Military History | 1967 Arab-Israeli War
Israeli Order of Battle in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War

Posted 10 Mar 2002

Israeli Ugda

The organisation of an Ugda (Division) was fairly flexible. They all had at least one armoured Brigade plus optional Infantry Brigades.

Division / Ugda

1+ x Armoured Brigade

2 x Tank Battalions (50 tanks)

1+ x Mechanised Infantry battalion (half-tracks)

Artillery

Reconnaissance company

0+ x Mechanised (half-tracks) or motorised (trucks) Infantry Brigade

Israeli Commands

Eshel-Dramit. (1979) had a mechanised brigade under Lt. Col Moshe fighting in Samaria but I'm not sure where his brigade fits into the order of battle below.

1 x Mechanised (half-track) Infantry Brigade (Lt. Col. Moshe)

1 x Tank Battalion with M50 Shermans
2 x Mechanised (half-track) Infantry Battalion
3 x 120mm mortar batteries
1 x Jeep reconnaissance company

Northern Command (West Bank; Gen. Elazar)

"Peled" Division (Gen. Peled)

* Armoured Brigade (Col. Ram)

1 x Tank Battalion with Centurions

1 x Tank Battalion with AMX-13s

* Armoured Brigade (Col. Bar-Kochva)

3 x Tank Battalions with Shermans

1 x Mechanised (half-track) Infantry Battalion

Infantry Brigade (Col. Yehuda Gavish)

Central Command (Jerusalem; Brig. Gen. Uzi Narkiss)

General Orbat from Laffin (1982). Details of Paratroopers largely from Gur (1978). Other bits and bobs from Eshel-Dramit. (1979).

** 6th "Etzioni" (Regulars) / 16th "Jerusalem" Infantry Brigade (Reservists) (Col. Eliezer 'Lezer' Amitai) *

Infantry Battalion (Lt. Col. Nehemiah Oz)

Infantry Battalion (Asher Dreisen replaced by Col. Yehoshua Nevo)

Robert McAuthor sent me this orbat for the Etzioni

61st Infantry Battalion (LtCol Asher Driezin (wia))
62nd Infantry Battalion (LtCol Roschile)
63rd Infantry Battalion (LtCol Michael Piekas (kia))
68th Infantry Battalion (LtCol Ophir)
unknown reserve Infantry Battalion
unknown reserve Infantry Battalion
unknown reserve Infantry Battalion
unknown reserve Infantry Battalion
unknown Tank Squadron (Sherman) - Maj Aharon Kamove
90th Reconnaisance Company - Maj Yosef Langotsky

unverified units
unknown Engineer Company
unknown Signals platoon
unknown Medical Company

10th "Harel" Armoured Brigade (Col. Ben-Ari)

1 x Tank Battalion with mix of refitted Centurions and M50 Shermans

1 x Tank Battalion with AMX-13s

1 x Infantry Battalion with Half Tracks

55th Reserve Airbourne Brigade (Col. Morechai 'Motte' Gur; Duty commander 'Moshele') including

28th Parachute Battalion (Yossi P.)

Artillery Liaison Officer

One company commander was 'Hagai'

Company A

Engineer Section ('Iran' & 'Giora') - attached from Engineer Company

Company B

Company C

Engineer Section ('Dan') - attached from Engineer Company

Company D

Engineer Section ('Eitan') - attached from Engineer Company

Support Company ('Rafi')

81 mm Mortar Platoon - more than 4 weapons

??

66th Parachute Battalion (Yossi 'Herzl' Y.)

Artillery Liaison Officer

Company A ('Gabi')

Platoons under 'Pinia', 'Gadi', 'Ofer'

MAG kksection (Uri Dan)

Company B (Capt. 'Dudik')

Platoons under 'Yoav', 'Zvika', 'Mike'

Company C ('Dadi')

Platoons under 'Yoram', 'Miller', Dani Yizchaki

MAG section (Zvika Magen)

Company D (Capt. Giora Ashkenazi)

Platoons under 'Bloom' replaced by 'Zvika', 'Buki', 'Reuben'

MAGs section ('Aharon')

Mortar Section (Presumably 52 mm)

Assault Platoon ('Shmerer') Presumably a extemporized unit.

Reconnaissance Platoon ('Zami')

Support Company ('Zvika')

81 mm Mortar Platoon ('Hermoni')

Heavy Machinegun Platoon (Abe) - Gur (1978) called these "heavy artillery" and "heavy guns" but the men carried the guns upstairs and fired them from windows with two helpers holding up the front legs of weapon's tripod, so probably a heavy machine gun.

3 x Section

Recoiless Gun Platoon ('Eshkoli') (mounted on jeeps)

Tank company ('Rafi') attached to 66th Parachute Battalion from some other unit (??)

1 x Command Tank ('Rafi')

Platoon ('Saul') with 3 tanks

Platoon ('Arzi') with 3 tanks

Platoon ('Gilboa') with 3 tanks

71st Parachute Battalion ('Uzi')

Artillery Liaison Officer

Company B (Lt. 'Eilat')

Company ('Mussa')

Company ('Zamush')

Somewhere a platoon under Sgt. Amos Wool

Support Company ('Bikel')

81 mm Mortar Platoon ('Zviki')

??

