Editing Six-Day War (section)

=== Gaza Strip and Sinai Peninsula ===
[[File:1967 Six Day War - conquest of Sinai 5-6 June.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|The capture of Sinai. 5–6 June 1967]]
[[File:PikiWiki Israel 16401 Israel Defense Forces.jpg|thumb|People in a bomb shelter at [[Kfar Maimon]]]]

The Egyptian forces consisted of seven [[division (military)|divisions]]: four [[Division (military)#Armored division|armored]], two [[Division (military)#Armored division|infantry]], and one [[mechanized infantry]]. Overall, Egypt had around 100,000 troops and 900–950 [[tank]]s in the Sinai, backed by 1,100 [[Armored personnel carrier|APCs]] and 1,000 [[artillery]] pieces.{{Sfnp|Pollack|2004|p=59}} This arrangement was thought to be based on the Soviet doctrine, where mobile armor units at [[strategic depth]] provide a dynamic defense while infantry units engage in defensive battles.

Israeli forces concentrated on the border with Egypt included six armored [[brigade]]s, one infantry brigade, one mechanized infantry brigade, three [[paratrooper]] brigades, giving a total of around 70,000 men and 700 tanks, who were organized in three armored divisions. They had massed on the border the night before the war, camouflaging themselves and observing radio silence before being ordered to advance.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}

The Israeli plan was to surprise the Egyptian forces in both timing (the attack exactly coinciding with the IAF strike on Egyptian airfields), and in location (attacking via northern and central Sinai routes, as opposed to the Egyptian expectations of a repeat of the 1956 war, when the IDF attacked via the central and southern routes) and method (using a combined-force flanking approach, rather than direct tank assaults).{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}

==== Northern (El Arish) Israeli division ====
On 5 June, at 7:50&nbsp;am, the northernmost Israeli division, consisting of three brigades and commanded by Major General [[Israel Tal]], one of Israel's most prominent armor commanders, crossed the border at two points, opposite [[Nahal Oz]] and south of [[Khan Yunis]]. They advanced swiftly, holding fire to prolong the element of surprise. Tal's forces assaulted the "Rafah Gap", an {{convert|7|mi|adj=on|order=flip}} stretch containing the shortest of three main routes through the Sinai towards [[El Qantara, Egypt|El Qantara]] and the [[Suez Canal]]. The Egyptians had four divisions in the area, backed by minefields, pillboxes, underground bunkers, hidden gun emplacements and trenches. The terrain on either side of the route was impassable. The Israeli plan was to hit the Egyptians at selected key points with concentrated armor.{{Sfnp|Oren|2002|p=178}}

Tal's advance was led by the [[7th Armored Brigade (Israel)|7th Armored Brigade]] under Colonel [[Shmuel Gonen]]. The Israeli plan called for the 7th Brigade to outflank Khan Yunis from the north and the 60th Armored Brigade under Colonel Menachem Aviram would advance from the south. The two brigades would link up and surround Khan Yunis, while the paratroopers would take [[Rafah]]. Gonen entrusted the breakthrough to a single battalion of his brigade.{{Sfnp|Oren|2002|p=180}}

Initially, the advance was met with light resistance, as Egyptian intelligence had concluded that it was a diversion for the main attack. As Gonen's lead battalion advanced, it suddenly came under intense fire and took heavy losses. A second battalion was brought up, but was also pinned down. Meanwhile, the 60th Brigade became bogged down in the sand, while the paratroopers had trouble navigating through the dunes. The Israelis continued to press their attack, and despite heavy losses, cleared the Egyptian positions and reached the [[Khan Yunis]] railway junction in a little over four hours.{{Sfnp|Oren|2002|p=180}}

Gonen's brigade then advanced nine miles to Rafah in twin columns. Rafah itself was circumvented, and the Israelis attacked [[Sheikh Zuweid]], {{convert|8|mi|order=flip}} to the southwest, which was defended by two brigades. Though inferior in numbers and equipment, the Egyptians were deeply entrenched and camouflaged. The Israelis were pinned down by fierce Egyptian resistance and called in air and artillery support to enable their lead elements to advance. Many Egyptians abandoned their positions after their commander and several of his staff were killed.{{Sfnp|Oren|2002|p=180}}

