Tel Faher - Friday, June 9, 1967 (day 5)

Friday, June 9, 1967 (day 5)

At 0600 hrs on Friday, June 9th, Brig. Gen. Dado Elazar of the Northern Command was woken up by a phone call of DM Dayan: "Can you attack? Then attack." DM Dayan had changed his mind. He told his chief of staff, “If the Syrians sit quietly, I won’t approve any action against them, but if in spite of all our restraint they continue shelling, I will recommend to the Cabinet that we take the entire Heights.” Operation Hammer had been planned as a night attack. It was dangerous enough even in darkness, but an assault on the Golan Heights during daylight would be suicidal. The offensive was planned for 1130 hrs to give the IAF enough of time to continue its bombardment and to give the Israeli combat engineers time to create a path through enemy mine fields. Fortunately the winter rains had exposed many of the mines and the Syrians had not replaced them. The IAF was dropping from Mount Hermon to Tawfiq (near Hamat Gader) some 400 tons of ordnance, including some captured rockets from Egyptian stocks.

Contrary to Syrian expectations, the IDF was not planning to take the Customs House road (opposite Gadot) in the initial attack, but where the enemy least expected it, in the north in the Galilee Panhandle and south of the Sea of Galilee.

The 8th Armored Brigade of Colonel Albert Mandler was moving from Sinai to Kfar Szold. It had only 33 serviceable M50 and M51 Sherman tanks. Within minutes, the Syrian guns opened fire, not against the advancing troops, but still to the Israeli settlements. Of the eight armored bulldozers five never made it to the top. The Syrians started to confront them with heavy fire.