45 years ago today, the Six-Day War began when the Israel Air
Force launched a preemptive strike against Egyptian forces mobilized in
the Sinai Peninsula.
At the time, Hillel Erman was a 30-year-old staff sergeant
serving in a reserve unit of the IDF Paratroopers Brigade. He sat down
with us earlier this week and answered a few questions about his
memories of the Six-Day War.
Do you remember the lead-up to the war?
Yes, I remember it well, like it was yesterday. I remember when Egypt
closed the Straits of Tiran and prevented Israeli ships from entering or
leaving Eilat. And I remember when Egypt mobilized its forces in the
Sinai Peninsula — and expelled the U.N. troops that were in the area.
The prime minister at the time was Levi Eshkol. He was under tremendous
pressure to do something against the threat. The reserves could not stay
mobilized forever, nor could they go home in the face of such danger.
Menachem Begin, who was in the Knesset opposition, joined the
governing coalition, which strengthened the resolve of the public.
People were very scared. They saw how the Arab nations around us were
preparing for war, and we didn’t do anything.
Where were you at the time?
I was called up 18 days before the war started. My brigade, the 35th,
was in the Ben Shemen forest near Jerusalem. We practiced in the forest
so that no one could see the training. I remember the time there was
boring — we didn’t know when the war was going to start, and we just
waited.
The army was pressuring the government to make a decision — either
attack or send the soldiers home. I remember that I was wondering what I
should take with me on the plane, since I couldn’t carry much on me
with all my parachuting gear. I didn’t know if I should take more clean
underwear or more food — I didn’t know what to expect. At some point, my
unit was moved to Kibbutz Nahal Oz, on the Gaza border. The Egyptians
fired on the Kibbutz and the fields around it caught on fire. Some of
the other soldiers in my brigade had lived on kibbutzim before, and they
knew how to deal with such things. We all helped to put out the fire.
Where did you serve during the war itself? How was it when the war started?
In early June, we were moved near the Egyptian border and were told to
wait until someone called us on the secure Red Line and gave us the code
for the green light. At 7 a.m. on June 5, we received the call with the
secret code — “Red Sheet”. We heard that the Israel Air Force bombed
the Egyptian Air Force.
It was a very difficult fight. We were two Paratroopers Brigades and
30 tanks from the 7th Armored Brigade. The battle took place in Rafah,
and the Egyptians were hiding in 12 km long ditches. After 24 hours, the
battle was over. Out of 600 Israeli soldiers, 30 were killed and 40
were injured. One of the soldiers who was killed was my officer.
After Rafah, we were sent to Khan Yunis and then to the Suez Canal.
On our way to the Suez Canal, two Egyptian planes attacked my brigade on
the road. Two soldiers were killed. By the time we arrived at the
canal, the war was already over.
What was the IDF’s biggest achievement in the war?
The biggest achievement was that the IAF targeted Egyptian runways in
order to prevent the Egyptian Air Force from taking off. Then, the IAF
bombed the Egyptian planes that were stuck on the ground. All in all,
our Air Force destroyed an 80 percent of the Egyptian Air Force, which
was much stronger than ours at the time.
Do you have any other specific memories from the war?
In El-Arish, my commander, Raful Eitan, who later became the Chief of
Staff, was shot in the head from one of the tunnels. The bullet
scratched his forehead, went into his helmet and came out from the
middle of it. He was taken to the hospital, and for some time my brigade
didn’t have a commander.
After a while, a new commander came to take over. He didn’t know the
exact location of the brigade, and he asked me on the two-way radio to
give him our location. It was forbidden at the time to broadcast such
precise information on the radio, in case the Egyptians were listening.
In order for him to prove his identity, I asked him for the color of his
beard. When he answered that his beard was black and white, I knew who
he was, and he gave me an order to tell him where we were.
What did you do after the war?
I left the army for a while and went to study, and then joined the army
again, as a career officer, and served in the Paratroopers Brigade.
After eight years, I retired from the army with the rank of Lieutenant
Colonel and returned to reserve duty. During my reserve duty, I served
in a secret unit.
Did you participate in any other wars? What do you do today?
Yes. I was 19-years old and in active duty during the Sinai Campaign. I
also participated in the Yom Kippur War and the First Lebanon War.
Today, I participate in a lot of charity work, and play soccer every
Friday with a group of friends.