full of English soldiers who are leaving the country for Egypt. To see our weapons pointing at them fills them with astonishment.
The trucks that are supposed to supply Jerusalem finally arrive on 4 April. Now everything is ready. We are just waiting for our marching orders.
7 April 1948
Position "Boas five" opposite Wadi Sarar
Deir Muheisin
At four o’clock in the afternoon we are called from our tents. The company sits casually in a semicircle. Keen anticipation. We know that now we’ll hear the details of the operation that we have been expecting for days. Aryeh, the company commander, looks briefly at us and comes straight to the point. That’s how he is - he tells it like it is, direct, unadorned.
The battalion will attack tonight. The aim: to clear the route to Jerusalem. The other companies will carry out diversionary and mining operations, along the whole section from Ramie8 to Latrun.9 Our company and one other have the task of capturing a position that overlooks the village of Deir Muheisin, and mining the access roads. As soon as we have completed this action, the convoy to Jerusalem can set off. If it comes under attack, we have to divert the fighters in the village. At dawn we will assault and take the village.
Deir Muheisin controls the road from Hulda to Latrun. Its capture will ensure the safety of the Jerusalem convoys from Arab attacks.
Now it is clear why the preparations for this operation have been so elaborate. The operation is on a huge, historical scale. For the first time we will be operating as a regular army, capturing a village in order to hold it. Our company has a key role in this operation.
Aryeh concludes his talk in a calm voice which fills us with confi-dence. "If we do our work well and each one of us fulfills his tasks, we can be successful without losses ..."
* * *
We return to our little tents. I clean my rifle, check every single part, pull the oily rag through the barrel, and oil the trigger. I know that tonight my life will depend on this little part.