That War Up North
The relative peace that had existed in the Middle East since Egypt and Israel signed a peace treaty was doomed to die.
OK, it DOES depend on what you describe peace. But it’s safe to say that the Middle East hadn’t seen many major wars.
That would all change, however.
On September 5, 2007, an Israeli elite team of Shaldag units snuck into Syria to highlight a supposed nuclear facility in the region of Deir ez-Zor with laser beams to prepare for an operation that would take place the next day. On September 6, 2007, eight Israeli aircraft including F-15I Ra’am Fighters, F-16 Fighters, and 1 Elint Aircraft took off from Israel grounds and attacked the facility, destroying the site and killing 10 North Korean workers, raising protests from the North Korean government.
Syria’s reaction was that Israel had violated Syrian airspace and demanded an official apology to Syria and give money to the country or else something worse than an air attack might take place, subtly suggesting the use of nuclear weapons – weapons Syria didn’t have. The Syrians also recalled Ain es Saheb, another air strike initiated by Israeli forces against Syria.
The Israelis responded by saying that the attack was justified, as Syrian nuclear weapons would pose a huge threat to the Middle East and to Israeli-Syrian relations.
The Syrians decided that the Israeli threat was too great and that the Israelis could not continue to act like they dominated the Middle East. The Syrians secretly prepared for a war of annihilation against the Israelis.
By October 27, 500,000 Syrian troops stood on the border of Israel. An invasion date was set for the next day. The time had come to liberate Israel.
October 28: At 6:30 in the morning, an invasion force of 500,000 Syrian troops crosses the border into Israel.
100 MiG-23s and 20 MiG-29s are sent to fight in the air war. Israeli intelligence, having realized that the threat of war was great ever since their attack, realized that, since October 20, war could be imminent, and the air force was ordered to always be ready and active. This meant that, within the first ten minutes, elements of the Syrian Air Force met F-15 Eagles and F-16 Falcons. A dogfight resulted in the Israelis retreating from the Syrians. Syrian Sukhoi Su-24s and Sukhoi Su-17s were also sent to attack Israeli air bases. The attacks did not go as well as the Syrians had planned, as the Israelis had hidden their aircraft, fearing attack.
Kh-25 missiles were launched from Syrian aircraft onto the Ramat David air base. The Israelis managed to shoot some down, but the air base suffered heavy damaged from the missiles.
The first crucial battles would decide the course that the war would take. 2,000 Syrian tanks would become involved in some of the fiercest tank battles ever. When they crossed the border, they met the 36th Armor Division. T-72s, T-62s, and T-55s clashed with the Merkava Mark I, II, III, and IV. The poor status of the tanks in the north cost the Israelis dearly when they defended in those first battles for Neve Ativ, Elrom, and Ein Zivan. The Syrians found victory in all battles within the first hours, and by the end of the day they had almost captured the entire Golan Heights, only losing 20 tanks of their own.
The response of George Bush to the attack and of Ehud Olmert were of condemnation. North Korea congratulated the Syrians on their attack against the “imperialist Israelis” and called for a global communist revolution to erase any future threats by the “hoodlums”. The UN immediately called for a ceasefire, as predicted by most. The Israeli government made a chilling response to the war – Syria and Iran were told that the war would not be taken lightly and if the advance continues in a way that would be unfavourable to the Israelis, then the government would have to take grave actions that could threaten the survival of the two belligerents.
Despite the early Syrian victories, many were surprised at the “slow” advance of the Syrians. Most expected the Syrians to be fighting in Israeli territory by now and two have destroyed much of the Israeli air force, disappointing many who expected more.
The success of the first day was a delight to the Syrian government, and planned next was an offensive into Ghajar and Katarin, which would then allow the Syrians to capture the major objectives in the Golan Heights and to prepare for an attack against Tiberias, the first fighting that would take place on Israeli territory.
--
So what do you guys say?
The relative peace that had existed in the Middle East since Egypt and Israel signed a peace treaty was doomed to die.
OK, it DOES depend on what you describe peace. But it’s safe to say that the Middle East hadn’t seen many major wars.
That would all change, however.
On September 5, 2007, an Israeli elite team of Shaldag units snuck into Syria to highlight a supposed nuclear facility in the region of Deir ez-Zor with laser beams to prepare for an operation that would take place the next day. On September 6, 2007, eight Israeli aircraft including F-15I Ra’am Fighters, F-16 Fighters, and 1 Elint Aircraft took off from Israel grounds and attacked the facility, destroying the site and killing 10 North Korean workers, raising protests from the North Korean government.
Syria’s reaction was that Israel had violated Syrian airspace and demanded an official apology to Syria and give money to the country or else something worse than an air attack might take place, subtly suggesting the use of nuclear weapons – weapons Syria didn’t have. The Syrians also recalled Ain es Saheb, another air strike initiated by Israeli forces against Syria.
The Israelis responded by saying that the attack was justified, as Syrian nuclear weapons would pose a huge threat to the Middle East and to Israeli-Syrian relations.
The Syrians decided that the Israeli threat was too great and that the Israelis could not continue to act like they dominated the Middle East. The Syrians secretly prepared for a war of annihilation against the Israelis.
By October 27, 500,000 Syrian troops stood on the border of Israel. An invasion date was set for the next day. The time had come to liberate Israel.
October 28: At 6:30 in the morning, an invasion force of 500,000 Syrian troops crosses the border into Israel.
100 MiG-23s and 20 MiG-29s are sent to fight in the air war. Israeli intelligence, having realized that the threat of war was great ever since their attack, realized that, since October 20, war could be imminent, and the air force was ordered to always be ready and active. This meant that, within the first ten minutes, elements of the Syrian Air Force met F-15 Eagles and F-16 Falcons. A dogfight resulted in the Israelis retreating from the Syrians. Syrian Sukhoi Su-24s and Sukhoi Su-17s were also sent to attack Israeli air bases. The attacks did not go as well as the Syrians had planned, as the Israelis had hidden their aircraft, fearing attack.
Kh-25 missiles were launched from Syrian aircraft onto the Ramat David air base. The Israelis managed to shoot some down, but the air base suffered heavy damaged from the missiles.
The first crucial battles would decide the course that the war would take. 2,000 Syrian tanks would become involved in some of the fiercest tank battles ever. When they crossed the border, they met the 36th Armor Division. T-72s, T-62s, and T-55s clashed with the Merkava Mark I, II, III, and IV. The poor status of the tanks in the north cost the Israelis dearly when they defended in those first battles for Neve Ativ, Elrom, and Ein Zivan. The Syrians found victory in all battles within the first hours, and by the end of the day they had almost captured the entire Golan Heights, only losing 20 tanks of their own.
The response of George Bush to the attack and of Ehud Olmert were of condemnation. North Korea congratulated the Syrians on their attack against the “imperialist Israelis” and called for a global communist revolution to erase any future threats by the “hoodlums”. The UN immediately called for a ceasefire, as predicted by most. The Israeli government made a chilling response to the war – Syria and Iran were told that the war would not be taken lightly and if the advance continues in a way that would be unfavourable to the Israelis, then the government would have to take grave actions that could threaten the survival of the two belligerents.
Despite the early Syrian victories, many were surprised at the “slow” advance of the Syrians. Most expected the Syrians to be fighting in Israeli territory by now and two have destroyed much of the Israeli air force, disappointing many who expected more.
The success of the first day was a delight to the Syrian government, and planned next was an offensive into Ghajar and Katarin, which would then allow the Syrians to capture the major objectives in the Golan Heights and to prepare for an attack against Tiberias, the first fighting that would take place on Israeli territory.
--
So what do you guys say?
Last edited: