Introduction

One of the most powerful tank forces in the world today resides in a tiny portion of the vast part of the world known as the Middle East. It is nestled in the midst of enemies, sworn to destroy any invaders and the country for which they fight.

It is the 7th Armored Brigade, an integral part of the IDF (Israeli Defense Force). Its story is the story of Israel nation itself. From meager, struggling beginnings, it has progressed to a position of strength. Few military formations can exult in the fact that they existed as long as their parent nation. Even more, they have been one of the deciding factors in every conflict that threatened their homeland ever since.

The men of this armored fist carry themselves with pride. They are part of a unit that has yet to be sent off the field of battle in total defeat. Yes, they have lost some fights, but few. There is a strong cohesiveness within the 7th Armored Brigade that has little equal anywhere else in the world.

The men are bonded spiritually. They carry a heritage that is precious to them. Their conviction is that any individual act reflects upon the unit as a whole. Not performing up to its standards of excellence is not a mark of individual failure but rather a black mark against the entire unit. Each tanker strives to be the best and encourages other members to do the same.

No other military unit has provided Israel with the quality of leadership it has enjoyed through the years. These are men who at 18 sat under a tent in the desert, learning the rudimentary skills of operating a war-worn Sherman or French AMX tank. There is no other unit within the Israeli military that has been awarded the amount of medals that the heroes of the 7th have. Neither has any unit suffered more casualties. The story of the 7th is the story of Israel.

There is a peace of sorts in that part of the world as of this writing. Fighting is limited to bitter terrorist attacks and bizarre acts by radicals on both sides. That means nothing. The Middle East is a boiling pot, a simmering broth of hatred that could spill over at any moment. And even though a fleeting peace has been achieved, it has not always been that way.

The Hated Neighbor

After two masterful and courageous victories by Israeli forces in 1948 and again in 1956 against bellicose and hate-filled neighboring countries, the nation found itself once again in an increasingly difficult situation. The triumphs had left a bitter taste in the mouth of those defeated, especially Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser. Once assuming office, his biggest promise to his people was the annihilation of this impudent race of people who dared to oppose the true owners of the land.

In the mind of the Egyptian, the Israeli people were invaders. They had put themselves in the midst of the sons of Ishmael against their will. They were not welcome. They needed to be removed. The earlier defeats suffered at their hand had only incensed this hatred, bringing it to a boiling point.

The tension had been building for years. Israel, aware of the precariousness of its position, had busied itself in military preparations. Such preparations were not without hardship upon the people. They did not mind, however, since their fear was not just a military defeat, but a matter of personal survival. A victory by its enemies would mean the end of Israel as a nation and perhaps as a people. It would be the Holocaust all over again. They would not let that happen again, no matter what the cost.

Earlier predictions by the A’man Agaf Mode’in (Israel Intelligence) predicted a conflict in 1969. Things were developing, however, at a much more rapid pace. The hammer slammed into the anvil on April 7th, 1967. A Syrian garrison resting upon the Golan Heights unleashed its wrath in a massive artillery barrage against a nearby Israeli civilian settlement, Kibbutz Tel Katzir. Dozens of 130mm shells ripped into nurseries, private homes and small factories. It was carnage.

Outraged at such a merciless and needless act, Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Yitzhak Rabin sent the Israeli jets into the air to answer the challenge. A flight of French manufactured Mysteres swept over the heights and bombed the emplacement.

On call was a flight of Syrian Mig-21 fighters, some of the most modern aircraft in the area. They headed rapidly to a point of interception. Six Syrian fighters went into the battle. The same six were met by Israeli Mirage IIIC jets, with the Star of David shining upon their wingtips. Before the day ended, the Syrian guns were silenced and all six Syrian jets had erupted into balls of flames in the skies above.

The response in both Damascus and Cairo was irrational. Total annihilation of Israel was called for. All eyes turned to Nasser, the head of Egypt. A tall, olive skinned, imposing man whose soul fed on the hatred of the Jew responded predictably. A now self-imposed leader of the Arab world, it was up to him to declare what the reaction would be. It was not long in coming.

The Noose begins to Tighten

On May 18th, Nasser mobilized the entire Egyptian Army and put it on full alert. He then threw out the 5,000-man UN peacekeeping force that had kept the Sinai in a demilitarized state for 11 years. At the same time, nine Egyptian infantry and armored divisions rolled though the Sinai and placed themselves at the border with Israel.

Two weeks later, King Hussein of Jordan visited Cairo to sign a mutual defense pact with Egypt, effectively putting his well-trained soldiers at the orders of Egypt. Iraq and Syria also declared their mutual alliance with Egypt. All of the nations surrounding Israel were now pointing their guns at the small country.

To the east was Jordan, just across the river; to the north Syrian forces had a birds-eye view of northern Israel from their fortifications atop the Golan Heights. Finally, the greatest nightmare was to the south, the mighty Egyptian army.

To the west was the sea. There was nowhere to go. They would have to fight. Somehow, a picture of the Israelis trapped some 4,000 years before at the Red Sea with Egyptian chariots bearing down on them entered the mind of more than one pious Jewish citizen.