Lt. Gen. Haim Laskov (1958-1961)

Lt. Gen. Haim Laskov

Haim Laskov was born in Barysaw in the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (present-day Belarus) and made Aliyah with his family in 1925. In his early teenage years he joined the paramilitary organisation Haganah and served there in various units.

In the Second World War he eventually joined the British army and fought in a number of positions against the Nazis, including as a commander in the Jewish Brigade.

Shortly after the Second World War he immigrated to pre-state Israel.

A youth marked by various British influences

Chaim Laskov (Hebrew: חיים לסקוב) actively engaged in the Haganah from the age of 16 and was considered the right hand man of Yaakov Dori who was then the Commander of the Haifa region and who eventually became the first IDF Chief of Staff.

Haim Laskov

One of the most fascinating chapters in Laskov's life is his involvement in the "Night Squadron" (Hebrew: פלוגות הלילה, 'Plougot HaLayla') alongside his friend, the British officer Charles Orde Wingate. Haim Laskov was very much influenced by Wingate's image both as a human being and as a commander.

In 1941, Laskov volunteered in the Jewish Brigade in the British Army, which fought against the Axis powers. He became company commander of the second battalion and fought on the front of the Mediterranean Sea. During his service in the British Army, Haim Laskov obtained the rank of Major, the highest rank ever awarded to a volunteer from the land of Israel.

Return to Israel and decisive participation in the War of Independence

Upon his return to Israel, he became the Haganah Training Officer. He was responsible for the first IDF officer training program.

When the War of Independence broke out in 1948, he held various command positions in various operations. Under the command of General David Marcus Division, commander of the Jerusalem front, he directed the mechanized infantry battalion of the 7th Brigade, whose mission was to take control of the Latrun police station. At the end of the operation, General Marcus wrote: "The soldiers of the armored unit (under the command of Laskov) were superb, while the infantry was one of our weak points."

He and his battalion participated in the "Dekel" and "Hiram" operations, which enabled the army to liberate Nazareth and northern areas that were previously under full Arab control. Between 1948 and 1951, Laskov was Chief of the IDF Training Branch and developed a model for the establishment of new armored and infantry units.

Progressive Ascension to the Supreme Rank of IDF

In 1951, Laskov was appointed to be the Commander of the Air Force by then-Chief of Staff Yigael Yadin although he was not a pilot and despite his lack of experience in aviation. Yadin justified his decision by claiming that Laskov was a particularly high-level commander, that his wartime or operational discipline was unparalleled, and that he was best able to modernize the structure of the Israeli Air Force. In June 1956, he was appointed to be the Commander of the Mechanized Armored Corps.

During Operation Kadesh in 1956, Laskov held the command of the 77th Division fighting along the axis Rafah-El Arish-El Qantara. After the death of Major General Assaf Simhoni in a plane crash, Laskov became the Commander of Southern Command.

After the war, Moshe Dayan acknowledged that Laskov was right in the major conflict between Laskov and himself over how to involve the Armored Corps. It was the first time that the soldiers of this unit would enter first, preceding all other ground forces.

On January 1, 1958, Haim Laskov was appointed as the  5th Chief of Staff of the IDF. During his tenure, the borders remained calm despite some shooting incidents on the Syrian front as a result of the conflict over the control of the demilitarized zones.

Haim Laskov left a considerable legacy in the IDF's structure and development, making the Mechanized Armored Corps a major asset of the IDF.

Civil career

On January 1, 1961, Laskov retired and served as head of the Directorate of the Port Authority from 1961 to 1970. In November 1972, he became the first mediator of the soldiers of the country, and did not leave the post until his death. He was also part of the Agranat Commission to review the events leading up to the Yom Kippur War and in particular the failure of Israeli intelligence services in this war.

Haim Laskov passed away in 1983.