CONTENTS

BACKGROUND TO WAR

OPPOSING PLANS

CHRONOLOGY

OPPOSING ARMIES

Syrian forcesOrder of Battle: Syrian Army, October 1973Israeli forcesOrder of Battle: Israeli Northern Command, October 1973

OPPOSING COMMANDERS

Syrian commandersIsraeli commanders

THE BATTLE FOR THE GOLAN

The Syrian offensiveThe Valley of TearsThe Israeli counter-attack

AFTERMATH

THE BATTLEFIELD TODAY

FURTHER READING

images

A classic image of armoured warfare illustrates the principle of employing tanks en masse as a formation of Sho’t Upgraded Centurions advances on Syrian positions. It also shows the normal posture of Israeli tank commanders in battle and how exposed they were to enemy fire, be it exploding artillery shells or Syrian snipers who were deployed on the battlefield with their Dragunov rifles with the specific task of killing Israeli tank commanders.