Tanks of the Israel Defense Forces

Following the United Nations General Assembly vote for the Partition Plan for Palestine on 29 November 1947, the Jewish forces started to build and procure mobile armoured cars and supply trucks and to purchase and bring in tanks and a large number of half-tracks to prepare for the termination of the British Mandate and Israeli proclamation of statehood on 14 May 1948.

In 1942, there was a period of great concern for the Yishuv, when the forces of German General Erwin Rommel advanced east in North Africa towards the Suez Canal and there was fear that they would conquer Palestine.

This event was the direct cause for the founding, with British support, of the Palmach[18]—a highly trained regular unit belonging to Haganah (a paramilitary group that was mostly made up of reserve troops).

Armed, trained, and commanded by British officers, this 8,000–12,000 strong force was organised in four infantry/mechanised regiments supported by some 40 artillery pieces and 75 armoured cars.

The Arab Legion joined the war in May 1948, but fought only in the areas that King Abdullah wanted to secure for Jordan: the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

[33] In November 1954, Shimon Peres visited Paris, where he was received by the French Defense Minister Marie-Pierre Kœnig, who told him that France would sell Israel any weapons it wanted to buy.

[41] With Rafah more or less cut off and Israeli forces controlling the northern and eastern roads leading into the city, Dayan ordered the AMX-13s of the 27th Armored Brigade to strike west and take al-Arish.

[41] By this point, Nasser had ordered his forces to fall back towards the Suez Canal, so at first the Bar-Lev and his men met little resistance as they advanced across the northern Sinai.

On 30 October, a probing attack by Israeli armour under Major Izhak Ben-Ari turned into an assault on the Umm Qataf ridge that ended in failure.

The Sherman also underwent extensive modifications, including a larger 105mm medium velocity French gun, a redesigned turret, wider tracks, more armour, and an upgraded engine and suspension.

However, the 105 mm gun of the Israeli Shermans fired a high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) round designed to defeat the T-62 tank, which was the Soviet response to the M48's successor in US service, the M60.

In the center of Israel, the Jordanian Armed Forces, which included 11 brigades totalling some 55,000 troops and equipped with some 300 modern Western tanks, were brought to bear.

The Israeli Northern Command provided a division (3 brigades) led by Major-General Elad Peled, which was stationed to the north of the West Bank, in the Jezreel Valley.

In the north on the Golan Heights, the Israeli forces faced the Syrian army which consisted of about 75,000 men grouped in nine brigades, supported by an adequate amount of artillery and armour.

The Israeli tanks, with their maneuverability sharply reduced by the terrain, advanced slowly under fire toward the fortified village of Sir al-Dib, with their ultimate objective being the fortress at Qala.

[44] Israel conquered the Sinai Peninsula, Gaza Strip, West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and Golan Heights from the surrounding Arab states, changing the balance of power in the region as well as the role of the IDF.

Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser pushed for a military initiative to compel Israel or the international community to facilitate a full Israeli withdrawal from Sinai.

On March 8, 1969, Nasser proclaimed the official launch of the War of Attrition, characterized by large-scale shelling along the Suez Canal, extensive aerial warfare and commando raids.

[45][47] Hostilities continued until August 1970 shortly before Nasser's death and ended with a ceasefire, the frontiers remaining the same as when the war began, with no real commitment to serious peace negotiations.

The Arab coalition launched a joint surprise attack on Israeli positions in the Israeli-occupied territories on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in Judaism, which occurred that year during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The engineering vehicles were priority targets for Israeli gunners and took heavy losses, but Syrian infantrymen, braving intense fire, advanced forward and used their entrenching tools to build up earthen causeways for the tanks, enabling them to overcome anti-tank ditches.

At night, the Syrians made deadly use of infrared technology, while the Israelis responded by using illumination rounds and xenon light projectors on their tanks.

Beginning on October 8, the Israelis began pushing the Syrians back towards the pre-war ceasefire lines, inflicting heavy tank losses.

[66] Israel Tal, who was serving as a brigade commander after the Suez Crisis, restarted plans to produce an Israeli-made tank, drawing on lessons from the 1973 Yom Kippur War, in which Israeli forces were outnumbered by those of the Middle East's Arab nations.

Subvariants indicate upgrades received by Sho't Kal tanks during their operational life, including a new turret rotating mechanism, a new gun stabilizer, a new fire-control system and preparations for the installation of the Blazer Reactive armour.

highlighting the need for infantry support to armoured groups, culminating in the Merkava main battle tanks being equipped with rear troop bays.

Eventually, Israel did purchase the AMX 13; however in a parallel development, it was decided to graft the powerful French gun onto the available, familiar and better-armored hull of the American M4 Sherman, as the standard tank of the IDF armored units in the early 1950s.

[73] After the British withdrew, they left behind some equipment, including Bren Gun Carriers ( a common name describing a family of light-armoured tracked vehicles built by Vickers-Armstrong), that was utilized by the Israelis.

In a series of events that took place over 32 days, the Military Airlift Command of the U.S. Air Force shipped 22,325 tons of tanks, artillery, ammunition, and supplies in C-141 Starlifter and C-5 Galaxy transport aircraft between October 14 and November 14, 1973.