Operation Ovda
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Operation Ovda was an operation conducted by the Israel Defense Forces during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, from March 5 to March 10, 1949. It was the last IDF operation during the war and its objective was to capture the southern Negev desert, which was claimed by Jordan in the armistice talks of 1949.
The southern Negev was designated to be part of the Jewish State in the 1947 UN Partition Plan. The name Ovda is a term derived from the Hebrew word for fact (עובדה uvda), referring to the operation's objective to establish the fact of Israeli sovereignty over the territory in question, rather than actually conquer it. As such, the Israeli forces did not meet significant resistance on their way. The region claimed during this operations is now referred to as Ovda.
The Negev, Golani and Alexandroni brigades participated in the operation, as well as a number of smaller units.
[edit] Timeline of the operation
On March 5, 1949, Negev Brigade forces set out from Beersheba to the Ramon Crater, through Bir Asluj. Golani forces simultaneously set out from Mamshit to Ein Hasb.
On March 6, the Negev Brigade travelled to Sde Avraham and began to clear land for an airfield there. On March 7, Golani forces conquered the village Ein Harouf.
In the night of March 6, 7th Brigade reinforcements from the Gahal platoon arrived by air in the newly cleared airfield. They carried supplies and fuel vital to continue the operation.
On March 7, the Alexandroni Brigade moved from Beersheba through Mamshit towards Sodom. From there it made an amphibious landing near Ein Gedi through the dead sea. On March 8-9, Alexandroni conquered Ein Gedi and Masada.
On March 8, Golani conquered al-Ghamr. The defending Jordanian forces withdrew. Simultaneously, Negev forces moved towards Umm Rashrash through the Valley of Fingers.
The Negev Brigade stayed at the valley for two days, looking for a roundabout way to reach Ras A'Naqb. On March 9, Golani forces captured Garandal and proceeded to Ein Ghidyan (now Yotvata).
In the morning of March 10, an aerial photographer discovered that the police station guarding Ras A'Naqb was abandoned. The Negev Brigade set out towards Umm Rashrash through Ras A'Naqb.
Negev and Golani actively competed on who would reach the Red Sea first, and on March 10 at 15:00, the Negev Brigade accomplished the feat, reaching the abandaoned police station at Umm Rashrash (where the city of Eilat was later built). The Golani Brigade arrived two hours later.
Because Operation Ovda was the last military operation during the war, the raising at the police station of the hand-drawn Israeli flag on March 10 at 16:00 is considered to have ended the war.
