In June 1967 Israel, which seemed on the verge of being annihilated by
its Arab neighbors, took six days to redraw the Middle Eastern strategic
map in one of the most dramatic reversals of fortune in modern times.
The success was almost a decade in the making following the Suez Crisis
of 1956 with the Israeli forces being radically changed under the
direction of the Magi. These changes created an army and air force upon
which the country would rely when it became obvious the international
community would take no action to implement guarantees made after the
Suez Crisis.
The Israeli forces were honed in low level clashes during the 1960s,
notably the Water Wars which the Israelis did so much to provoke. By
contrast the Arab forces became complacent usually due to supplies of
arms from the Warsaw Pact but, with proper training, this complacency
could have been turned into military effectiveness but the Arab forces
were plagued by the fact command too often depended upon political
reliability which undermined their effectiveness.
In the case of the Egyptian forces their effectiveness was further
undermined by their commitment to the debilitating Yemen Civil War which
meant they were in no condition to confront Israel. Syria and Jordan,
whose forces alone could not fight the Israelis, complained loudly about
President Nasser's lack of action against Egypt. In the spring of 1967
he decided to regain the prestige he had lost since the heady days of
the Suez Crisis with a demonstration in the Sinai Peninsula. This was
interpreted by the Israelis as preparations for an invasion. Nasser did
nothing to persuade them otherwise and when it was clear the
international community would do nothing the Israelis decided to
strike.
Initially they aimed to attack only Egypt but Syria and Jordan then
provoked attacks upon their territory. The Israeli campaign was heralded
by a massive surprise air attack first on the Egyptians and then on the
other neighboring states and ground offensives then followed in
succession as the war, like Topsy in Uncle Tom's Cabin 'just growed.'
These campaigns were not always examples of military perfection, as will
be scene, and the general post-war back-slapping drowned out serious
questions about the future of Israel's army.
