Danny Matt (, 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 victory of the Israeli army.
Biography
Daniel (Danny) Matt was born 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.
Matt died at the age of 85 at Sheba Medical Center in Tel HaShomer, Israel. He was buried at Kiryat Shaul Cemetery in Tel Aviv, on December 6, 2013.
Military career
War of 1948
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.
Border wars
Following his release from captivity, Matt returned to civilian life for a short duration but soon returned to the IDF. He enrolled in an officer's training course and was given command of a unit responsible for thwarting Arab infiltrations into southern Israel. Ariel Sharon took note of Matt's military talents and persuaded him to join the elite and newly formed Battalion 890. The Battalion, a merge of the paratroops with members of Unit 101, was at the forefront of Israel's counter insurgency and retaliatory operations of the 1950s. Sharon appointed Matt to be a Company Commander. In February 1955 Matt along with Aharon Davidi led a force of 150 paratroopers on a night raid against an Egyptian military encampment in Gaza killing 37 Egyptian soldiers. The raid, which was carried out in retaliation for the murder of an Israeli boy on orders from Egyptian military intelligence, was hailed as a success by Israeli Defense Minister David Ben-Gurion.
Suez War
During the Sinai Campaign of 1956, Matt took part in the battle for the Mitla Pass and was wounded in the neck and shoulder. Some 260 Egyptian and 38 Israeli soldiers were killed in the battle. After his recovery, he was given various command positions within the military.
Six Day War
During the Six Day war of 1967, Matt commanded a reserve paratroopers brigade assigned to General Ariel Sharon's division and was tasked with silencing Egyptian artillery positions at Um-Katef in the Abu Ageila military complex. After being heliported deep into the enemy's rear, Matt's paratroopers marched several miles over dune-covered ground and surprised the Egyptian gunners and neutralized their artillery. The feat enabled General Sharon to mount a divisional assault unmolested by Egyptian artillery. On June 10, 1967, on the last day of the war, Matt's paratroops ferried by helicopter secured the southern Golan Heights defeating Syrian forces they encountered.