AKA, the fourth and final fight in the Battle of Mar Gush
It is 0630 on 31 March 1948, and Danny Tzur's 2nd Platoon is preparing to finish its fight on the northern edge of the village. Two days ago, 1st Platoon fought the company's first fight in the War for Independence; Jordanian Army troops advanced on Mar Gush and the Jews were able to deflect it. Rebuffed, the Arabs returned the next morning, and Danny's platoon fought them to a standstill, with both sides falling back. While that was happening, 1st Platoon was manning the roadblock on the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem Road, east of the village. They had not received any direct contact from Jordanian infantry, but as of 0630 on 31 March they'd been under intermittent shell fire for about 24 straight hours. Additionally, yesterday morning, while Danny's men were fighting on the north side of the village, 3rd Platoon was involved in a desperate fight on the southern side of Mar Gush, barely turning back the Jordanian advance.
Overnight, Jordanian infantry infiltrated back into the northern end of Mar Gush, and now that morning has arrived, Danny is leading the counterattack to eject the Arabs from the village.
Overview, north is up. At center left is Cemetery Hill, and at center right is The Orchard, both the scenes of much bloodletting during the fight yesterday morning. Strewn across the bottom of the map are various homes and shops on the north side of Mar Gush. Of particular prominence are: Dor's house at bottom center left (Dor is the platoon commander fro 3rd Platoon), Giora's house (far right, just above the road), the Mayor's office (bottom right), and the Post Office (bottom center right, just right of the fruit stand).
The Jewish platoon (squad, really) is split into two sections (left, coming up Cemetery Hill, and bottom center left, coming up on Dor's House). The Jordanians are spread across the right (east) side of the map: a Bren team on the north bank of the Nelani River (top right), a Bren team on the 2nd floor of the Mayor's Office (bottom right), two soldiers on the roof of Giora's House (far right), and three pickets. One is on the road at top center, one is in The Orchard at center right, and one is on the 2nd floor of the Post Office (bottom center right, right of the fruit stand).
Danny, Eli, and Davi assault the Post Office. To see how the fight went, please check the blog at:
link
Thus concludes the Battle of Mar Gush. Total casualties:
Jews:
3 men killed in action
3 men discharged due to permanent injury
7 men wounded but able to return to duty within 30 days
2 men wounded but able to return to duty immediately
Jordanians:
55 men killed in action
10 men captured
A tremendous amount of arms and munitions were also captured, and it was all passed along to other Palmach/Haganah units, not even a single Bren was kept in the company (that's for you, Kyote). Avi was quite proud of his lieutenants and his men, they had proven themselves in the crucible of combat. And while this entire ordeal had begun only as a means to defend their homes, to a man they now understood the task that lay before them, the mission to establish a state of Israel. So as Avi, Baruch, Danny, and Dor began reorganizing and preparing the company for action to open the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem Road, no one complained, all moved with a sense of pride and purpose. The operation apparently already had a name: "Operation Nachshon," scheduled to begin on 5 April 1948, only days away.
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