Osprey Men-at-Arms 194 : Arab Armies of the Middle East Wars

On 11 June 1967 three Arab armies lay in ruin. The Six-Day War drastically altered the political and military complexion of the Middle East. Prior to the war, Israel was regarded as a nuisance, easily removed should the need and opportunity arise. After the war Israel achieved permanent regional superpower status. Although Egypt had lost the Sinai, Jordan, the West Bank and Jerusalem, Syria and the strategic Golan Heights, the real losers were the Palestinians. Their hunger for a national homeland increasingly manifested itself in a campaign of terrorism, manipulated by Arab regimes concerned mainly with their own national interests. The Arab response to defeat was a thirst for revenge; and the aftermath of 1967 - the process of regrouping leading to the launching, and almost to the winning, of the 1973 War - was the nearest the Arab world would come to true unity. When the tide turned in Israel's favour in 1973, the Arabs turned against one another. Samuel Katz examines the results of the 1967 and 1973 wars which led to the development and deployment of the armies of Egypt, Jordan and Syria, the Palestinian guerrilla and terrorist groups, and the more important of the Lebanese militias. The most important events of the inter-Arab struggles, and both the uniforms and organisation and the special military and political roles of the elite units are examined with plenty of photographs and eight full page colour plates by Ron Volstad.

Contents

• Introduction
• The Battle for Honour - Egypt 1967-73
• Egypt since 1973
• Jordan - 'Black September' 1970
• The Syrian Army under Assad
• The Palestinian Guerrilla Movements 1948-87
• The Palestine Liberation Organisation
• Lebanon's Warring Factions
• The Plates