Hish (, a Hebrew acronym for ''Heil HaSadeh'' (), lit. ''Field Corps'') was a

corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was formally introduced March 1, 1800, when Napoleon ordered Gener ...

formed by the

Haganah Haganah ( , ) was the main Zionist political violence, Zionist paramilitary organization that operated for the Yishuv in the Mandatory Palestine, British Mandate for Palestine. It was founded in 1920 to defend the Yishuv's presence in the reg ...

in the British Mandate of Palestine in 1939, following the disbandment of the smaller mobilized force known as the Posh. It was the Haganah's main surface corps, alongside Him and the

Palmach The Palmach (Hebrew: , acronym for , ''Plugot Maḥatz'', "Strike Phalanges/Companies") was the elite combined strike forces and sayeret unit of the Haganah, the paramilitary organization of the Yishuv (Jewish community) during the period of th ...

History

1939 was a turning point for the Jewish Defence forces.

Orde Wingate Major-general (United Kingdom), Major General Orde Charles Wingate, (26 February 1903 – 24 March 1944) was a senior British Army officer known for his creation of the Chindits, Chindit deep-penetration missions in Japanese-held territory duri ...

was transferred out of Palestine and the Fosh was replaced by a less mobile but permanent "Field Force/Corps", ''Heil Sadeh'' or Hish. The forces were formed with men with basic military training into Home Guard units, ''Heil Mishmar'', Him. With ''Plugot Meyuhadot'' (Pum) as covert "Special Companies" to wage a counter terror war against the Arabs. Hish had 9,500 members, largely untrained, ranging in age from 18 to 25.Shield of David: The Story of Israel’s Armed Forces
Yigal Allon Hish consisted of the Levanoni Brigade, Carmeli Brigade,

Golani Brigade The 1st "Golani" Brigade (, ''Hativat Golani'') is an Israeli military infantry brigade. It is subordinated to the 36th Division and traditionally associated with the Northern Command. It is one of the five infantry brigades of the regular Is ...

, Kiryati Brigade, Alexandroni Brigade,

Etzioni Brigade The Etzioni Brigade (, ''Hativat Etzyoni''), also 6th Brigade and Jerusalem Brigade, is an infantry brigade of the Israel Defense Forces. It was founded in late 1947 as the Field Corps unit responsible for the defence of Jerusalem and its surro ...

, Givati Brigade and Oded Brigade.

History

References

Further reading