The Israelis broke through with tank-led assaults, but Aviram's forces misjudged the Egyptians' flank and were pinned between strongholds before they were extracted after several hours. By nightfall, the Israelis had finished mopping up resistance. Israeli forces had taken significant losses, with Colonel Gonen later telling reporters that "we left many of our dead soldiers in Rafah and many burnt-out tanks." The Egyptians suffered some 2,000 casualties and lost 40 tanks.{{Sfnp|Oren|2002|p=180}}

==== Advance on Arish ====
[[File:6 Day War-Amos.jpg|thumb|Israeli reconnaissance forces from the "Shaked" unit in Sinai during the war]]

On 5 June, with the road open, Israeli forces continued advancing towards [[Arish]]. Already by late afternoon, elements of the 79th Armored Battalion had charged through the {{convert|7|mi|adj=on|order=flip}}-long Jiradi defile, a narrow pass defended by well-emplaced troops of the Egyptian 112th Infantry Brigade. In fierce fighting, which saw the pass change hands several times, the Israelis charged through the position. The Egyptians suffered heavy casualties and tank losses, while Israeli losses stood at 66 dead, 93 wounded and 28 tanks. Emerging at the western end, Israeli forces advanced to the outskirts of Arish.{{Sfnp|Oren|2002|p=181}} As it reached the outskirts of Arish, Tal's division also consolidated its hold on Rafah and Khan Yunis.

The following day, 6 June, the Israeli forces on the outskirts of Arish were reinforced by the 7th Brigade, which fought its way through the Jiradi pass. After receiving supplies via an airdrop, the Israelis entered the city and captured the airport at 7:50&nbsp;am. The Israelis entered the city at 8:00&nbsp;am. Company commander [[Yossi Peled]] recounted that "Al-Arish was totally quiet, desolate. Suddenly, the city turned into a madhouse. Shots came at us from every alley, every corner, every window and house." An IDF record stated that "clearing the city was hard fighting. The Egyptians fired from the rooftops, from balconies and windows. They dropped grenades into our half-tracks and blocked the streets with trucks. Our men threw the grenades back and crushed the trucks with their tanks."{{Sfnp|Oren|2002|p=202}}<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.israeli-weapons.com/history/six_day_war/SixDayWar.html |title=Six Day War |publisher=Israeli-weapons|access-date=1 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206185516/http://www.israeli-weapons.com/history/six_day_war/SixDayWar.html |archive-date=6 February 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> Gonen sent additional units to Arish, and the city was eventually taken.

Brigadier-General [[Avraham Yoffe]]'s assignment was to penetrate Sinai south of Tal's forces and north of Sharon's. Yoffe's attack allowed Tal to complete the capture of the Jiradi defile, Khan Yunis. All of them were taken after fierce fighting. Gonen subsequently dispatched a force of tanks, infantry and engineers under Colonel Yisrael Granit to continue down the Mediterranean coast towards the [[Suez Canal]], while a second force led by Gonen himself turned south and captured Bir Lahfan and Jabal Libni.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}

==== 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}}

==== Other Israeli forces ====
Further south, on 5 June, the [[8th Armored Brigade (Israel)|8th Armored Brigade]] under Colonel [[Albert Mandler]], initially positioned as a ruse to draw off Egyptian forces from the real invasion routes, attacked the fortified bunkers at Kuntilla, a strategically valuable position whose capture would enable Mandler to block reinforcements from reaching Um-Katef and to join Sharon's upcoming attack on [[Nekhel|Nakhl]]. The defending Egyptian battalion outnumbered and outgunned, fiercely resisted the attack, hitting several Israeli tanks. Most of the defenders were killed, and only three Egyptian tanks, one of them damaged, survived. By nightfall, Mandler's forces had taken Kuntilla.{{Sfnp|Oren|2002|p=202}}

