The War of Atonement: The Inside Story of the Yom Kippur War [Hardcover]

Chaim Herzog (Author), Michael Herzog (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1998

18 illustrations 9 maps 6 x 9 New edition with an introduction by the authors son Includes first-hand accounts of the fighting This is the authoritative account of the Israeli Armys performance in the bitter Yom Kippur War of 1973. The book explores the origins of the war in the turbulent history of the Middle East, as well as the build-up of Arab forces that almost caught Israel by surprise and the dawning realization of Israel that it would once again have to fight overwhelming odds to survive. A riveting story of the conflict itself, punctuated by first-hand accounts and interviews with combatants, The War of Atonement is full of drama and tales of inspirational bravery. The book concludes with an analysis of the political implications of the conflict. Chaim Herzog served in the British Army in World War II and in the Israeli Defense Forces. He later became Director of Israeli military Intelligence, Israeli Ambassador to the U.N., and President of Israel. His other books include Battles of the Bible (with Mordechai Gichon) and his autobiography, Living History, published shortly before his death in 1997

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Greenhill Books; 1st Edition in this form edition (March 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1853673072
• ISBN-13: 978-1853673078
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 5.8 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,546,986 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant military classic back in print!, July 31, 1998

By 

Thomas J. Brucia "Tom B" (Houston, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The War of Atonement: The Inside Story of the Yom Kippur War (Hardcover)

This tightly written work is gripping reading!!! FIRST, it gives a comprehensive political background from the 1967 Six Day War through the coordinated Egyptian-Syrian attack commencing at 2 p.m., October 6, 1973. [I opened an Excel spreadsheet and created an 86-entry "time line" from 1967 through Oct 6, 1973; other readers may find it useful to do likewise. I wish the author had included this tool...).] SECOND: The 9 maps in this book are EXCELLENT. Almost every geographical locaction mentioned in the text appears on the maps. The theater maps identify major geographical and military unit locations without becoming cluttered; the maps clarify and complement the text. THIRD: The writing is terse, detailed, and riviting with lots of fascinating detail. (The first 24 hours were hair-raising! ...And the story of the Israeli breakthrough north of Great Bitter Lake, followed up with encirclement of the 3rd Egyptian Army,is white-knuckle reading!) It came as a sh! ock to me to discover that the Israelis were not totally taken by surprise by the attack. In the last two days before hostilities broke out, it was obvious a war was imminent -- but the Israelis projected a 6 p.m. start. The onslaught began four hours earlier (a compromise between the Egyptians who wanted a p.m. offensive so the sun wouldn't be in their eyes, and the Syrians, who wanted an a.m. attack for the same reason!) FOURTH: This war was in fact two wars, very dissimilar from each other: the Golan Heights war; and the Suez Canal war. Each is fully covered, in exquisite detail, unit by unit, hour by hour. FIFTH: It would have been useful if the author had included tables of organization, and orders of battle for the three major armies involved, but the work is still highly readable without them. SIXTH: Chapter 18, Lessons and Implications, is the capstone of this work. An example of the style (p. 274) : "At the higher level the Egyptian strategy was excellent, co! mbining as it did strategic offense with tactically defensi! ve operations, for as soon as they were across the Canal they deployed in narrow bridgeheads and waited for the Israeli forces to attack. The wide crossing of the Canal dissipated the force of the Israel Air Force and the very nature of the attack ... guaranteed them a number of footholds.... [T]here was no room for the Israeli forces to exercise their superiority in the war of maneuver." SUMMARY: Time spent reading this work is well spent. It is a lovingly crafted work of military history. It is amazing that it was first published only two years after the Yom Kippur War took place! Though written by an Israeli, it gives credit to the high caliber of the Egyptian and Syrian efforts; one wonders what they could have acheived if they hadn't become married to Soviet military doctrines and organization.....

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Detailed But Biased Picture, July 26, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Singapore) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The War of Atonement: The Inside Story of the Yom Kippur War (Hardcover)

The Yom Kippur War is the greatest war fought by the Israeli Army. The same brigade that was badly mauled in the initial onslaught, was also the brigade that cleared the Chinese Farm, in preparation for Arik Sharon's counterattack. However, up to this day, Herzog is still hiding the mistakes made by his fellow generals, i.e. Bar-Lev, Gonen, Hofi. Herzog, claimed that Gonen, was just unlucky in being GOC Southern Command, when war broke out. If he had been a division commander, he would hv emerged victorious, like Arik Sharon. Question is: isn't that what leadership is all about? Exercising good judgements as a leader in times of disorientation? In this, Bar-lev & Gonen, has failed miserable. The failure to evacuate the Bar-lev strongholds at the onset of the war, has costed hundreds of Israeli lives, trying to rescue the survivors. Instead of consolidating its forces, Gonen sent Ammon, Dan, Natke brigades in piece-meals attacks, even though the size of the Sinai is an excellent buffer, wiping out more than half of Israeli frontline forces before the reserves arrive. The Bar-lev Line has been a disaster and only Arik Sharon, Israel Tal & Avraham Tamir, managed to forsee the damage that it will bring, in the event of a war. Herzog called the failed attack on the 8th Oct, as An Opportunity Lost. I would rather termed it a major disaster. Only Arik understood, that the main objective, has to be to cross the Canal, and undermine the Egytians, without the costly battle of taking on the Egytians on the east bank, head on. On the Northern front, i can't see any reason why Hofi should be given credit for the fine performance. When the whole Golan was swarmed by Syrians, it was only Raful Eitan, who is there on the Golan, calmly controlling the battle, while the rest are in their war-room. The war was won, when the Israelis maanged to hold off the attack, while the reservists were streaming in. IDF can only improve if it learns from its mistakes.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Detailed Account Of Israel's Greatest War, March 21, 2000

By 

K. W. Doten "insert witty descriptive moniker... (ST PAUL, MN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The War of Atonement: The Inside Story of the Yom Kippur War (Hardcover)

This book gives a comprehensive account of the war through the IDF's eyes. The author gives us the overall tactical history of the war, in addition to many stirring accounts of individual acts of bravery. Highly recommended for those who are interested in historical accounts of warfare.