The Israeli army and Hamas are still fighting fiercely in Gaza, and Hamas's elite troops, the Qassam Brigades, have repeatedly reported the latest results, but Israel's absolute ace army, the Golani Brigade, has to retreat because of heavy losses. Forced to leave the battlefield less than two months after being sent to the battlefield, what is the origin of the Golani Brigade, which has always been known for its bravery? Why did it suffer an unprecedented defeat this time, and how did its absence affect the combat effectiveness of the Israeli army, a powerful army in the Middle East?
part.1
According to Palestinian television on February 28**, Israeli forces intensively bombed several areas in the central and southern Gaza Strip that day, killing at least 39 people.
According to data released by the health department of the Gaza Strip on the 28th, since the outbreak of a new round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict on October 7 last year, Israel's military operations in the Gaza Strip have caused more than 2990,000 people died and more than 70,000 were injured.
At present, the fighting between Israel and Kazakhstan in the Gaza Strip is still fierce, and the elite Israeli army Golani Brigade, which served as the main assault mission in this battle, announced its withdrawal from the Gaza Strip on December 21, 2023.
Dong Manyuan, researcher at the China Institute of International Studies:
This time, the Golani Brigade had more than 100 dead and more than 700 wounded, and basically a quarter of the unit's combat strength had been wiped out, and it had to go back to rest. ”
With a total strength of about 4,000 troops, the Golani Brigade is under the command of the Northern Command, and the troops are in a state of combat readiness in peacetime, and in the event of a war, they can take on combat missions as soon as possible. Known as the First Israeli Brigade, the Golani Brigade is one of the oldest, most glorious, and most legendary units of the Israel Defense Forces.
Niu Xinchun, Professor, Institute of Chinese Arab States Studies, Ningxia University:
Historically, the most advanced and most advanced tactics in the Israeli army were first tested in the Golani Brigade. The Golani Brigade participated in the most important wars and rushed to the front line every time, in fact it was a microcosm and representative of the Israeli army. ”
As the Israeli ground offensive deepened, the battle turned into fierce street fighting, and fighting in a complex urban environment required Israeli soldiers to have a high degree of adaptability and vigilance. Previously, the long-term combat training of the Golani Brigade was mainly focused on open areas, and it suddenly faced a cramped and complex urban environment, which seemed to be at a loss.
Dong Manyuan, researcher at the China Institute of International Studies:
After the destruction of some buildings by Israel, the dense and complex network of streets in the city has not changed, and the assault force of the Golani Brigade is mainly 'Merkava' tanks, as well as armored infantry vehicles, engineering vehicles, bulldozers, etc. Its shortcomings and blind spots are constantly being exposed, and these things can be flexibly used by Hamas to launch sneak attacks on Israeli ground forces from different angles. ”
The Hamas fighters guarding Gaza City made full use of the familiar terrain and flexible tactics to attack the tanks of the Israeli army by using the city's buildings and tunnels densely covered underground, thus bringing a huge amount of ** to the Golani Brigade that had just entered the city.
part.2
On December 12, 2023, Hamas militants planted booby-trap bombs in a building in the Shujaya neighborhood of the northern Gaza war zone, killing seven Israeli soldiers and one battalion commander. The Israeli soldiers who came to the rescue were once again surrounded by Hamas fighters, who successfully ambushed the rescue troops sent by the Israeli Air Force 669th Air Force and the Gorani Brigade.
Israeli reports confirmed that Colonel Izzat bin Basat, commander of the Golani Brigade, and Lieutenant Colonel Tommer Greenberg, commander of the 13th Battalion, Major Roy Meldasi, commander of the 13th Battalion, Major Moses Afram Bar Ang, 51st Battalion, and Captain Lil Hayo, a platoon commander of the 51st Battalion, were killed at the same time.
Dong Manyuan, researcher at the China Institute of International Studies:
Hamas first ambushed the forward search force of the 51st Battalion of Glarry, causing four people to lose contact with the headquarters and giving the headquarters the illusion of a rescue operation. The 699th rescue unit first failed to rescue and sent a higher commander with the troops, only to be ambushed. Implement a strategy of encirclement and reinforcement of the Golani Brigade. ”
Faced with the Hamas militants who are familiar with the environment and good at guerrillas, the Golani Brigade as the vanguard has suffered huge losses, and former Brigade Commander Moshe Kaplinski revealed that since the outbreak of a new round of Palestinian-Israeli conflict on October 7, 2023, a quarter of the Golani Brigade has been personnel**, and the heavy cost is behind the many problems of the Israeli army in the face of the new environment.
Dong Manyuan, researcher at the China Institute of International Studies:
The IDF's military operation in Gaza is a completely new issue. The first is the special hostage, the second is the fact that Hamas always has a way to keep the people with it, and the third is the huge tunnel system that binds the hands and feet of the Golani Brigade. On the one hand, it will affect its combat efficiency, and on the other hand, it will increase the risk of its personnel. ”
In the operations announced by Hamas, it can often be seen that Hamas armed personnel come from the tunnels, detour back to the flanks and rear of the Israeli armored tanks, and can destroy an Israeli tank with only one rocket, and at the same time can return to the tunnels safely, and during the entire attack, the Israeli tanks rarely have the coordinated protection of infantry.
