Bahjat al-Muhaisen
Encyclopedia
Royal Jordanian Land Force
The Royal Jordanian Land Force is part of the Jordanian Armed Forces . It draws its origins from units first formed in the British Mandate of Transjordan in the 1920s. It has seen combat against Israel in 1948, 1956, 1967, and 1973...
officer who served in significant infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
commands during his career.
Born in Tafilah
Tafilah
At-Tafilah is a town with a population of 39,000 people in southern Jordan, located southwest of Amman. It is the capital of Tafilah Governorate. It is well-known for having green gardens which contain olive and fig trees, and grape-vines...
, Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
in 1927. Bahjat al-Muhaisen in 1966, was the Colonel in command of the of Hettin Infantry Brigade stationed in the Hebron
Hebron
Hebron , is located in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judean Mountains, it lies 930 meters above sea level. It is the largest city in the West Bank and home to around 165,000 Palestinians, and over 500 Jewish settlers concentrated in and around the old quarter...
area. On 13 November 1966, an Israeli battalion commanded by Colonel Yoav Shaham broke through the Jordanian borders towards Samu
Samu Incident
The Samu incident refers to events on November 13, 1966 involving an Israeli military attack on the Jordanian-controlled West Bank village of Samu in response to Fatah raids against Israelis near the West Bank border...
village, allegedly to destroy a Fateh base that was active in the area.
The Jordanians named the incident The Battle of Samu
Samu Incident
The Samu incident refers to events on November 13, 1966 involving an Israeli military attack on the Jordanian-controlled West Bank village of Samu in response to Fatah raids against Israelis near the West Bank border...
, though Israelis refer to it as Operation Shredder. Colonel Bahjat al-Muhaisen was injured in the battle, and Colonel Yoav Shaham was killed in action.
Seven months later still in command of his brigade, Bahjat participated in the 1967 Six Day War without fighting and had to retreat to the East Bank of Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
. His brigade was the last one to cross the River Jordan on Wednesday 7 June 1967 before destroying the bridges. Hebron was captured that day at 18:00. A little less than a year later, he saw action again in Battle of Karameh
Battle of Karameh
The Battle of Karameh was fought on March 21, 1968 in the town of Karameh, Jordan, between the Israel Defense Forces and combined forces of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Jordanian Army...
. That day ended decisively in favor of the Jordanian army
Jordanian Armed Forces
The Jordanian Armed Forces , also referred to as The Arab Army , with all of it branches, is under direct control of the King of Jordan...
.
Bahjat was transferred to the command of Al Hussain bin Ali Brigade as a Brigadier General in the South of Jordan then he was appointed as Military Attache at the Embassy of HKJ. He was there for less than a year, when he was recalled back to Jordan. He was handed the command of the Second Division
Division (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
of the Jordanian Army based in the northern part of Jordan. The unfortunate events of what became known later as Black September, had started and there was an urgent need to enforce order and peace. During this time, Bahjat AL Muhaisen had met with a number of developments which led him to submit his resignation in 1971. These developments included unclarity in the Military hierarchy within the Second Division epitomized by the inter-linking and the contradictory orders issued by GHQ which went straight to those under AL Muhaisen rather than through him. A number of Political & Military leaders were working towards escalating the situation with the Palestinian factions & creating a state of unrest . Al Muhaisen was left with no choice but to submit his resignation and move with his family to his hometown of Tafila. He died in Amman, Jordan on 10 April 2007.