Battle of ' Auja The Battle of ' Auja , also called Battle of Nitzana , was a military engagement between the Israel Defense Forces and the Egyptian Army in and around ' Auja ( today Nitzana ) , a small village on the Egypt – Israel border . It was fought on December 26 – 27 , 1948 , as part of Operation Horev , an Israeli campaign meant to expel all Egyptian forces from the country . The first stage of the operation was the simultaneous capture of 18 Egyptian positions on the Beersheba – ' Auja road , including 7 around ' Auja . The attack was conducted by 8th Brigade forces , reinforced by troops from the Harel Brigade . It started with maneuvers to the north of ' Auja , which bogged down the Israeli forces that only began the actual assault on December 26 . The battle was won in the afternoon of December 27 , but only on the morning of December 28 did the 8th Brigade take the two final positions , completing the capture of all 18 . Background . 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 . It was the largest operation launched by the Israelis during the 1948 Palestine War . The Israeli Southern Command , commanded by Yigal Allon , outlined a total of 18 positions from west to east that needed to be captured . The first seven of them were in the vicinity of ' Auja , with position 3 – 5 overlooking ' Auja itself . ' Auja , also known as ' Auja al - Hafir , was an administrative center built by the Ottoman Empire on the Egypt – Palestine border between 1908 and 1915 . It was also the terminus of the Ottoman southern railway in Palestine , which extended to Kusseima in the Sinai Peninsula . Prelude . The Israeli force allocated for the conquest of ' Auja consisted of the 8th Armored Brigade — the 82nd Armored Battalion , including four medium tanks , 12 armored vehicles and a mechanized company ; the 89th Commando Battalion , including two mechanized companies and two motorized companies ; and the 88th Support Battalion that included twelve 3 " mortars . These forces were reinforced by the 5th Battalion from the Harel Brigade and an artillery contingent consisting of eight 75 mm cannons , three 120 mm heavy mortars and a battery of anti - tank guns . The Egyptian garrison consisted of a reinforced 1st Infantry Battalion , including a battery of 3 . 7 " mountain guns . ' Auja ' s defenses were mainly concentrated in the east , facing Beersheba , because the northwestern path of Wadi ' Auja was considered impassable to vehicles . Therefore , the Israelis decided to attack from the wadi . On the night of December 24 – 25 , Israeli engineers prepared an ancient Roman road from Halasa to Ruheiba , northeast of ' Auja . However , parts of the planned movement path were not prepared . The 8th and Harel Brigade forces left Ruheiba at 18 : 00 on December 25 . They turned west at Wadi al - Abyad , north of ' Auja . No engineering work was done in the last 3 km of the wadi , and the brigade got bogged down in its advance . They only managed to get out of this situation , with the help of tractors , in the morning of December 26 . A contingent , including the 88th Battalion and a company from the Harel Brigade , went north to block possible reinforcements from the Gaza corridor , while the rest went south to ' Auja . At 07 : 00 , Israeli Harvard aircraft bombed ' Auja , dropping sixteen 50 kg bombs and alerting the Egyptians of the impending attack . Battle . The Israelis advanced in two columns : the 82nd Battalion in the west through Wadi ' Auja and the 89th Battalion in the east through the Rafah – ' Auja road . The battle began at 14 : 00 on December 26 , when the 82nd Battalion assaulted and captured Position 3 in the north . In order to expedite the capture to free up his forces for the march of the Sinai , the 8th Brigade commander Yitzhak Sadeh ordered a motorized company from the 89th Battalion to attack the tell of ' Auja ( Position 5 ) from the well - defended main road . The company suffered heavy casualties , including six dead , from anti - tank fire and retreated . Its commander , Ya ' akov " Dov " Garnek , was killed in the attack . Meanwhile , an Egyptian column from Rafah engaged the Israeli blocking force to the north but retreated after losing five armored vehicles . The Israelis suffered two dead . At this point , the Israeli Southern Command began implementing its backup plan should the 8th Brigade fail to take ' Auja , and sent some of the Negev Brigade forces that participated in the Battle of Bir ' Asluj to the area . This despite the fact that the 8th Brigade had prepared for this eventuality and had a plan to defend itself against an Egyptian counterattack . The 9th Battalion of the Negev Brigade set out to capture the Egyptian positions between Bir Thamila and ' Auja , but encountered no resistance . In the morning of the December 27 , the 82nd Battalion moved south and captured Position 4 , between the village and the border , thus disconnecting ' Auja ' s positions from Egypt . An Egyptian column that attempted to come to ' Auja ' s rescue from Rafah was intercepted by the blocking force to the north , although they initially managed to get through the area meant to be manned by the Harel Brigade , who were late in arriving at the location due to logistical problems . Another column from Abu ' Ageila was intercepted by the 82nd Battalion . Most of the 8th Brigade , supported from the air by Harvard planes and a Beaufighter bomber , then continued to the tell and the village , which they had nearly surrounded . The 82nd Battalion took the tell , while the 89th was stopped by Egyptian aerial bombardment at 07 : 45 , losing two soldiers . They sent a second wave which moved along the Ottoman railway tracks and broke through the defenses , and at the same time the 82nd Battalion entered the village as well . The Egyptian garrison surrendered at 12 : 36 . In the morning of December 28 , the Israeli forces regrouped and set out to clear the area , capturing positions 1 and 2 on the border . Aftermath and significance . The battles of ' Auja , Bir ' Asluj and Bir Thamila triggered a complete withdrawal of Egyptian forces along the Beersheba – ' Auja road . The Negev Brigade was able to destroy two Humber armored vehicles and capture six , as well as 20 supply trucks , in the area of Mushrifa . Tens of other vehicles escaped south to Egypt . Many Egyptian soldiers , including officers , who retreated on foot , surrendered themselves to Israeli forces after not finding food and shelter in the cold weather . The remaining Egyptian forces that reassembled in the Sinai , under Brigadier General Fouad Thabet , were preparing for a counterattack , but as they advanced , an order was given to withdraw . The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood officer Kamal Ismail ash - Sharif commented that the Battle of ' Auja marked the end for the Egyptian campaign in Palestine , and henceforth his army had to fight on Egyptian land . According to Chaim Herzog , the Egyptian eastern wing completely fell apart after the battle , although this was not clear in Egypt or around the world at the time , as the Egyptian government claimed victory . The capture of ' Auja also enabled the Israeli army to send its forces into the Sinai Peninsula with the objective of surrounding and eventually expelling the Egyptian army from Israel . The crossing of the Egypt – Israel border gave a significant morale boost to the Israelis ; according to a local eyewitness , many of the soldiers cried for joy and stopped their vehicles to kiss the ground . The Negev Brigade and the 82nd Battalion were sent into the peninsula . Due to international pressure however , all Israeli forces eventually withdrew . After the war , ' Auja and its surrounding area became a demilitarized zone . Following a series of incidents and skirmishes , ' Auja was recaptured by Israel in 1955 in Operation Volcano .