The combat components of the Ground Forces were the Armored Corps (which included the Mechanized Infantry as well as tanks), the Parachute and Infantry Corps, the Artillery Corps, and the Engineer Corps. The standard unit of maneuver was the Brigade (Chativah in Hebrew), which was divided in turn into Battalions (Gdud) and Companies (Plugah). The Brigade elements could and did come from more than one Corps, but were officially assigned to the formation from which the majority of the formation came. A Parachute Brigade would be made up of three battalions of parachute infantry supported by a battalion of artillery from the Artillery Corps, and a company of engineers attached from the Engineering Corps. There several items to remember about the structure of the Israeli Brigades. The first is that the ZAHAL has always put an important emphasis on having a strong recon element within the formation. Commanders took care to see that the best officers and men were assigned to these units, which could then not only be used for recon, but for other missions as needed. These formations are often designated as Sayeret in Hebrew, a term which has been translated into terms ranging from recon to commando. Within the game system, these elements should be rated as one level higher in experience than the rest of the formation. Thus a veteran infantry brigade will have its recon company designated as elite. Second, ZAHAL allowed its commanders wide latitude in the equipment within their formation. For example, the brigade recon company was to have jeeps for transport. Some brigades used jeeps, other commanders used half tracks or M I 13's, and some commanders had their recon companies mounted in tanks. Cases can be found of tank battalions having organic infantry companies. Nonstandard organizations are found throughout the Israeli formations. Armored Corps Brigades The Israeli Armored Corps, under the leadership of Major General Israel Tal from 1964 to 1969, had control over both the tank as well as mechanized infantry elements of the ZAHAL. Tal believed that the best tank for combat was a well gunned, well armored vehicle with a well trained crews, and during the "Six Day War" he proved his case. The 11 brigades of the Armored Corps were seen as the key to the Israeli victory. Afterwards, Tal worked on a program of ensuring that the Armored Corps had standardized weapons and equipment, rebuilding British Centurions (the so called Ben Gurians), US M-48 tanks (rebuilt to M-60 standards) and even some captured T-55's. The British 105min tank gun became the standard weapon of the Armor Corps, and the Cummins Diesel its power plant. When the first shipments of the M-60 tank reached Israel in the 1970's, the Israeli Armored Corps proudly noted that their older M-48's had been upgraded to M-60 standards. There were a number of the rebuilt Super Shermans (the Isherman) still assigned to the reserve brigades, both in the armored and mechanized formations. The Israeli Armored Corps had started to withdraw them from service and convert them to other roles, but a lack of replacement vehicles meant that some continued to be used in active service in 1973. With an emphasis on the concept that the best weapon to kill a tank is another tank, the Israeli Armored Corps stopped using other armored vehicles and weapons systems. SS-10 and SS-11 antitank missiles were put into storage, and a chance to acquire TOW missiles from the US was rejected. Light armored vehicles such as the AML light armored cars were taken out of service, as was an attempt to mount a 90mm gun on the M-3 halftrack. To help stretch manpower even further, tank battalions lost all of their supporting arms from within the battalion, as these had not proved necessary during the "Six Day War". The Israeli Armored brigades were made to be lean and mean. Considering the limited manpower base faced by Israel, it is easy to understand their concentration on tanks during the time period prior to the Yom Kippur War. An infantry brigade could be converted into two armored brigades at a vast increase in firepower. The Armored Corps took additional brigades under command, and converted them first to mechanized, and then to armored status. The Mechanized Brigades became holding formations, as they were seen as the first step in converting the Brigade into an armored formation, with the result that training in basic infantry skills was often lacking. The 1973 Armored Brigade would be organized as follows: Armored Brigade All Elements Experienced to Veteran, Morale 9 except Mechanized Infantry Battalions: lower 1 level Recon Elements: upgrade I level Armored Brigade Headquarters Troops Brigade Headquarters, with: 1 command tank 1 staff radio halftrack 1 support bazooka stand 2 medium ammo supply trucks Engineer Company* with: 1 command stand 3 engineer stands 3 halftracks with trailers Recon Company, with: 1 command tank 1 recon tank 1 recon infantry stand 1 M-113 APC AAA Battery*, with: 1 command stand 1 halftrack 3 T-20 AAA vehicles 2 Armored Battalions, each with: Headquarters, with: 1 command tank 3 