in man-to-man fighting. Before the attack the enemy will be softened up by artillery and aircraft.
The aim is not to capture a single village or a particular area. The aim is to destroy the Egyptian armored units.
"Tonight we will hear for the first time the thunder of our heavy guns ... the air force, the artillery, and the infantry will operate in coordination ... what could have been prepared and planned has been prepared and planned ... now everything depends on your courage in the assault..."
The words have their effect. Nobody ever talked to us like this before. For a long time there has been a lack of concrete military information. The Israeli soldier wants to know what he is doing, he wants to understand his role in the battle.
Today I feel fresh and cheerful. The damned radio may be a bit of a weight, but it is lighter than a machine gun or a PIAT. We walk and walk and walk. It is some consolation to know for sure that we won’t have to come back this way. After capturing and destroying the Egyptian camp we will stay there and take up a position.
After two hours’ march we are tired. Occasionally the scout at the head of the gigantic column calls a halt and we lie on the ground. In training we would keep an eye out to left and right in such a case. Here we look at the stars in the sky, if anything.
We walk over a field, cross a road, the railway line, and a wadi, and arrive at the dunes. We can hear the sea in the distance. I know that we will soon be in the enemy’s rear.
Marching on sand is particularly tiring. It gets into your shoes and socks. Occasional shots from the Egyptians permit us to estimate the reducing distance between us and them.
At last we reach our planned starting point, due west of the enemy. We are three or five hundred meters away from them at the most. Unit by unit we leave the long column, to take our planned positions. Here and there, friends shake hands and whisper "Good luck!" - which under these conditions means: "Come back alive!"
I have to establish radio contact. I put on the headphones, pull out the antenna, and speak into the microphone:
"Hello Yitzhak, hello Yitzhak, can you hear me?"
No answer.