יומנים > יומן - מלא 12/08/1948

Thursday, August 12, 1948

A classified report from Egypt (at the end of July) says that Egypt's ammunition is running out. The last shipment they received was two months ago (from the English) in the amount of P£ 4 million. This was in fact training ammunition - short-range, and that explains the fact that the Egyptian cannons only fired to a range of 8,000 yards instead of 12,000, which is the standard for anti-aircraft ammunition and 3.7 [inch anti-aircraft] cannons. Bombers flying above Cairo at a height of 12,000 feet are absolutely safe.

         The Egyptians dismantled all their defensive cannons along the coast and transferred them to the Eretz-Israel front, in the hopes of shelling Tel Aviv from a distance of 10-15 miles. These cannons have an abundance of ammunition - albeit outmoded. Since the end of the first truce England hasn't provided Egypt with a single cannon.

         The Jewish [Flying] Fortress that bombed Cairo on July 14 dropped 4 bombs near the Qubba Palace. 50 yards of the iron rail lines were destroyed, 30 were killed, and 55 wounded. Zulfiqar Pasha's wife, head of the Red Crescent, estimates that Egypt has 800 who were killed, 2,600 wounded.

         The Egyptian navy is composed of an armed merchant ship (Fauzia) with 6 cannons, 5 minesweepers (made in America), two auxiliary vessels, 6 light boats. No torpedo boat. The Naval personnel - 1,200 officers and soldiers, 600 reserves.

         - [Dr. Baruch] Ben-Yehuda, [Dr. Haim] Bograshov, and [Dr. Arthur] Biram came to demand the release of seventeen-year old boys, whose parents were promised they would be released after two months of training, and the recruitment center also announced in newspapers that after two months they would return to their homes and studies. I told him that this announcement had not been authorized, and that the decision was that they were conscripted for two months of training, and could not be sent to the front without a special decision by the government, but there was no promise that they would be released. I asked to meet with the parents' council to explain the situation.

         - State Council.

         - [Eliahu] Dobkin returned from Europe, where he met with [Dr. Emanuel] Neumann [American Zionist leader].