Idf Fighting Units - Combat Engineering, Set of 3 Medals

COMBAT ENGINEERING CORPS
Official Medal 2007/5767
Fifth In The Series Of Medals Honoring The Fighting Units Of The IDF

The roots of the Combat Engineering Corps go back to the period before 1948. At the time of the War of Independence, the first Engineering Corps soldiers were Jewish veterans of the British Royal Engineers and veterans of the “Hagannah”, “Palmach”, “Etzel” and “Lehi”.

The record of the Corps’ achievements parallel’s the history of the State of Israel. During the War of Independence the new Engineering Corps soldiers led the way in building the “Burma Road” which enabled food, water, ammunition and equipment to reach Jerusalem which was under siege.

In the 1956 Sinai campaign the Engineering Corps destroyed the Egyptian military infrastructure in the Sinai Peninsula and in the Six Day War the Combat Engineers were among the first into the Old City to remove landmines planted in the city by the Jordanians. In the late 60’s the Corps helped build the “Bar Lev” fortification line of defense along the Suez Canal, for which the Corps was awarded the Israel Prize for Security.

The Combat Engineering Corps’ most famous operation was the breaching of the Suez Canal during the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Bridges were built over the Canal while carrying tanks and troops across it with amphibious tank-carriers. This is widely regarded as the turning point of the war in the southern front.

In more recent years the Combat Engineers have been involved in fighting terrorism mainly by searchingfor and destroying smuggling tunnels.

Obverse: On the medal face, the D-9 Armored Bulldozer able to “rent the mountain, and broke the rocks into pieces” (Kings I) and a soldier disarming a landmine.

Reverse: On the reverse, the emblem of the Engineering Corps and the motto “Always First”.

Designer: Meir Eshel