Burma Road (Israel)
Encyclopedia
The Israeli "Burma Road" was a makeshift bypass road between the general vicinity of kibbutz Hulda
and Jerusalem. It was built by Israeli forces headed by general Mickey Marcus
during the 1948 Siege of Jerusalem
. The name was inspired by the Burma Road
into China.
During the early phase of the Israeli War of Independence
(from November 29, 1947 to May 15, 1948), local Arab forces took control of the hills overlooking the road to Jerusalem (Highway 1
), between Sha'ar HaGai (Bab el-Wad) and Al Qastal. Vehicles attempting to use the road, Jerusalem's only link to the coast, took heavy fire, in effect besieging the city
's Jewish population. Convoys carrying food, weapons, and medical supplies sent by the Yishuv
sustained heavy losses, and often did not get through to the city.
On May 15, 1948, British forces withdrew from the Latrun
monastery and police fort that dominated the road and prevented supplies from reaching Jerusalem. Latrun was immediately occupied by the Palmach
's Harel Brigade
. However, on the night of May 18, British officered Arab Legion
forces from Transjordan
seized Latrun, and subsequent Jewish attempts to gain a foothold in the region failed.
The growing need for supplies amongst Jerusalem's Jewish population weakened the Jewish foothold within the city considerably. A small amount of supplies, mostly munitions, were ferried by air, but the shortage of food, water, fuel and medicines was acute. The Jewish leadership, under David Ben Gurion, feared that the city would surrender to the Arab Legion, and a search for a way to bypass the Arab blockade commenced.
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The road ran from just east of Dayr Muhaysin
(today Moshav
Beko'a
), by way of Bayt Jiz
and Bayt Susin
(near kibbutz Harel
), and then crossed the road that is now known as Highway 38
. From there is ascended to Bayt Mahsir
(Beit Meir
), Saris
(Shoresh
and Sho'eva
), and then connected with the old Jerusalem road.
Several Israeli attempts to take the Transjordanian Legion's positions in Latrun failed, but surrounding parts of the road were cleared of snipers by the end of May. Passage of 150 troops on foot from Hulda
to Harel Brigade
headquarters near Abu Ghosh
suggested that it would be possible to modify the "gazelle path" so that it would be hidden from the firing range of the British 25 pound cannon
in Latrun and would accommodate vehicular traffic. On the night of May 30–31, an attempt failed when the lead jeep overturned. The road was improved slightly. A second attempt on the following night succeeded. On the night of June 1–2 the vehicles returned, and with them were three jeeps from Jerusalem, that went on to Tel Aviv
to organize a supply convoy for Jerusalem, which returned that night. However, the road was still practically impassable. Vehicles had to be pushed by hand through large sections. Porters and donkeys were used to bring supplies to Jerusalem while bulldozers and road workers moved critical parts of the road out of the line of sight of Jordanian artillery and widened it. The Legion spotted the activity and Jordanian artillery shelled the road ineffectively, since it could not be seen. Arab sharpshooters killed several road workers, and an attack on June 9 left eight Israelis dead.
The road allowed passage of a convoy without leaving the vehicles on June 10, in time for the UN imposed cease fire, but it required repair as vehicular passage opened new pot holes. The road was finally completed on June 14, and water and fuel pipes were laid alongside it. Amos Horev
, later President of Technion, was an Operations Officer, and was instrumental in creating the road.
, which dramatizes the career of Mickey Marcus, has a major part dedicated to the construction of the Burma Road.
The 2006 film O' Jerusalem
includes scenes in which food and supplies are brought into Jerusalem on what would become the Burma Road.
Hulda, Israel
Hulda is a kibbutz in central Israel. Located in the Shephelah near the Hulda forest and the Burma Road, it falls under the jurisdiction of Gezer Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 332...
and Jerusalem. It was built by Israeli forces headed by general Mickey Marcus
Mickey Marcus
David Daniel "Mickey" Marcus was a United States Army colonel who assisted Israel during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and who became Israel's first general . He was killed by friendly fire, when he was mistaken for an enemy infiltrator while returning to Israeli positions at night.Marcus is the best...
during the 1948 Siege of Jerusalem
Siege of Jerusalem (1948)
The Battle for Jerusalem occurred from 30 November 1947 to 11 June 1948 when Jewish and Arab population of Mandatory Palestine and later Israeli and Jordanian armies fought for the control of the city....
