Written between 1968 and 1973, begun in the aftermath of a great victory and completed at a time of renewed war, this book is an attempt to explain the phenomenon of the Israeli Army. There is much to understand. In the span of a single generation, a people that once had no soldiers has become a nation of soldiers, creating in the process an Army which, in 1973, sent into battle the third largest tank force and the sixth largest air force in the Western world. Unlike almost all other new armies, the Israeli Army did not grow out of colonial regiments nor did it receive its military expertise ready-made from foreign instructors as its neighbours have done and are still doing. Instead, through trial and error, through experimentation and debate, the Israelis have taught themselves virtually everything they know, from basic infantry skills to the intricacies of air combat. Sometimes very advanced and highly effective, sometimes merely different, and in some cases perhaps backward, the Army’s doctrines, tactics and structures are all the original creations of the Israelis themselves, a nation of 650,000 in 1948 and even now fewer than three million. Among the lesser powers this is a unique achievement. This book is neither a history of the Israeli Army nor a history of Israel’s wars. Its central focus is on the men and ideas that have shaped the powerful and invincible Israeli defence.
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