All,
AKA, the second fight in Operation Nachshon
It is 0330 on 7 April 1948, and Avi is leading Danny Tzur's 2nd Platoon into the attack on an old Roman fort on the outskirts of the village of Al-Qastal. The village lies along the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem Road, which is the lifeline for the Jewish Quarter in Jerusalem. But the Arabs cut the road in late March, and now the Haganah has launched an operation (Operation Nachshon) to re-open the road in order to bring supplies and reinforcements to the Jewish Quarter.
Yesterday the Etzioni Brigade made an attack on Al-Qastal that was stalled by an enemy machine gun position, so Avi led Baruch Eitan's 1st Platoon in to eliminate the enemy MG. This allowed the Etzioni Brigade to take the village, but the Arab Liberation Army subsequently counterattacked and kicked the Jews out of Al-Qastal. This morning the Etzioni Brigade is again scheduled to attack the village, and in order to help clear the way for the assault, the company has been ordered to assault an old Roman fort on the southern outskirts of the village. Which is where Avi, Danny, and the men of 2nd Platoon come in.
It's 0330 and the Jews are creeping east along a sunken riverbed. As they get near their objective they will split into two elements: Danny will lead a machine gun team over to serve as a base of fire as Avi leads the assault element.
Overview, north is up. The streambed is at bottom left, with fields across the center leading to the old Roman Fort at right. You'll also note the two strands of barbed wire, with channel at center. And where there is barbed wire there are usually… landmines. 2nd Platoon is at bottom left, and now there are Arabs not only in the old Roman Fort, but they also have a three-man outpost in a sandbagged position (bottom right).
Avi and Hiram dash forward to assault the old Roman Fort. To see how the fight went, please check the blog at:
link
3rd Platoon was called up to help evacuate the casualties as 1st and 2nd Platoons combined to occupy defenses in and around the old Roman Fort. They weren't there long though before news arrived that the Etzioni Brigade was having a tough time in Al-Qastal. They had penetrated the western end of the village, but were held up. High Command was calling for the company to attack from the south, targeting the Arab Liberation Army's headquarters in the east end of Al-Qastal. Dor Peleg, the 3rd Platoon commander and senior ranking officer of the company at this point, began prepping 3rd Platoon for the attack.
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