. The name was inspired by the Burma Road
Burma Road
The Burma Road is a road linking Burma with the southwest of China. Its terminals are Kunming, Yunnan, and Lashio, Burma. When it was built, Burma was a British colony.The road is long and runs through rough mountain country...
into China.
Background
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...
(from November 29, 1947 to May 15, 1948), local Arab forces took control of the hills overlooking the road to Jerusalem (Highway 1
Highway 1 (Israel)
Highway 1 , is the main highway connecting Tel Aviv with Jerusalem.-History:The section between Latrun and Jerusalem roughly follows an ancient path connecting Jaffa and Jerusalem...
), between Sha'ar HaGai (Bab el-Wad) and Al Qastal. Vehicles attempting to use the road, Jerusalem's only link to the coast, took heavy fire, in effect besieging the city
Siege of Jerusalem (1948)
The Battle for Jerusalem occurred from 30 November 1947 to 11 June 1948 when Jewish and Arab population of Mandatory Palestine and later Israeli and Jordanian armies fought for the control of the city....
's Jewish population. Convoys carrying food, weapons, and medical supplies sent by the Yishuv
Yishuv
The Yishuv or Ha-Yishuv is the term referring to the body of Jewish residents in Palestine before the establishment of the State of Israel...
sustained heavy losses, and often did not get through to the city.
On May 15, 1948, British forces withdrew from the Latrun
Latrun
Latrun is a strategic hilltop in the Ayalon Valley in Israel overlooking the road to Jerusalem. It is located 25 kilometers west of Jerusalem and 14 kilometers southeast of Ramla.-Etymology:...
monastery and police fort that dominated the road and prevented supplies from reaching Jerusalem. Latrun was immediately occupied by 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...
's Harel Brigade
Harel Brigade
Harel Brigade is a reserve brigade of the Israel Defense Forces, today part of the Northern Command. It played a critical role in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.- War of Independence :...
. However, on the night of May 18, British officered Arab Legion
Arab Legion
The Arab Legion was the regular army of Transjordan and then Jordan in the early part of the 20th century.-Creation:...
forces from Transjordan
Transjordan
The Emirate of Transjordan was a former Ottoman territory in the Southern Levant that was part of the British Mandate of Palestine...
seized Latrun, and subsequent Jewish attempts to gain a foothold in the region failed.
The growing need for supplies amongst Jerusalem's Jewish population weakened the Jewish foothold within the city considerably. A small amount of supplies, mostly munitions, were ferried by air, but the shortage of food, water, fuel and medicines was acute. The Jewish leadership, under David Ben Gurion, feared that the city would surrender to the Arab Legion, and a search for a way to bypass the Arab blockade commenced.
Construction of the road
Dayr Muhaysin
Dayr Muhaysin was a Palestinian Arab village in the District of Ramla located 12 km southeast of Ramla and 4 km west of Latrun. It was depopulated during the 1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine on April 6, 1948 during Operation Nachshon....
(today Moshav
Moshav
Moshav is a type of Israeli town or settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists during the second aliyah...
Beko'a
Beko'a
Beko'a is a moshav in central Israel. Located near Beit Shemesh, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Yehuda Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 502....
), by way of Bayt Jiz
Bayt Jiz
Bayt Jiz was a Palestinian Arab village situated on undulating land in the western foothills of the Jerusalem heights, southwest of Ramla. In 1945, it had a population of 550...
and Bayt Susin
Bayt Susin
Bayt Susin was a Palestinian Arab village in Mandatory Palestine, located southeast of Ramla. In 1945, it had 210 inhabitants. The village was depopulated during the 1948 war by the Israeli 7th Brigade.-Geography:...
(near kibbutz Harel
Harel, Israel
Harel is a kibbutz in central Israel. Located near Latrun with an area of 12,000 dunams, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Yehuda Regional Council. In 2007 it had a population of 149....
), and then crossed the road that is now known as Highway 38
Highway 38 (Israel)
Highway 38 is a highway in the low plains of Judea in Israel. It serves as a main entrance to Beit Shemesh,and as a main north-south route in the region....
. From there is ascended to Bayt Mahsir
Bayt Mahsir
Bayt Mahsir was a Palestinian Arab village in the District of Jerusalem. It was depopulated during the 1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine on May 10, 1948 by the Har'el Brigade of Operation Makkabi. It was located 9 km west of Jerusalem....
