Battles of Bir ' Asluj The Battles of Bir ' Asluj refer to a series of military engagements between Israel and Egypt in the 1948 Arab – Israeli War , around the localities Bir ' Asluj and the nearby Bir Thamila ( also Bir Tamila or Bir Tmileh ) . Bir ' Asluj was a small Bedouin center and a strategic location on the ' Auja – Beersheba road . The Israelis captured the position early in the war , in an attempt to disconnect the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood forces from the main Egyptian Army concentration on the coastal plain , but set up positions across the road and the threat to their transport was neutralized . The entire vicinity of Bir ' Asluj , including Bir Thamila , was captured by Israeli Negev Brigade forces on December 25 – 26 , 1948 , during Operation Horev . In the first stage , the 7th Battalion took Bir Thamila , but failed to reach the road and retreated with heavy losses . In the morning , armored vehicles from the 9th Battalion assaulted the Egyptian road positions and captured them . This was later followed by the conquest of the entire road to the border at ' Auja , expelling the Egyptian forces from Israel in this region . Background . Bir ' Asluj was a small Bedouin center belonging to the Azzazma tribe , with a market , water well , mill and police station . It was strategically located on a curve in the road from Beersheba through ' Auja and into the Sinai Peninsula . Near it also passed the old southern railway line built by the Ottoman Empire in World War I . During the British Mandate , a military base was located next to Bir ' Asluj . The road in question was used by the Egyptian army in the 1948 Arab – Israeli War for transport to and from its eastern wing in the Bethlehem – Hebron corridor . During the 1947 – 1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine , Bir ' Asluj was used as a base of operations for Bedouin paramilitary forces under Hajj Sa ' id , mainly against the nearby Jewish village Revivim , a few kilometers to the northwest . A Muslim Brotherhood unit situated itself in Bir ' Asluj on May 17 , 1948 . Battle of June 11 . The first Israeli attempt to disconnect the eastern wing of the Egyptian army was during the first stage of the war , right before the first ceasefire came into effect . Forces from the Negev Brigade ' s 8th Battalion assembled at Revivim , which also served as the headquarters of the 8th Battalion . A jeep - mounted task force split south , in order to block the road for Egyptian reinforcements . During the same night , an Egyptian supply convoy had entered Bir ' Asluj with ammunition and cannons . Two other small forces split from the main Israeli group — one to the east to mine the road , and a mortar contingent that went northwards to harass Beersheba and divert the attention of the Egyptians from the main attack . The Israeli attack started at 05 : 30 , lasting until 07 : 00 and ending in a victory . Five Israelis and an estimated 25 Egyptians were killed . Fourteen Egyptians were captured . However , a team of Negev Brigade troops then entered the police station , which was booby trapped , and 10 were instantly killed . Immediately after the battle , when the first truce came into effect , the Egyptians set up positions on the other side of the road and created a new path that would not be in range of the Israelis , thus denying the Israelis of achieving their strategic objective . During the truce , Egypt strengthened its hold on the al - Majdal – Bayt Jibrin road to the north , giving its forces a safe corridor between the coastal strip and eastern wing , and at the same time blocking Israeli transport to the Negev enclave . The next Israeli – Egyptian battles were therefore concentrated in that area . A skirmish took place in Bir ' Asluj on July 18 , 1948 ; Egyptian forces attacked the Israeli positions but were repulsed . December battle . Prelude . The third and final stage of the 1948 Arab – Israeli War started on October 15 , 1948 , when Israel launched Operation Yoav on the southern front . While the Israelis made significant tactical and strategic gains in Operation Yoav , the political situation changed little and Egypt was still dragging its feet on proposed armistice talks . Operation Horev was therefore launched in the south with the final aim of expelling all Egyptian forces from Israel . The main thrust of the operation was planned to be in the south and east of the southern front , with the initial aim of cutting the eastern wing of the Egyptian army off from the bulk of its forces in Palestine . The Israeli Southern Command outlined a total of 18 positions from west to east that needed to be captured . Six of them ( No . 13 – 18 ) were in the Thamila theater . Four of them ( No . 