Palestine: Elite military strike–force wing created by the Jewish settler leadership.
It would ultimately form the leadership cadre of the IDF – the Israel Defence Forces.
The Palmach sprang from the Haganah, the “mainstream” defensive shield of the Jewish settlements.
The Haganah, in turn, itself was originally Ha–Shomer (The Guild of Watchmen), established in 1907 to guard Jewish settlements in Palestine.
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The “Palmach” wing was created 34 years into the Haganah’s duration.
“Palmach” is an acronym for “Plugot Machatz” – forward–strike companies.
The Palmach was established by the British military and the Haganah on May 15, 1941 to protect Palestine from the potential Nazi German threat. In addition, it was to assist in a potential Allied invasion of Vichy–occupied Lebanon and Syria, which was contemplated at that point in time.
However, after the Allied victory at the Second Battle of El Alamein in Egypt in 1943, the British ordered the dismantling of the Palmach. Instead, the organization went “underground.”
At that point, it formally realigned militarily with the Haganah and aligned, as well, with the kibbutz movement in a textured security–alliance.
The Hach’shara Meguyeset program – Drafted/Recruited Training program – was an eventual outgrowth of the kibbutz alliance.
Later on, a symbiotic alliance evolved with the Nahal (para–military) settlements and the Zionist youth movement.
Forty one years into the Haganah’s duration, upon the creation of the Jewish state in May, 1948, the Haganah morphed into the (to–be vaunted) IDF, the Israel Defense Forces, with Palmach veterans in key positions.
Haganah cadres included many 13–27 year–old European Jewish male youth who had tenaciously survived Hitler.
Illustrious/legendary members of the Haganah included Moshe Dayan, Yitzhak Rabin, Ariel Sharon, Rehavam Zeevi, Dov Hoz, Yitzhak Sadeh, and Yigal Allon.