The 7th "Saar me-Golan" Armored Brigade (Hebrew: חטיבה שבע, Hativa Sheva) is a military formation of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Formed during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and still in operation, it is the oldest armored brigade in the IDF.[1] Since then, the brigade has taken part in all the IDF's main operations, and stands today as one of 3 main armoured brigades of the IDF.
7th Brigade during a military exercise on the Golan Heights
The 7th Brigade once belonged[when?] to Israel's Southern Command. The 7th was based in the Golan Heights as part of the 36th Armored Division from the end of the Yom Kippur War until February 2014.[3]
Equipment
During the 1948 War, the 7th Brigade primarily consisted of Sherman tanks and mounted infantry. Early on, the 7th also contained an artillery element. During the 1960s, the brigade was equipped with British Centurion tanks modified in Israel. These were gradually superseded in the late 1970s by the Israeli-made Merkava main battle tanks, of which several versions have since been employed.[citation needed]
Wars
The brigade took part in all of Israel's wars.[citation needed]
War of Independence
During the Battles of Latrun in 1948, the 3rd Alexandroni and 7th Brigades together suffered 139 casualties.[citation needed] The 7th Brigade was initially equipped with jeeps and cars with a few machine guns in July 1948, when the experienced Canadian officer Ben Dunkelman took over. He sized up two approaching Egyptian battle groups equipped with half-tracks, US M4 Sherman tanks and other vehicles. Dunkelman attacked both of them by surprise at night, when the crews were out of their vehicles. The Egyptian soldiers fled, allowing the 7th Brigade to appropriate their arms and vehicles.[4]
The Brigade had so many Canadian, American, and British volunteers that it became known as the "Anglo-Saxon Brigade."[5]
In 1948, the brigade's reputation was as one of the crueler combat forces of the period.[6] Israeli historian Ilan Pappé writes: "In many of the Palestinian oral histories that have now come to the fore, few brigade names appear. However, Brigade Seven is mentioned again and again, together with such adjectives as 'terrorist' and 'barbarous.'"[6][7]
