Golan Heights: Episode 6 — Two Brigades and a Holy Day
On 6 October 1973, the Israeli defense of the Golan Heights rested on a thin forward force: the 7th Armored Brigade in the north, the 188th Armored Brigade in the central and southern sectors, scattered infantry strongpoints, and limited artillery. The day was Yom Kippur, when Israel’s reserve-based military system was slowed by the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. This episode lays out the stark arithmetic of the opening battle, explaining how a small number of regular tank crews had to hold against a much larger Syrian combined-arms assault. The drama is not abstract strategy, but the practical problem of fuel, ammunition, roads, crews, and time before the reserve army could arrive. For more military history writing and books, visit MilitaryAuthor.me, and for magazines, galleries, and a massive archive of military photos and video, visit Trackpads.com.
