View source for Operation Uvda

{{Short description|1949 Israeli military operation}}
{{pp|small=yes}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict          = Operation Uvda
| place             = [[Eilat|Umm Rashrash (Eilat)]], [[Israel]]
| date              = 5–10 March 1949
| result            = Israeli victory
| combatant1        = {{flag|Israel}}
| combatant2        = {{flagicon image|Flag of the Emirate of Transjordan.svg}} [[Emirate of Transjordan|Transjordan]]
| image             = Raising the Ink Flag at Umm Rashrash (Eilat).jpg
| commander1        = [[Yigal Allon]]<br />[[Avraham Adan]]<br />[[Moshe Dayan]]<br />[[Yitzhak Rabin]]
| commander2        = [[Habis Majali]]{{WIA}}<br>[[Glubb Pasha]]{{POW}}
| strength1         = 2,500 troops
| strength2         = Unknown
| partof            = the [[1948 Arab–Israeli War]]
| caption           = Captain [[Avraham Adan|Avraham "Bren" Adan]] raising the [[Ink Flag]] at Umm Rashrash (a site now in [[Eilat]]), marking the end of the war
| map_type          = Israel<!--Mandatory Palestine-->
| coordinates       = {{coord|29|33|0|N|34|57|0|E}}
| map_size          = 300
| map_label         = Umm&nbsp;Rashrash&nbsp;(Eilat)
}}
{{Campaignbox 1948 Arab–Israeli War south}}
'''Operation Uvda''' ({{langx|he|מבצע עובדה}}, ''Mivtza Uvda'') was an operation conducted by the [[Israel Defense Forces]] during the [[1948 Arab–Israeli War]], from 5 March to 10 March 1949. It was the last campaign undertaken by the IDF during the war and its objective was to capture the southern [[Negev]] desert, which was claimed by the [[Jordan|Kingdom of Jordan]] to be under Jordanian control in the [[1949 Armistice Agreements|armistice talks of 1949]].

The southern Negev was designated to be part of the Jewish State in the [[1947 UN Partition Plan]]. The name ''uvda'' (עובדה) is [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] for "fact", referring to the operation's objective to establish [[Facts on the ground|de facto Israeli sovereignty]] over the territory in question, rather than actually conquer it. As such, the Israeli forces did not meet significant resistance on their way. The region claimed during this operation is now referred to as [[Uvda (Israel)|Uvda]].

The [[Negev Brigade|Negev]], [[Golani Brigade|Golani]] and [[Alexandroni Brigade|Alexandroni]] brigades participated in the operation, as well as a number of smaller units.

==Prior reconnaissance==
In January 1949, slightly over a month before the operation, a small unit was dispatched to reconnoiter the southern Negev, with limited resources and no ability to receive tactical aid. The unit's mission was to map the region, as the best available map of the time was a [[Geographic Section, General Staff|GSGS]] map scaled 1:250,000. The unit was reinforced by reconnaissance aircraft and heavy use was made of aerial photography [[stereoscopy|stereoscopic imaging]].

The unit moved in two parts: one through the center of the Negev and one through the [[Arabah|Arava]]. It was strictly forbidden to engage the Jordanian [[Arab Legion]] or enter the [[Sinai Peninsula|Sinai]].<ref>{{cite book |author = Michał Jadwiszczok |title=Pierwsza wojna izraelsko-arabska 1948 roku i jej wpływ na formowanie się Izraelskich Sił Obronnych |trans-title=The first Israeli-Arab war of 1948 and its impact on its formation Israel Defense Forces |url=https://repozytorium.amu.edu.pl/jspui/bitstream/10593/693/1/Jadwiszczok_PhD.pdf |publisher=Wydział Historyczny Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu |location=[[Poznań]] |date=2010 |pages=289-290 |language=pl |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107060324/https://repozytorium.amu.edu.pl/bitstream/10593/693/1/Jadwiszczok_PhD.pdf |archive-date=7 November 2017}}</ref> The unit encountered Bedouins in [[Ras el Naqb (Sinai/Negev)|Ras al-Naqb]] and immediately set out to return to [[Beersheba]] using a different route. As a result, the Arab Legion again manned posts at Ras al-Naqb, which had previously been abandoned.