13 – 16 ) were referred to as the Thamila Positions , on the junction of the main road with a north – south dirt road , placed in an arrow formation . The 17th position was Bir Thamila itself , while the 18th was the approach to Bir ' Asluj . On December 25 , a company - sized force from the Negev Brigade took the minor position of al - Mushrifa southwest of Bir ' Asluj , where they prepared for a lengthy battle , but found the place deserted . This also gave the Israelis the opportunity to listen in on Egyptian telephone communications between ' Auja and Bir ' Asluj . The bulk of the brigade ' s strike force , however , was unable to organize in time due to harsh weather conditions and could start the main attack only on December 25 , one day later than planned . David Ben - Gurion , the prime minister and defense minister , personally came to see off the troops . Battle . The task force allocated for the battle of Bir Thamila – Bir ' Asluj set off from Halutza at 17 : 00 on December 25 . They took up positions in the Umm Suweila range , between Wadi Thamila ( HaBesor Stream ) and Wadi ' Asluj ( Revivim Stream ) . At 20 : 30 , the 7th Infantry Battalion attacked in two forces : the main one against Bir Thamila ( Position 17 ) , and the other , an overseas volunteer unit called the French Commando , against Position 13 on the junction . The main force managed to sneak in to Bir Thamila unnoticed , reaching the position ' s southern fence before opening fire . The two southern outposts were taken in a quick battle , after which the defenses crumpled . By 23 : 30 , the 7th Battalion was in control of the location , finding a lot of abandoned munitions . By 22 : 30 , the French Commando had captured Position 13 and the rest of the battalion had taken Position 17 . Three Egyptian positions adjacent to # 13 were still manned , and the troops there began a counterattack and slowly ate away at the French Commando forces . At 01 : 30 on December 26 , the operational reserve , which had arrived at Bir Thamila , came to reinforce Position 13 . However , by dawn about half of the Israeli forces there had been dead or wounded , and they retreated . The 9th Mechanized Battalion forces , which had also arrived by that time and were meant to provide further reinforcements , got bogged down in the dirt and could provide no immediate assistance . The retreating French Commando had left several wounded under the old railway bridge near the position , in hopes of collecting them later . When the 9th Battalion troops managed to free themselves and continue moving , the victorious Egyptian troops were following the French Commando . The 9th Battalion was able to inflict significant damage to these forces and continue to Position 13 . Even though some of the vehicles were bogged down in the dirt and quicksand , and two were blown up by land mines , they nevertheless outflanked and recaptured the position at 04 : 30 . The 9th Battalion quickly began moving east to positions 14 – 15 in order to create chaos and pin down the remaining Egyptian forces . Meanwhile , another contingent of the battalion set out from Bir Thamila and captured the 14th position . A jeep platoon encircled the Egyptians from the east and helped complete the capture of the 15th and 16th positions . The Thamila Positions were entirely in Israeli hands by 09 : 00 on December 16 . The Egyptian forces fled to ' Auja and the southern Bir ' Asluj positions , which were now cut off and later found abandoned . The French Commando , which returned to look for their wounded , found them dead with their bodies mutilated . In a fit of revenge , they killed several Egyptians captured during the battle . As a result , the unit was disbanded . Aftermath . ' Auja was taken by the 8th Brigade on December 25 – 27 , and by the afternoon of December 27 , all of the Egyptian positions between Beersheba and ' Auja were in Israeli hands . In light of the success , already on December 28 , much of the Negev Brigade and 82nd Battalion of the 8th Brigade advanced into the Sinai Peninsula , capturing Abu Ageila and almost reaching al - Arish . The forces retreated due to international pressure . After the end of the war , Bir ' Asluj started to be called by its Hebrew name , Be ' er Mash ' abim . A monument was erected there on June 1 , 1949 , to remember the 8th Battalion soldiers who were killed in action there throughout the war . It was built by Aryeh Lafka , a resident of Revivim and the father of one of the soldiers who went into the booby - trapped police station on June 11 , 1948 . The ruins of the station served as construction materials for the monument . The names of the other Negev soldiers who died in the battles of Bir ' Asluj were added on July 20 , 1971 .