(Beit Meir
Beit Meir
Beit Meir is a religious moshav in central Israel. Located in the Jerusalem hills around nine miles from Jerusalem, just off the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Yehuda Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 546...
), Saris
Saris
Saris was a Palestinian Arab village that was depopulated during the major offensive launched by the Haganah on 6 April 1948. Called Operation Nachshon, and launched before the British had left Palestine, its objective was to capture villages between Jerusalem and the coastal plain.-History:During...
(Shoresh
Shoresh
Shoresh is a moshav shitufi in the Jerusalem Corridor, Israel, under the jurisdiction of Mateh Yehuda Regional Council. Located five kilometres from Sha'ar HaGai, it covers an area of 7,500 dunams . In 2006, it had a population of 577....
and Sho'eva
Sho'eva
Sho'eva is a moshav in central Israel. Located west of Jerusalem, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Yehuda Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 514....
), and then connected with the old Jerusalem road.
Several Israeli attempts to take the Transjordanian Legion's positions in Latrun failed, but surrounding parts of the road were cleared of snipers by the end of May. Passage of 150 troops on foot from Hulda
Hulda, Israel
Hulda is a kibbutz in central Israel. Located in the Shephelah near the Hulda forest and the Burma Road, it falls under the jurisdiction of Gezer Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 332...
to Harel Brigade
Harel Brigade
Harel Brigade is a reserve brigade of the Israel Defense Forces, today part of the Northern Command. It played a critical role in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.- War of Independence :...
headquarters near Abu Ghosh
Abu Ghosh
Abu Ghosh is an Israeli Arab town in Israel, located west of Jerusalem on the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway. It is situated 610–720 meters above sea level. In 2010, it set the Guinness World Record for largest dish of hummus...
suggested that it would be possible to modify the "gazelle path" so that it would be hidden from the firing range of the British 25 pound cannon
Ordnance QF 25 pounder
The Ordnance QF 25 pounder, or more simply, 25-pounder or 25-pdr, was introduced into service just before World War II, during which it served as the major British field gun/howitzer. It was considered by many to be the best field artillery piece of the war, combining high rates of fire with a...
in Latrun and would accommodate vehicular traffic. On the night of May 30–31, an attempt failed when the lead jeep overturned. The road was improved slightly. A second attempt on the following night succeeded. On the night of June 1–2 the vehicles returned, and with them were three jeeps from Jerusalem, that went on to Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
to organize a supply convoy for Jerusalem, which returned that night. However, the road was still practically impassable. Vehicles had to be pushed by hand through large sections. Porters and donkeys were used to bring supplies to Jerusalem while bulldozers and road workers moved critical parts of the road out of the line of sight of Jordanian artillery and widened it. The Legion spotted the activity and Jordanian artillery shelled the road ineffectively, since it could not be seen. Arab sharpshooters killed several road workers, and an attack on June 9 left eight Israelis dead.
The road allowed passage of a convoy without leaving the vehicles on June 10, in time for the UN imposed cease fire, but it required repair as vehicular passage opened new pot holes. The road was finally completed on June 14, and water and fuel pipes were laid alongside it. Amos Horev
Amos Horev
Amos Horev is an Israeli former Israeli Defense Forces major-general, Chief of Ordnance and subsequently Quartermaster General and Chief Scientist of the IDF, military expert, nuclear scientist, President of Technion University, and Chairman of Rafael.Horev has served on and headed a number of...
, later President of Technion, was an Operations Officer, and was instrumental in creating the road.
In popular culture
The 1966 film Cast a Giant ShadowCast a Giant Shadow
Cast a Giant Shadow is a 1966 big budget, action movie based on the life of Colonel Mickey Marcus starring Kirk Douglas and Senta Berger. Yul Brynner, John Wayne, Frank Sinatra, and Angie Dickinson also appear in supporting roles...
, which dramatizes the career of Mickey Marcus, has a major part dedicated to the construction of the Burma Road.
The 2006 film O' Jerusalem
O Jerusalem (film)
O Jerusalem is a 2006 drama film directed by Elie Chouraqui. It is based on the history book of the same name, written by Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins....
includes scenes in which food and supplies are brought into Jerusalem on what would become the Burma Road.