Niu Xinchun, Professor, Institute of Chinese Arab States Studies, Ningxia University:
This is because the Israeli army's military exercises and training over the past many years, including the soldiers' military knowledge, have not been prepared for large-scale operations, but have been fought in the form of small-scale, anti-terrorism, and commando units. Many infantry had never been trained to work with tanks before, so they were unfamiliar with the terrain and did not work closely together. ”
As the Israeli army continues to advance in Gaza City, Hamas militants use every street and ruin in Gaza City as a battlefield and set up points everywhere to stop the Israeli army.
In order to prevent a sneak attack, the Israeli army reduces the number of soldiers, and every time it advances a certain distance, it will use bulldozers to build a ring fortification, and it can be seen from the **release** that the fortifications are surrounded by tank heavy armor, but the fortifications in the city have become the target of Hamas's sneak attack.
Dong Manyuan, researcher at the China Institute of International Studies:
The tigers still have to take a nap, and the Israeli army has to catch their breath and eat, so that there will be a situation of clustering, which will provide Hamas with a chance to fight. ”
part.3
The Golani Brigade was established in February 1948, earlier than the IDF formed in May of the same year, and since its establishment, the Golani Brigade has gone through all the wars since the establishment of the State of Israel.
In June 1967, when the Third Middle East War broke out, on June 9, the Golani Brigade faced the Syrian army, which was superior in numbers and terrain, and attacked the Golan Heights head-on.
In 1973, in the Fourth Middle East War, after losing Mount Hermon, the commanding heights of the Golan Heights, the Gorani Brigade finally recaptured the Golan Heights at the cost of 1,000 people through brutal white-knuckle warfare under the premise of 50 killed and 100 wounded.
Dong Manyuan, researcher at the China Institute of International Studies:
In the Fourth Middle East War, it defended the Golan Heights. First of all, it held Mount Hermon, the main peak of the Golan Heights, so that the Syrian army could not take the main peak. Secondly, in coordination with the Israeli Seventh Armoured Brigade, it conducted the largest tank operation in the Golan Heights with Syrian and Iraqi armoured forces since the end of World War II. Let seven or eight hundred Syrian and Iraqi tanks turn into tank cemeteries. ”
part.4
Generation after generation of soldiers of the Golani Brigade fought for the south and the north of the country, and relied on their enthusiasm and the spirit of daring to fight and fight, and played the military prestige of the First Brigade of the National Defense Force.
In the 80s of the 20th century, in order to commend the merits of the Golani Brigade in the previous wars in the Middle East, the Israeli Ministry of Defense authorized the officers and men of the Golani Brigade to wear brown berets.
Niu Xinchun, Professor, Institute of Chinese Arab States Studies, Ningxia University:
It has a relatively glorious historical tradition, and the training of soldiers is the hardest, the longest, and the best. It embodies the spirit of the entire Israeli state and the Israeli army, which enjoys a high status in the Israeli state to this day. ”
In addition to being the ace of the Golani Brigade, which is well-known in the Israeli army, its successive brigade commanders are also important figures in the annals of military history, such as Mota Gul, Gabi Ashkenazi, and Gadi Esenkot, who have served as the chief of the general staff of the IDF. And the first brigade commander, Ariel Sharon, who is known for his toughness and radicalism, became the prime minister of Israel.
Niu Xinchun, Professor, Institute of Chinese Arab States Studies, Ningxia University:
Over the past 70 years, Israel's leading political figures have been high-ranking officers in the military, and they have made great achievements in the army, and this unit has produced three chiefs of general staff, and it is the most elite in the army. ”
Israel's "most glorious tradition" is known for its toughness, but it also has a strange tradition of recruiting soldiers who have been kicked out by other units. Perhaps because of their individuality, the Golani Brigade also occasionally bears a notorious reputation for lackluster military discipline, and some soldiers not only openly disobey the orders of their superiors, but also often break out into fights.
Dong Manyuan, researcher at the China Institute of International Studies:
It is meant to show that any kind of person who goes to the furnace of the Golani Brigade can be trained to be good soldiers, and that is what distinguishes it from other Israeli combat units and establishes it as the first brigade in the IDF. ”
Israeli military analysts point out that within Israel, political risks and social instability are gradually rising. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's forced judicial reform has triggered serious social rifts, while cuts in military spending have led to the threat of refusal of some reservists to serve, and the army's combat effectiveness has inevitably declined.
In the fighting in Gaza, the Golani Brigade experienced not just a simple military confrontation, but a deep strategic crisis. This crisis has exposed the fragility of the Israeli army in urban street fighting, and if it fails to adapt to the new battlefield and new environmental changes, it will have to pay a heavy price on the battlefield.
Dong Manyuan, researcher at the China Institute of International Studies:
In the next step, it will inevitably readjust its orientation; First, it is necessary to strengthen the comprehensive training of the troops and adapt them to various new means of warfare. For example, artificial intelligence technology, drone technology, urban street fighting technology, and how to deal with the city's tunnel network must be the focus of its next training. ”
The conflict is not over, the confrontation between the two sides continues, and no matter how the Israeli-Kazakh war ends, no matter who takes over Gaza after the war, Israel will undoubtedly further strengthen its combat readiness. In such a sensitive region as the Middle East, this will undoubtedly stir up a new round of armament spiral, and the fuse of this big powder keg will inevitably become tighter and tighter.
Producer: Wang Ruixue.
Choreographer: Shi Linlin.
Editor: Wang Jinjie.