Ted H. Kim's Weblog

Monday September 13, 2004

The Arab-Israeli Wars

In Sepember, I decided to switch gears and read some post-WWII military history. The Arab-Israeli Wars by Chaim Herzog was another case of finally getting around to reading a book that had been sitting on my shelf for a while. Herzog himself was a participant in some of the wars described in the book as well as a former Israeli president. The book covers the period from Israel's independence in 1948 to the Lebanon campaign of 1982.

I don't know many topics which generate as much heated controversy as the conflicts of Middle East. A lot of this has to do with the fact that the underlying issues are still not resolved, and in various ways the conflicts are still on going. Given the environment, it not clear whether the participants can or would really give the detailed candid accounts that one would like. In some cases, it would be politically incorrect, and in others it would betray some military secrets. Further, the public does not have access to the level of documentation that exists about much of WWII (operational orders, daily unit reports, etc.). It's not even clear that the detailed documentation still exists. So any military history about the subject is going to be incomplete and probably without a sense of definitive perspective.

With all these limitations, how does The Arab-Israeli Wars do? I think the book gives an excellent account of the operational level history from the Israeli point of view. The author gives his opinion on many issues such as the cause of the wars, and while he acknowledges other views, it's clear what his viewpoint is. There is nothing wrong with that per se, though some readers may strongly disagree with his views. At various points, he notes Israeli mistakes and some personality issues of the commanders.

The strength of the book is in the accounts describing the Israeli unit operations: where the units were, what they did, their movement, attacks and orders. I found myself wanting to know a similar level of military detail about the Arab military operations. But as noted before, that information was probably not possible to get. However it would have have been nice, if the author clarified exactly what he was able to use in that area. The maps in the book are relatively clear, but there are some passages where it is hard to relate back to the maps.

I did not find the analysis in the book to be as strong as the operational accounts. In particular, the book was written only a year or two after the 1982 Lebanon operation. I think even Israelis may have issues with his analysis of that campaign's results. But even for other wars, I found myself wanting a deeper analysis. For example, the author rarely talks about the relative strengths and weaknesses of the military technology of each side and its impact. A lot could be written about topics such as wire-guided anti-tank missiles, UAVs, ECM, etc. and their effect on the campaigns. Nor does he talk much about tactical doctrine of the participants.

Overall, I enjoyed reading The Arab-Israeli Wars. But at the same time, I realize it is not a definitive account. One fairly old board wargame that covers part of the same subject (1956, 1967, 1973) is Sinai. However, since it has been such a long time since I played the game, I can't really give it an unqualified recommendation. I will need to try it again sometime to see.

Technorati Tags: books, boardgames

(2004-09-13 13:12:09.0) Permalink