholds. The effort failed.