Battle of Mishmar HaEmek

Battle of Mishmar HaEmek
	Part of the 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine
	; Jewish soldiers at the entry of the Mishmar Ha'emek, 1948
Date	4–15 April 1948
Location	Mishmar HaEmek, Mandatory Palestine32°36′35″N 35°8′30″E / 32.60972°N 35.14167°E
Result	Yishuv victory Arab villages in the area occupied;
Belligerents
Haganah	Arab Liberation Army
Commanders and leaders
Yitzhak Sadeh	Fawzi al-Qawuqji
Strength
~470 militiamen	1,000 militiamen
	Battle of Mishmar HaEmek class=notpageimage\| Location within Mandatory Palestine

The Battle of Mishmar HaEmek was a ten-day battle fought from 4 to 15 April 1948 between the Arab Liberation Army (Yarmouk Battalion) commanded by Fawzi al-Qawuqji and the Haganah (Palmach and HISH) commanded by Yitzhak Sadeh and Dan Laner.^[1] The battle began when al-Qawuqji launched an attack against Mishmar HaEmek with the intent of taking the kibbutz, which was strategically placed beside the main road between Jenin and Haifa.^[2] In 1947 it had a population of 550.^[3]

^ Kimche (1960B), p. 101–103
^ Morris, (1984). p.115. "The battle began on 4 April when the ALA shelled and attempted to take Mishmar Ha'emek...which the Haganah commanders regarded as one of the main likely routes for a major Arab attack on the Yishuv on or after 15 May."
^ Jewish National Fund (1949). Jewish Villages in Israel. Jerusalem: Hamadpis Liphshitz Press.