Six+Day+War+of+1967

1. Different types and nature of 20th century warfare 2. Origins and causes of the 1967 War  3. Course of the war
 * Civil
 * Guerrilla
 * Limited war, total war
 * Around 1964 and onward, the palestinian terrorist group, the al-Fatah had staged constant guerilla raids into Israel with the intent to terror and fear. These attacks began to be answered in kind by Israeli commando's attacking outposts in Syria, the origin of the al-Fatah raids. These tensions soon exploded in August 1966, at which point the UN had to step in to implement a cease fire, but the tensions still raged.
 * Gamal Nasser, the leader of Egypt, helped to escalate the tensions greately after he decided to take an active role in the events around him. Feeling that the US was trying to encourage an Israeli attack on Syria, and feeling the need to give his people a feeling of nationalism to counter Egypt's terrible economic conditions, he began to put in motion the start of the war.
 * Nasser ordered troops and armor to cross the Suez onto the Sinai Pinnensula, a move that was matched by Iraq and Jordan.
 * Also, he restricted any Israeli ship, or any ship bound for Israel from passing through the Gulf of Aqaba. Israel feeing the pressure of mobilization economically and politically, decided that the best possible outcome, survival, would come from a pre-emptive strike (Bickerton 141-145).
 * War in North (Israel v Syria)
 * The Israelis were also successful in crippling the Syrian air force on June 5th along with the other Arab nations. There was relatively no fighting on this border again until June 8th, when Israeli forces attacked the Golan Heights. By June 9th Syria accepted a UN ceasefire, after Israeli forces had taken control of the Golan Heights.
 * Israel seized The West bank, the Golan heights, and the Sinai Peninsula
 * War in East (Israel v Jordan)
 * On June 5th the Israelis succeeded in destroying the Jordanian air force, the same day Jordan launched a ground attack on West Jerusalem. Over the course of the next two days there was heavy fighting in the streets of Jerusalem between the Israelis and the Jordanians. By June 7th Israel had captured all of Jerusalem, and Jordan accepted a ceasefire. Yet by June 8th Israel had taken control of the entire west bank.


 * War in South (Israel v Egypt)
 * Israeli air force launched surprise attack on Egyptian airfields on June 5th, essentially crippling their air force. The Egyptians had nearly three times as many tanks in the Sinai as the Israelis, however Israeli air superiority lead to a relatively easy Israeli victory. The Egyptians ordered a full retreat, and the Israelis chased them across the desert, destroying all of the equipment the Egyptians left behind (around 80% of Egyptian military equipment in the desert was destroyed). The UN called for a ceasefire on June 7th, with the total casualties for the Israelis around 300, and 15,000 for the Egyptians.

4. Nature of 20th century wars 4. Effects and results of wars
 * Technological developments, tactics and strategies, air, land and sea
 * The 1967 war is a perfect example of how much of an impact Air Superiority can have. Israel was heavily outnumbered, not only in number of troops but number of tanks as well, and was fighting enemies on three different sides. Yet due to the air superiority they gained on the first day of the war they were able to win decisively.
 * Home front: economic and social impact (including changes in the role and status of women)
 * Resistance and revolutionary movements
 * Peace settlements and wars ending without treaties
 * The Six Day War "ended" with no official peace treaties.
 * he US drew up peace accords along these lines, however the Arabs refused. There was No negotiation, No recognition, No Peace. This was for two reasons. The first was that if the Arabs recognized Israel, the Palestinians claim to the land would be essentially over. The second was to protect Nasser's image. After the war Nasser had offered to resign, as a ploy to retain his popularity amongst the Arabs. If Nasser had agreed to these terms then he would have alienated many of his supporters, and combining this with Egypt's embarrassing defeat in the war his image would never have recovered. Unfortunately it would take another war before the Arab nations would finally recognize Israel.
 * After the six days Israel had effectively tripled its size with the acquisition of the Sinai and Gaza Strip from Egypt, Jerusalem and the West bank from Jordan, and the Golan Heights from Syria. Israel's goal was to trade land for peace, meaning they would hand back much of the territory they had taken in exchange for official recognition from the Arab nations.
 * Attempts at collective security pre-and post-Second World War
 * Political repercussions and territorial changes
 * Post-war economic problem.

Works Cited: Bickerton, Ian J, and Carla L Klausner. A Concise History of the Arab-Israeli Conflict. 4th ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2005.