Key to the Sinai: The Battles for Abu Ageila in the 1956 and 1967 Arab-Israeli Wars

Situated between the Suez Canal and Israel and marked by the harsh environment of the central Sinai lies Abu Ageila, an unprepossessing area of low ridges and hills through which passes the best-surfaced road in the peninsula. Owing to its location on the central route, close to the Israeli-Egyptian border, Abu Ageila became the key to the Sinai in the Arab-Israeli wars of 1956 and 1967. The struggle for this barren land in two wars provides an epic story of battle and reveals the influence of experience on the preparation for and co.nduct of war.
In both the 1956 and 1967 wars, Abu Ageila was the main gateway to the Sinai for the Israel Defense
Forces. Yet, as Dr. George W. Gawrych demonstrates, there were marked differences between Egyptian and Israeli war plans, preparations, operations, and results in the two battles for the area. In 1956, Israel carried the burden of a constricting alliance with Britain and France and faced other extensive military problems.
The result was that Israel fought a difficult and costly battle for Abu Ageila. In contrast, in 1967, the Israel Defense Forces developed a brilliant operational plan and achieved effective unit command and control and attained a decisive victory.
Based on extensive research, including personal interviews with Israeli commanders and briefings by
Egyptian military historians, Key to the Sinai is a crisp battle narrative of desert warfare and a systematic historical analysis of two armies confronting the changing terms of battle. Students of Airland Battle doctrine will find reading this Research Survey a stimulus to meeting the challenges of modern warfare.