Osprey Campaign 118 : The Yom Kippur War (1) 1973 : The Golan Heights

At 1345 hours on 6 October 1973, Israeli spotters in the observation post atop Mount Hermon saw Syrian gunners below them removing the camouflage nets from their guns. Ten minutes later shells began to rain down on Israeli positions all along the Golan Heights - The Yom Kippur War had begun. The shock Syrian attack caught the Israelis by surprise and by the afternoon of 7 October a Syrian brigade was less than 10km from the Sea of Galilee. Simon Dunstan describes in detail how amid desperate and bitter fighting the Israeli forces managed to turn the tide on the Golan Heights. Text by Simon Dunstan with illustrations by Howard Gerrard.

Contents

• Origins of the Campaign
• Chronology
• Opposing Commanders
• The Syrian Army
• The Israeli Army
• The Fall of Mount Hermon
• Repulse at Amadiye
• Breakthrough at Rafid
• The Israeli Counteroffensive
• The Recapture of Mount Hermon
• Aftermath
• Bibliography
• The Battlefield Today
• Wargaming the Golan Campaign
• Index