Operation Uvda - Prior Reconnaissance

Prior Reconnaissance

In January 1949, slightly over a month before the operation, a small unit was dispatched to reconnoiter the southern Negev, with limited resources and no ability to receive tactical aid. The unit's mission was to map the region, as the best available map of the time was a GSGS map scaled 1:250,000. The unit was reinforced by reconnaissance aircraft and heavy use was made of aerial photography stereoscopic imaging.

The unit moved in two parts: one through the center of the Negev and one through the Arava. It was strictly forbidden to engage the Jordanian Arab Legion or enter the Sinai. The unit encountered Bedouins in Ras al-Naqb and immediately set out to return to Beersheba using a different route. As a result, the Arab Legion again manned posts at Ras al-Naqb, which had previously been abandoned.