The War of Atonement (Greenhill Military)

Rating:
Summary: A brilliant but yet sobering read about a pivotal conflict.
Review: October 1973. The Yom Kippur War. Few people will be ignorant of this conflict when Egypt and Syria carried out their surprise attack upon the Israelis at the most Holy time in the Jewish calendar, when the Israeli forces were at their most vulnerable due to religious observance.

As I had just begun my own military training in my own country, I remember wondering if the conflict would expand and include our own military due to the sabre-rattling of the super-powers as the Israelis turned initial defeat into eventual victory.

I have read a number of accounts of that historic conflict since then, but few come close to this account by Major General Chaim Herzog.

It's recent re-release is most welcome. The author's articulate and extremely well written record and analysis is a worthy addition to anyone's library. Some might find it controversial and expect it to be biased due to the author's own nationality. I did not find this.

Instead I found this to be a brilliant account of unbelievable bravery in the face of heavily outnumbered forces, self-sacrifice and incredible counter-attacks. The author describes how early Egyptian and Syrian advances which threatened the very existence of the Jewish state, were thwarted and repulsed. Advances that subsequently turned into a retreat which saw Israeli forces within artillery range of the Syrian capital Damascus and well on the road to the Egyptian capital Cairo.

This is not all about the 'glamour and glory' of an Israeli victory. Far from it. It endeavours to tell the real story, as much as possible the full story of the war with all it's successes, omissions and failures. It is also the story of a people in possibly their greatest hour of challenge in present day history.

The Arab media had promised it's masses that the entire Israeli population, men, women and children, would be subject to destruction and annihilation in the most brutal manner. With the horrors of the holocaust being only recent memories, those Israelis who took these threats seriously must have been horrified.

The outset of the war and initial Israeli losses have been subject to a variety of claims surrounding poor intelligence etc.. The impotence of the UN and the super-powers in preventing this conflict is there for all to see, as is the shadow of a potential nuclear catastrophe resulting from the super-powers' involvement towards the end. Notable is the fact that whilst the Egyptian and Syrian attacks were in full swing, there was little movement towards enforcing any ceasefire. Yet when the roles were reversed, the world bent over backwards to ensure a ceasefire was adhered to.

It is also notable that Chaim Herzog, even a quarter of a century ago, makes reference in this book to the phased plan of the Arab nations towards destroying Israel involving an initial withdrawal by the Jewish state to the 1967 borders.

(Ring any bells pertaining to present day politics ?)

Notably also is the authors remarks of that time to the effect that the civilian populations in the region will become exposed to no less a degree than the military forces in any future war. We need only look around us now to see the veracity in his remarks.

Read this book to see what, if any lessons have been learnt by either side, and how the world reacted at different stages of the conflict. It is a sobering read and will open your eyes, not only to the military situation in the Middle East in 1973, but to the attitude of the nations and a present day scenario which threatens similar conflicts in the future.

Rating:
Summary: useful but emphasis syrian front
Review: The most amazing war fought by the Israelis agains their neighboors was the Yom Kippur war when the Israeli army, in the first few days of the war, suffered enormous losses in armor and aircraft. For many it was a trauma, when the undefeated IDF and IAF seemed impotent to arab aggression. For Egypt it marked the popular triumph over thier hated enemy. Harzog, former president of Israel, was on hand to be an eyewitness as the events unfolded. THis is his study of the conflict. It is throrough and he gives an unbiased account of the many israeli actors who fought the war, men like generals Aden and Sharon and the prime minister Golda. The downside of the book is that it appears to emphasize the Syrian front far to much. The Syrian offensive, like the Egyption one, took the ISraelis by suprise when it was not defeated in the first day. But the Syrian front was not, in my opinion, the most important theater of the conflict. THe large egyptian army(we must remmember Egypt and Nasser had been ISraels principal antagonist since 1948) and the fighting near the suez was the most important and where the war was decided(when Sharon brilliantly crossed the canal and encircled the Egyption third army). So this is a fair account of the war, their are other books. Aden(Bren) wrote a book about his experiences in the Sinai, as well as Sharons 'Warrior'(autobiography) and the book 'Two of Clock war' appears to be well written although not lenghty. Their is also at least one other book entitled 'the Yom Kippur War' that is a very professional, although critical of Sharon, account of the war.

Rating:
Summary: useful but emphasis syrian front
Review: The most amazing war fought by the Israelis agains their neighboors was the Yom Kippur war when the Israeli army, in the first few days of the war, suffered enormous losses in armor and aircraft. For many it was a trauma, when the undefeated IDF and IAF seemed impotent to arab aggression. For Egypt it marked the popular triumph over thier hated enemy. Harzog, former president of Israel, was on hand to be an eyewitness as the events unfolded. THis is his study of the conflict. It is throrough and he gives an unbiased account of the many israeli actors who fought the war, men like generals Aden and Sharon and the prime minister Golda. The downside of the book is that it appears to emphasize the Syrian front far to much. The Syrian offensive, like the Egyption one, took the ISraelis by suprise when it was not defeated in the first day. But the Syrian front was not, in my opinion, the most important theater of the conflict. THe large egyptian army(we must remmember Egypt and Nasser had been ISraels principal antagonist since 1948) and the fighting near the suez was the most important and where the war was decided(when Sharon brilliantly crossed the canal and encircled the Egyption third army). So this is a fair account of the war, their are other books. Aden(Bren) wrote a book about his experiences in the Sinai, as well as Sharons 'Warrior'(autobiography) and the book 'Two of Clock war' appears to be well written although not lenghty. Their is also at least one other book entitled 'the Yom Kippur War' that is a very professional, although critical of Sharon, account of the war.

