The Barak Armored Brigade is today an Israeli tank brigade and one of the regular armored brigades of the Northern Command. The symbol of the Barak Armored Brigade is a shield with a red border, blue and white background and a sword on it. The brigade has a long history and was even a part of Israel's army before the state of Israel was declared.

In recent years the brigade has changed from the Centurion tank (picture: [1]) to the Merkava Main 3 battle tank (picture: [2]).

History

During the 1948 Arab-Israeli war the brigade was known as the Carmeli Brigade because it was led by Moshe Carmel. It was an infantry brigade which fought in the northern part of Palestine. The brigade played an important role in Operation Hiram.

After IDF was created the Carmeli Brigade became the 18th Brigade.

During the Sinai Campaign in 1956 the brigade was stationed along the Jordanian border, in case the Jordanians decided to open a second front, and was thus not involved in combat.

It was then added with armored units and became the 45th Armored Brigade, known as the "Barak Armored Brigade". It consisted of one tank battalion, two armored infantry battalions, a mortar battalion and reconnaissance units. The changeover was completed in 1962.

During the Yom Kippur War it played an important role defending Israels borders against the Syrian attack in the southern Golan Heights. 112 soldiers were killed in action there.

In the 1982 Lebanon War it fought in Beirut and participated in the capture of the airport.

List of Israeli military operations in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war that the Carmeli Brigade participated in

• Operation Dekel (one batallion)
• Operation Hiram
• Operation Misparayim

List of villages and towns captured by the Carmeli Brigade in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war

• Al-Nahr
• Al-Ghabisiyya
• Al-Sumayriyya
• Al-Tall
• Al-Kabri
• Al-Mansura
• Haifa (the Arab quarters)
• Umm al-Faraj

External Links & References

• http://www.idf.il/english/organization/armored/barak.stm