The Secret Army

by David J. Bercuson

Describes how foreign volunteers aided in the formation of the Israeli army and fought for Israel in the 1948 war

Genres: Israel

278 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1984

Reviews

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

At it's rebirth in 1948, the fledgling Israel's chances for survival looked bleak, outnumbered and outflanked by a ring of belligerent Arab states bent on her destruction and those of every Jew in Israel down to the last child.
Having been denied an army under the British mandate, and prevented from receiving arms under an American embargo, Israel had to fight for her life under overwhelming circumstances. Before and throughout the war of Independence Britain shipped millions of dollars worth of the most up to date military equipment to Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and Transjordan.
Meanwhile Britain had successfully pressured the USA to declare a total arms embargo against Israel.
This book tells of the clandestine operations of Jews and their friends to smuggle arms from Europe to Israel, some of which were brought from Czechoslovakia. Butt he book is essentially about the volunteers from around the world who while the ovens that had incinerated millions of Jews in Europe, were still warm, could not stand by and watch another holocaust by the Arabs (with British help).
This book mainly focuses on the volunteers from English speaking countries like the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Britain. They were men and women of great valour.
Interesting to see how the United Kingdom, was essentially a participant in the War of Independence on the Arab side (so much for the loathsome claim of anti-Israel propagandists that Israel was a tool of "world imperialism"). Towards the end of the war the RAF even took up operations from Egypt against Israel.

[Martin Koenigsberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the British prepared to leave Palestine in the late 1940's, the Jews of Palestine found themselves at a disadvantage in what appeared to be a coming war. Lebanon, TransJordan, Syria, Iraq and Egypt, alongside their Palestinian Arab allies were all being lavishly supplied with WWII surplus Arms by the UK and USA as part of Cold War programs. The Jews needed Infantry Arms, Armoured Vehicles, aircraft, and the expertise to use them. David J Bercuson, a Canadian Academic and historian, tells the story of the international effort to collect surplus weapons and ammunition from a myriad of sources and marry it with expertise. Soldiers , especially pilots came from a number of groups, Veteran Allied Jews making aliyah to become Israeli, Veteran Allied Jews who came to serve and return home, Veteran Allied non-Jews who came to volunteer, and Veteran Allied non-jews who were hired by contract. The main focus is on the gathering of men and materiel , some great stories of amazing feats of ferry flying all sort of planes around the Mediterranean- but the story of the 1948 Israeli War of Independence is also told. The military narrative is incomplete and focused mainly on the fronts where the "Ronin" made significant contributions. A very interesting story, well told, of a distant war with implications to this present day.

I have to say that I took a whole point off my rating because of the total dearth of maps- in a theatre of war where they are vital. Whether it is discussing combat in areas of Israel, Egypt, Jordan, or Syria or the various routes used to fly aircraft from Holland, the then Czechoslovakia, France, the then Yugoslavia, and a number of other remote airfields - a number of maps would be really helpful. As it is , the untraveled reader may well be counseled to have a map of the Middle East and Mediterranean close at hand. WWII Military History buffs will recognise almost all of the gear discussed as being WWII stalwarts , used in an early Cold War national struggle. The IDF's Air Force 's first fighters were Czech versions of the Nazi era BF 109 Fighter that had fought the Battle of Britain - then replaced by actual surplus Spitfires . It is a fascinating look inside the passage of Israel's forces from"Freedom fighters" against the British to creating the IDF .

There are several adult themes, Nationalism, politics and atrocities , so this is for the Junior Reader over 14/15 years. For the Gamer/Modeler/Military Enthusiast, this is an interesting and contributory book- but not a central one. For the Gamer, learning about what weapons were sought, purchased, transported, and then used is interesting- but I think the narrative of the war is not enough to go by -especially without maps. For the Modeler, the photos and prose are great for diorama amd build ideas , but I think a couple of colour resources would be needed. The Military Enthusiast gets a great view of the various activities and motivations that brought such disparate human and military capital to the Zionist cause. I think any reader will find this a compelling story, no matter their views on today's middle eastern conflicts.