Tel Faher
Tel Faher or Golani Lookout is a former Syrian outpost in the Golan Heights that has been occupied by Israel since the Six-Day War in 1967.
Tel Faher was the site of an intense battle between the Israel Defense Forces and the Syrians which ended in the conquest of the outpost by the Golani Brigade.
[3] Two Syrian artillery battalions with Soviet M46 130 mm guns and two companies with heavy mortars and dug-in German World War II Panzer IV tanks were positioned along the Golan escarpment.
However, a Syrian artillery observation officer reported "The enemy appears to have suffered heavy losses and is retreating.
Haim Ber, the spokesman of the settlements in the north, called Eshkol and shouted in desperation "We're being shelled non-stop!
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."
The IAF was dropping some 400 tons of ordnance on the Heights from Mount Hermon in the north to Tawfiq (near Hamat Gader) in the south, including some captured rockets from Egyptian stocks.
Contrary to Syrian expectations, the IDF was not planning to launch the initial attack via the Customs House road (opposite Gadot), but where the enemy least expected it, in a large pincer movement: in the north from the Galilee Panhandle, and on the opposite side from south of the Sea of Galilee.
The 8th Armored Brigade of Colonel Albert Mandler was moved from the Sinai theatre to Kfar Szold in the northern part of the Galilee Panhandle.
The horseshoe-shaped fort was two kilometers inside the Golan Heights, protected with multiple guns, extensive mine fields and three belts of two-sided sloping fences and coiled barbed-wire.
The leading officer found the planned climb to the rear of Tel Faher to be impassable and the battalion commander decided to continue northward.
[5] The internal Syrian army report showed failure in leadership, leading to chaos and desertion: With the enemy just 700 meters away, under heavy shelling, the platoon in the front trench prepared for the battle.
Private Hajj al-Din, who was killed just minutes later, took the gun and fired it alone, knocking out two tanks and forcing the column to retreat.
Battalion commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Moshe "Musa" Klein, ordered the 25 Golanis, who survived the initial Syrian fire, to attack the position from two flanks.
The Syrian commander of the northern part ordered his men not to fire until the Israelis reached the wire to catch them in a kill zone.
We jumped out of the trench, ran five meters and then Musa fell on his face... killed by the Syrian soldier he'd missed.
Of the 260 Israeli soldiers that fought at Tel Faher, 34 were killed and 113 were wounded[9] while 62 Syrians died and 20 were taken prisoner.
At the same time the Syrian Government was pleading with other Arab countries for military support, but no assistance was forthcoming.
[11] Private David Shirazi was part of the assault team that had to climb up the 100 m rigged slope under heavy Syrian mortar and machine gun fire to reach the barbed wire fence.
Private Moshe Drimmer belonged to a group of nine combat soldiers who had to clear the path of mines for the tanks.
Nevertheless, he turned the machine gun inside the burning vehicle towards the Syrian position and gave covering fire to his comrades.
His commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Arye Biro, was badly wounded by splinters but continued to lead until he collapsed and had to be evacuated.
Captain Yuval Ben-Arzi tried to contact Horovitz to tell him to storm Qela, but couldn't reach him, because the hatch was hit and wounded him in the head.
Armed with only Uzi SMGs and hand grenades, he and his men continued to clear Syrian positions.
