The British Army in Palestine and the 1948 War

Following the end of the Second World War, the main mission of the British Army in Palestine was to contain Jewish attacks and illegal immigration while the fate of the Mandate was being decided. This book is a record of the British Army during the final year of the Mandate and its impact on the course and outcome of the 1948 War. With the decision of the UN General Assembly on 29th November 1947 to partition Palestine and the anticipated eruption of inter-communal violence, the Army was made responsible for the maintenance of law and order throughout Palestine until the termination of the Mandate on 15th May 1948. These crucial months are considered from the point of view of the ranks of the British Army, soldiers and field commanders rather than that of generals and statesmen. It makes extensive use of memoirs, contemporary writing and private diaries, as well as archival material and regimental journals. Subjects such as regimental culture and leisure activities are explored in addition to operations and peace-keeping. The book offers an important contribution to the history of the Middle East, and readers interested in political science, the history of the British Army, military history, Palestine and Israel will find in this book a new and innovative view of the 1948 War.

Alon Kadish served in the Engineers Corps, Israeli Defence Force, rank Lt.-Col. (res.). He received his bachelor's degree in arts from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and D.Phil. from Oxford University. He taught at the History Department of the Hebrew University from 1980 to 2019 and in the Israel Defence Force (IDF) Command and Staff College and Tactical Command College. He was the Head of IDF History Department at the General Staff during 2007-2014. He has published and edited, mainly in Hebrew, books and articles on Israeli military history, mostly on the 1948 War.

Introduction 1. Soldiering in Palestine 1947-1948 2. The Southern Sector 3. Railways 4. The Road to Jaffa, the Road to Jerusalem 5. Jerusalem 6. The Galilee and Haifa 7. Jaffa 8. The Course of the Evacuation 9. Some Final Observations and Conclusion Acknowledgements Appendix