Rating:
Summary: A Detailed But Biased Picture
Review: The Yom Kippur War is the greatest war fought by the Israeli Army. The same brigade that was badly mauled in the initial onslaught, was also the brigade that cleared the Chinese Farm, in preparation for Arik Sharon's counterattack. However, up to this day, Herzog is still hiding the mistakes made by his fellow generals, i.e. Bar-Lev, Gonen, Hofi. Herzog, claimed that Gonen, was just unlucky in being GOC Southern Command, when war broke out. If he had been a division commander, he would hv emerged victorious, like Arik Sharon. Question is: isn't that what leadership is all about? Exercising good judgements as a leader in times of disorientation? In this, Bar-lev & Gonen, has failed miserable. The failure to evacuate the Bar-lev strongholds at the onset of the war, has costed hundreds of Israeli lives, trying to rescue the survivors. Instead of consolidating its forces, Gonen sent Ammon, Dan, Natke brigades in piece-meals attacks, even though the size of the Sinai is an excellent buffer, wiping out more than half of Israeli frontline forces before the reserves arrive. The Bar-lev Line has been a disaster and only Arik Sharon, Israel Tal & Avraham Tamir, managed to forsee the damage that it will bring, in the event of a war. Herzog called the failed attack on the 8th Oct, as An Opportunity Lost. I would rather termed it a major disaster. Only Arik understood, that the main objective, has to be to cross the Canal, and undermine the Egytians, without the costly battle of taking on the Egytians on the east bank, head on. On the Northern front, i can't see any reason why Hofi should be given credit for the fine performance. When the whole Golan was swarmed by Syrians, it was only Raful Eitan, who is there on the Golan, calmly controlling the battle, while the rest are in their war-room. The war was won, when the Israelis maanged to hold off the attack, while the reservists were streaming in. IDF can only improve if it learns from its mistakes.

Rating:
Summary: Detailed Account Of Israel's Greatest War
Review: This book gives a comprehensive account of the war through the IDF's eyes. The author gives us the overall tactical history of the war, in addition to many stirring accounts of individual acts of bravery. Highly recommended for those who are interested in historical accounts of warfare.

Rating:
Summary: Detailed Account Of Israel's Greatest War
Review: This book gives a comprehensive account of the war through the IDF's eyes. The author gives us the overall tactical history of the war, in addition to many stirring accounts of individual acts of bravery. Highly recommended for those who are interested in historical accounts of warfare.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant military classic back in print!
Review: This tightly written work is gripping reading!!! FIRST, it gives a comprehensive political background from the 1967 Six Day War through the coordinated Egyptian-Syrian attack commencing at 2 p.m., October 6, 1973. [I opened an Excel spreadsheet and created an 86-entry "time line" from 1967 through Oct 6, 1973; other readers may find it useful to do likewise. I wish the author had included this tool...).] SECOND: The 9 maps in this book are EXCELLENT. Almost every geographical locaction mentioned in the text appears on the maps. The theater maps identify major geographical and military unit locations without becoming cluttered; the maps clarify and complement the text. THIRD: The writing is terse, detailed, and riviting with lots of fascinating detail. (The first 24 hours were hair-raising! ...And the story of the Israeli breakthrough north of Great Bitter Lake, followed up with encirclement of the 3rd Egyptian Army,is white-knuckle reading!) It came as a sh! ock to me to discover that the Israelis were not totally taken by surprise by the attack. In the last two days before hostilities broke out, it was obvious a war was imminent -- but the Israelis projected a 6 p.m. start. The onslaught began four hours earlier (a compromise between the Egyptians who wanted a p.m. offensive so the sun wouldn't be in their eyes, and the Syrians, who wanted an a.m. attack for the same reason!) FOURTH: This war was in fact two wars, very dissimilar from each other: the Golan Heights war; and the Suez Canal war. Each is fully covered, in exquisite detail, unit by unit, hour by hour. FIFTH: It would have been useful if the author had included tables of organization, and orders of battle for the three major armies involved, but the work is still highly readable without them. SIXTH: Chapter 18, Lessons and Implications, is the capstone of this work. An example of the style (p. 274) : "At the higher level the Egyptian strategy was excellent, co! mbining as it did strategic offense with tactically defensi! ve operations, for as soon as they were across the Canal they deployed in narrow bridgeheads and waited for the Israeli forces to attack. The wide crossing of the Canal dissipated the force of the Israel Air Force and the very nature of the attack ... guaranteed them a number of footholds.... [T]here was no room for the Israeli forces to exercise their superiority in the war of maneuver." SUMMARY: Time spent reading this work is well spent. It is a lovingly crafted work of military history. It is amazing that it was first published only two years after the Yom Kippur War took place! Though written by an Israeli, it gives credit to the high caliber of the Egyptian and Syrian efforts; one wonders what they could have acheived if they hadn't become married to Soviet military doctrines and organization.....