A strange feeling - you are lying a short distance from the enemy and he knows nothing. He has no idea that in two or three hours we will be attacking.
Behind me the radio operator is talking. His monotonous voice blends in with the noises of the night. He has been trained to speak with that kind of voice. Like a machine. "Hallo, Baruch two, Baruch two, can you hear me? Can you hear me? We are ready. Waiting for orders. Waiting for orders. Over."
Steps behind us. "Who goes there?"
"Nachshon."
Nachman, the blond platoon leader, is back with the two groups who mined the road to Beit Jiz. His people are also dead tired. They sink to the ground. But everything is prepared for the assault.
Very slowly a thin light streak appears in the east. The sleepers are roused. Aryeh stands next to the radio operator. We know that soon the concert will begin. Now I see the village for the first time. I am amazed how near it is. Small brown houses stand directly in front of us on a low hill on the other side of the wadi. The people in the village haven’t noticed us yet.
Yechiel, the deputy company commander, runs to the mortar platoon. They have already set up their weapons. Ephraim Makovsky, the one with the twisted mustache, barks orders in all directions. Asriel Spitz, the leader of the second platoon, checks the aiming devices.
"Two rounds on the target - fire!" shouts Yechiel at the top of his voice. The night is over. The assault has begun.
The shells whiz through the air. A moment of absolute quiet. Then they explode - at least a hundred meters in front of the village - which comes to life. We can hear the shouts. A few rifles begin to shoot. I don’t hear the whistle of any bullets. The Arabs’ fire is unaimed. They don’t where the attack is coming from.
Two more shells. Another two. Two more. The explosions are get-ting closer and closer to the village. There - Asriel’s shells have hit. Ephraim has not yet reached the target. In the village little figures are running to and fro. A crowd assembles around the big tree in the cen-ter. So far we have received no order to fire.
Movement behind us. The second company, which should attack in the first wave, is taking position behind our stone wall. The