Posted in Six Day War, War fighting on Jun 7th, 2007
Day three would mark the most important moment of the war.
During the first two days of the war, the Egyptians had been meeting defeat after defeat, and had been falling back in a semi-orderly manner. But, on the third day, as the Egyptian 125th Brigade retreated towards the Suez canal, they ran into elements of Ariel Sharon’s 4th Division that had captured the Mitla Pass and the Jidda Pass. The orderly retreat became disorganized chaos as officers abandoned their units to flee towards Cairo.
Yet, even as the Egyptian armies were disintegrating, Gamal Abdel Nasser still refused to acknowledge his untenable position by refusing the UN Security Council cease fire initiative. Â
Day three would mark the most important moment of the war.
During the first two days of the war, the Egyptians had been meeting defeat after defeat, and had been falling back in a semi-orderly manner. But, on the third day, as the Egyptian 125th Brigade retreated towards the Suez canal, they ran into elements of Ariel Sharon’s 4th Division that had captured the Mitla Pass and the Jidda Pass. The orderly retreat became disorganized chaos as officers abandoned their units to flee towards Cairo.
Yet, even as the Egyptian armies were disintegrating, Gamal Abdel Nasser still refused to acknowledge his untenable position by refusing the UN Security Council cease fire initiative. Â
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Day two of the war dawns.
Day One was an unparalleled success, and the question was whether day two would be as unqualified a victory.
One of the most famous sayings attributed to military battle plans is this one:
No plan survives the first enemy contact*
      — Helmut von Moltke, the Elder (1800-1891)
The plan had already had one failure. The goal was to avoid combat with the Jordanians. That part had failed already. But, the great power of Israeli war fighting, and the Israelis themselves, was flexibility. Provision had already been made for the opening of the Jordanian front, and Israeli units were making steady progress.
Day two of the war dawns.
Day One was an unparalleled success, and the question was whether day two would be as unqualified a victory.
One of the most famous sayings attributed to military battle plans is this one:
No plan survives the first enemy contact*
      — Helmut von Moltke, the Elder (1800-1891)
The plan had already had one failure. The goal was to avoid combat with the Jordanians. That part had failed already. But, the great power of Israeli war fighting, and the Israelis themselves, was flexibility. Provision had already been made for the opening of the Jordanian front, and Israeli units were making steady progress.
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Posted in Six Day War, War fighting on Jun 5th, 2007
June 5th was the beginning.
Operation Focus was launched just before 8 a.m. when Israeli fighter bombers took off and headed out to sea. The goal was to grab control of the air as soon as possible, so that Israel’s air force could assist forces on the ground. Of course, the air strike was also timed to happen as the Egyptian High Command was commuting to their offices - and stuck in traffic at 8:45.
A half an hour after Israel’s Air Force takes off, General Gavish orders the army to engage Egyptian forces massed on Israel’s southern border.
June 5th was the beginning.
Operation Focus was launched just before 8 a.m. when Israeli fighter bombers took off and headed out to sea. The goal was to grab control of the air as soon as possible, so that Israel’s air force could assist forces on the ground. Of course, the air strike was also timed to happen as the Egyptian High Command was commuting to their offices - and stuck in traffic at 8:45.
A half an hour after Israel’s Air Force takes off, General Gavish orders the army to engage Egyptian forces massed on Israel’s southern border.
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It is now June 4th. In Israel, forty years ago, the world was about to end.
Abba Eban had been dispatched to the US days earlier to plead for the life of Israel. Successive members of the Johnson administration said that Israel was being alarmist and that she would get no help. Finally, President Johnson himself shook his head.
To his credit, the President did ask the CIA whether the Mossad might have a better picture of the situation. However, the CIA could not accept the possibility that anyone could have better intelligence, especially since their own sources were coming up empty. The CIA was unable to believe that Israel’s intelligence services had intercepted agreements between Syria, Egypt, and Jordan to annihilate Israel.
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This is a preview of
If You Can Imagine That, You Will Begin to Understand.
.
Read the full post (483 words, 19 images, estimated 1:56 mins reading time)It is now June 4th. In Israel, forty years ago, the world was about to end.
Abba Eban had been dispatched to the US days earlier to plead for the life of Israel. Successive members of the Johnson administration said that Israel was being alarmist and that she would get no help. Finally, President Johnson himself shook his head.
To his credit, the President did ask the CIA whether the Mossad might have a better picture of the situation. However, the CIA could not accept the possibility that anyone could have better intelligence, especially since their own sources were coming up empty. The CIA was unable to believe that Israel’s intelligence services had intercepted agreements between Syria, Egypt, and Jordan to annihilate Israel.
----------------
This is a preview of
If You Can Imagine That, You Will Begin to Understand.
.
Read the full post (483 words, 19 images, estimated 1:56 mins reading time)Read Full Post »
Posted in Six Day War, Terrorism on Jun 1st, 2007
It is hard to over estimate the impact of the Six Day War on the Arab psyche, and the world at large. In fact, it would probably take several books to do justice to the significance of this war.
One day, I’ll write one of those books, but for now, you’ll hafta be satisfied with a few lines in a blog article.
Um…Â where was I? Oh yes. Significance.
The easiest one to point to is the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization).
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This is a preview of
Global Terrorism and the Six Day War
.
Read the full post (498 words, 19 images, estimated 2:0 mins reading time)It is hard to over estimate the impact of the Six Day War on the Arab psyche, and the world at large. In fact, it would probably take several books to do justice to the significance of this war.
One day, I’ll write one of those books, but for now, you’ll hafta be satisfied with a few lines in a blog article.
Um…Â where was I? Oh yes. Significance.
The easiest one to point to is the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization).
----------------
This is a preview of
Global Terrorism and the Six Day War
.
Read the full post (498 words, 19 images, estimated 2:0 mins reading time)Read Full Post »