With the exceptions of Rafah and Khan Yunis, Israeli forces had initially avoided entering the [[Gaza Strip]]. Israeli Defense Minister [[Moshe Dayan]] had expressly forbidden entry into the area. After Palestinian positions in Gaza opened fire on the Negev settlements of [[Nirim]] and [[Kissufim]], IDF Chief of Staff [[Yitzhak Rabin]] overrode Dayan's instructions and ordered the 11th Mechanized Brigade under Colonel Yehuda Reshef to enter the Strip. The force was immediately met with heavy artillery fire and fierce resistance from Palestinian forces and remnants of the Egyptian forces from Rafah.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}

By sunset, the Israelis had taken the strategically vital Ali Muntar ridge, overlooking [[Gaza City]], but were beaten back from the city itself. Some 70 Israelis were killed, along with Israeli journalist Ben Oyserman and American journalist [[Paul Schutzer]]. Twelve members of [[United Nations Emergency Force|UNEF]] were also killed. On the war's second day, 6 June, the Israelis were bolstered by the [[Paratroopers Brigade|35th Paratroopers Brigade]] under Colonel [[Rafael Eitan]] and took Gaza City along with the entire Strip. The fighting was fierce and accounted for nearly half of all Israeli casualties on the southern front. Gaza rapidly fell to the Israelis.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}

Meanwhile, on 6 June, two Israeli reserve brigades under Yoffe, each equipped with 100 tanks, penetrated the Sinai south of Tal's division and north of Sharon's, capturing the road junctions of [[Abu Ageila]], Bir Lahfan, and Arish, taking all of them before midnight. Two Egyptian armored brigades counterattacked, and a fierce battle took place until the following morning. The Egyptians were beaten back by fierce resistance coupled with airstrikes, sustaining heavy tank losses. They fled west towards Jabal Libni.{{Sfnp|Oren|2002|p=211}}

==== The Egyptian Army ====
During the ground fighting, remnants of the [[Egyptian Air Force]] attacked Israeli ground forces but took losses from the Israeli Air Force and from Israeli anti-aircraft units. Throughout the last four days, Egyptian aircraft flew 150 sorties against Israeli units in the Sinai.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}

Many of the Egyptian units remained intact and could have tried to prevent the Israelis from reaching the [[Suez Canal]], or engaged in combat in the attempt to reach the canal, but when the Egyptian Field Marshal [[Abdel Hakim Amer]] heard about the fall of [[Battle of Abu-Ageila (1967)|Abu-Ageila]], he panicked and ordered all units in the Sinai to retreat. This order effectively meant the defeat of Egypt.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}

Meanwhile, President [[Gamal Abdel Nasser|Nasser]], having learned of the results of the Israeli air strikes, decided together with Field Marshal [[Abdel Hakim Amer|Amer]] to order a general retreat from the Sinai within 24 hours. No detailed instructions were given concerning the manner and sequence of withdrawal.<ref name="ahram1">{{Cite web |url=http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/Archive/2007/848/sc1.htm |title=The road to Naksa |work=Al-Ahram |author=Mubasher, Abdou |date=7–13 June 2007 |access-date=24 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170524214942/http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/Archive/2007/848/sc1.htm |archive-date=24 May 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==== Next fighting days ====
{{More citations needed section|date=June 2017}}
[[File:1967 Six Day War - conquest of Sinai 7-8 June.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|The capture of Sinai. 7–8 June 1967]]
[[File:1967-06-06 Mid-East.ogv|thumb|thumbtime=0:56|A newsreel from 6 June about the first Israeli-Egyptian fighting.]]
[[File:Flickr - Government Press Office (GPO) - Israeli Gun Boat.jpg|thumb|An Israeli gunboat passes through the Straits of Tiran near Sharm El Sheikh.]]

As Egyptian columns retreated, Israeli aircraft and artillery attacked them. Israeli jets used [[napalm]] bombs during their sorties. The attacks destroyed hundreds of vehicles and caused heavy casualties. At Jabal Libni, retreating Egyptian soldiers were fired upon by their own artillery. At Bir Gafgafa, the Egyptians fiercely resisted advancing Israeli forces, knocking out three tanks and eight half-tracks, and killing 20 soldiers. Due to the Egyptians' retreat, the Israeli High Command decided not to pursue the Egyptian units but rather to bypass and destroy them in the mountainous passes of West Sinai.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}

