The Six Day War: A Concise Introduction to the War that Changed the Middle East by Juan Marcos Bejarano Gutierrez

The Six Day War: A Concise Introduction to the War that Changed the Middle East by Juan Marcos Bejarano Gutierrez

Author:Juan Marcos Bejarano Gutierrez
Language: eng
Format: azw
Publisher: Yaron Publishing
Published: 2018-09-25T22:00:00+00:00


Golan Heights

Syria’s involvement in the lead up to the crisis was in many ways central. The Soviets had provided Egypt with assurances that Israel was preparing forces to launch a strike against Syria. Like those false reports, false Egyptian reports of crushing victories against the Israeli army and erroneous news that Egyptian forces would soon be attacking Tel Aviv influenced Syria's willingness to enter the war.[49]

For all its bravado and the fact that was a key reason for the initiation of the war, Syrian leadership adopted a more measured approach and concentrated its efforts on shelling and air raids northern Israel. Once the Israeli Air Force completed its priority missions in Egypt, it quickly turned its attention to destroying the Syrian and Jordanian Air Forces. By the evening of June 5, Israeli air strikes destroyed two-thirds of the Syrian aircraft with the remaining planes relocating to far away bases and effectively sitting out the war.

Despite its comparatively reserved approach, a token Syrian force attempted to capture the Tel Dan water plant at as well as Kibbutz Dan and She'ar Yashuv. A more extensive Syrian offensive failed, and Israeli air attacks dispersed Syrian reserve forces. Like their Egyptian counterparts, Syrian forces encountered a slew of problems from a wide range of non-Israeli sources. These included tanks too wide for bridges, a lack of radio communications between tanks and infantry, and a general breakdown in communication. In light of this, the Syrian army instead began a massive shelling of Israeli towns in the Hula Valley.

The Golan Heights became the center of Israeli cabinet debate on June 7 and June 8. An attack on Syria was planned for June 8 but was then postponed for 24 hours. In the early hours of June 9, Syria announced its acceptance of a cease-fire. Nevertheless, later that morning, Moshe Dayan gave orders to go into action against Syria. The desire to inflict severe punishment on the Syrians was predicated on the fact that Syria had long supported the pre-war raids that had initially raised tensions leading to war. This in addition to their regular shelling of Israel from the Golan Heights made military retaliation almost unavoidable regardless of what causalities might arise.[50]



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