Support Company ('Ziklag')

2 x 81 mm Mortar Platoons

Also called upon 160 mm and 155 mm artillery

Engineer Company (Capt. 'Yod-Bet')

Platoon (Capt. 'Yod-Bet') assigned to Battalion 66

Platoon (Lt. 'Avi') assigned to Battalion 28

3 sections, each assigned to a company

Reconnaissance Unit (Micha Kapusta) - attached to Battalion 28

Communications Company ('Orni')

Transport Company (Maj. 'Katcha')

Infantry Brigade (Col. Shehem?)

Infantry Brigade (Col. Yotvat?)

** Gur (1978) and Eshel-Dramit. (1979) refer to the "Jerusalem" Brigade and Laffin (1982) to the "Etzioni" Brigade. I decided they were the same outfit as all sources give the commander as Col. Amitai. Robert McAuthor emailed to say they were one and the same, and were the 16th Etzioni brigade (also called "Jerusalem" Brigade because most members were from Jerusalem) (Robert cites Six Days of War: June 1967 and the making of The modern Middle East by Michael B. Oren, Oxford University Press, 2002), however, Floyd Waite emailed to say the two units were different. According to Floyd the 6th Etzioni were Regulars and 16th Jerusalem Brigade were Reservists but under the same command for the defense of Jerusalem (Floyd cites Eshel-Dramit). The Orbat that Robert sent through certainly looks the size of two brigades, not one.

Southern Command (Gen. Gavish)

Details primarily from Laffin (1982).

Laffin (1982) says Gen. Gavish was GOC southern command but Herzog (1982) says Gen. Gonen was - presumably the same Gonen that Laffin has leading the 7th Armoured Brigade.

Operated in Sinai.

"Tal" Division (Gen. Tal)

7th Armoured Brigade (Col. Shmuel Gonen)

79th Tank Battalion with M48 Pattons

82nd Tank Battalion with Centurions

Armoured Brigade (Col. Aviram)

1 x Tank Battalion with Shermans

1 x Tank Battalion with AMX-13s

202nd Airborne Brigade (Col. Rafael Eitan)

890th Paratroop Battalion

88th Nahal Paratroop Battalion

771th Reserve Paratroop Battalion

202nd Paratroop Battalion

Paratroop Reconnaissance Battalion (Sayeret Tzanhanim) (Maj. Dan Shomron)

Paratroop Engineering Group

Mechanised Reconnaissance Task force (Col. Baron) including:

1 x Tank Battalion with M48 and some AMX-13s.

"Yoffe" Division (Gen. Abraham Yoffe)

Armoured Brigade (Col. Shadni)

2 x Tank Battalions with Centurions

Armoured Brigade (Col. Sela)

2 x Tank Battalions with Centurions

"Sharon" Division (Gen. Ariel Sharon)

Armoured Brigade

1 x Tank Battalion with Centurions

1 x Tank Battalion with Shermans

* 80th Reserve Para Brigade (Col. Dani Matt)

Infantry Brigade

Mechanised Reconnaissance Battalion with AMX-13s

* Independent (8th?) Armoured Brigade (Col. Mendler)

2 x Tank Battalions with Shermans

1 x Mechanised (half-track) Infantry Battalion

Syrian Front (Gen. Elazar)

The units above marked with a * were also involved in the Golan Heights.

Other units were:

1st "Golani" Infantry Brigade

Reconnaissance force (Sayeret Golani, also called the "Flying Lizards")

1st "Lightning" Battalion (G'dud Barak) (Lt-Col. Musa Klein)

13th Battalion

17th "Gideon" Battalion (G'dud Gideon)

72nd "First Conquerors" Battalion (HaBokim HaRishonim)

3 -4 x Infantry Brigades with integral tank support

Israeli Equipment

Armoured vehicles

  • 250 x Centurion Mk. III and V tanks
  • 200 x M48 Patton tanks
  • 200 x Sherman tanks updated with French 105 mm gun.
  • Possibly 200 unmodified Shermans (based on number of Sherman battalions mentioned above)
  • About 200 x AMX-13s (based on number of AMX-13 battalions mentioned above)
  • 2 battalions of reconditions M7 Priest self-propelled howitzers with 105 mm guns
  • Several batteries of 155 mm guns on Sherman chassis (possibly the Soltam L33 155 mm Self-propelled Howitzer or the French M1e 1950)
  • M3/M9 Half tracks (APC) with .30 cal machineguns
  • M3/M9 Half tracks with 120 mm mortars
  • M3/M9 Half tracks with 90 mm Anti-tank guns
  • M3/M9 Half tracks with SS-11 wire-guided AT missiles

Infantry weapons

  • 7.62 mm Belgian FN/FAL self-loading rifle
  • Heavy barreled 7.62 mm Belgian FN/FAL self-loading rifle as squad support weapon.
  • FN MAG 7.62 mm light machine gun.
  • Israeli Uzi sub-machinegun was issued to paratroops, commandos, infantry junior leaders and vehicle crews. Note: Gur, 1978, has a tendency to call these "machineguns".
  • Machinegun
  • Anti-tank rifles
  • Bazookas
  • 52 mm mortars
  • 81 mm mortars

Other

  • Hawk anti-aircraft missiles
  • Browning .30 and .50 cal machine guns.