Outline: The Catastrophe/The War of Independence, 1947-1949I. Historic SignificanceII. Early PredictionsIII. Civil War (Dec. 1947 - May 1948)A. Balance of ForcesB. Course of the FightingIV. Interstate War (May 1948 - July 1949)A. Balance of ForcesB. Course of the FightingV. RetrospectLecture 6:I. Historic Significance-When the Arabs attacked, they gave the Jews an opportunity to seize land outside of their original boundaries.-Failed to weigh carefully their own and their enemies strength. Led to Palestinian collapse and the birth of Israel.II. Early Predictions-The Catastrophe/War of Independence: 2 phases.Dec 1947-May 1948. Civil War between Jews and Arabs living in Palestine. State of Israel had yet to be declared. Ended with Jewish military victory.May 1948-july 1949. Interstate war, Israel and Armies of 4 invading Arab states.-Many people thought the Jews would be defeated.III. Civil War (Dec. 1947 - May 1948)A. Balance of Forces--Arabs had a population advantage and could get resources from neighboring states. However, Yishuv was cut off from world Jewry. Though, the Jews were more efficient than the Arabs and also enlisted women. Also, the numbered of people enlisted to fight war much greater than that of the Palestinians.--British supplied arms to Arab states so Palestinians had an weaponry advantage. Nonetheless, the Jews were more organized. Their 3 separate armies joined together and were able to share resources and communicate more easily. Also, Yishuv developed a civilian population that also helped with the fighting effort.Arab Revolt left Palestinians destructed. No central government, no national organization, no military recruitment regime, and finances—many wealthy Palestinians were unwilling to donate, local militias tended to operate separately than one another.No unified strategy, some considered other Arab groups to be rivals, West Bank contributed very little to the overall military effort (most dense Palestinian population)Jews had higher literacy rate and thus, had higher technical skills. Also, the Jews were extremely motivated. They saw this as either winning or the beginning of another holocaust.B. Course of the Fighting--Jews sought to keep control of the Jewish cities and maintain contact with rural Jewish settlement. Palestinians wanted to cut their ties to the rural settlements; this was an advantage for the Palestinians because they new the terrain and had better control over these areas.Haganah lost almost all armored vehicles trying to get into JerusalemMarch of 1948, US backed away from partition and urged they live together. Jews began to see their hopes of an independent state slip away, Haganah therefore decided to move from defense to offense. 5 considerations to shift strategies:Haganah recognized if they didn’t do something new quickly, they would lose American support and Jerusalem.Haganah developed new strategy; they decided to destroy guerilla bases in Arab villages in countryside.Haganah coordinated military forces. In a position were it could engage in large-scale warfare.Arab planes and modern arms from Check Slovakia began to reach the Haganah, blessing from Soviet Union.Since the British were leaving, they weren’t going to invade in the Jewish-Arab affairs.--Early April 1948, Haganah began it’s first offensive. Changed momentum of the war, soon overran all Arab villages and towns—Plan D. Allowed for occupation of Arab towns and villages. And when necessary, expulsion of local Arabs. This plan either accelerated or initiated the flight of over 700,000 Palestinians from their homes. Goal: drain them and make room for Jewish immigrants.IV. Interstate War (May 1948 - July 1949)A. Balance of Forces--May 14, 1948 British left. Ben-Gurion announced that Israel was an independent state. Until May 14th, struggle was a civil war. The very next day, neighboring Arab states invaded Israel (Syria, Trans-Jordan, Iraq, Egypt), changing this into an Interstate war. Goal: take back land and destroy Israel, restore honor of Arab people. But, Arab armies weren’t prepared for this campaign. Interestingly enough, refugee problem came after these attacksPopulation: Jew still felt they were at a disadvantage population wise. However, the Jews were more efficient and organized. Plus, when the British left, the Jews were able to mass import Jewish people (over 10,000 per month). Haganah/IDF Oct. 1948: had even numbers with Arab armies.Arms: Arabs had advantage in beginning with help of the British and neighboring Arab states. But, UN imposed arms embargo on both sides and this mostly hurt the Arabs.The communist in Check Slovakia didn't obey the embargo and still sent weapons to Israel. Also, smuggled things into Israel from black market in US and Europe.Jews also had some international support. Airman and techs volunteered to their effort. Israel got air superiority.Land: Arab armies had the upper-hand land0wise because they held the high ground and were able to dominate the coast. However, Jews had shorter supply lines so this advantage didn’t do much.Motivation: Jews overall had more intense motivation. Arabs wanted to get their lands back and wanted to restore their morale. However, Jews really didn’t want to enter into another holocaust and they thought that would happen if they were defeated.Organization: Arabs armies stood alone (in pieces) even though there were a few—this was a disadvantage because they Jews could take them out one by one instead of having to fight one massive Arab army. They had no unified system of supply, command, and strategy. Trans-Jordan: King Abdullah wanted to annex the west back. Iraq supported King Abdullah. But Syria and Egypt say the other Arab states as enemies and wanted to seize the land for themselves.Jews and Hashemites (King Abdullah) alliance? Abdullah of Trans-Jordan and Israel decided to split mandate, divide it up between themselves rather than allow the mandate to split into two separate states.B. Course of the Fighting--In South, Israel faced the Egyptians (largest Arab army). IDF counterattacks defeated the Egyptians however. Iraqis stopped helping the Egyptians without even telling them and this was one of the turning point of the war.--Central front; west bank. Jews faced the Arab legion: expert fight force who commanders were Arab-speaking British officers. Fighting erupts between Israel and Trans-Jordan, even given the alliance, and the Arabs were able to keep East Jerusalem…but