Danny Matt
| Danny Matt | |
|---|---|
Danny Matt (third from right with beard and beret) with members of 890th Paratroop Battalion
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| Born |
December 10, 1927 Cologne, Germany |
| Died | December 5, 2013 (aged 85) Tel HaShomer, Ramat Gan, Israel |
| Buried | Kiryat Shaul Cemetery, Tel Aviv, Israel (32°07′44″N 34°49′23″E / 32.129°N 34.823°E) |
| Allegiance |
 Israel |
| Service/branch | Israel Defense Forces |
| Years of service | 1948–1992 |
| Rank | Aluf (Major General) |
| Battles/wars |
 Israeli Independence War Sinai War Six Day War War of Attrition Yom Kippur War
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Danny Matt (Hebrew: דני מט, December 10, 1927 – December 5, 2013) was a decorated career Israeli military officer who served in the Israel Defense Forces from 1948 until 1992. He attained the rank of major general and fought in five Arab-Israeli wars, including the wars of 1948 and 1973. Among his many exploits was a daring operation involving leading a paratroop force across the Suez Canal during the Yom Kippur War. The operation was the beginning phase of a larger Israeli counter offensive that ultimately led to the defeat of the Egyptian army.
Matt was born on December 10, 1927, in Cologne, Germany. He immigrated to Mandatory Palestine in 1934. His military career began in 1943 when he joined the British Mandatory Coastal Police but he covertly utilized his status in the Coastal Police to assist the nascent Palyam in its attempts to subvert anti-Jewish British immigration policies. He then attempted to join the British Army's Jewish Brigade but, despite his service with the Coastal Police, was rejected because of his youth. He then pressured his father to sign a false document indicating that he was 18 years old and presented this document to gain acceptance. He saw service in Egypt, Italy and the Netherlands. In 1946, he left the British army, returned to Israel and joined the Palmach, the Jewish para-military strike force.
During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Matt manned a machine-gun post at Ein Tzurim (renamed Rosh Tzurim following the Six-Day War), part of the block of settlements just south of Jerusalem that formed the Gush Etzion block. Arab attacks on the block were sporadic at first but intensified as the British departure date neared. In May 1948, Arab irregulars backed by the Jordanian Legion attacked the Gush Etzion block. Matt stood his ground and sprayed machine gun fire into the attacking forces. The fighting was so intense that at one point, he was throwing hand grenades with his right hand while firing the machine gun with his left. However, with supplies and ammunition exhausted and hopelessly outnumbered, the defenders were ordered by the nascent Israeli government to surrender and Matt was taken prisoner by the Jordanian Legion, however Matt managed to escape and ran into a forest. Matt was known for having a very large beard and as a result, he ripped it off with only his hands and walked out of the forest un-recognised by the Jordanians.
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Wikipedia