Special Night Squads
The Special Night Squads (SNS) was a paramilitary commando unit formed in 1936 by the British military officer Orde Wingate from British soldiers and members of the Jewish Settlement Police . It was founded on Wingate's initiative, operated in the British Mandate Territory of Palestine during the Arab uprising and was dissolved again in 1938.
The unit comprised around 200 soldiers and operated to combat the Arab uprising in Galilee . Around 150 soldiers were Jews. The Jewish Agency made a contribution to the financing of the association and saw the unit as an opportunity to acquire military expertise.
Wingate personally selected the members of the SNS from among the Notrim and trained them. Among those selected were personalities such as Moshe Dajan and Jigal Allon . With virtually no help from the British authorities, Wingate worked illegally with the Hagana and reinforced the SNS with people from the FO'SH .
The SNS has been very successful in preventing attacks by the Arab guerrilla force on the Iraq Petroleum Company pipeline . Wingate believed in the principle of "surprise and punishment," which aimed to lock the insurgents in their villages. So it happened more than once that Wingate had rioters line up and then shot them. On the training plan of the SNS, among other things, were training units such as "How do I kill someone without concern?" And various torture methods in order to obtain information. The Arabs regarded the SNS as ruthless and brutal and was therefore very feared by them. They complained to the British authorities about the brutal methods Wingate used in his "punitive expeditions". Wingate, on the other hand, was known to the Jewish population of Galilee “as the 'Yedid', the friend”, because due to his military successes the endangerment of their villages there decreased.
Arab-Bedouin soldiers of the British Field Squads described his fighting methods as merciless and vicious. Wingate became a security risk for the English. The SNS was therefore dissolved in 1938 and Wingate was transferred to a post outside Palestine , mainly because of its Prozionist attitude . The entry “No authorization to enter Palestine” was stamped on his identity card . Parts of the Jewish political leadership such as Moshe Sharet also saw the unity as counterproductive because of its violent approach.
“The operations came more frequently and became more ruthless. The Arabs complained to the British about Wingate's brutality and harsh punitive methods. Even members of the field squads complained ... that during the raids on Bedouin encampments Wingate would behave with extreme viciousness and fire mercilessly. Wingate believed in the principle of surprise in punishment, which was designed to confine the gangs to their villages. More than once he had lined rioters up in a row and shot them in cold blood. Wingate did not try to justify himself; weapons and war cannot be pure. "
“The operations increased and became more ruthless. The Arabs complained to the British about Wingate's brutality and harsh punitive methods. Even members of the Notrim field commandos complained ... that Wingate behaved with extreme malice and extreme mercilessness during the raids on Bedouin camps. Wingate believed in the principle of surprise in punishment, which would bind the gangs to their villages. More than once he had lined up rioters and shot them in cold blood. Wingate didn't try to justify himself; Arms and war could not be pure. "
Field Marshal Montgomery described Wingate euphemistically to Moshe Dayan in 1966 as "mentally unbalanced".
literature
- Judith Brown, Roger Louis: The Oxford History of the British Empire. Oxford University Press. Oxford 1999, ISBN 0-19-820564-3 .
- Michael Godspeed: When Reason Fails: Portraits of Armies at War: America, Britain, Israel, and the Future. Greenwood 2001, ISBN 0-275-97378-6 .
- Yoram Kaniuk: Commander of the Exodus. Grove Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8021-3808-X .
- Sam Katz: Israeli Units Since 1948- Osprey Publishingm, 1988, ISBN 0-85045-837-4 .
- Martin van Creveld : Moshe Dayan. Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London 2004, ISBN 0-297-84669-8 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Tom Segev : Once upon a time there was a Palestine. Munich, pp. 471-474.
- ^ Martin van Creveld: Moshe Dayan. 2004, p. 46.
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↑ Michael J. Pragai: They should live in their country again. Gerlingen 1990, p. 143;
Martin van Creveld: Moshe Dayan. P. 45. - ↑ a b c Yoram Kaniuk: Commander of the Exodus. Grove Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8021-3808-X , p. 19.
- ↑ Michael Godspeed: When Reason Fails: Portraits of Armies at War: America, Britain, Israel, and the Future. 2001, p. 96.