Ikvot Habarzel Brigade
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401st Brigade (Hebrew: חטיבת עקבות הברזל Hat'ivat I'kvot Ha'Barzel Iron Trails Brigade) is an Armored Brigade in the Israeli Defence Forces. It has been so for all of its existence.
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[edit] History
Though the Brigade is a relatively new one, the newest (est. 1968), in current form since 1985.
[edit] War of Attrition
The brigade was formed by expanding and splitting the 14th Armored Brigade together with which they held the 160 kilometer long Suez Canal defensive line in Sinai. The brigade was the first to be equipped with American "Patton" M60 tanks.
[edit] Yom Kippur War
Similarly to the 188th Brigade on the Golan heights the Brigade fell victim to the shortsighted doctrine of the IDF and suffered terrible losses in the early days of the war. the 195th battalion אדם Adam belonged to the brigade in the war.
[edit] Seventies
The brigade was re-formed and returned to Sinai to continue its existence in much the same manner as it did before the war, partaking in the evacuation of Sinai under the Camp David peace agreement with Egypt, moving to the lower Jordan Valley
[edit] Operation "Peace for the Galilee"/ Lebanon War
In the war the brigade took part as a part of the Eastern Corps through the Lebanon ridge, one of the brigade's battalions took part in the Sultan Yaakub engagement, making it all the way to the Beirut-Damascus highway.
[edit] Eighties and Nineties
The Brigade alternated between varied infantry missions in Judea and Samarea, mainly in the Jordan Valley, with tank missions in the Security Zone in south Lebanon.
[edit] Current status
As of September 2004 the brigade is in the Judea and Samares disputed territories, doing mostly infantry duty, after re-equipping to the modern Merkava mk.4 tanks.
[edit] Unit makeup
Original Units: 46th and 195th armored battalions, 52nd and 34th infantry battalions, which later where upgraded to armored. After the war, the 34th battalion was disbanded, reestablished in 1988 as an Anti-Tank battalion, later renumbered 94th and named דוכיפת "Dukhuphat" and designated mechanized infantry, in 2002 it was returned to the brigade, in 2005 the battalion was transferred to the AYOSH א"יוש division (אוגדת יהודה ושמרון Augdat Yhuda Ve'Shomron). In 1981 195th battalion was transferred to the 500th armored brigade. In 1982 the 9th battalion was transferred to the brigade. In 2005 in the face of the re-organization of the army, the brigade became an experimental unit, including the 601st Engineering Battalion and the 402nd Artillery Battalion, in addition to the former Sayeret 500 now Sayeret 401, organic battalions and staff units.