or 4 Companies, each with: 1 command tank 1 tank Mechanized Infantry Battalion, with: Headquarters, with 1 command stand and 1 APC 3 Infantry Companies, each with: 1 command stand 3 infantry stands 3 APC's Weapons Company, with: 1 command stand 1 SP 81mm mortar 1 jeep with 106mm. recoiless rifle 1 bazooka stand 1 APC Artillery Battalion*, with: Headquarters Battery, with: 1 command stand 1 FO stand 2 jeeps 1 staff radio halftrack 3 Artillery Batteries, each with: 1 bazooka support stand 1 SP 155 howitzer 1 medium ammo truck Notes 1. * means that the unit is attached to the Brigade from another Corps 2. The 7th Armored Brigade served as the School Troops jFor the Armor School. They should be rated as Veteran, Morale 10, including the Mechanized Infantry elements. The 14th, 188th, 401 st, and 460th Armored Brigades were on active service at the start of the war They should be rated as Veteran, Morale 9. 3. Tanks within a Brigade are usually of the same type, M46's, Centurions, M-60s, TI-67s or Shermans. The APCs were either M113 (Zelda's) or M-3 halftracks. Units with M113's get a M125 for the mortar carriers, units with the M-3 get a halftrack with 81mm mortar 4. The 14th, 421st, and 460th Armored Brigades, which were serving on the Suez Canal at the start of the war had three Tank Battalions assigned, and lacked a Mechanized Battalion. 5. The battlefield recovery of disabled tanks was handled by the Israeli Ordnance Corps. These units operated out of Field Depots in the rear of the Israeli positions. They would have the following organization: Ordnance Field Depot 1 command stand 2-3 support stands 1 wrecker 2 maintenance vans (or facilities) 2 medium supply trucks (or facilities) 6. The Reserve Armored Brigades often had a Recon Company of 2 recon infantry stands, 2 jeeps with LMGs, 2 jeeps with HMG's and a jeep with 106mm recoiless rifle in place of the formation shown above. 7. The following Armored Brigades are reported to have served in 1973: 7th Armored Brigade, 14th Armored Brigade, 17th Armored Brigade, 19th Armored Brigade, 20th Armored Brigade, 79th Armored Brigade, 134th Armored Brigade, 157th Armored Brigade, 164th Armored Brigade, 167th Armored Brigade, 188th (Barak) Armored Brigade, 205th Armored Brigade, 210th Armored Brigade, 217th Armored Brigade, 247th Armored Brigade, 401stArmored Brigade, 421st Armored Brigade, 460thArmored Brigade, 600th Armored Brigade, 679th Armored Brigade. There was to have been one mechanized brigade and two armored brigades in each of the new armored divisions. Perhaps the most interesting commentary on the Mechanized Brigades is that when Sharon and Adan arrived on the Suez, their commands included two Armored Brigades and one Mechanized Brigade. When ordered to give up a brigade, both commanders quickly gave up their mechanized brigades, and replaced them with parachute infantry brigades. Mechanized Brigade All Elements Experienced to Veteran, Morale 9 except Mechanized Infantry Battalions: lower 1 level Recon Elements, upgrade 1 level Mechanized Brigade Headquarters Troops Brigade Headquarters, with: 1 command stand 1 jeep 1 staff radio halftrack 1 support bazooka stand 2 medium ammo trucks Engineer Company * with: 1 command stand 3 engineer stands 3 halftracks with trailers Recon Company, with: 2 recon infantry stands 2 recon jeeps with HMG's 2 recon jeeps with LMG's 1 jeep with 106mm recoiless rifle AAA Battery *, with: 1 command stand 1 halftrack 3 T-20 AAA vehicles 1 Armored Battalion, with: Headquarters, with: 1 command tank 4 Companies, each with: 1 command tank and 1 tank 2 Mechanized Infantry Battalions, with: Headquarters, with: 1 command stand and 1 halftrack 3 Infantry Companies, each with 1 command stand 3 infantry stands 3 halftracks Weapons Company, with 1 command stand 1 halftrack with 81mm mortar 1 jeep with 106mm recoiless rifle 1 bazooka stand 1 halftrack Artillery Battalion*, with Headquarters Battery, with 1 command stand 1 FO stand 2 jeeps 1 staff radio halftrack 3 Artillery Batteries, each with 1 bazooka support stand 1 halftrack 1 ammo tractor 1 SP 160 mortar or 3 Artillery Batteries, each with 1 bazooka support stand 1 SP 155 howitzer 1 medium ammo truck Notes 1. * means that the unit is attached to the Brigade from another Corps 2. The APCs were usually M-3 halftracks, though some Mechanized Battalions had M113s. The tanks assigned to the Mechanized Brigades were usually Shermans. 3. The following Mechanized Brigades are reported to have served in 1973: 4th Mechanized Brigade, 9th Mechanized Brigade, 11th Mechanized Brigade, 70th Mechanized Brigade, 240th Mechanized Brigade, and 670th Mechanized Brigade. The Israeli Defense Forces Yom Kippur War Introduction Air Corps (Hel Avrir) Ground Corps Parachute and Infantry Corps Divisions Commands Bar Lev Line and the Purple Line Israeli Order of Battle Appendix 3: CD Israeli Data Charts for 1973 Back to Table of Contents -- Command Post Quarterly # 13 To Command Post Quarterly List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1997 by Greg Novak. This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com