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Operation Shmone (, ''Mivtza Shmone'', ''lit.'' Eight) was an Israeli military operation conducted against the Egyptian-held police fort of Iraq Suwaydan in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. The battle was fought between the Israel Defense Forces and the Egyptian Army on November 9, 1948, and ended in an Israeli victory, following numerous previous Israeli attempts to capture the fort, two of them in Operation Yoav just weeks before. The Israeli 8th and Givati brigades attacked the fort in broad daylight following a heavy artillery barrage. After a hole was blown through the wall of the fort, the Egyptian forces surrendered. The capture of the fort led to the Egyptian evacuation of Bayt 'Affa and other nearby positions, reducing the besieged Fallujah Pocket to the villages of Fallujah and Iraq al-Manshiyya. ==Background== The Iraq Suwaydan police fort was built along with the other British Tegart forts in the wake of the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine. It occupied a strategic location overlooking the Majdal–Hebron road and the junction with the internal Negev road.〔 When the British withdrew from the area in May 1948, the fort was handed over to Muslim Brotherhood forces. It was a major obstacle to Israeli transportation to the Negev enclave and served as a forward base against Israeli positions in the area, including kibbutz Negba.〔 The Israelis nicknamed the fort "The Monster on the Hill".〔 Before Operation Shmone, the Israelis made seven attempts to capture the fort throughout the war. The first was made on May 13, right after the Muslim Brotherhood occupied the building. The Givati 53rd Battalion was expecting to find the place deserted, but met with fire and retreated. Three more tries were made before the first truce (June 11); on May 18–19, forces from the 53rd and 54th battalions attacked from the north and were beaten back. The same units repeated their attempt two days later but also failed to capture the fort. Finally, a Negev Brigade unit tried and failed in the same task on the night of June 10–11.〔 The next and fifth Israeli attack came on July 8–9, during Operation An-Far in the Battles of the Ten Days. The Negev Brigade came close to reaching the fort itself, after cutting through four outlying fences, but retreated due to ammunition shortages.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Operation Shmone」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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