Battle of the Valley of Tears (October 6, 1973 to October 9, 1973)
Fighting multi-front wars is a difficult endeavor for any nation, and even the most powerful militaries try to avoid it. This was especially true on October 6, 1973, during Yom Kippur, when the Arab Coalition, led by Egypt and Syria, launched a surprise attack at Israel from the north and south. Caught completely unawares, Israeli defense forces scrambled to reinforce both fronts, and the Golan Heights was particularly light on defenders.
The Syrian’s smashed into the Golan Heights, which was defended on the north side by the 7th Israeli Armored Brigade and the 188th Barak Brigade to the south, with an overwhelmingly powerful armored force. Roughly 1,400 tanks swarmed into the region, and the T-62, the Soviet Union’s latest armored unit, made up over one-quarter of the Syrian’s armor. Backed by over 1,000 pieces of artillery, air support, and the older T-54 and T-55 tanks, the T-62 thoroughly outclassed the Israeli armor. Equipped with night vision and 115mm main guns, the T-62 should have annihilated the Israeli’s World War II era British-made Centurions and US-made “Super” Shermans. Combat, however, is anything but predictable.
The 7th Armored Brigade’s stand in the north is a legendary tale worth telling, but perhaps the most interesting story is the Barak Brigade’s lesser-known defense of the south. Both units had the same orders; hold the line until the reserves scrambled. The Barak Brigade, however, had far less tanks than the 7th, and when the Syrian’s 46th Armored Brigade pressed into Southern Golan, the Israeli defenders were outnumbered by 600 to 12. The Barak Brigade called for air support, but Syrian air defenses were among the thickest in the world, and they’d invested heavily in modern Soviet systems. They devastated Israeli air forces, forcing the Barak Brigade to fight on its own.
This is when things get… interesting. When Egypt and Syria launched their attack, twenty-one-year-old Lieutenant Greengold was on leave, preparing to take a course for company commanders. Comprehending the danger immediately, and currently unassigned to a specific unit, Greengold hitchhiked to a command center in the Golan Heights, where he assumed command of two recently repaired Centurion tanks, and assembled their crews on the fly. Syrian tanks broke through the line toward the northwest, and Lieutenant Greengold’s scratch-built unit raced to stop them. Six destroyed T-55s later, Greengold sent his damaged tank back for repairs, assumed command of the remaining unit, and moved to counter the Syrian’s 452nd Tank Battalion. Night, however, was falling, and Greengold knew the enemy’s night-vision systems gave them a dangerous edge.
Constant movement, Greengold decided, was the only option. If he couldn’t hide in the darkness, he could make the Syrian’s believe their opposition was stronger than it was. Driving like a madman in a tank (because he was), Greengold destroyed at least ten enemy armored vehicles, and the Syrian’s retreated believing they faced a far more powerful force than they actually did.
Sources For Further Reading:
The Japan Times – Prelude to WWII: Japan’s Nomonhan debacle
The Past – Prokhorovka: The Greatest Tank Battle In History?
Warfare History Network – The Battle of Brody: Disaster Along WWII’s Eastern Front
National WWII Museum – Drive to Nowhere: The Myth of the Afrika Korps, 1941-43
Warfare History Online – Erwin Rommel Frustrated By French Foreign Legion At Bir Hacheim
National WWII Museum – Forgotten Fights: The Free French at Bir Hacheim, May 1942
The New York Times – A Brief History of the Golan Heights, Claimed by Israel and Syria
The Daily Sabah – Israel’s Annexation Of The Golan Heights Is A Grave Violation Of International Law
Al Jazeera – The October Arab-Israeli War Of 1973: What Happened?