The Golan Heights are made up of a 480-square-mile volcanic (basalt) rock plateau perched above the Hula Valley to the west and Jordan Valley to the south. Furthermore, with tensions escalating between the two countries, Israeli leadership feared that strengthening its defenses might be misconstrued as preparation for a pre-emptive strike, thus provoking the Syrians to attack. Since the Israelis were accustomed to seeing those forces at battle strength, the Syrians were able to make final attack preparations without sending noteworthy warning signals. For months leading up to its attack, the Syrian army had been fully mobilized and on war alert. The loss of the Golan Heights in 1967, however, had been humiliating to Syria.īetween 19, there were frequent skirmishes along the cease-fire line.
In a costly uphill battle, the Israelis swept out the Syrian defenders and put an end to the harassment. For years, Syrian gunners, shooting at random and without provocation, would fire on Israeli fishermen plying their trade on the Sea of Galilee or at Israeli farmers in the Hula Valley below. In the Six-Day War of June 1967, Israel had seized the Golan Heights, which Syria had turned into one large network of bunkers and artillery positions. The 1973 conflict was as much about honor as it was about real estate. In some respects, however, the Barak Brigade’s story is more incredible, considering the fact that hundreds of Syrian tanks had overrun its sector and were held off by only a handful of tanks. Less publicity has been given to the heroism of the shattered fragments of the 188th (Barak) Brigade in slowing the Syrian advance in the south. The 7th Armored Brigade’s epic defense of the northern Golan has come to be widely regarded as one of the finest defensive stands in military history. Therefore, the two Israeli brigades that stood in the Syrians’ way in the Golan had the daunting task of holding off the onslaught long enough for Israel’s reserve mobilization to kick in. Israeli defense doctrine relies on the standing army to hold the line with air support while the reserves are mobilized. That attack coincided with a similar onslaught by Egyptian forces along the Suez Canal, suddenly forcing Israel to fight a two-front war. On October 6, 1973, during Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, a Syrian armored force of 1,400 tanks backed by more than 1,000 artillery pieces and supporting air power began a coordinated assault along the 36-mile-long Israeli-Syrian border in the Golan Heights in the north of Israel. With two Syrian brigades advancing on the headquarters and no Israeli reserves in sight, defending the headquarters–left in the hands of infantrymen supported by only two trackless tanks mustered from the camp’s repair depot–seemed almost futile.
The Israeli general in charge of the entire front had abandoned his nearly surrounded headquarters (HQ) and retired to a makeshift command post a few kilometers back. The Syrians’ Soviet-style massive frontal assault was too much to bear, and the Israeli front lines had already collapsed. Given its strategic importance, both sides have held multiple discussions but all have ended inconclusively- majorly because of Israel’s determination to not retreat and Syria’s reluctance to accept the existence of the Jewish state.Yom Kippur War: Sacrificial Stand in the Golan Heights | HistoryNet Closeĭefeat seemed to be imminent for the state of Israel. In addendum, it also serves as a critical water source for the residents. Golan Heights holds immense tactical importance to the Israeli military, giving them the leverage to oversee the territory. We drank from its waters and taking it away from us was a matter of dignity,” he said as reported by news agency Sputnik. Taleb Ibrahim, a native of the abandoned city of Al Qunaitra, speaking to Al Jazeera said that the takeover was a “disaster.” “I was in the first year of my studies back then and I remember that when the decision came, we organized mass protests at Damascus University. At present, out of its total area of 1,860 square kilometers, roughly 1,500 square kilometers remain under Israeli occupation while the rest is controlled by Syria as ‘Syrian Golan’.Įven after so many years, many of the Syrian residents continue to oppose what they term as “illegal annexation” of their land.
Although throughout the years the two states have been engaged in a round of talks that aimed at exchanging the region for peace, none of these efforts has bore fruit.
The State of Israel annexed the Golan Heights during the six days war of 1967 and 14 years later it passed Golan Law extending its sovereignty over the land.
0 kommentar(er)
