The Albatross of Decisive Victory

by Gawrych, George W.

• ISBN13: 9780313313028
• ISBN10: 0313313024
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-03-30
• Publisher: Praeger Pub Text

Summary

In 1967, the Israeli Defense Forces defeated the combined armies of Egypt, Jordan, and Syria in a mere six days. This remarkable military accomplishment would, however, have the ultimate effect of creating an albatross around the neck of the Israeli Army, as Israelis would now expect the next conventional war with the Arabs to achieve similar results: a quick, decisive victory with relatively few casualties. Although Egyptian forces were militarily inferior to those of Israel, President Anwar Sadat developed a successful limited war strategy designed to exploit this unrealistic expectation.

Author Biography

GEORGE W. GAWRYCH is Historian on the faculty of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, a position he has held since July 1984. He taught at the University of Hawaii, the University of Kansas, and the School of International Studies at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. His publications on modern Middle East history include articles in academic journals and two short monographs published by the U.S. Army. In November 1989, he received the Turkish Studies Association's biennial prize for the best published article in Turkish Studies.

Table of Contents

Maps	ix
Key to Maps	xi
Introduction	xiii
Abbreviations	xvii
Stumbling into War	1	(38)
Israel's Blitzkrieg	39	(32)
The Egyptian Phoenix	71	(24)
A Three-Year Border War	95	(32)
``No War, No Peace''	127	(36)
Egypt's Assault	163	(36)
Israel's Resurgence	199	(40)
Ascent of the Dove	239	(18)
Conclusion	257	(6)
Select Bibliography	263	(12)
Index	275