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The photo that defined the war:
Paratroopers standing in aweful reverence after liberating the Kotel (The Western Wall).
Today is the fortieth anniversary of The 1967 Six Day War that so dramatically changed the balance of power in the Middle East. This conflict not only changed the balance of power in the Middle East, but it profoundly affected military thinking and has ever since been of strong interest to historians, soldiers, and AIW (Arab-Israeli Wars) miniatures gamers among others.
First of all, let me make a recommendation to read the Magnum Opus (masterpiece) of 1967 Six Day War history:
If you're going to read just one book about the war, please read "Six Days of War" by Michael Oren, which is by far, the most comprehensively researched and definitive historical account yet written on the conflict.
The Six Day War is perhaps most noted for Operation Moked (Focus), in which Israel launched a surprise air attack against Arab Air Forces, which practically crippled the entire militaries of Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and other enemies of Israel. This single operation practically defined air power as the dominant force in warfare from the 1960s on. The Indians paid attention to it in their wars with Pakistan and the Arabs did as well in their later wars with Israel. Even NATO paid attention and began and ambitious program of building hardened aircraft shelters (HAS) in Europe. Operation Moked set the standard and has long been admired by air forces around the world.
The shadow of an Israeli Mirage fighter plane passes over ruined Arab aircraft.
But more than anything else, The Six Day War established Israel as a nation that would not go quietly into the night. Israel gained strategic deterrence in the form of land and no longer stood in the same precarious mortal danger that it had before. It's a fascinating piece of history and I highly recommend study of it to anyone with a passion for such. I've been studying it for over twenty years now, have probably read over a hundread books about it, and can still honestly say that I still have much to learn about it.
An Israeli AMX-13 light tank, which proved ineffective...
...as well as a false path in tank design.
Armor and armament later predominated over mobility in tank design.
Happy Tuesday!
Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.
An Israeli Mirage fightercraft with one of its principal enemies, an Arab MiG.
Notes regarding photos / pictures: These are not all my images. I am using various images from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).
