Chaim Bar-Lev

Chaim "Kidoni" Bar-Lev (Haim Brotzlewsky) was an Army officer during Israel's early statehood. Born in Vienna, Austria on November 16, 1924, his birth name was Haim Brotzlewsky.

Between 1942 through 1948, Bar-Lev served in various Jewish self-defense units (Palmah)in Palestine. He became both a pilot and a parachutist, which would later serve him in developing both of these military branches in the young Israeli army. In 1946 Bar-Lev blew up the Allenby bridge near Jericho to prevent Arab militiamen in Jordan from entering Jewish towns west of the Jordan River.

During Israel's "War of Independence" in 1948, Bar-Lev was a colonel and commander of the Eighth Battalion (Mechanized) in the Negev Brigade, which fought in the northern Sinai. During the 1956 Suez War, Col. Bar-Lev commanded the 27th Armoured Brigade, which captured the Gaza Strip, before turning southwest and reaching the Suez Canal. By 1962 he was the commanding officer of the Northern Command. Later, he became of Director of Operations within the Istraeli Defense Force (IDF).

During the June 1967 "Six Day War" he served as the Deputy Chief of Staff in the IDF. In late 1968 he accped Maj.Gen. Adan's proposal that a high sand-dune wall be built along the east bank of the Suez Canal to prevent the Egyptian military from observing Israeli defenses along the Suez Canal. This became known as the Bar-Lev Line.

Between 1968–1971, Bar-Lev served as IDF's Chief of General Staff, which made him the highest-ranking military officer. During the October 1973 Yom Kippur War, although serving as the Israeli Minister of Trade & Industry, he was recalled into military service to take command of the Sountern Command, which defended the Sinai. Bar-Lev directed Maj.Gen. Adan to initiate Adan's plan for a invasion into Egyptian territory just north of the Great Bitter Lake. Between 1992–1994, Bar-Lev served in Moscow as Israel's Ambassador to Russia. On May 7, 1994, he died in Tel Aviv.

References:

• Generals of Israel, Moshe Ben Shaul, Hadar Pub., Tel-Aviv, 1968.
• The Arab-Israeli Wars, Chaim Herzog, Random House, NY, 1982.