Golan Heights: Israel's Legendary Tank Defence Against Syria | Greatest Tank Battles | War Stories

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If you attack an other country and lose land as a result, you lose land as a result.

imagine catching your opponent completely flatfooted and still getting bodied.

A friend who was a tank commander in the 6 Day War told me that the attack on Yom Kippur was really a blessing for Israel. Why? Everybody was in Shul (Synagogue) so the mobilization began with many reservists already concentrated at a group pickup point. The civilian buses immediately became troop transports, according to plan. Mobilization was accomplished in less than 12 hours. If it had not been such a important holy day, the reservists would have been scattered all over the country, scrambling to find transport.

The Centurion. On of the best tanks ever made. Crewed by some of the best trained tank crews ever.

my neighbour in munich worked for telemit, a manufacturer of military communication systems. he told me that the syrian tankers had a unique communication system. only the unit commanders could send and recieve messages, all others could only recieve. this meant that the unit commander‘s tanks had 2 antennae (with pennants no less) and all others had only one. it was therefore relatively easy to indentify the commanders‘ tanks and attack them first, leading the rest leaderless.

All politics aside, you can't deny the military prowess and capability of the Israelis, even against all odds.

I remember that in high school, the school took us the the valley of tears memorial and we heard the story directly from Avigdor Kahalani and I have to say, it was the first time I have ever seen a truly great man, and the first time I saw a what seamed to me like a war hearo. I remember him telling us that he comes to the memorial every year to honour his soldiers and friends. when he finished the telling us the story of the battle we all stood for a moment of silence to honour the dead, but as we stood in silence Kahalani shed tears for his dead friends. as much of a victory as the war was it was a greater loss.

I know a tanker that was a driver in this battle. It was amazing picking his brain about this battle. He was surprisingly open about it. He was surprised I knew anything about it.

As an armored tactics instructor in the early 1980's at Ft Knox we would often have students from friendly foreign countries enrolled. One semester we had a senior Israeli NCO/tank commander who had been involved in the Yom Kippur fight. He was a wealth of information and spoke to us of his part in the battle in the northern sector, tactics used plus logistics and fire support. His stories were fascinating and for a good part of one day, he was the instructor and I was the student. Several years later I was fortunate enough to be TDY to Israel and worked directly with the IDF. The respect for the nation of Israel I gained in those months has lasted a lifetime. The United States must never turn its back on this great nation and its people. They alone are our 'only' true allies in the Middle East.

What is most impressive is how harshly the IDF criticized itself for its response; despite the incredible performance of their reserve components. True professionals.

The living legend, Avigdor Kahalani. I heard his story 2 times, face to face, I can't even explain in words what went through my body

the syrians WILL NEVER get back the golan heights!

I served in the modern 188th tank battalion. General kahalani is a living legend to us. Every year we try and meet him at least once.

I remember a joke I heard about the Yom Kippur War: "Who are the greatest generals of all time?" Answer: "Kutuzov, Stalin, and Anwar Sadat." Question: "Why are they great generals?" Answer: "Well, Kutuzov lured Napoleon deep into Russia and when winter came, the French army froze and could be easily defeated. Stalin lured Hitler's army deep into Russia and when winter came, the Germans froze and were easily defeated. Anwar Sadat? Well, he lured the Israeli army deep into Egypt during the Yom Kippur War. Now he is waiting for winter and the snow and ice to finish off the Israelis...

I was 5 years old when this war took place. Born and raised in Damascus, Syria. Thousands of innocent Syrian soldiers died following the command of a mad man. Taking on Israel was suicide. They were far more superior in training and in their military arsenal. Having said that, the Golan highlights IS a Syrian land that we lost and we will never get back. All our lives, we were fed this insane rehtreic on how we are going to 'liberate' Palestine,..!! Thank God that my family and I migrated long time ago.

"Look at the Syrian Soldiers! They are fighting so well." - True respect to the adversary. These men are not joyful for what happened in the war. They respect the bravery of the Syrians!

Wars are fought with weapons, but they are won by men. - General George S. Patton

As a former armor officer, Lt Col Kahalani was one of my heroes. I read his book, The Heights of Courage and studied the Golan at the advanced course at Ft Knox. I was lucky to have an IDF Tank Battalion Commander in my small group who commanded a Merkava battalion in Lebanon and who served in the 73 war to teach us so many valuable lessons. This war inspired the US Army to become the lethal force it eventually became. Our unit's battle of Medina Ridge in 91 was victorious thanks in part to the invaluable lessons we learned from this war. Much respect to all who fought.

"Leadership is the capacity and will to rally men and women to a common purpose and the character which inspires confidence". Field Marshal Montgomery. LT Col Kahalani certainly did that on that day. LT Col Amir's stand at Al El was also very pivotal and Major Danon had massive balls to engage the enemy alone, clearly had faith in his crew and his Centurion