Avraham "Bren" Adan is a former Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

i general who served in the military between 1947 and 1973.

Biography

Adan was born in Kfar Gileadi, British Mandate Palestine in 1926. He joined the Palmach

Palmach

The Palmach was the elite fighting force of the Haganah, the underground army of the Yishuv during the period of the British Mandate of Palestine. The Palmach was established on May 15, 1941...

 in 1943. During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War

1948 Arab-Israeli War

The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, known to Israelis as the War of Independence or War of Liberation The war commenced after the termination of the British Mandate for Palestine and the creation of an independent Israel at midnight on 14 May 1948 when, following a period of civil war, Arab armies invaded...

 he was a company commander in the 8th Battalion of the Negev Brigade

Negev Brigade

The 12th Negev Brigade was an Israeli infantry brigade that served in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. It was commanded by Nahum "Sergei" Sarig and consisted of four Palmach battalions...

 and participated in Operation Uvda, in which the brigade captured the Jordanian outpost of Umm Rashrash, now known as Eilat, at the southernmost tip of the newly-created country. It was he who raised the Ink Flag claiming the territory for Israel, as depicted in the famous photograph of the event.

Adan joined the Armored Corps in 1949 and founded the first Sherman tank

M4 Sherman

The M4 Sherman, formally Medium Tank, M4, was the primary tank used by the United States during World War II. Thousands were also distributed to the Allies, including the British Commonwealth and Soviet armies, via lend-lease...

 unit in the IDF. During the 1956 Suez War, Lieutenant Colonel

Lieutenant colonel

Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...

 Adan commanded the 82nd battalion of the 7th Armored Brigade in the Sinai

Sinai Peninsula

The Sinai Peninsula or Sinai is a triangular peninsula in Egypt about in area. It is situated between the Mediterranean Sea to the north, and the Red Sea to the south, and is the only part of Egyptian territory located in Asia as opposed to Africa, effectively serving as a land bridge between two...

, defeating several Egyptian forces in the region. After the war he became the operations officer of the corps, then the commander of the 7th Brigade and the Armored Corps School. During the June 1967 Six-Day War

Six-Day War

The Six-Day War , also known as the June War, 1967 Arab-Israeli War, or Third Arab-Israeli War, was fought between June 5 and 10, 1967, by Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt , Jordan, and Syria...

, Adan was the deputy commander of the Armored Corps and of the 31st Armored Division, fighting again in the Sinai. On March 10, 1969, he became the commander of the Armored Corps.

Major General

Major General

Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...

 Adan was defending the northern portion of the Israeli defense along the Suez Canal when the October 1973 Yom Kippur War

Yom Kippur War

The Yom Kippur War, Ramadan War or October War , also known as the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and the Fourth Arab-Israeli War, was fought from October 6 to 25, 1973, between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria...

 broke out. As the commander of the 162nd Division, his division suffered severe losses from October 6 to October 8, in repeated attempts to stop the Egyptian attack and push it back across the canal. Later on during the war he led his unit across the canal into Egyptian territory just north of the Great Bitter Lake

Great Bitter Lake

The Great Bitter Lake is a salt water lake between the north and south part of the Suez Canal. It is adjoined by the Small Bitter Lake . Before the Canal was built, their site was occupied by dry salt valleys. Together, the Bitter Lakes now have a surface area of about 250 km²...

, during Operation Stouthearted Men. He then maneuvered his unit southward to Suez City, where his unit surrounded the Egyptian Third Army.

Between 1974 and 1977, he served as the Armed Forces Attaché at the Israeli embassy in Washington, DC.

Published works

• On Both Banks of the Suez (1979). Idanim Publishing.
• Up to the Ink Flag (1984). Ministry of Defense Publishing.