Therefore, in the following two days (6 and 7 June), all three Israeli divisions (Sharon and Tal were reinforced by an armored brigade each) rushed westwards and reached the passes. Sharon's division first went southward then westward, via [[An-Nakhl Fortress|An-Nakhl]], to [[Mitla Pass]] with air support. It was joined there by parts of Yoffe's division, while its other units blocked the [[Gidi Pass]]. These passes became killing grounds for the Egyptians, who ran right into waiting Israeli positions and suffered heavy losses in both soldiers and vehicles. According to Egyptian diplomat [[Mahmoud Riad]], 10,000 men were killed in one day alone, and many others died from thirst. Tal's units stopped at various points to the length of the Suez Canal.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}

Israel's blocking action was partially successful. Only the Gidi pass was captured before the Egyptians approached it, but at other places, Egyptian units managed to pass through and cross the canal to safety. Due to the haste of the Egyptian retreat, soldiers often abandoned weapons, military equipment, and hundreds of vehicles. Many Egyptian soldiers were cut off from their units had to walk about {{convert|200|km}} on foot before reaching the Suez Canal with limited supplies of food and water and were exposed to intense heat. Thousands died as a result. Many Egyptian soldiers chose instead to surrender to the Israelis, who eventually exceeded their capabilities to provide for prisoners. As a result, they began directing soldiers towards the Suez Canal and only imprisoned high-ranking officers, who were expected to be exchanged for captured Israeli pilots.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}

According to some accounts, during the Egyptian retreat from the Sinai, a unit of [[Russian Naval Infantry|Soviet Marines]] based on a Soviet warship in [[Port Said]] at the time came ashore and attempted to cross the Suez Canal eastward. The Soviet force was reportedly decimated by an Israeli air attack and lost 17 dead and 34 wounded. Among the wounded was the commander, Lt. Col. Victor Shevchenko.<ref name=ginor>Ginor, Isabella and Remez, Gideon: ''The Soviet-Israeli War, 1967–1973: The USSR's Military Intervention in the Egyptian-Israeli Conflict'', p.&nbsp;23</ref>

During the offensive, the [[Israeli Navy]] landed six [[frogman|combat divers]] from the [[Shayetet 13]] naval commando unit to infiltrate [[Alexandria]] harbor. The divers sank an Egyptian [[minesweeper (ship)|minesweeper]] before being taken prisoner. Shayetet 13 commandos also infiltrated [[Port Said]] harbor, but found no ships there. A planned commando raid against the [[Syrian Navy]] never materialized. Both Egyptian and Israeli warships made movements at sea to intimidate the other side throughout the war but did not engage each other. Israeli warships and aircraft hunted for Egyptian submarines throughout the war.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}

On 7 June, Israel began its attack on [[Sharm el-Sheikh]]. The [[Israeli Navy]] started the operation with a probe of Egyptian naval defenses. An aerial reconnaissance flight found that the area was less defended than originally thought. At about 4:30&nbsp;am, three Israeli [[missile boat]]s opened fire on Egyptian shore batteries, while paratroopers and commandos boarded helicopters and [[Nord Noratlas]] transport planes for an assault on Al-Tur, as Chief of Staff Rabin was convinced it was too risky to land them directly in Sharm el-Sheikh.{{Sfnp|Oren|2002|p=248}} The city had been largely abandoned the day before, and reports from air and naval forces finally convinced Rabin to divert the aircraft to Sharm el-Sheikh. There, the Israelis engaged in a pitched battle with the Egyptians and took the city, killing 20 Egyptian soldiers and taking eight more prisoners. At 12:15&nbsp;pm, Defense Minister Dayan announced that the Straits of Tiran constituted an international waterway open to all ships without restriction.{{Sfnp|Oren|2002|p=248}}

On 8 June, Israel completed the capture of the Sinai by sending infantry units to [[Ras Sudar]] on the western coast of the peninsula.

Several tactical elements made the swift Israeli advance possible:

# The surprise attack that quickly gave the [[Israeli Air Force]] complete air superiority over the [[Egyptian Air Force]].
# The determined implementation of an innovative battle plan.
# The lack of coordination among Egyptian troops.

These factors would prove to be decisive elements on Israel's other fronts as well.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}