Battlecards: World Conflict – Six Days of Destiny

(from publisher) The next in DGA's critically acclaimed Battlecards: World Conflict series, Six Days of Destiny captures all the action, political maneuvers, and intrigue of the 1967 Arab-Israeli conflict. While little is taught in today's classrooms about the war, this modern day David and Goliath story is still forming the world we live in.

In May of 1967, after a 10 year buildup of Arab military force in Sinai, Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser amassed the armies of Egypt, Syria, and Jordan on the borders of Israel. By the end of that same month, Egypt engaged in the first official military action of the 6-day war by declaring a naval blockade against the nation of Israel. After concentrating an enormous Arab amphibious assault force just 17km from the coast of Israel, Nasser ominously proclaimed, "The armies of Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon are poised on the borders of Israel...to face the challenge, while standing behind us are the armies of Iraq, Algeria, Kuwait, Sudan and the whole Arab nation. This act will astound the world. Today they will know that the Arabs are arranged for battle, the critical hour has arrived. We have reached the stage of serious action and not declarations."

Echoing these sentiments, the Iraqi President Abdur Rahman Aref boldly declared, "The existence of Israel is an error which must be rectified. This is our opportunity to wipe out the ignominy that has been with us since 1948. Our goal is clear: 'to wipe Israel off the map'."

But Israel refused to go quietly into the night. On June 5th, 1967, the Israeli Air Force launched a pre-emptive attack against Egyptian airfields full of bombers, poised for the assault. One of the shortest, yet most influential wars since World War II had begun in earnest, and almost 40 years later, the world is still sorting out the aftermath.