Book Review - The Six Day War by Randolph and Winston Churchill

 The Six Day War by Randolph S. Churchill and Winston S. Churchill

London: Heinemann, 1970 (first published 1967, reprinted with postscript 1970)

The Six Day War is receding into history now, but still resonates as one of the most amazing feats of arms in the history of warfare. In a carefully planned and immaculately executed series of attacks and battles, the Israeli Defence Forces overwhelmed the Egyptian, Jordanian and Syrian armies in the space of a week. Facing a crisis that threatened the end of their country, the Israelis struck first, annihilated the military forces of their enemies, and changed the strategic map of the Middle East, a change that still resonates today.

This book, written at the time by the son and grandson of Winston Churchill, is a very good piece of reportage and battle reporting. We get a good introduction of the events leading up to the War, the closure of the Straits of Tiran and the provocations of Nasser. A concise description of the Orders of Battle describe the advantage of the Arab forces over Israel. Of course material is one thing, morale and tactical superiority is another.

The key to Israeli victory was the Air Force. Their pre-emptive attack, which effectively destroyed the Egyptian Air Force, meant that not only were the cities of Israel safe from bombardment, but also the Israeli armour could move unmolested by air attack through the Sinai, which they did with incredible speed and ruthlessness. The Egyptians were completely overwhelmed, losing hundreds of aircraft, tanks, artillery pieces and thousands of men.

The Israeli government and military had made the decision that, while they would attack Egypt, they would not instigate hostilities against Jordan or Syria. The Jordanians however, in support of their allies, attacked the Israeli forces around Jerusalem. After vicious fighting, the Israelis took Jerusalem and all of the West Bank.

They then went on to take the Golan Heights from Syria before agreeing to a UN ceasefire. In six days Israel had militarily secured its future, driven a stake through the heart of Arab unity, and had opened up a chance to completely change the politics of the Middle East. The postscript in this updated edition describes how that chance to re-shape the Middle East was slipping between the collective fingers of Israel, the Arab countries, the USA and USSR. As we now know, the 1967 war, while it guaranteed Israel's existence, did not create a lasting peace. War has continued, although something has happened that was unforeseen at the time of the writing of this book, and that is that Israel has been recognized by many of the countries that they fought in 1967.

This book is a well-written, pacy and informative summation of the build up, the battles and the immediate aftermath of the war.

Cheers for now, from

A View Over the Bell