7th Armored Brigade (Israel)

7th Armored Brigade (Israel)

The 7th Armored Brigade (Hebrew: חטיבה שבע, Hativa Sheva) is a military formation of the Israeli Defense Force formed during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. The brigade took part in all of Israel's wars. During the Battles of Latrun in 1948 the 3rd Alexandroni Brigade and the 7th together suffered 139 casualties. Ariel (Arik) Sharon. later prime minister of Israel, was wounded in the Battle of Latrun. Its participation in the Six-Day War was under the command of Colonel Shmuel Gonen (Gorodish). In the Yom Kippur War, under the command of Colonel Avigdor Ben-Gal, it was stationed at the defense line of the northern part of the Golan Heights (sharing the defense with the Barak Armored Brigade), where it successfully repulsed heavy attacks by much larger Syrian forces.

During the 1948 War, the 7th Brigade primarily consisted of Sherman tanks and mounted infantry. Early on, the 7th also contained an artillery element. During the 1960s, the brigade was equipped with British Centurion tanks modified in Israel. These were gradually superseded in the late 1970s by the Israeli-made Merkavas, of which several versions have since been employed.

The 7th Brigade once belonged to Israel's Southern Command. Since the end of the Yom Kippur War, the 7th has been based in the Golan Heights as part of the 36th Armored Division.