Editing Six-Day War (section)

==== Mid-front (Abu-Ageila) Israeli division ====
{{See also|Battle of Abu-Ageila (1967)}}
[[File:Sharon ageila.JPG|thumb|upright|Major General [[Ariel Sharon]] during the [[Battle of Abu-Ageila (1967)|Battle of Abu-Ageila]]]]

Further south, on 6 June, the Israeli 38th Armored Division under Major-General [[Ariel Sharon]] assaulted [[Um-Katef]], a heavily fortified area defended by the Egyptian [[2nd Infantry Division (Egypt)|2nd Infantry Division]] under Major-General Sa'adi Naguib (though Naguib was actually absent<ref name=KandilSSS83>{{Cite book|first=Hazem|last=Kandil|title=Soldiers, Spies, and Statesmen|publisher=Verso|date=2014|isbn=978-1-78168-142-8|pages=83–84}}</ref>) of Soviet World War II armor, which included 90 [[T-34 tank|T-34-85]] tanks, 22 [[SU-100]] tank destroyers, and about 16,000 men. The Israelis had about 14,000 men and 150 post-World War II tanks including the [[AMX-13]], [[Centurion tank|Centurions]], and [[M50 Super Sherman]]s (modified [[M-4 Sherman]] tanks).{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}

Two armored brigades in the meantime, under Avraham Yoffe, slipped across the border through sandy wastes that Egypt had left undefended because they were considered impassable. Simultaneously, Sharon's tanks from the west were to engage Egyptian forces on Um-Katef ridge and block any reinforcements. Israeli infantry would clear the three trenches, while heliborne paratroopers would land behind Egyptian lines and silence their artillery. An armored thrust would be made at al-Qusmaya to unnerve and isolate its garrison.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}

As Sharon's division advanced into the Sinai, Egyptian forces staged successful delaying actions at Tarat Umm, Umm Tarfa, and Hill 181. An Israeli jet was downed by anti-aircraft fire, and Sharon's forces came under heavy shelling as they advanced from the north and west. The Israeli advance, which had to cope with extensive minefields, took a large number of casualties. A column of Israeli tanks managed to penetrate the northern flank of [[Battle of Abu-Ageila (1967)|Abu Ageila]], and by dusk, all units were in position. The Israelis then brought up ninety 105&nbsp;mm and 155&nbsp;mm artillery cannon for a preparatory barrage, while civilian buses brought reserve infantrymen under Colonel [[Yekutiel Adam]] and helicopters arrived to ferry the paratroopers. These movements were unobserved by the Egyptians, who were preoccupied with Israeli probes against their perimeter.{{Sfnp|Oren|2002|p=182}}

[[File:AMX-13-latrun-2.jpg|thumb|Israeli armor of the Six-Day War: pictured here the [[AMX 13]]]]

As night fell, the Israeli assault troops lit flashlights, each battalion a different colour, to prevent [[friendly fire]] incidents. At 10:00&nbsp;pm, Israeli artillery began a barrage on Um-Katef, firing some 6,000 shells in less than twenty minutes, the most concentrated artillery barrage in Israel's history.{{Sfnp|Dunstan|2012|p=125|ps=.{{verify source|date=December 2021|reason=according to Google books, the book does not have 125 pages.}}}}<ref>Leslie Stein,[https://books.google.com/books?id=nWkYAAAAQBAJ&pg=PT181 ''The Making of Modern Israel: 1948–1967''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101175251/https://books.google.com/books?id=nWkYAAAAQBAJ&pg=PT181 |date=1 January 2016 }}, Polity Press, 2013 p.&nbsp;181</ref> Israeli tanks assaulted the northernmost Egyptian defenses and were largely successful, though an entire armored brigade was stalled by mines, and had only one mine-clearance tank. Israeli infantrymen assaulted the triple line of trenches in the east. To the west, paratroopers commanded by Colonel [[Danny Matt]] landed behind Egyptian lines, though half the helicopters got lost and never found the battlefield, while others were unable to land due to mortar fire.{{Sfnp|Oren|2002|p=201}}{{Sfnp|Hammel|1992|p=239}}

Those that successfully landed on target destroyed Egyptian artillery and ammunition dumps and separated gun crews from their batteries, sowing enough confusion to significantly reduce Egyptian artillery fire. Egyptian reinforcements from Jabal Libni advanced towards Um-Katef to counterattack but failed to reach their objective, being subjected to heavy air attacks and encountering Israeli lodgements on the roads. Egyptian commanders then called in artillery attacks on their own positions. The Israelis accomplished and sometimes exceeded their overall plan, and had largely succeeded by the following day. The Egyptians suffered about 2,000 casualties, while the Israelis lost 42 dead and 140 wounded.{{Sfnp|Oren|2002|p=201}}{{Sfnp|Hammel|1992|p=239}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gavish |first=Yeshayahu |title=Red Flag |publisher=Kinneret Zamora pavilion |year=2016 |page=183}}</ref>

Yoffe's attack allowed Sharon to complete the capture of the Um-Katef, after fierce fighting. The main thrust at Um-Katef was stalled due to mines and craters. After IDF engineers had cleared a path by 4:00&nbsp;pm, Israeli and Egyptian tanks engaged in fierce combat, often at ranges as close as ten yards. The battle ended in an Israeli victory, with 40 Egyptian and 19 Israeli tanks destroyed. Meanwhile, Israeli infantry finished clearing out the Egyptian trenches, with Israeli casualties standing at 14 dead and 41 wounded and Egyptian casualties at 300 dead and 100 taken prisoner.{{Sfnp|Oren|2002|p=212}}