Shimon Avidan

Shimon Avidan
Born	Siegbert Koch (1911-02-07)February 7, 1911 Lissa, German Empire
Died	September 11, 1994(1994-09-11) (aged 83) Central District, Israel
Military career
Allegiance	Israel
Commands	Palmach "German" platoon Givati Brigade
Conflicts	Spanish Civil War Arab revolt in Palestine World War II Jewish insurgency in Mandatory Palestine The Saison, Hametz 1948 Arab–Israeli War Nachshon, Barak, Pleshet, Nitzanim, An-Far, Death to the Invader, Yoav
Other work	International Brigades
Signature

Shimon Avidan (Hebrew: שמעון אבידן; February 7, 1911 – September 11, 1994), born Siegbert Koch (Hebrew: זיגברט קוך), was a Palmach soldier and IDF military leader. He was the commander of the Givati Brigade during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.

Biography

Early life

Shimon Avidan was born in Germany in 1911 as Siegbert Koch, to a family of merchants. In his youth, he joined the Communist Party of Germany, which infiltrated him as an undercover agent into the Nazi Party. After the Nazis' rise to power, Communist Party documents fell into Nazi hands, and the Communist Party recommended that he leave Germany. Shimon fled to France, where he and his brother joined the Hashomer Hatzair movement. In June 1934, at the age of 23, he made Aliyah to Mandatory Palestine during the Fifth Aliyah. He joined Kibbutz Eyalet Hashachar, where he worked as a field guard. He served as a sergeant in the Notrim (Jewish police force) and later became a commander in the Mobile Guard. He then served as the commander of Field Companies in the Upper Galilee and as a fighter and commander in the Special Night Squads established by Captain Orde Charles Wingate. In 1939, he moved to Kibbutz Ein Hashofet, where he lived until his death.

Commander of the German Platoon

Avidan in 1940

During World War II, in 1941, Avidan was among the first to enlist in the Palmach and became a close friend of Palmach commander Yitzhak Sadeh. During the Two Hundred Days of Dread, from the spring of 1942 until the British Army's victory in the Second Battle of El Alamein, Yitzhak Sadeh ordered the formation of the German Platoon of the Palmach, which was intended to carry out guerrilla operations behind enemy lines if Palestine were to fall to the German army. The platoon was established in May 1942, during a time when there was fear in the Jewish Yishuv that Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps, advancing through North Africa towards Egypt, might cross the Suez Canal and invade Palestine. The platoon was formed in coordination with the British military command. Avidan, a native German speaker familiar with the German way of life, was appointed its commander, with Yehuda Ben-Hurin (Briger) as his deputy. The platoon trained in the use of weapons, combat tactics, reconnaissance, hand-to-hand combat, and radio communications.

After the British victory in the Second Battle of El Alamein on November 3, 1942, the threat of a German invasion of Palestine receded, and the platoon’s original mission of conducting guerrilla operations in Palestine was no longer necessary. The platoon continued to exist, and rumors occasionally circulated about potential operations it would carry out on various fronts, but none materialized.

Once it became clear that the British army did not require the platoon’s assistance on any front, the platoon was disbanded, and its members were distributed among various Palmach units. Avidan was tasked with forming Palmach Company Z, which was made up of soldiers from the German Platoon, the Balkan Platoon (trained to fight behind enemy lines in the Balkan states), the Arab Platoon (today’s equivalent of the undercover unit known as Mista'arvim), and the Air Platoon. Avidan became the commander of the company, and one of its section leaders was Yitzhak Rabin.

Activities in 1944–1945

Towards the end of World War II, Avidan traveled to Europe on a mission for Mossad LeAliyah Bet, where he became one of the organizers of the Aliyah Bet (illegal Jewish immigration). While in Europe, he led the group known as the Nokmim (Nazi Hunters), which operated under a veil of secrecy that remained mostly intact for years afterward, carrying out the assassination of Nazi war criminals. Upon his return to Palestine, he was appointed commander of the Fourth Battalion of the Palmach.

In late 1944, Avidan was appointed to the headquarters of the Season (Saison), led by Yigal Allon. Before the Season began, discussions were held regarding the moral dilemma of imposing the authority of the Yishuv leadership on the Irgun and Lehi underground movements, which did not recognize its leadership, and the question of whether to turn over Jews to the British. Yigal Allon opposed the handover, but Palmach commander Yitzhak Sadeh strongly supported carrying out the Saison. Avidan's view was that it was preferable to act against the underground movements independently, without cooperating with the British, but if the choice was between cooperation with the British or inaction, then cooperation with the British was the better option.

Several weeks before the end of World War II, Avidan was discharged from the Palmach and returned to Kibbutz Ein Hashofet, where he worked in agriculture.

Commander of the Givati Brigade

The Givati Brigade was one of six brigades established by the "Haganah" ahead of the Declaration of Independence to prepare for the expected invasion by Arab states. The brigade was formed from Hish units that had been fighting in the Tel Aviv and southern regions, as well as Mahal forces and an Irgun battalion. Immediately after the UN General Assembly vote on November 29, 1947, when the Jewish Yishuv came under attack, the Haganah’s national command assigned Avidan, a seasoned Haganah and Palmach commander, the task of forming the brigade. The name "Givati" was Avidan’s underground alias during the pre-state period.

During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the Givati Brigade defended the Tel Aviv region and participated in escorting convoys to Jerusalem and in operations to break through the siege on the road to Jerusalem, such as Operation Nachshon (see below).

Commander of Operation Nachshon

Operation Nachshon, which began on the night of April 5–6, 1948, and ended on April 15, was the largest Haganah operation in the pre-state phase of the war, during the period of conflict against irregular Arab forces in Palestine and the Arab Liberation Army. This was before the regular armies of the Arab states entered the war. The goal of the operation was to lift the siege of Jerusalem and secure a supply and reinforcement route to the city. David Ben-Gurion regarded Jerusalem as the focal point of the entire campaign and ordered the assembly of a large force of about 1,500 fighters for the operation. Avidan was appointed commander of the operation due to his military experience in the German Platoon and the Palmach, as well as his leadership and personal qualities. The road to Jerusalem was opened, and large supply convoys carrying food and fuel reached the city. Although the road was blocked again after the operation ended, the operation is considered a major victory for the Yishuv in its struggle with the Arabs of Palestine from November 29, 1947, until the declaration of the state.

Fighting against the Egyptians

With the Arab invasion of the newly declared state immediately following the Israeli Declaration of Independence on May 14, 1948, Avidan's Givati Brigade was assigned to fight on the most critical front, against the Egyptian army. During Operation Pleshet, the Givati Brigade fought alongside the Negev Brigade from June 1 to June 3, 1948, to halt the Egyptian army along the coastal road. On May 29, 1948, two weeks after the Arab armies’ invasion, the Egyptian Expeditionary Force began advancing north from Ashkelon. The column consisted of over 500 (1,300 vehicles according to the logbook of the reinforcement platoon from the 53rd Battalion stationed at Nitzanim, reporting to the battalion command in Be'er Tuvia)^[1]: trucks, half-tracks, medium tanks, and artillery of all kinds moved in a "parade" along the main road west of Nitzanim towards the town of Isdud (today Ashdod).

The column reached Isdud, with part of it entering the town and the rest continuing north for about 3 kilometers, stopping near the demolished bridge over the Lachish River (Ad Halom Bridge). This bridge had been blown up by Givati sappers on May 12, 1948, as part of Operation Barak. The distance to Tel Aviv was only 32 kilometers, and no significant military force stood between the Egyptians and Tel Aviv. The bridge became the northernmost point the Egyptians reached in this sector, giving rise to its name.

During the second ceasefire, Givati forces captured the Avidis stronghold and defended it from enemy attacks. They then captured Hill 105 and prevented the isolation of Negba, which had heroically withstood heavy attacks from both the air and ground. This action was carried out by the brigade's jeep unit, which earned the name "Samson's Foxes."

On September 13, 1948, a ceremonial parade of the Givati Brigade took place in Rehovot, with thousands of soldiers participating. For the first time, the brigade’s unit insignia—a sword flanked by cactus leaves—was displayed on the left shoulder of every soldier.

As part of Operation Yoav, the Givati Brigade, under Avidan's command, captured the "Junction Strongholds" (modern-day intersections of Highway 35 and Highway 232) and the Hulikat Strongholds, thereby opening the road to the Negev and encircling a large Egyptian force in the Faluja Pocket.

Postwar activities and death

Shimon Avidan with Yaffa Yarkoni, during the radio program “These Are Your Life”, 1969

After the war, Avidan was appointed head of the Operations Department in the IDF General Staff. In 1949, he retired from the IDF following a disagreement with Defense Minister David Ben-Gurion and returned to his kibbutz. His rank upon retirement was lieutenant colonel (Sgan-Aluf), which at the time was a senior rank, just below major general. Avidan’s name is forever associated with the Givati Brigade, which fought fierce battles in the War of Independence and stopped the Egyptian advance towards Tel Aviv.

In the post-war years, Avidan was the security coordinator for HaKibbutz HaArtzi and the security expert for Mapam, which at the time was one of the leading political parties in the country. He was widely regarded by the public as a man of conscience and high moral authority. Avidan was active in the institutions of HaKibbutz HaArtzi and later served as the movement’s secretary.

In 1969, during the War of Attrition, Avidan’s son, Dan, was taken captive by the Egyptians. A jeep he was riding in near the Suez Canal as the deputy commander of a post was hit by a mine, and he was captured with both legs crushed. He returned from captivity only after the end of the Yom Kippur War.

In 1976, Avidan was appointed by Defense Minister Shimon Peres as Comptroller of the Defense Establishment. He held this position until the political upheaval of 1977, when the Likud party, led by Menachem Begin, came to power. Afterward, Avidan did not hold any official position.

Shimon Avidan worked for many years in the agriculture sector of Kibbutz Ein Hashofet and in the kibbutz's factory. He was an amateur archaeologist and established a museum on the kibbutz. His brother was Walter Koch, who Hebraized his name to Uri Kochva, and was an artist and painter, a member of Kibbutz Na'an.

Shimon Avidan passed away in 1994 at the age of 83. He was buried in his kibbutz, Ein Hashofet.

After his death, streets in Tel Aviv, Rishon LeZion, Holon, and Beersheba were named in his honor.

Further reading

• Shaul Dagan and Eliyahu Yakir, Shimon Avidan Givati, Yad Yaari, 1995.
• Uri Avnery, In the Fields of Philistia - 1948, Tversky Publishing, 1949.
• Major Avraham Ilon, The Givati Brigade in the War of Independence, Tel Aviv: "Maarachot", 1959.
• Avraham Ilon, Givati Brigade Against the Egyptian Invader, Tel Aviv: Maarachot, 1963.