==Timeline of the operation==
On 5 March 1949, (4 Adar 5709) Negev Brigade forces set out from [[Beersheba]] to the [[Ramon Crater]], through [[Bir 'Asluj]]. Golani forces simultaneously set out from [[Mamshit]] to [[Ein Husub]].

On 6 March, the Negev Brigade travelled to Sde Avraham and began to clear land for an airfield there.

In the night of 6 March, [[7th Armored Brigade (Israel)|7th Brigade]] reinforcements from the Gahal platoon arrived by air in the newly cleared airfield. They carried supplies and fuel vital to continue the operation.

On 7 March, Golani forces conquered the village [[Ein Harouf]]. On the same day, the Alexandroni Brigade moved from Beersheba through Mamshit towards [[Sodom and Gomorrah|Sodom]]. From there it made an amphibious landing near [[Ein Gedi]] through the [[Dead Sea]].

On 8 March, Golani conquered [[Ein Ghamr]]. The defending Jordanian forces withdrew. Simultaneously, Negev forces moved towards Umm Rashrash through the Valley of Fingers. At night, the Alexandroni Brigade set sail from Sodom on the [[Dead Sea]]    and landed at [[Ein Gedi]] before dawn. This was called Operation Itzuv ("Stabilization").

On 8-9 March, the Alexandroni Brigade split into three groups, one of which captured Ein Gedi and the southern group captured [[Masada]]. During that time the Negev Brigade stayed at the Valley of Fingers for two days, looking for a roundabout way to reach [[Ras al-Naqb]].

On 9 March, Golani forces captured [[Gharandal]] and proceeded to Ein Ghadyan (now [[Yotvata]]).

In the morning of 10 March, an aerial photographer discovered that the police station guarding Ras al-Naqb was abandoned. The Negev Brigade set out towards Umm Rashrash through Ras al-Naqb.

Negev and Golani Brigades actively competed on who would reach the [[Red Sea]] first, and on 10 March at 15:00, the Negev Brigade accomplished the feat, reaching the abandoned police station at Umm Rashrash (where the city of [[Eilat]] was later built). The Golani Brigade arrived two hours later.

Because Operation Uvda was the last military operation during the war,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://info.palmach.org.il/show_item.asp?levelId=42858&itemId=8855&itemType=0|title=Operation "Ovda"|work=Palmach Information Center|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305025130/http://info.palmach.org.il/show_item.asp?levelId=42858&itemId=8855&itemType=0|archive-date=5 March 2016}}</ref> the raising at the police station of the hand-drawn Israeli flag (popularly known as the [[Ink Flag (Israel)|Ink Flag]]) on 10 March at 16:00 is considered to have ended the war.

The front commander sent this telegram at the conclusion of the campaign:
"On Hagana day, the 11th of Adar, the Palmach Negev Brigade and the Golani Brigade present the Gulf of Aqaba to the State of Israel".

== Gallery ==
<gallery widths="190" heights="190">
Ouvda-mars-1949 english.png|Map of Operation Uvda
PikiWiki Israel 6325 golani 1949.jpg|The Golani Brigade during Operation Uvda 9&nbsp;March&nbsp;1949
The National Library of Israel, Nadav Man - Bitmuna Collection, Operation Ovda Golany-007.jpg|[[Yigal Allon]] (left) and Nahum Spiegel during Operation Uvda
UmmRashRash_PoliceStation.jpg|Historical model of the police station at Umm Rashrash
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[Uvda (Israel)]]
*[[Ovda Airbase]]  
*[[Operation Horev]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

*{{cite book|title=Battle Sites in the Land of Israel|pages=15–16|author=Carta Jerusalem|publisher=[[Carta (publisher)|Carta]]|location=[[Israel]]|year=2003|isbn=965-220-494-3|editor=Jehuda Wallach|language=he}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Operation Uvda}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070926224423/http://www.palmach.org.il/items/6271/show_map.asp?map=8394 Presentation, including a map, showing the Israeli progress in Operation Uvda] {{in lang|he}}

{{Israeli operations in the 1948 war}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Uvda 1949}}
[[Category:Battles and operations of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War]]
[[Category:Eilat in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict]]
[[Category:March 1949 in Asia]]
[[Category:Jordan in the Arab–Israeli conflict]]